viewing-distance

Optimal Viewing Distance for a 4K TV: 2026 Size-by-Size Guide

Optimal Viewing Distance for a 4K TV: 2026 Size-by-Size Guide The optimal viewing distance for a 4K TV is about 1.2 times the screen's diagonal, or roughly 1.37 times its width — close enough that the screen fills a 40-degree field of view. For a 65-inch 4K TV that works out to about 6 feet 6 inches; for a 55-inch it is about 5 feet 6 inches. Plug your own screen's diagonal and resolution into our Screen Size Calculator(/tools/screen-size-calculator) to confirm the physical width these distances are built on. I have helped readers lay out dozens of living rooms, and the same mistake repeats: people buy a 4K TV, then sit so far back that they could not tell it apart from a 1080p set. One reader mounted a 65-inch OLED 12 feet from the couch in a long room and asked why the picture looked "soft." At 12 feet...