How High Should I Mount My TV

How High Should I Mount My TV?

You’ve painted, decorated, and furnished your man cave. You’ve bought all the equipment, installed the mini-fridge, and are ready to sit down and watch the game with the boys. But you run into a problem — how high should I mount my TV? What is the optimal height for your new flat screen?

Average flat-screen televisions are hung at about 42″ from the floor to the middle of the TV set. This height can vary depending on your seating arrangements, what room you put it in, and the size of the television, but most follow the rule. But don’t worry! I’ll tell you how high to mount your TV for the best angle on movies, shows, and sports.

How High Should A Flat-Screen TV Be Mounted?

Ideally, a TV is mounted so that the middle of the screen is at seated eye level. In an average living room, this is about 42 inches from the floor to the television center. That considers the normal seated position of an adult and the average height of a sofa or chair.

To get the best picture quality, you shouldn’t be viewing a TV from anything more than a 30° angle (that’s 15° above or below an entirely centered screen). The flat-screen will distort the image somewhat at any sharper angle, which is why an eye-level television is so important. It’s nice to buy a mount that tilts, so you can adjust the angle after installing the TV.

Of course, the ideal height can change depending on what room the TV is in and how you will use it – game and entertainment rooms, bedrooms, and home gyms all have different ideal heights for televisions. Room and television sizes also make a difference. But the bottom line remains the same – as long as the middle of the TV is at eye level, it will be perfect!

TV Size and Height

The standard height of 42″ above the ground is ideal for a regular-sized television, but flat screens are getting bigger and bigger nowadays! It’s possible to buy a huge TV and not be satisfied with how low it is when hung at the standard height. You don’t want to have to re-mount an entire TV, so it’s essential to pay attention to size!

A good rule of thumb for television size measurements is to measure the height of the TV itself (not its advertised size, as that is calculated on the diagonal) and divide it in half. That number subtracted from 42 is how high the bottom of your television should be from the floor.

TV Room Placement

While your television size is essential, it makes less of a difference than the room in which you decide to place your TV. Viewing angle, TV height, and the distance between the screen and the seats are crucial factors for setting a television correctly. These vary depending on the room and the functions of the room.

Room size also makes a difference – you don’t want your television so far away that it’s hard to see or so close that you get nauseous watching action scenes.

Living Room Mounting

For a living room or sitting room, you should mount your television at the average height. As we’ve said, this is either 42 inches from the floor to the middle of the TV or your measured height, depending on the size of the screen.

However, not all living rooms are created equal – you might have a shelf or mantelpiece that makes ideal eye-level impossible. You can still mount your TV at a good height – install it as close to eye level as you can (while leaving adequate space on the mantel or shelf for anything you want to put there).

Another option for mounting above a fireplace and mantel is pull-down TV mount. A pull-down mount allows you to mount the TV over the mantel and then adjust the height as needed.

Bedroom Mounting

Mounting a TV in a bedroom is slightly different since you’ll be lying down to watch instead of sitting up. Generally, you can mount your bedroom TV about a foot higher than you would in a living room and tilt the screen down a few degrees to compensate for the bed’s angle.

This setup focuses more on the angle – if it’s a small bedroom, you might want to put it even higher and angle it down more. You’ll need a mount that tilts for a bedroom. Otherwise, the angle will be weird, and your neck will not thank you after watching!

Game Room or Home Gym Mounting

In a game room, entertainment space, or home gym, the television will have to be mounted even higher. Areas like these are usually for more active guests and are generally viewed standing or moving around (on a treadmill or around the foosball table).

The ideal height for a TV that you’ll view from a standing position is about 60″ above the floor. This way, an average person will be just at eye level, and an exceptionally short or tall person won’t have to crouch or crane their necks to watch TV. You might want it about six inches higher if it’s a home gym with treadmills.

Bar TV Mounting

A unique height is a TV installed behind a bar. Bar stools are taller than normal couches and shorter than a standing person, so the ideal place for bar TV is somewhere between those two. Perfect eye level depends on the height of the bar and the bar stools.

Usually, a bar TV is mounted 48-53 inches from the ground to the screen center. If you have shorter or taller bar stools, you can add 24 inches to the seat’s height. That way, whether people are standing or sitting at your home bar, they can still enjoy the game at a comfortable level.

Conclusion

Remember, the most critical thing about mounting a flat-screen TV is keeping it at eye level. If you can manage that (and make sure the angle isn’t too far up or down), you’ll be able to watch TV in any room of the house in complete comfort.

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