Home Theater Screen Size and Seating Distance

Having just the right screen size and seating distance is very important when constructing a home theater room. A common mistake many people make is having a screen that is too large and a room that is not large enough to support the view. The last thing you want is the people in the back row squinting to see the screen, or those in the front row getting a headache from screen overload. Fortunately, there are calculate that take out all the guess work out.

If you're a person who likes to put the pen to the paper, there is a simple math formula you can use to calculate everything as well. If you don't have a TV or screen picked out yet, you'll need to measure the distance (in inches) from where the farthest seat will be placed, all the way to where you plan to put the TV/screen. Once you have the measurement, just plug it in to the following formula:

Screen Size = [Distance (inches)] / 1.6

As an example, if you had 10 feet (120 inches) of seating distance, you would need a TV or screen that is around 75 inches. Should you already have a TV / screen in place, I have a formula for you to help you calculate seating distance. Just take the size of your TV or screen (in inches) and plug it into the following formula.