What Is The Perfect Size Tv For A Bedroom

What size TV should you buy?

Every TV shopper eventually asks "what size TV do I need?" As TVs get bigger and higher resolutions become common, matching the right size TV to the room gets a little more difficult. Even with all of the latest picture enhancements and smart functions, the basics of screen size and field of view don't change. A bigger screen offers a more immersive viewing experience, but you need to balance the tendency to go bigger with an understanding of how that impacts the ideal seating distance, the benefits of different resolutions and the comfort of the viewing experience.

The rules of thumb for older 1080p TVs aren't the same as for current 4K sets. And as 65-inch 4K TVs become the norm and larger 75 to 85-inch models get more affordable, figuring out where to put your new TV becomes a challenge. Many people purchase a new TV without even considering the room it will go in, assuming any TV will work in the same spot their old set was in. But finding the right size of TV raises questions about ideal resolution, what distance from the TV is best, and whether you really want a bigger screen.

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So, before you buy your next TV, here's how to determine the best size for your needs. This guide is intended to help you with your primary, family room television, but the same principles will work for your bedroom, den and office.

What size TV do I need? Quick Tips

Understand screen size. TV screens are measured diagonally from corner to corner, so a 65-inch TV is closer to 55 inches wide.

Know your resolution. TVs today offer three resolution options – 1080p, 4K and 8K. We recommend 4K for pretty much everyone, but the resolution will change how close you can sit to a set and how expensive it will be.

Figure out room size and position. Rooms don't get bigger to accommodate larger TVs, so find the right size for your space.

Screen size and resolution

First, remember that TV screens are measured diagonally. So a 55-inch screen measures 55 inches from one upper corner to the opposite lower corner. But the actual dimensions will be different, measuring roughly 49 inches wide and 29 inches tall.

Next, you have to consider the resolution of the TV. That's because the higher the resolution, the closer you can sit before you'll notice pixelation in an image. That means you can sit closer to a 4K TV (3840 x 2160) than you could a 1080p TV. This is an important factor to consider when thinking about screen size; because you can sit closer to a 4K set, you don't need to get as large a TV to fill your field of view as you would with a 1080p TV.

An 8K TV, on the other hand, will let you get closer to the screen without noticing individual pixels, but the larger size of most 8K TVs will still require sitting back at a distance so that you can properly view the entire display. Because of this size-to-resolution relationship, the viewing distances for 8K TVs will be the same as 4K TVs of the same size, despite the higher resolution.

Check out the top TV models in either resolution:

The best 4K TVs | The best 8K TVs

LG C1 OLED TV sizes — (Image credit: LG)

Room size and TV position

Consider the room in which the TV will sit. As long as the furniture in that room is not permanently attached to the floor — and you're willing to move it — then you have some flexibility in the size of the TV you can get.

There's also the question of whether you plan to set up the TV using the included stand or use a wall-mount to hang it. Using the included stand to set the TV on a table or entertainment unit will place the set closer to the viewer, shortening the viewing distance. Be sure to account for both the depth of the TV stand and whatever furniture you plan to set it on. Some sets have relatively narrow stands, but others, like the 65-inch model seen in our Samsung QN90A Neo QLED TV review, extend back nearly 9 inches with the stand attached. Similarly, the 65-inch model from our TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) review is 13.7 inches deep, despite the TV having a 2.8-inch thick chassis.

Hanging the TV on the wall, on the other hand, can add a foot or more to the viewable distance, which can be the difference between a 60-inch TV and a 72-inch model. (Check out the best TV mounts for our favorite mounting hardware.) Depending on what sort of mount you use and the thickness of the TV, your screen will still sit a few inches from the wall, but the specifics will vary from one model to the next. Some, like the LG G1 OLED TV are designed to mount flush against the wall, but most will still need some space to accommodate mounting hardware.

MORE: Best Viewing Angle and Height to Mount Your TV

Best TVs by size

We review TVs of all sizes, and while the majority of our TV reviews center on 55- and 65-inch models, some of the best TVs we've reviewed are also available in smaller and larger screen sizes.

You can also see our favorites for a wide range of sizes by checking out our size-specific guides to the best TVs.

Here are some of our favorites, hand-picked to give you the best performance at some of the common screen sizes, from small to extra large.

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TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) review — (Image credit: TCL)

TCL 6-Series Roku TV (55R635)

The best 55-inch TV

Specifications

Screen Size: 55 inches

Screen Type: QLED

Refresh Rate: 120 Hz

HDMI ports: 4 HDMI, 1 USB

Size: 48.3 x 28.1 x 2.8 inches

Weight: 41.9 pounds

Reasons to buy

+Excellent QLED and mini-LED display +Great gaming performance +Roku TV offers a huge app selection and easy interface +Improved Roku remote

Reasons to avoid

-Sound is a little weak -Roku is missing some of the latest apps

The 55-inch TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) offers enormous value for it's affordable price, offering premium picture quality and a great smart TV experience for much less than the competition. The current version of TCL's value champ 6-Series, the R635 ups the ante with mini-LED backlighting in addition to QLED. The result is impressive color and brightness, with some of the best HDR performance we've seen on anything this side of an OLED display.

But TCL keeps delivering more, like THX Certified Game Mode, which makes the 6-Series one of the best gaming TVs available, even for yet-to-be-released consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. From the design's smart touches, like cable management in the stand, to the always-solid Roku TV platform, the TCL 6-Series R635 is the best TV value on the market, and it's not even close.

Read our full TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635) review .