There are only two questions that decide whether a TV is comfortable to watch: how high it sits, and how far away you are. We have covered the height. This is the distance, the gap between your sofa and the screen, and getting it roughly right is the difference between a picture that pulls you in and one that feels like work.
The simple rule of thumb
For a natural, comfortable view, sit somewhere between about one and a half and two and a half times the screen's diagonal away from it. In plain numbers, a 55-inch TV is happy at roughly two to three and a half metres, a 65-inch a little more. Sit toward the closer end and the picture fills more of your vision and feels cinematic, which suits sharp modern 4K screens. Sit toward the far end and it feels calmer and easier on the eyes over a long evening. Neither is wrong. It is a preference, not a law.
Measure what you actually have
Before you shop for a screen size, measure the real distance from where you sit to where the TV will go. Stand at the wall, run a tape to the front of your sofa, and write the number down. That distance is fixed by your room; the screen size is the part you get to choose to suit it. Most people do it backwards, buy the biggest TV they can and then sit too close to it in a small room, which is how you end up aware of every pixel instead of the film.
Match the screen to the distance, not the other way round
Work from your measurement. A short distance, a snug flat or a bedroom, is comfortable with a smaller screen; a long living room can carry a large one easily. As a rough guide, around two and a half metres suits a screen in the mid-50s of inches, while three metres and up is comfortable with a 65 and beyond. Our stands hold TVs from 42 to 75 inches, which covers the range most rooms actually want once you have measured honestly.
Distance and height work together
Distance decides how much of your vision the screen fills; height decides whether your neck is comfortable while it does. They are a pair. A screen at a good distance but mounted too high still leaves you tipping your head back all evening. This is the other half of the argument for a low stand: it keeps the centre of the screen near your seated eye level at whatever distance your room sets, so the two agree instead of fighting.
The short version
Measure the gap first. Pick a screen that suits it, erring a little larger for a long room and a little smaller for a short one. Set it low so it sits at eye level. Then stop measuring and watch something.
