Learning how high to mount your TV or other type of screen is the first step toward comfortable, immersive viewing. Experts recommend that the middle of your TV should be at eye-level while seated. This equates to about 42 inches from the floor to the center of your TV. As with other things, you’ll find that there is a general rule that can be applied to most, but not all, situations. For ideal screen placement, you can take the additional step of finetuning screen height to your own situation.
Basic Placement Height for Most TV Screens
It’s easy to quickly determine and place your TV screen if you’re happy to go with common recommendations. These guidelines apply to wall-mounted screens of any size up to 85 inches diagonal. The optimal TV screen height that applies to most screens and settings is 42 inches high, measured from the floor to the center of the screen.
How to Mark Optimal Height of a TV on a Wall
Once you know the height that you’d like to mount the TV on the wall, you’ll need to mark this on the wall. Use the standard 42-inch center height recommendation and measure upward from the floor to the bottom edge of the TV screen.
Fine-Tuning TV Screen Height and Placement
Going beyond the blanket recommendations for TV screen height, it’s possible to fine-tune height and placement for specific rooms and viewers.
Seating Options
The 42-inch standard for screen placement height is based on the assumption that viewers will be seated 15 to 20 inches above floor level on a couch. Rooms styled as home bars may have higher seats in the 28- to 30-inch range. If most of the viewers will be seated at a bar, you may want to raise the screen height by a few inches.
Number of Viewers
Commercial theaters with a large number of people raise the screen level so that everyone can see. The same idea applies to home viewing. If lots of people will frequently be watching, you may want to raise the screen’s center to 50 inches or even more, even if this is above eye-level for some viewers.
Type of Viewers
Taller or shorter viewers have different eye levels. A room that’s used primarily by adults watching sports should have a TV mounted at 42 inches center or higher. A room used mostly by kids or by viewers who like using the floor more than the couch should have a TV mounted at 42 inches or lower.
Room Obstacles
Obstacles may determine the height of the TV screen more than viewer preferences. Fireplace mantels that are 50 or 60 inches high dictate high TV placement. If you mount the TV above a TV stand or console, you will want the TV to be well above the height of the surface.
Size and Type of Screen
When a TV or movie screen is exceptionally large, attempting to mount the screen at eye level is difficult. It becomes more a matter of equally fitting the screen between the floor and the ceiling. A 150-inch diagonal projection screen has a 74-inch-high viewing area and its total height is 84 inches. Fitting a screen of that size in a room with a conventional 8-foot-high ceiling leaves just 18 inches of room: 9 inches on top, 9 inches on the bottom. Even a more conventional 100-inch screen has an overall height of 50 inches, leaving only 46 inches to be split between the top and the bottom.
