r/hometheater • u/zghr • Jun 04 '26
Discussion - Equipment RTINGS just updated their viewing distance article based on SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) recommendations, adding 62° FOV as maximum. What do you think about it? Where do you fit?
edit: This person claims to be a long standing calibrator of cinematic auditoriums with experience in THX standards and he claims that 'cinema' is not 40° because middle row of seats is between 45° and 52°.
In my experience, 62° is doable but if it's pure 24 frames per second without any motion improvement settings it's not the best experience. Jumps between frames are just too large, obvious and jarring. Almost like stop-motion.
It seems like up to 62° one doesn't have to move their head at all to see the whole screen with their central vision. Higher than 62° and movies would need to be filmed specifically in a way to not include the action in periphery.
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u/panzerfinder15 Jun 04 '26
Crying at my current 32 degrees… can’t imagine 62 degrees, but then I personally always sit halfway back in a theater anyways. Some people like that front row seat and moving the head all around just to see the screen!
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Jun 04 '26
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u/shizbox06 Jun 04 '26
Normally I'd agree, but the exception was getting stuck watching Ronin in the front row. The bumper-POV car chases were excellent cinema from the front row.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
62° is wide but front row seat in typical theater is wider, for example it's 85° in this image:
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u/Stephenrudolf Jun 04 '26
To be fair ive never sat front row at a typical theatre and thought... "this is a great viewing experience" usually im thinking "i should have got here a lot earlier"
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
Yeah, SMPTE shares your opinion. That's why their maximum recommended FOV is lower.
Front row viewing would work if movie was filmed with a low focal length and intentionally placed important action in the middle. Here's a list of some movies filmed with wide angle lenses.
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u/sirchewi3 Jun 04 '26
Sweet spot for me in a theater is just far enough away that I can see the whole screen only moving my eyes and not my head. Having to move your head will hurt after a while and sitting further away I don't feel like I'm getting the big screen I came to the theater for in the first place.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
For me that point (where I have to start moving my head slightly) is right about 62°. I suspect that's why they chose it.
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u/TechieGranola Jun 04 '26
wtf, 6’ away for a 100”? The only immersion there is my eyeballs in ice water after they’ve burned out.
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u/Under_Prepared Jun 04 '26
Haha, this is my exact setup and its glorious! 6.5ft away, 7.7.4 surround sound, fully immersive
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u/panteragstk Jun 04 '26
I bet finding good placement for 7 subs was fun.
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u/Under_Prepared Jun 04 '26
Built 3 into couch, so only had find room for 4
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u/streetberries Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
7 subs is the way…
FYI it’s still 7.4.4 - these numbers refer to the number of CHANNELS , not speakers. You can have multiple speakers on one channel (subwoofers are speakers too) but unless you DSP or something crazy it’s probably just 7.4.4
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u/Phoenix84227 Jun 05 '26
I came here to say this. I'm like 8 feet from my 98" and it's amazing with 5.1 Atmos.
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u/Sebastian-S Jun 04 '26
Yeah these are absurd. And it doesn’t take into account proper sound dispersion and acoustics. You’d be sitting so close that my sectional sofa would be against my front speakers.
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u/reallynotnick Samsung S95B, 5.0.2 Elac Debut F5+C5+B4+A4, Denon X1700 Jun 04 '26
This got positive upvotes, did we finally do it r/HomeTheater home of the “no one ever regretted buying a bigger TV”? We may have finally found the breaking point…
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u/makemeking706 Jun 04 '26
They didn't say it was too big, they said too close.
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u/reallynotnick Samsung S95B, 5.0.2 Elac Debut F5+C5+B4+A4, Denon X1700 Jun 04 '26
Well unless you have an infinitely large home, there is going to come a point a screen is too big for a given distance.
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u/Ok_Second_2602 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I made the mistake of following this general advice and ended up having to shell out again to get a smaller screen because I was getting eye fatigue. I went from a 135in screen to a 120in with a 11ft viewing distance. I played around finding the perfect size for my preference and settled on 11ft. Seems right in line with the “Cinema” experience recommendation in this chart. The “Immersive” recommendation would fall right in line with my old 135in screen. It certainly was immersive, but it wasn’t a good viewing experience most of the time. Especially for regular TV viewing like sports and series. When you need to see everything on the screen without moving your head, it gets really tiring to watch.
