Solved! Is there a TV size that will work for me?

[novicefellow]

Is there a TV size where the picture would look OK whether I'm sitting 6 feet away or 12 feet away? The TV would need to be big enough so that I could read subtitles from 12 feet away. I have never owned a flat screen TV before.

I see many articles with calculations for how to find the right TV size for your room. Is it really that technical? Is there a problem with sitting too close to a bigger TV, like eyestrain? Does the picture on a flat screen TV look bad if you're too close or too far away?

I want to get the smallest TV that will be sufficient. I don't want to spend a lot on it. I have gotten recommendations ranging from 43 - 86 inches.

 

[willjR0K5]

I'd prob go with 65. My living room is huge....and from the couch at 8ft to the kitchen at more like 20...it works well.

 

[americanaudiophile]

That the TV is a flat screen isn't relevant.
The picture will look fine at 6' and 12" but might be too large if you are at 6' and not large enough at 12'.
Since you aren't looking for the largest screen you can comfortably watch from 12' away but the smallest size that will have legible subtitles the recommendations you see online aren't relevant to that
I don't think there is a standard font size for subtitles so what you would need to do is bring your own content to a store and play that back on different size TVs.
Most people will tend to buy a screen that looks large at first but after a week or two you go used to it and it no longer looks oversized.