How To Set Up Your TV Right

Nov 1, 2025

I know two secrets that made my TV setup dramatically better. I'll let you in on this knowledge so you can start enjoying Netflix more.

The first secret: get the right TV size for your viewing distance. There's some math behind it, but I built a simple calculator to make it easy.

The theory goes so that your eyes have a binocular field of view of about 120°1. If you focus on a narrower part, you can see more details. For sports or gaming, aim for a 30° field of view; for movies, 40°. Your TV should fill most of that space.

The Calculator

Use the slider to enter the distance from your sofa to your TV. It shows the ideal screen width, then calculates the diagonal for a 16:9 display.

Optimal screen size:
61.5" for gaming, 83.5" for movies
40°30°61.5" screen83.5" screen8'4" (254.0 cm)
Optimal screen size increases with viewing distance — 30° for gaming, 40° for movies.

The result might surprise you. I've found it unintuitive how big the "right" TV should be. I promise you though, the math doesn't lie. 2

As for resolution, 4K is perfect. 8K isn't useful yet and might be an overkill, and 1080p looks grainy and is anyway fading away.

The Second Secret

The second secret: turn off motion interpolation and other picture "enhancements". You can do this by turning on a setting called "Filmmaker Mode". It might take some time to get used to, but you'll feel the difference immediately. You should just try it and see for yourself.

Footnotes

  1. In total, your field of view is 200° horizontally, but the binocular field of view is the field which both eyes can see at the same time.

  2. Anecdotally, I have a 70" TV — that's 155 cm (61") wide and 87 cm (34.3") tall — so it's pretty big. I've lost count of how many snide remarks my guests have made about its size ("compensating for something, haha?"). Maybe in other cultures no one would bat an eye, but in modesty-minded Finland, a TV larger than 60" seems to make a statement. I don't care though, my TV is honestly great!