About TvSize.app
A tool for everyone who is unsure about the right TV size. It grew out of exactly that uncertainty.
Who is behind it
Hi, I am Ben. I am a computer scientist (Dipl.-Inf.) and build websites and web apps with my small agency novacore.
When I had to decide which TV size would suit me, I simply couldn’t picture how big a TV would look on my wall. I tried various AR apps, but they were all error-prone.
So I had the idea to build my own TV visualizer: you take a photo of your wall and change the size of the TV on it interactively. To make sure everything is accurate, the photo is first calibrated with a known length.
I found the topic so interesting that I kept digging into the different recommendations for viewing distance, viewing angle and mounting height, and how to calculate them. All of that became TvSize.app. I’m happy that hundreds of people from all over the world use the tool every day.
As for me: I still haven’t bought a TV. I think that will change soon. And when I have to decide on a size, I know where to look. 😉
How we calculate
Every number on TvSize.app follows the same rules: in the tool, on the size pages, in the calculators and in the charts.
- Inches and centimeters
- One inch is exactly 2.54 cm. A TV’s inch size is its screen diagonal; width and height follow from the 16:9 format. Our dimensions are for the picture area without the bezel. Depending on the model, add roughly 0.2 to 0.8 inches (0.5 to 2 cm) on each side.
- Viewing distance
- For everyday viewing we recommend 1.5 × the screen diagonal. That is a viewing angle of about 30°, as recommended by SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) for 4K TVs. For a cinema feel, 1.2 × the diagonal works. That is about 40°, the THX guideline. For older Full HD sets, about 2 × the diagonal is better.
- Mounting height
- It is most comfortable when the center of the screen is at eye level. On a typical sofa that is about 42 inches (107 cm) from the floor. Looking up by more than about 15° gets uncomfortable over time.
- Room size
- How far from the TV you sit depends on the furniture. As our own rule of thumb we use 0.55 × the square root of the floor area: 20 m² (215 sq ft) gives about 2.5 m (8 ft) and therefore 65 inches. The room size calculator is a guide. Your actual viewing distance is more precise.
What happens to your photo
Nothing outside your device: the photo is processed in your browser only and never uploaded. When it is loaded, we remove metadata such as the location. It is only saved if you download or share the result yourself.
Contact
Questions, found a mistake or have an idea? Write to me at hello@tvsize.app.