Guide
What size TV for a bedroom
Updated
A bedroom asks the size question differently from a sitting room. The throw is short, the wall is usually narrow, and you watch from a position no sofa puts you in.
Skip to the calculator with a 160 cm wall already set.
The two distances that matter
Most bedrooms put the screen two to two and a half metres from the pillow. That small difference moves the answer a whole step:
| From | Range | Best balanced | Across your view |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 m | 43–65 inch | 50 inch | 31° |
| 2.5 m | 48–65 inch | 55 inch | 27° |
| Used for | Sit | In feet | Field of view |
|---|---|---|---|
| General TV | 1.8 m – 2.2 m | 5 ft 11 in – 7 ft 3 in | 28–34° |
| Sports | 1.7 m – 2.1 m | 5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 9 in | 30–36° |
| Gaming | 1.6 m – 2.1 m | 5 ft 3 in – 6 ft 9 in | 30–38° |
| Movies | 1.5 m – 1.8 m | 5 ft 0 in – 5 ft 11 in | 34–40° |
| Home cinema | 1.3 m – 1.7 m | 4 ft 5 in – 5 ft 7 in | 36–45° |
At two metres a 50 inch is the strongest match and a 43 inch is the conservative one at 27°. At two and a half a 55 inch takes over, and the 43 inch drops to 22°, which is where a picture starts to feel like it is happening somewhere else.
The wall is the harder limit
| Size | Active area | Active area (in) | Body, approx. | Height on its stand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43" 16:9 | 95.2 cm × 53.5 cm | 37.5 in × 21.1 in | 96.8 cm × 56.1 cm | 68.1 cm |
| 50" 16:9 | 110.7 cm × 62.3 cm | 43.6 in × 24.5 in | 111.9 cm × 64.1 cm | 69.1 cm |
| 55" 16:9 | 121.8 cm × 68.5 cm | 47.9 in × 27 in | 123 cm × 70.3 cm | 75.3 cm |
| 65" 16:9 | 143.9 cm × 80.9 cm | 56.7 in × 31.9 in | 145.1 cm × 82.7 cm | 87.7 cm |
A bedroom wall is often a 160 cm stretch between a wardrobe and a door, and that is where the shortlist ends. A 55 inch uses 77 % of it. A 65 inch uses 91 %, which fits on paper and looks wedged in practice. A 75 inch needs 167 cm and does not fit at all — no distance makes that work.
Height, not just size
A bedroom is the one room where the usual mounting advice inverts. Elsewhere you put the centre of the picture near seated eye level, about 107 cm from the floor. In a bedroom you are lying down or propped against a headboard, and the screen usually needs to sit higher and tilt down towards you.
The calculator draws the centre height for whatever zone you give it, so the quickest way to check is to put your own numbers in and look at where the middle of the picture lands.
Draw it on your own wall
On a 200 cm wall at 2.5 m, the strongest match is a 65 inch television. Open the calculator to use your own measurements.
Common questions
- What size TV is best for a bedroom?
- From about 2 m, a 50 inch: it spans 31 degrees and is the strongest match. From 2.5 m the answer moves up to a 55 inch at 27 degrees. Both fit a 160 cm wall.
- Is a 65 inch TV too big for a bedroom?
- Usually. It fits a 160 cm wall at 91 % of the width, and from 2 m it spans 40 degrees — immersive in a sitting room, and a lot of screen to face from a pillow.
- Is a 43 inch TV too small for a bedroom?
- Not from a short throw. At 2 m it spans 27 degrees, which is the same claim on your vision that a 65 inch makes from 2.5 m. It is the conservative pick, not a bad one.
- How high should a bedroom TV be mounted?
- Lower than you would think, then higher. You watch a bedroom television lying down or propped up, so the centre usually wants to be above seated eye level.