The new OLED, QLED or micro LED televisions revealed at CES 2019 will be bigger than ever, with dimensions between 75” and 95”. The visual experience announced by Samsung and LG promises to be immersive. But what is the ideal viewing distance for watching television? Do you need to be very close to or quite far away from the screen? Are there rules or recommendations to follow?
Samsung thinks big thanks to Micro LEDs
Samsung, who offers OLED screens for their high-end smartphones and tablets (Galaxy S, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab S), had never transposed this technology to large screens due to high production costs. They left LG to develop the market’s OLED television screens, which are also commercialized by Sony, Panasonic, Philips and Loewe. Therefore, Samsung is depriving their clients of true blacks and infinite contrast. But all of that is about to change…
Micro LED: personalized displays
With Micro LED technology, Samsung will soon be able to offer screens that can compete directly with OLED models. Micro LEDs also have the ability to be completely turned off and to diffuse light without using a color filter or LCD matrix. They have the advantage of a much superior lifespan than OLEDs. But that’s not all, Micro LED technology makes it possible to produce screens that can be assembled to create a totally personalizable display, of the size or ratio of your choosing. 4:3 format for old movies, 1.85:1 for television series, 2.21:1 for CinemaScope movies… Anything should be possible, in 4K and 8K, in our living rooms.
New rollable screens
LG, for it’s part, continues to focus on OLED technology and should soon offer a new range of motorized rollable screens. Presented in the form of a soundbar placed on a coffee table, these flexible screens are unrolled with the help of a motor. Once again, the dimensions will be large, with a minimum of 65”.
Ultra wide-angle projection
Another way to achieve very large pictures is with ultra short-throw projectors, like the Xiaomi Mi Laser Projector 150”. Placed at 50 cm from the wall, these projectors display an image with a base width of almost 4 m!
Which viewing distance for these new televisions?
Since the arrival of HD 1080p high definition, the points that make up the image are so dense that we can now get a lot closer to televisions than before, without having to worrying about being able to perceive individual pixels… up to a certain limit! We’ve written a guide, with the calculations to back it up, to help you determine the ideal viewing distance for new UHD HDR televisions. You’ll see that it’s very simple.