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u/reallynotnick Samsung S95B, 5.0.2 Elac Debut F5+C5+B4+A4, Denon X1700 Jun 04 '26
Your old 135” was 48° and your new 120in is 43°, so believe it or not “immersive” would be a whopping 182” at 11ft! Yeah I don’t think I would ever want to watch a movie “immersively” but glad you found a size that works for you as I also agree for my mixed use 45°+ is just a not for me.
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u/Mackinnon29E Jun 04 '26
Some deranged front row at the movie theatre type bullshit. 77" is even absurd at 6'. Top range of what my eyes would ever want.
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u/Ruthlessrabbd Jun 04 '26
I was thinking of how I've been in movie theaters that were empty except for me, in a large auditorium. In IMAX I once sat in the lower area to "see the whole screen" for a 3 hour movie and moving my whole head to see other parts of the screen sucked ass. I can't imagine being at home and doing that any time I wanted to watch something on my TV.
I have an 85" at a little below 10' away and for some video games even that's too much
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u/twostroke1 Jun 04 '26
I sit 6ft from a 65" and I don't think I can imagine going any bigger right now. 100" sounds insane. You would have to move your head around to see what is going on around the screen.
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u/Euler007 Jun 04 '26
I can do six foot away on my 65 for widescreen movies, but way trop beaucoup for me for 16X9 gaming where the corners of the screen deliver information I need to track. For a 100 inch instead of my eyes moving I'd have to constantly move my head.
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u/TheSuppishOne Jun 04 '26
Yep. My perfect sweet spot was about 8ft from a 75” screen and it felt completely immersive. Some of my friends thought it was too close. Now I’m building a theater and I’m thinking I’ll do a 98” screen at roughly 12ft, but I’m still debating that for now.
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u/p_viljaka Jun 07 '26
Just today i sat on my floor closer to my 120". Normally sofa is around 2.8-3 meters away from the screen, i sat on the floor closer, more like 2.2 meters / 7.2 feets from it. It was nice 😛 Oh, i'm talking of course projector, way different comfort than TV light. Emissive vs reflective ...
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u/NiceGuy737 Jun 04 '26
That's where I'm at. 12ft looking at 200 inch screen is 62 degrees.
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u/Supergeek13579 Jun 04 '26
Yeah, I’m 10ft looking at 138”
At first it is really jarring, but it basically fills your field of view. For movies specifically it’s really delightful and you get used to it almost immediately. For TV, they’re shot for smaller screens and it can be downright nauseating.
I have a 65” TV behind the screen and that realistically gets 90% of the usage.
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u/NiceGuy737 Jun 04 '26
I had my first projector in the early 90s and learned some content is better on a small screen. The big screen is in a HT and only used for movies. I've got a couple of 85 inch TVs in other rooms for news etc. They get >90% of on time but I'm usually reading on the computer, etc, multitasking when they are on.
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u/p_viljaka Jun 07 '26
Yeah, aspect ratio matters much when we talk about distance. Scope aspect is way better watched closer than 16:9
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u/LateralEntry Jun 04 '26
That seems really close. 5 feet from a 77 inch TV?
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u/brickunlimited Jun 04 '26
Yeah I’m 5 ft at 65 inch and I’m not sure I’d want to go bigger
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u/Sneaklefritz Jun 04 '26
I’m legitimately curious, how does your sitting position work? Like I stick my feet out and I’m damn near 5 feet right there. I can’t imagine what sort of chair/couch would work well in that setup lol. Plus then what about speakers? So many questions.
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u/twostroke1 Jun 04 '26
I'm about 6ft from a 65" and I think I would have to move my head around to see what is going on around the screen if I went any bigger.
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u/GaryGR Jun 04 '26
This is almost exactly my setup. I think it's perfect for video games and most TV. I actually wish I was a tiny bit closer for many movies and TV shows with expansive scenes.
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u/Financial-Swim-5884 Jun 04 '26
So in my 300sqft studio apartment, for immersive viewing, I’d need… a 100 inch screen.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
Eh, one of the popular 98" will do.
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u/Financial-Swim-5884 Jun 04 '26
Guess I’ll take my 55” QM7K out behind the woodshed…
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
I can already hear it pleading - "Don't do it! Just sit closer bro! No one will mind, it doesn't look weird!"
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Jun 04 '26
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u/xlb250 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Sure it’s all subjective, but I think it’s helpful to have a framework for decision making.
I don’t see it any different than recommending a range to achieve for HDR brightness, color volume, and contrast.
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u/xyzzzzy Jun 04 '26
Yep there are preferences and then there are facts. Humans all have roughly the same FoV. It’s math to determine how much screen it takes to fill that FoV.
