Q. I got a 55-inch LG 4K TV and I like the 4K picture, but it doesn’t seem to pop like it should. I wonder if I am sitting close enough to the screen to really see the difference in a 4K picture. What’s the recommended viewing distance for watching 4K? — Brenda, St Louis.
Brenda, your eyes are not deceiving you. The 4K TV offers four times the resolution of a typical High-Definition TV. But to really appreciate the extra pixels on screen, you need to sit closer to the screen than you normally would. Otherwise, you may not see some of the details that are visible in 4K that may not be displayed in the high-def picture.
See an update on this article.
So, how close should you sit?
Click Amazon: 4K TVs For Under $1,000!
Sony, which makes a myriad of 4K TV models, recommends sitting 1.5 times the vertical screen size of the TV, which is twice as close from where you should sit in front of a High-Definition model.
For instance, if you have a 55-inch 4K TV, you should sit 3.30 feet away from the screen. If you have a 65-inch 4K set, you should sit about four feet away. If you have a 75-inch 4K TV, you should sit around 4.6 feet away. (Please note that the calculation is based on ‘vertical size,’ not horizontal or diagonal. Here is the calculation done on Sony’s site.
Now that may sound like it’s a bit close, particularly for a 55-inch like yours. Well, it is. And it’s one of the little secrets of 4K TV. You definitely have to sit closer to the screen to get the full experience.
That’s why I recommend never buying a 4K TV smaller than 55 inches in vertical size. And if you can afford it, go bigger.
Happy Viewing!
Need to buy something today? Please buy it using this Amazon.com link. This site receives a small portion of each purchase, which helps us continue to provide these articles.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
Lmao bullshit. For one 55” TV isnt its vertical size. And two 4 feet for a 65”? You wouldn’t even be able to see everything. I sat 8 feet from a 55” and now 65” and Think 55” was fine even.
It’s vertical size. See Sony’s web page for more information: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00008601
This guy needs a math lesson. “You should sit 1.5x the screen size… 3.3’ from a 55” screen.”
3.3’ is only 39.6”.. 1.5 x 55” is almost 7’.
4.6’ from a 75” TV? Average person sits 9’ away.. what should they buy, a 150” TV?
I know he says “vertical screen size” but I’m pretty sure he meant “diagonal screen size.” Screens are not measured vertically.
No, vertical size. That’s the measurement from Sony, as stated.
Somebody needs a calculator.
55” is almost 5ft, if you multiply this by Sony’s 1.5 it makes the viewing distance 7.5 ft not the 3.3 ft stated!!
Happy viewing.
I wonder how many people took this advise?
It’s 1.5 times the vertical size (as the story states), not the diagonal or horizontal size.
Don’t was illustrating the minimum viewing distance on that page, not the ideal. If found sid closer, you will begin to notice pixelation. 1.5x to 2.5x the diagonal screen size is the recommended viewing distance.
I can’t begin to imagine how anyone could sit THAT close to ANY TV for ANY reason! After a short while, your eyeballs would be bulging out of their sockets like Marty Feldman while the back of your brain 🧠 would suffer permanent etching as on a plasma screen! Talk about “burn-in” !!
Good grief. Any closer and you’ll be leaving noseprints on the screen.
Damn people.. stop giving this guy crap for informing you and doing the correct math in the first place. Get mad at Sony, boomers. Y’all need something to do.
What you all are missing here is that the Sony guideline is the closest you can sit without seeing individual pixels, not the maximum range at which you can notice a difference.
Overall though at most viewers seating preferences and screen sizes you cannot differentiate between the two resolutions. It is all a moot point because It is cheaper for manufacturers to make only one resolution and they have chosen 4k for you.
One last point, if you are watching a 1080p signal on a 4k TV you are probably getting a worse image than if you had a 1080 set because of upscaling. (The 4k set has to fill those empty pixels with something and sometimes it is the wrong bit of information).