Is A Larger Screen or TV Always Better?

A common question I often read is, “Is a larger screen or TV always better?” Like many things with AV, it depends! The traditional answer is that bigger is always better for TVs. Or, “I’ve never heard anyone say they wish they got a smaller TV!” Does this mean that a larger screen is the obvious winner? Maybe not. Let’s discuss.

First Things First – Your Preferences

Let’s look at a few things before I (maybe) tell you to get the biggest TV/screen that your room (or budget) can accommodate.

FOV

FOV or field of view describes the amount of your vision filled by your display. The larger your screen and the closer you sit, the larger your FOV will be. FOV is usually a personal preference and can be calculated on this site. I sit 6 feet away from a 65″ screen, so my preferred FOV is about 45 degrees.

That FOV could be too much for others, and they prefer less. Whatever you like, the standard FOV viewing range (as calculated by SMPTE or IMAX) is 26-30 degrees.

How and What Type of Media You View

A lot of what type of screen/setup I will recommend depends on how you like to watch your media. Are you a lights-on kind of person? Or do you sit in the dark?

I am somewhere in between, and it depends on what I am doing, and who I do it with. For movies, I am a lights-off person. I want my OLED to look as good as it can for HDR. Video games? I like some light, but I am typically dimmed to around 30%. Sports? Full on, with lights on max and the room super bright. TV? A mix of all three – full dark/light or dimmed!

These choices help me determine what type of panel/projector/screen you should get. So far, when I ask, “Is a larger screen or TV always better?”, it’s still a big maybe.

Secondly – Your Room

How Far Away Do You Sit?

FOV is linked directly to viewing distance. As I said, I sit six feet from a 65″ screen with a 45-degree FOV. That FOV is well above the standard, so I don’t need to get a 160″ projector screen for my space. But could I go bigger than 65″?

That all depends on how much you want to move your head. At 65″, I don’t need to move my head or eyes to get the entire picture in. At 75″, I might find my eyes or head moving side-to-side, which might make me a bit nauseous (one of the symptoms of eye fatigue).

However, as soon as you move the eyes-to-screen distance distance further back, you need to start looking at larger screens. Once you hit about 13′ away, it’s time to look at 100″ LED or projector screens!

Is Your Room Light Controlled?

The first question I ask before recommending a projector is how much light the room gets. Projectors, relatively speaking, don’t get near as bright as an LED/OLED TV. Add any amount of ambient light to the room, and they get even more dim.

If you can’t nearly black-out your space (and paint the walls dark colors), a projector with large screen are not in the cards for you. In order for a projector to get decent contrast and black levels, you need to be sitting almost in the dark, with maybe a bit of bias lighting.

Sure, we can get ambient light-rejecting screens. However, those get expensive, and if you have a very bright room, it won’t be able to tame all that light AND make the picture look good.

Lastly – How Deep Are Your Pockets?

It’s pretty easy for me to tell you to get the latest 4K projector and 160″ screen, or an 88″ OLED. However, if you don’t have the budget for that, what should you do? If you read any of the forums, you will quickly learn that there are NO compromises and you can only get what the hive-mind approves of. Or you could use some common sense.

Home theater is a hobby. No one important to you will care that you can’t afford the best TV. I can bet that your spouse or kids won’t even notice much of a difference. We are the ones who agonize and obsess. The key is to try and balance budget, performance, and your preferences.

How To Bring It All Together?

I realize I threw a bunch of stuff at you, and now you are confused. Have no fear, it’s not as complicated as you think. All you need to do is look at all the factors we discussed and eliminate the choices that won’t work for your space.

For example, if you sit less than 10′ from your screen, are not in a light-controlled room, and watch most of your content with the lights on, rule out the projector and big screen. You simply don’t need it as it will be too big for your space and won’t give you the image quality you desire. You are in the land of the large OLED/LED. Heck, the closer you get, the smaller the TV needs to be!

But if you are more than 15′ from your screen, and like a 30-degree FOV? You are looking at a 120″ screen and are in projector land! Going back further? You better have some deep pockets because you need a big screen and projector with some big light output!

As you can see, it’s about eliminating the obvious and dialing in based on all the other factors. Often, you make compromises! For example, I wanted a 77″ OLED because I sat about 8 feet from my screen. My budget allowed for a 65″ OLED or an 80″ LED TV. What did I do? I moved my sofa a bit closer, got an articulated mount, brought my TV two feet closer, and got the 65″ OLED.

Our Take

As you can see, choosing the right size TV for your space is not rocket surgery! The advice to get the biggest screen you can (or maybe can’t) afford is silly, especially if a) you don’t need it, b) you don’t have the proper room for it, and c) you can’t afford it.

The best course of action is always a methodical one. Take it slowly, think it out to the end, and look at all the options. In the end, you will have picked the best choice for your room and avoid the dreaded buyers remorse.