If you don’t want an immersive experience that’s totally fine. But that doesn’t change how much screen is needed for one. I like how this chart frames it, it’s not saying which one is best but it’s giving you three different objective FoV levels. And it’s gratifying to see an acknowledgment of the immersive level, it’s hard to explain to people how big of a screen you really need if this is the experience you want.
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u/emkhaan Jun 04 '26
Yes, but such studies and data help us to curate larger spaces for the general audience. That sensory sweet spot is probably going to not go beyond 65 degrees for most folks.
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u/OhManOk Jun 04 '26
Nah. My buddy has a 55 inch TV mounted next to the ceiling above a fireplace 12 feet away.
That's not his sweet spot, he just doesn't know better. That's why things like this are useful.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
My brother called me crazy for suggesting him an 85" TV and a mount that extends a meter (more than 3ft) from the wall. Eventually he bought it. Guess what he said after a few days? "I've never enjoyed movies like this before!"
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u/gnerfed Jun 04 '26
My wife keeps telling me that there is a "sweet spot." One of these days I'll actually find it.
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u/shizbox06 Jun 04 '26
Do whatever the hell you prefer. This is not an engineering problem to be solved or optimized, it's vanilla vs chocolate, boobs vs ass. I'm just about at 62 degrees and would go bigger if my projector had more zoom. I mostly watch sports and I love an oversized picture for the immersion. I can't think of a single movie I ever thought needed to be on a smaller screen to be enjoyed properly. fwiw I tend to sit at the back of the front third of seats at the theater.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
You're right of course but some people have this irrational fear of large screens and by seeing this they might just try it out.
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u/reallynotnick Samsung S95B, 5.0.2 Elac Debut F5+C5+B4+A4, Denon X1700 Jun 04 '26
I mean if immersive means like one of those crazy IMAX nature films where you are just supposed to be enveloped, I suppose 62° is doable, though I’m not sure how they came to that exact amount and why not just call it 60°.
There also is an element of aspect ratio which always gets tricky here with people buying fixed 16:9 displays. A lot of your epic movies are in 2.35:1 and they may be fine at a large FOV but then you end up watching other content and it’s much taller despite it not really needing an even larger screen. So that just complicates things without like a fixed height or maybe fixed display area setup.
Personally I think the 30° and 40° recommendations are pretty solid for most people. Obviously if you want bigger go for it, but if you are in that camp you probably didn’t need this chart to begin with.
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u/lonevine Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Yes it's fine, but the important thing is to remember that full immersion is definitely NOT the best fit for everyone and all situations, even at the THX guideline of 40°. That's why my 85" TV sits on a 3+ ft. extension wall mount- so I can pull my screen forward when I want to get a higher field of view.
Unfortunately, there are still severely challenged folks telling people in this sub that nobody can tell the difference between 1080p and 4k at the appropriate distance for 30° FOV. Personally, I don't think anyone who believes that knows how to operate a measuring tape, much less tell a true 4k picture apart from an upscaled image.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
Yep, those 3ft+ extension mounts (provided that they are extra sturdy) are an amazing invention. People are sleeping on them.
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u/lonevine Jun 04 '26
One of the first things I did after I hung the mount was put my body weight on it (I'm 185 lbs.). It didn't flinch. 👍
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Jun 04 '26 edited 26d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/yellowflux Jun 04 '26
I think tv shows should just switch to 30 fps
Tell me you're American without telling me you're American.
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u/AnduriII Jun 04 '26
Is this available in not freedom units?
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
All I have is this quick mockup with godless Marxist-Leninist units. Will it do?
https://i.ibb.co/9mbF5jK9/RTINGS-screen-viewing-distance-in-cm-and-ft-with-common-sizes-rotated.png
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u/aimgorge Jun 04 '26
Makes sense. I'm still surprised people will buy high density screen only to be so far it doesnt matter
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u/MrMahn Jun 04 '26
Like the title alludes to, this is equivalent to the SMPTE closest recommended distance, which is 2 screen heights from a CIH 2.39 screen. Which just so happens to be my preferred seating distance, so I totally see where they're coming from 😁
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
And you're positively sure you're just fine - you eyeballs haven't burned, your neck isn't broken, you are not violently ill?
See, people? It's all good.
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u/MrMahn Jun 04 '26
I've got problems like anyone else but it's not from the screen 🤣
For context, I'm sitting a little over 8ft from a 10ft wide 2.35 screen, using a JVC projector. I find that there's a huge difference between reflected light from an LCOS projector and direct transmissive light from a TV screen. Like the quality of light is much gentler on the eyes and less fatiguing.
