How Far Away To Sit From A 50-inch TV? [Ideal Distance]

Sitting at an optimal viewing distance from your TV is critical for getting perfect picture quality and comfortable viewing experience.

If you are looking to buy a new 50-inch TV, you should know the viewing distance for it to decide whether it is an appropriate screen size for your room or not.  

In this guide, you will learn optimal 50-inch TV Viewing Distance range for:

1- 1080P, 4k & 8K Resolutions

2- Distance for various levels of immersions

3- Distance for PC & console gaming

Let’s go to your question now!

How Far Away Should You Sit From A 50-inch TV?  

Since 55-inch TV viewing distance depends on resolution, so we have a dedicated section for each resolution.

50-Inch TV Viewing Distance for 4k Resolution

You should sit about 3.35 feet to 7 feet away from your 50-inch 4k UHD TV to get the full advantage of resolution and for a comfortable viewing experience. For an immersive cinema-like movie experience you can sit between 4.38 feet to 5 feet away. The closer you are, the more immersive theatre-like experience you can achieve. You can sit further closer for PC gaming.

You can also choose to sit anywhere based on your personal preference within the viewing distance range. But the 7 feet distance is more for casual use, you won’t get the immersion or presence as you can get when you sit closer.

50-Inch 4K TV	Recommended By	Viewing Distance
Minimum Distance  (Recommended for PC Gaming)	Sony (1.5 Picture Height) (Based on 60 PPD)	3.25 ft (1 m)
Distance for immersive Console Gaming & Theatre-like Experience	20th Century Fox Cinema (Based on 45 Field of View)	4.38 ft (1.33 m)
Distance for immersive Cinema-like movie experience	Samsung & THX (40 Degree field of view)	5 ft (1.52 m)
Max Viewing Distance for Cinematic experience	THX (36 Field of View)	5.59 ft (1.7 m)
Distance for Casual Usage	SMPTE ( 30 Degree Field of View)	7.0 ft (2.13 m)

50-Inch TV Viewing Distance for 1080p Resolution

You should sit around 6.5 ft or 7.87 ft away from your 50-inch 1080p HD TV to get perfect image quality and viewing experience. 

You might have noticed that you can sit closer to 4K TV but not to 1080P TV. This is because 1080P TV has less pixel per inches.

50-Inch 1080p HD TV	Recommended By	Viewing Distance
Minimum Distance  (Immersive movies, gaming)	Based on  60 PPD	6.5 ft (1.98 m)
Distance for Casual Usage	SMPTE ( 30 Degree Field of View)	7.0 ft (2.13 m)

50-Inch TV Viewing Distance for 8K Resolution

You should sit around 2.6 feet to 7 feet away from your 50-inch 8K TV to get the best viewing experience. The advantage of 8K TVs is that you can see even the tiniest details and you can sit closer to the TV than 4K.

So, 8K TVs can become great monitors for PC gaming as well.

65-Inch 8K TV	Recommended By	Viewing Distance
Minimum Distance (Recommended for PC Gaming)	Based on 70 field of view & 60 PPD)	2.6 ft (0.79  m)
Distance for immersive Console Gaming	20th Century Fox Cinema(Based on 45 Field of View)	4.38 ft (1.33 m)
Distance for immersive gaming & Cinema	Samsung & THX (40 Degree field of view)	5 ft (1.52 m)
Max Viewing Distance for Cinema	THX (36 Field of View)	5.59 ft (1.7 m)

Related: 55-inch TV Viewing Distance

Related: 65-Inch TV Viewing Distance

Science Behind Viewing Distance

Human system has certain visual limitations. We have a horizontal field of view of around 180 degree and resolving power of 1 arc minute or 60 pixels per degree (60 PPD) for a healthy eye with 20/20 visual acuity.

Both of these factors vary with distance from the screen, therefore maintaining an optimal viewing distance becomes critical. 

Let’s understand these concepts.

1- How Resolving Power of the Human Eye Relates to Viewing Distance?

Human eye has the resolving power of 1 arc per minute or 60 pixels per degree. This is the maximum detail our eyes can see in the display. 

Now here’s the catch.

If you go closer to the screen, you get fewer pixels per degree. Thus at a point you can see the individual pixels and lines between them. This results in a screen door effect. And if the resolution is too low objects can look pixelated.

 While if you go away from the screen, you get more details than the 60 pixels per degree. As a result, your eyes can’t resolve the extra details and it is like you are not taking full advantage of the screen resolution.  

2- How  Field of View Relate to Viewing Distance?

Our total vision consists of around 135 degree of vertical and 180 degree of horizontal field of vision. For TVs, the horizontal field of view is important. 

The field of view is also dependent on the distance from the screen or any object for that sake.

Closer you get to the object, more of your field of vision is taken up by the screen or object. In other words, you will feel immersed in the TV screen. But if 70 degrees of your field of vision is taken up by the screen, you can’t see another corner of the screen without moving your head. 

And away from the TV you are, a lesser part of your vision is taken up by the TV screen. So away from your TV you are, the less immersive it gets and more details you lose.  

Many Cinema Standard and Certification Organizations like THX, NHK and SMPTE did their research to know what is the right angle of vision for watching movies in theater.

 Their recommendations for maximum and minimum angle of vision are very helpful in determining the viewing distance for the best movie experience.

