{
  "tool": "tv-height-distance",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "inputs": {
    "screen_size_in": 55,
    "seat_distance_cm": 270,
    "eye_height_cm": 105,
    "above_fireplace": "no",
    "mantel_height_cm": 120
  },
  "answer": {
    "centre_height_cm": 105,
    "bottom_edge_cm": 70.8,
    "top_edge_cm": 139.2,
    "screen_width_cm": 121.8,
    "screen_height_cm": 68.5,
    "look_up_deg": 7.2,
    "look_down_deg": 7.2,
    "within_limit": true,
    "limit_deg": 15,
    "seat_for_limit_cm": 127.8,
    "seat_range_cm": [
      167.3,
      227.2
    ],
    "thx_farthest_cm": 244.2,
    "view_angle_deg": 25.4,
    "size_for_seat": {
      "smpte_in": 65.4,
      "thx_in": 88.8
    },
    "study_seat_cm": 280.4
  },
  "summary": "Put the centre of a 55-inch screen 105 cm from the floor, at your seated eye height (bottom edge 71 cm, top edge 139 cm), and sit 167–227 cm from it (THX 40° to SMPTE 30°).",
  "working": [
    "A 55-inch 16:9 screen is 122 cm wide and 68 cm tall.",
    "Centre at your seated eye height: 105 cm.",
    "From 270 cm you look up 7° to the top edge; the limit is 15°.",
    "Seat distance: the screen fills 40° (THX) at 167 cm and 30° (SMPTE) at 227 cm."
  ],
  "notes": [
    "In one lab study people chose to sit about 280 cm from a screen this size, further back than the industry figures."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Wikipedia, Optimum HDTV viewing distance (SMPTE 30, ×1.6264 for 16:9)",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_distance",
      "checked": "2026-10-31"
    },
    {
      "label": "Acoustic Frontiers, Home theater viewing angles, distances and sightlines (CEDIA, 15°)",
      "url": "https://acousticfrontiers.com/blogs/Articles/Home-theater-viewing-angles-distances-and-sightlines",
      "checked": "2026-10-31"
    },
    {
      "label": "Audioholics, How to find the right size TV",
      "url": "https://www.audioholics.com/hdtv-formats/how-to-find-the-right-size-tv",
      "checked": "2026-10-15"
    },
    {
      "label": "Journal of the ITE of Japan 65 (2011), preferred viewing distance of HD LCD TVs",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3169/itej.65.1215",
      "checked": "2026-10-24"
    }
  ],
  "page_url": "https://snuug.app/tools/tv-height-distance",
  "snuug": "Snuug is an iPhone app that rebuilds your room in 3D, to within about 3% of its real size, so you can redesign it and see what fits before you buy a thing. Not yet on the App Store (31 October 2026)."
}