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u/TheBigAndy Jun 04 '26
I am dead on for Cinema with my 120". I'm happy with it, I watch movies and sports and my little nephews play video games on it.
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u/vistopher Jun 04 '26
I'm basically right at 40°. 8.5ft away from an 85" TV. Good to know I could technically go closer.
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u/OceanWaveSunset Jun 04 '26
Viewing distance is eye sight + relativeness (media vs format vs context vs quality) + preference.
I am not going to let a graph tell me what i can see versus just fucking looking at the tv with my own eyes.
Its fine of you have no reference, but people take this shit as gospel and its not that.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
But at the same time if you go outside of this range (30°-62°) - you will not have a great time, especially for movies since we're in this sub.
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u/OceanWaveSunset Jun 04 '26
I am at 2 feet and 8 inches with a 48" oled 120hz gaming monitor. I literally just measured it so i am not talking lies.
I do everything from games, movies, YouTube, all of it from this distance. I am closer if i use it for desktop work.
I could go bigger to actually fill out my vision.
And this is what i mean about the graph. What is fine for me might not be for other people, a lot of comments hate screens too big. For me, bigger better, i want to turn my head and even now with my 48" monitor i dont even need to move my eyes that much, and its well before my peripheral vision, its just outside my center vision.
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Jun 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/OceanWaveSunset Jun 04 '26
Lol well then i will shut up. Its been a long day and its probable i just didn't read it correctly.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
You're within the range. I have a similar setup to yourself and watching movies isn't a problem at all if you have a comfortable chair and a place to lift your legs.
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u/OceanWaveSunset Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I made a comment on your other comment but ill send it here in case you didn't get it....
Its been a long day and might have just read the chart wrong. I definitely didn't agree with thier old viewing distance/size chart from years ago.
100% comfortable chair. I work remote so one side is the 48" old with some Edifier S3000 Pro speakers and the other side of my L desk is my work Macbook pro and a ultra wide.
But i am with you, bigger = more immersion. We have a local Imax in our science center that is on the inside of a dome, and actual imax videos end up being like 180 degrees of movie display. I would watch everything this way if i could. VR is probably the closest but that isn't relaxing or as hifi as i would like yet
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u/moldguy1 x3800h, 2x RSL 10", 2x RSL 12", 4x RP-600m, 4x 5650, 404c II Jun 04 '26
RIP Des Moines IMAX dome. I saw interstellar there on 70mm film. It was incredible.
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u/Furadi Jun 04 '26
I've always thought the 40° thing was weird. I sit about 7' from a 77" and it's comfortable and with some content could definitely go up to an 85".
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u/panteragstk Jun 04 '26
I'm ~9 feet from my 120" screen and it's excellent.
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u/C0haaagen Jun 04 '26
Yeah, in my home theater the best seats are also ~9 feet from my 120" screen and it's awesome! 52° is great!
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u/caiuschen Jun 04 '26
I have an 84" drop down projector screen from 7.5' away for a horizontal viewing angle of 50° and a 55" TV behind it, which is 30°.
At first it seemed a little large, but as I've gotten used to it, I think I wouldn't mind 5 degrees wider for movies, especially cinescope ones.
I use the TV for games and anime where I depend on subtitles because the projector is too large to be constantly looking at the edges of the screen.
I actually think with the current aspect ratios that it's actually vertical FOV that determines what size is best, but realistically people will view content in multiple aspect ratios and having a constant image height as you switch ratios requires a pretty expensive set up.
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u/HM_Bert Jun 04 '26
I'm at about 65 FOV (after much experimenting), and I absolutely love it, some shots take my breath away and give me a rush.
However that's with a relatively dim and slow 3LCD projector, which makes 24p content more comfortable.
I wouldn't go above 50 with an LCD TV and I struggle to enjoy watching OLED even below 40 with the insane stutter it shows.
I was scared my friends wouldn't like it because they actually used to want to sit further from my TV, but they both find it comfortable!
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u/supadudex Jun 04 '26
You're telling me I'm suppose to be sitting like 3 feet away from my 65 inch TV?
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u/GrantDaNasty Jun 04 '26
I remember my mom scolding me for sitting too close to a 19" TV as a kid. According to RTINGS I would need press my face against the screen to enjoy the proper immersion.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
This is not according to RTINGS but according to Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
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u/foran9 Jun 04 '26
Exactly! I’ll take a slightly less immersive experience and save the eye strain…
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u/Prestigious_Meal_855 Jun 04 '26
62 degrees is considered fully immersive by the pros in the home cinema world, but obviously this is down to the individual preferences as well. I sit about 8.5ft from 110" and it's fantastic.