 Let’s have a look at the table. 

Organization Name	Recommended Angle
Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Known as NHK)	30 Degree field of view
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)	30 Degree field of view
THX	36 Degree field of view
Samsung & Rtings	40 Degree field of view
20Th Century Fox Cinema	45 Degree field of view

1-  What is the Minimum Viewing Distance for 50-Inch TV?

To determine the minimum viewing distance from a 50-inch TV, we took into consideration 3 important points. 

1. Screen Door Effect (We should not get pixelated screen or see individual pixels) 
2. Retinal Resolution   ( We should take full advantage of resolution i.e. 60 PPD) 
3. Field of View Too Wide ( We should not have to move our head or eyes to see the TV)

1- Screen Door Effect & Retinal Resolution

#1 criteria for minimum viewing distance is that it should avoid screen door effect. The screen door effect means when you can see individual pixels. It occurs at a distance where our eyes get 30 PPD. 

The closer you are to the Tv SCREEN, the fewer PPD you get. Because the closer we are to the TV, the larger the angle of field of view. 

#2 criteria for minimum viewing distance is we should get full advantage of the resolution. Since our eyes can only see 60 pixels per degree detail. When your eyes get 60 PDD, it is called Retinal resolution. 

If at a certain viewing distance our eyes get 60 PPD, it means our eyes can see the full detail a TV display has to offer. 

But the PPD depends on two factors: 

1- Pixel Per Inch  (Resolution)

2- Distance  from the screen

With high resolution TV (4K) pixels per inch are more than a low resolution TV (1080p). This is the reason at any distance from the TV a high resolution TV gives more PPD. 

Let’s have a look at the PPI table for different resolutions of 50-inch TVs.

Screen Size	Resolution	Pixel Per Inch (PPI)
50-Inches	1080p (HD)	44 PPI
50-Inches	4K (UHD)	88 PPI
50-Inches	8K	176 PPI

Let’s see how PPD varies with viewing distance.

Since PPD means number of pixels per degree of field of view taken up by the screen.

i.e Number of Pixels/ Degree of field of view

Since the degree of field of view depends on the viewing distance. So, PPD also varies with the distance from the screen. 

Closer you are to the screen, larger is the field of view angles and smaller is the PPD value. For instance, when you are 

Farther you are to the screen, smaller is the angle of vision taken up by the TV and larger is the PPD value. For instance, when you are

50-Inch TV	Screen Door Effect	Viewing Distance
1080p (HD)	60 PPD	6.5 ft (1.98 m)
4k (UHD)	60 PPD	3.25 ft (1 m)
8K	60 PPD	1.63 ft (0.49)

2-WHy Too Wide field of View Determines Minimum Viewing Distance

If you have to move your head and eyes to look at various parts of the screen, this field of view will be considered wide. This occurs when you are watching the TV from a very close distance. 

We recommend that the 70 degree field of view is too wide . If you go further closer to the TV, you won’t be able to see the other side of the screen without moving your head. 

Since field of vision is related to screen size only and does not vary with resolution, so it will remain same for 50-inch TVs

50-Inch TV	Screen Door Effect	Viewing Distance
1080p (HD)	70 Degree field of view	2.6 ft
4k (UHD)	70 Degree field of view	2.6 ft
8K	70 Degree field of view	2.6 ft

2-Optimal Viewing Distance for Gaming

Gamers are used to sitting closer to the screen. That’s why the field of view of most PC games are 100-110. But for console games, the field of view of games is around 60 degrees or more. 

This means to get a lifelike view, your field of view must be less than 60 degrees. Because if your field of view is also 60 degree and the game is also based on 60 degree field of view, it will become a tunnel vision problem. Tunnel vision problems occur when you can’t make use of your peripheral vision.

Therefore, we think for console gaming you should sit at a distance where your 45 degree of field of view is taken by screen. This way not only you will sit closer to the TV but also avoid tunnel vision problems.

But if you are using your TV as a monitor, you can sit further closer to the minimum distance. 

3-40 Degree FOV for Immersive Cinema 

THX, Samsung and rtings recommend 40 degree FOV distance for an immersive gaming experience. For a 50-inch TV it is around 5 ft.

4-36 Degree Field of for Cinema

THX requires at least 36 degree FOV distance for optimal picture quality and good viewing experience. According to THX, a lesser FOV than this will be  a compromise.  

5- 30 Degree FOV for Mixed Usage

SMPTE is the most trusted name when it comes to motion industry and cinema certifications. They recommend a 30 degree field of view distance for a great viewing experience for TV. NHK Japan also recommends the same viewing distance for HDTV. 

Is the 50-inch TV screen too big?

No, a 50-inch TV screen is not too big. In fact, it is a normal TV size keeping in mind the large TV trends and normal room size. A 50-inch TV is good for room size of 12x 12 because it is around  43.6 inches high and 24.5 inches wide and It requires a max viewing distance of 7 feet.

So, it is not too big for your bedroom as well. 

Since now you know 55-inch TV dimensions and viewing distance, you can easily judge whether your room size and layout allows you to keep a 55-inch TV and maintain ideal viewing distance.

You can also go for a big screen if you have no space and budget constraints. Because, as per research, small TV size is the # 1 reason people buy new TVs.