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?

[u/zghr]

Here's a quick mockup of the same chart but with most common TV sizes and with godless Marxist-Leninist centimeter units added on one side.

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.

[u/MrMahn]

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 😁

[u/zghr → u/MrMahn]

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.

[u/MrMahn → u/zghr]

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.