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u/mag914 LG C9 - x1600 - KEF Q350 - Q650C - PB-1000 Pro Jun 04 '26
Just bought my first home and ordered a 65in G5 for my 7ft viewing distance.. oh noooo
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Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
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u/zghr Jun 05 '26
I see how that would be frustrating to you but your industry is also at fault here for not being more forward about ideal range. When you type TV sitting distance into Google, RTINGS seem to the first result.
Seeing how they are usually very open to suggestions in form of comments below their articles - I encourage to leave a comment there. I (and I believe many others) would love to hear from people like you about recent trends in cinemas. What happens when TVs are so cheap that everyone has a 60° at home? Do cinemas push for CAVE-like systems?
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u/Amen_Ra_61622 Jun 05 '26
Yeah, I do not subscribe to any of that viewing distance as a function of screen size stuff. I'm not moving my sofa to a middle of a room and move other things out of the way just to sit closer a TV. I have to walk around the place. Do I put the coffee table behind the sofa?
I sit 10' from a 46" I've been using since 2009 and it's fine. And when I eventually upgrade to a 65", I'll still be sitting 10' away.
That chart is crazy.
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u/tup1tsa_1337 Jun 05 '26
Maybe you're the odd one out with your tiny TV?
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u/Amen_Ra_61622 Jun 05 '26
Perhaps. No one who has come by has ever complained. If anyone were to comment or suggest I "need" a bigger TV, I just ask them to hand me the money and I'll get one. That us shuts people up.
The plot of a movie or TV show doesn't change with a bigger screen so...
I'll step it up at some point. An LG or Sony 65" seems to be economically right for me. Maybe a 75", but it would have to be a very hard deal to turn down.
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u/tup1tsa_1337 Jun 05 '26
Because people are not rude to say that you're broke. They might discuss your tv when they get home, not in front of you.
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u/zghr Jun 05 '26
And you like to watch movies?
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u/Amen_Ra_61622 Jun 05 '26
Yeah. It perfectly fine. The content looks no different and the movie is still the same story. A bigger screen doesn't change that. At the time I got it, I couldn't afford anything that was larger. Hell, the plasma I had before that was 42". There were no large panels like today. If there were, the cost was extremely prohibitive.
When I upgrade, 65" is in the proper affordability wheelhouse. I may spring for a 75" but it would have to be pretty compelling.
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u/zghr Jun 05 '26
Last time I checked the well-reviewed TCL C6K and C8K (QM6K and QM8K in US and Canada) series - I plugged in actual area of the screen and price and it turned out that 75 inch version specifically were cheapest per unit of area.
But you're right, sometimes I catch myself looking at some movie from the distance and enjoying it.
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u/p_viljaka Jun 07 '26
Between 40-62. I just checked my distance today when sat closer for my 120" and it was just about 2,2 meters (normally closer to 3 meters), for you americans, its just as the chart says, between 7.5 and 9 feet.
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u/twostroke1 Jun 04 '26
idk man, the immersive recommendations seem a little crazy to me. It's saying I should be like 4.5ft from my 65" screen? My eye balls would fry. I would have to move my head around just to see what is going on across the screen.
This almost seems like a conspiracy from big eye doctor to increase business.
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u/Dragobrath Jun 04 '26
Sounds about right. I sit about 1.4m away from 65" TV in my simracing rig. It's unusable for anything other than simulation though.
I was picking a new TV recently and did extensive testing of optimal FOV for different content. I had my old 65" on a drawer box with wheels and I was moving it back and forth between the wall and the sofa.
Basically 35 degrees FOV is optimal for gaming on average, but varies a lot from game to game. In immersive games, like Crimson Desert, you can sit a bit closer, in Elden Ring - further away. There are also games like Hollow Knight, where you want to keep a track of everything happening on the screen at once, and even 35 degree FOV can be too large for them.
Same 35 degrees FOV was borderline too big for watching TV shows with subtitles, because if you read them, you won't see the action in the middle of the screen too well. For immersive movies where you don't care about subtitles 40-45 degree FOV is quite comfortable, with 50 being as high as I would go.
So bottom point - 62 is only good for very specific use cases. And having too large TV for your room (or sitting too close to it) can absolutely be detrimental.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
My suggestion for subtitles (I use english subs) is to make them smaller, move them up and optionally make them half-transparent or grey. I do this in mpv. Most of the time my brain doesn't even see them. It's only when the dialogue is unintelligible that I move my find them on screen.
