Standard TV - DVD - blu-ray - HD - 4K compared
& Home theater setup charts

You won't see much difference on most computers because monitors are usually much less than 4096 pixels in width. Smaller monitors just compress the image test below. You need to either have a really big monitor, or be able to stretch the browser across multiple monitors to see any improvement with the 4K image on the right side.

With my reading glasses on, I stop seeing any difference at about 7 feet away from my computer monitor which is 20" diagonal (just under 16" in width). The images below are 1600 pixels wide and my monitor does 100 pixels an inch which would make the full 4K screen size (4096 pixels). So my computer monitor imitates to a 41 inch wide TV which has a diagonal of 47 inches.

The closest 4K TV, currently for sale, is 49 inches diagonal. So it seems that, for me, being further away than about 7 to 8 feet from a 49 inch 4K looks pretty much the same as just straight HD. (This is actually a little better than average. There is a more detailed test below the images that can show you exactly how you measure up with visual acuity.)

All new TV's around 47 inches size are automatically 4K now. But it's still interesting to note that in order to justify paying anything extra in cable download or more money to watch a movie in 4K on a 49 inch screen, I would need to sit closer than 8 feet to notice any difference.

Test it yourself. Set your screen resolution to 1600 width. Make the browser full screen. Place all or part of the image test pairs, below, on a computer screen and walk back, away from the screen to where you can't see the difference between the pictures anymore. How many feet away is your visual acuity point? If your computer monitor is 20" diagonal at 1600 pixel width, then you computer monitor is imitating a 47 inch diagonal monitor.

If you want to run this test on a different sized computer monitor, use the tables below these three comparison images, below.

4K projectors are available. A 2600 lumens or greater, projector can make a reasonable 100 inch diagonal screen in a darkened room. The chart below shows viewers sitting closer than the distance in the left column will appreciate a 4K projector, but viewers sitting further back will hardly be able to see a difference from a similar, HD projector.

If you are setting up an home theater with a projector, the closest seat distance is usually set to about 8 feet. Rows separation in movie theaters are 3 to 3 1/2 feet. We will use 3' 6" in our row comparisons below.

For example: Using the below chart - Your screen diagonal is 10 foot, then distance in feet show: 4K details are easily seen for the first row at 8', the second row at 11' 6" and the third row at 15' will be right on the edge of seeing more detail in 4K compared to just watching the same program with an HD projector.

For those planning to use a 4K projector of 2600 lumens or higher, here are the distance limits where a viewer can appreciate the 4K. Viewers sitting further away will hardly notice a difference with an HD projector.

Another example: If you use a 12 foot diagonal screen, a 4K projector and 6 rows. Look up 12' in the right column and the Distance and Row shows 18' 10" (4th row). Rows 1 to 4 will easily see the 4K details, and rows 5 and 6 would see about the same details if the projector was HD instead. In this case, all 6 rows would have a good experience. But, if you wanted the last row to be able to appreciate 4K details, your screen would need to be 16' diagonal and have a bright enough projector to provide good lumens brightness. (Lumens math is not covered here. See Projector Central Guide for projector brightness in Lumens.)

True movie theaters viewing angles

The chart below shows that actual horizontal (width) viewing angles in a movie theater are quite large and it would be very expensive to match real movie theaters for the first 15 rows.

For example: If you want to match the experience of a large theater, 15 rows back and your chair, at home, is 8 feet from the screen, you need a screen width angle coverage of 46 to 50 degrees. Look at 8 on the X axis, at the bottom of the chart and follow that vertical line up to View angle values 46 to 50 on the Y axis. The TV screen sizes that from about 42 to 45 degrees are 82, 85, 86, 88 and 90. You have to go to 100 inch to get about 49 degrees. Check the rows back info text in the chart to find that this experience; a seat 8 feet away from a large TV screen 82 to 90" duplicates the movie going experience of 10 rows in a medium theater or 15 rows back in a large theater.

Another example: Say you want to have the movie going experience of 15 rows back in a Medium theater. This is 36 degrees. Your home viewing distance is 12 feet. Take the bottom line 12, follow up to around 36 and only the 100 inch TV will fit this setup and match the experience of sitting 15 rows back.