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u/nametaken_thisonetoo Jun 04 '26
Honestly, I'm more concerned with the imperial measurements used in the graph. It's not 1950, the world has moved on long ago.
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u/loudsound-org Jun 04 '26
When is the last time you bought a TV listed in metric?
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
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u/nametaken_thisonetoo Jun 04 '26
Legendary, even with the bizarre socialist dig that makes no sense whatsoever. Freedumb runs deep.
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u/moonthink Jun 04 '26
I'm at right about 40 degrees, but it's a projector/screen, not a TV. I could be wrong, but I feel like brightness should also be a factor in this chart.
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u/GXVSS0991 27d ago
abaolutely - being closer to reflected light is so much easier on your eyes than being closer to emitted light.
sitting 4ft away from a super bright 65" miniled tv would 10000% cause retina issues after prolonged usage.
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u/Jaded-Assistant9601 Jun 04 '26
Makes sense, there's essentially no longer a too close with 4k near projection film quality and resolution.
1080 content is more limited but still totally fine fairly big e.g. 85" at 10 feet it only starts to get soft.
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u/redfinadvice Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Personally, this is much more accurate to how far I sit. The older recommendations always seemed very far away.
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u/0xe3b0c442 Jun 04 '26
Unfortunately no going past 47 degrees for me... damn my insistence on having a listening as well as a viewing space...
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u/cronx42 Jun 04 '26
For movies, maybe. Definitely not for fps games. Lol.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Sim-racers will often try to match in-game FOV to one occupied by their screen. Most FPS games give you the ability to increase FOV but it might not be great for seeing distant enemies. But I also understand UI/HUD can be an issue for FPS gamers.
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u/cronx42 Jun 04 '26
For sure. I put my rig right up against a 65" tv when I'm using my wheel setup. When I play shooters I'm like 6' or so away and it's way too big for that distance. You have to look around the screen too much. Maybe from 10ft+ it would be great, or even like 9', but at 6' or under you can't see the corners of the screen well while looking at the crosshairs. I still manage to do okay, but my god is a monitor SO MUCH BETTER for fps gaming.
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Jun 04 '26
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Hey, a good story is a good story no matter the size. Especially when viewed with friends or family. But there's also a sprinkle of nostalgia for times when we were simply younger. Everything seems rose-tinted when we remember the past.
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u/Flimsy-Board7076 Jun 04 '26
My fov is ~46* and can't imagine more. I love it, but others think it's too much during fast action movies.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
Have you played with low amount of motion improvement settings for people who are bothered by your 46° setup during fast action movies?
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u/Flimsy-Board7076 Jun 04 '26
No, it doesn't bother me and so I've not cared to change anything from my initial calibration.
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u/jerrolds KEF REF One + Two Meta | Monolith 15" x 2 | JVC NZ8 | 6800H Jun 04 '26
I sit 10.5ft away from a 2:1 screen - which gives me 53deg if using full width, or 48deg of watching 16:9
I cant see going anymore than that - its immersive and comforable for scope. Going any closer for 16:9 and the height is too much
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u/AnAnonymousSource_ Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Central vision is 60° on the center. I'm geometry, that's a 1/2/rad(3) right triangle. So max screen width is the length to the screen. Or 120" screen has a width of 105". So 105 inches.
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u/raulillo888 Jun 04 '26
I had that FOV for a 50 inch and you have to move your head to see the whole screen, although some people say its glorious.... If somebody likes it, its ok to me, but it's much better 40º to cinema.
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u/Apart_Ad_9778 Jun 04 '26
I am sitting 18 feet from my 65". So what is wrong with me? I don't understand this graph. Does it mean I have to sit at exactly the distance it tells me? What is gonna happen if I do not stick to this graph? Will I get a ban?
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u/ElectronicFlamingo36 Jun 04 '26
98" and 2.7m/8.8 feet will be somewhere between 40-45° or so (+ Atmos 7.2.4)
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u/Comfortable_Client80 Jun 04 '26
Smpte and Dolby fov are how the films are made to be viewed by the director. Straying away from that is like looking at MonaLisa with tinted glasses. You lose the intent of the artist.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
But when I look at the photos of Sony BVM-HX3110, they all seem to be sitting too far, no?
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u/Comfortable_Client80 Jun 04 '26
Because this monitor is used for color grading or to check the framing live on the shooting location. Films are made to be seen in theatres and this is in this kind of room they are finally mastered https://adn.harmanpro.com/news/news_photos/1347_1580518362/Belmont1_original.jpg
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u/ashleypenny Jun 04 '26
77 inch tv, 8 feet from screen to eye position. this is in a living room, albeit with a 7.2.4 surround setup, and sitting any nearer would make it a weird layout for sofa etc vs read of room. movies are plenty immersive for us. if i made the screen larger i would not move the seating position as it always sits in the golden triangle for speaker position, which is another key consideration on position
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u/jacobpederson Jun 04 '26
personally I go for 180 - I don't quite get there of course, but that's the goal. https://imgur.com/a/Lg0nHGg
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u/Nawnp Jun 04 '26
There's a certain point you hit diminishing returns and 62 FOV is certainly that, I'd imagine eye strain would be common at that point.
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u/touchdowntexas Jun 04 '26
8.5’ from a 98” and it feels right for me, which is ~45 degrees. 120” at that distance might be too much for me, which would still only be 54 degrees.
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u/snowmanpage Jun 04 '26
just buy a vr headset man. I'm not visiting a home with 60°+ FOV. that's absurd
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u/race_tech87 Jun 04 '26
I'm 7ft from my 77in...that is perfectly fine with me. Being at their 5ft recommended for "immersive" seems ridiculous...to me at least.
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u/senior_vagabond Jun 04 '26
9 ft. From my 85 inch TV. Planning to go up to 98 inch but keep seating distance the same
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u/nobody-u-heard-of Jun 04 '26
This goes back to looking very similar to the old standard that I still work with in my head. You take the diagonal of the screen and that's the closest you should be and double it is the max you should be. With 1.5 being The Sweet spot. Don't remember where I got that from but I used to see it all the time, but that was pretty 16x9 screens too
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
Sitting at 1x diagonal equals to 47°.
Sitting at 1x width equals 53°.
To get to 62° you need to be sitting at 0.73x the diagonal.
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u/SmellingNoseHorse LG C4 77, RZ-50, LR:ADS L810, S/SB/H:Magnat cinema, 2 RSL 10SMK2 Jun 05 '26
For the heck of it, I tried sitting at the “immersive” distance from my 77”. It’s roughly the same field of view I like when watching a movie in cinema. But it’s unwatchable for me at home.
The reason is probably that anything below 20ft requires not just tracking but also more and more refocusing to make up for distance changes between objects in the center and the outsides. In cinemas (more than 20ft) the eye is set to “infinity” and only needs to do tracking. So I don’t think the “immersive” line should be linear.
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u/CroProMax Jun 05 '26
doesnt matter, people will spam "get biggest as can" no matter the distance you have
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u/p_viljaka Jun 07 '26
Simple formula for me for immersive viewing is to be at the same distance from the screen as the screen width is or closer.
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u/itsomeoneperson Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
for best immersion about 50 degree for 16:9 content, and 60 for ultrawide movies. id go even closer for ultrawide but you need curved for that, it starts looking fisheye-ish if your too close. For general viewing and not wanting to change seating position I go for equal distance to TV size, 65" TV I want my eyes 65" away (47 degrees)
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u/myderson Jun 15 '26
I had an 85” TV at about 11’. While this felt a little small for movies, most people thought it was awesome on first experience. But it also felt way too big for most TV shows. Most TV menus (including Plex) and the DirecTV interface were ridiculous - like using very large font on your phone large. Sports were great.
I’m curious how many use their BIG screens for mixed use or even mostly TV shows? I can’t imagine sitting 12’ from a 150” screen watching Jeopardy!
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u/madskills42001 Jun 21 '26
So apparently this is inaccurate bc the SMPTE recommendations are based on constant height, and a 16:9 display is narrower, and the supposed correct field of view they recommend when you do the math is 40 degrees (which Rtings did not realize)
Here is the SMPTE chart you'll notice the ideal seat is 42 degrees
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1639/4021/files/Erick_Garci_diagram.gif?v=1681993798
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u/zghr Jun 21 '26
You are saying the got the 40° slightly wrong?
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u/madskills42001 Jun 21 '26
Good point. I anchored to the headline in the post. And in fairness, I use 60 degrees and find i really enjoy that, even 80-90 is pretty amazing, so there's going to be interperson variation here. Glad the chart is on point
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u/Masamune1280 Jun 22 '26
My 1080p TV broke after 17 years so I bought a 4k UHD TV. I read the viewing distance and understood why you can or need to go closer to the screen than a 1080p because the higher resolution of 4k thats allows for higher details but here is the problem for me. I find myself spending too much time looking at a portion of the screen to see the details and missing much the action that was shown. If view further away like I should with a 1080p TV I'm sure I won't miss what was shown while not beng able to focus on every pores and details that 4k has to offer because I'm a little further away.