Measure the width of your TV screen (not the diagonal measurement) and the distance from your eyes, from where you sit, to the screen. Enter these measurements in the two boxes below, to get your angle of view. Click on each box to see up and down arrows. The view angle to be THX certified must be between 26° to 40°. Most home theater custom designers recommend 30°.

We are using the width of the monitor instead of the screen size, because there are many TV's formats and even more computer monitor formats. The screen width is what defines the angle of view. The result, in the rose colored box below, includes the Widescreen diagonal TV sizes, as they are sold, for each entered screen width.

What is your favorite angle of view?

This angle is good to know. You can use it to decide what TV to buy, based on how far your favorite chair is from the screen.

When you run this test, try to be true to your real preference of what you find comfortable. I noticed I get a larger preferred angle of view, early in the day and a smaller preference in a darkened room in the evening. You may wish to run the test a few times on different times of day. Once you buy the TV, it's a big expense to change it.

1. Sit in a darkened room. Open a youtube movie preview
   
   
   and click the full screen player icon.
   
       I picked an extreme wide, action movie trailer, which does not have the same height as a normal widescreen TV program, because people usually like sitting a little closer when the movie has less height. Testing with this trailer should make sure you get the screen size you want for big action movies, with this extreme wide view.
   
       If you want to also test with a 16:9 normal widescreen, use this other action video example.
   
   
2. Lean back to where it's comfortable to view.
3. Measure the width of your monitor and the distance from your eyes to the monitor.
4. Enter these numbers below to get your favorite angle of view in the rose colored box.
   
       For Example: My computer screen is 20 inches wide (left to right) and when I played back the movie trailer, full screen. I found I liked watching, where my eyes were 32 inches away. Entering those values, 20 and 32 into the blue and yellow boxes below, you get 34.7° 'angle of view' in the rose colored box.
5. Say the distance from your movie chair to where you are going to put the TV is 120 inches (10 feet). Put 120 into the yellow box, replacing the 32. That changes the angle of view to a very small 9.5°. That's OK. This just shows what the computer monitor would look like if it was 120 inches away.
6. Now, you need to find what value in the blue box will bring you back to your preferred angle of view. So, increase the 'Width of TV screen', upwards, until you get close to 34.7° angle of view.
7. In this example it takes 75" 'Width of TV screen' to bring back the 34.7° angle of view and when you do that it shows it takes an 85.9" Widescreen TV to match that angle from 120 inches.
8. Checking the 'TV Screen size (diagonal' chart below, you can see that an 85" 'Screen size' has a 74.5" 'Screen width'. So, to get the closest, preferred look from a chair 120 inches (10 feet back), you would need to buy an 85" (diagonal) TV screen.

The general accepted Home theater viewing angles are set to about 20 rows back in a medium movie theater. An important factor in choosing a TV is, how big should you go for your viewing space. THX suggests viewing angles from 26 to 40 degrees. SMPTE standard ST 195:2000 recommends a minimum viewing angle of 30 degrees for movie theaters.

Home theater viewing angles: Find the distance from the closest seat to the screen in your viewing room and then use the chart below.

In the photography world, a portrait lens that covers 22 width by 15 degrees height, is the standard that photographers consider as the most comfortable angle of view, when they take a portrait photograph. This is 8 degrees less than the suggested home theater experience from the retail market. By this photography standard, a smaller view angle of 22 degrees is also comfortable viewing.

The chart below shows the same info with the X Axis showing TV Screen sizes and the Y Axis still showing View Angle. High up in the chart is the larger view angle. The distance is charted with lines.

For example: The middle orange line (11 foot distance) shows that you come into the recommended THX viewing angle of 26 degrees when you view a 70" screen. An 80" screen is the recommended SMPTE 30 degree view angel and even a 100" screen still is within the maximum view angle for THX at 36 degrees.

Another nice chart to have is to convert the distance in your viewing room to approximate row in a mid-size movie theater. If you know you like to sit in the 10th row, then these charts are for you. Let's see an example first, then the same chart without the example arrows.