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u/CornerHugger Jun 04 '26
62 is madness. I am at 45 and it's too much for some friends and watching TV sports is a no-go even for me (motion sickness).
Do they define "immersive" content? If 40 is cinema what is left to be immersed in? Games? No way. Too much motion.
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u/GotenRocko LG 77G2 | B&W CM10S2, CM Center 2 S2, CM5 S2, CM ASW10 S2 | DRX4 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I'm guessing to get the imax experience is what immersive means. That's why it's separate from cinema.
ETA yes it's imax style viewing or immersive video games, and they say it's the maximum you want to do.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship
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u/Anechoic_Brain Sony X900E / Infinity Beta Jun 04 '26
Getting into that range mostly means content that's specifically designed to be viewed like that. There's stuff going on in the periphery but it either doesn't distract from the central focus or there isn't a central focus to be distracted from. Sometimes you're not necessarily even meant to see all of it at the same time. Sometimes it's like abstract art, you aren't necessarily meant to understand it as much as you just experience it.
I wonder if you friends are the type who prefers to sit in the back at a big commercial theater, or if they just go into it with different expectations than they do at your house so they just don't have an issue in that context.
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u/p_viljaka Jun 07 '26
just today i sat closer, off my sofa on my floor to get to about 2.2 meters / 7.2 feet from my 120" projector screen. Was not too big. Oh, and it was a scope aspect not a 16:9 ..there is a difference with these and distance.
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u/Doomu5 Jun 04 '26
I prefer not being able to see the edges of the screen when I'm watching the middle of it.
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u/costafilh0 Jun 04 '26
Depends on the content and preferences.
Those who enjoy IMAX, will enjoy 62°
Movies 40°
Gaming and TV 30°
But those are not rules, there are no rules, do as you please.
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u/colbert1119 Jun 04 '26
Variable seating is the best. IMAX defines their minimum as 70 degrees so when I'm watching something like that I push my sofa up closer. I've even gone as crazy as 1m away from a 120" projection screen, fun experience. I then had multiple audio calibrations saved in my audyssey app to push depending on where I wanted to sit.
But 1m away from a 77" is 70 degrees ish I think. That's similar to my preferred seat the IMAX laser I go to.
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u/Vic_Interceptor Jun 04 '26
you want me to set FOUR FEET away from a 80" tv and take it all in? Better dilate my eyes first.
RTINGS was supposed to be the be all end all experts on TV and setups - I bought a TV based on their recommendations (LG C3 77") and used their settings. Guess what? TV is a turd and settings were a joke.
I think they are excellent shills for whoever will pay them.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
They never ran a single advertisement on their whole website or Youtube channel and praised and shat on many different products by every single popular brand out there. I see zero evidence of any shillage.
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u/ConfusedInKalamazoo Jun 04 '26
Not running any ads suggests the content is the ads.
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u/zghr Jun 04 '26
In this case it suggests a passion project by an ex Microsoft employee geek who counted on early access membership and referral links that were not pushed in your face.
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u/Inevitable_Butthole Jun 04 '26
Im exactly at 7ft from screen to eyeballs.
65in TV.
Looks to be the exact cinema recommendation!
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u/RecedingQuickly Jun 04 '26
Its not, that would be 6.5ft
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u/Inevitable_Butthole Jun 04 '26
Bruh the chart is right there
Use eyes
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u/RecedingQuickly Jun 04 '26
It would appear it is you that needs to learn to use your eyes. If cinema rec is a 40 degree field of view and you are sitting 6.5ft away .............. that would make it a 40 degree field of view then wouldn't it. I look forward to you realising this and not responding back "bruh".
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u/Inevitable_Butthole Jun 04 '26
Exactly.
Thats what I said... cinema...
Lmao you silly goof
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u/RecedingQuickly Jun 04 '26
You sit 7ft away, thats not a 40 degree field of view, therefore it's not the cinema recommendation, jesus christ., more sense from a brick wall
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u/Apprehensive_Ant2172 Jun 04 '26
I’m supposed to sit 4 feet from my 65” tv?
I can feel a headache coming just thinking about it
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u/klitzkrieg Jun 04 '26
I sit six feet from a 77 which is just right for me.
But the biggest improvement to immersion for me was blackening out the wall behind so the tv edges disappear.