Wall-mounting a TV too high – above a fireplace or a tall sideboard – is one of the most common home-cinema mistakes. Looking up for a two-hour film strains the neck, and most LCD panels lose contrast and colour when viewed from below. The comfortable rule is simple: your line of sight should meet the screen close to its centre, and never at a steep angle.
THX advises keeping the vertical angle from your eyes to the centre of the screen within about 15°, and the SMPTE cinema guideline (EG 18) adds that the top of the picture should be no more than 35° above the horizontal for the closest viewers, preferably with the centre about 15° up at most. With the eyes of a seated adult typically 38–44 in (97–112 cm) above the floor, that usually puts the centre of a living-room TV at around 40–48 in.
The calculator starts from the screen size and the seating distance – taken from the THX or SMPTE viewing angle, or measured in your room – and uses the tilt angle you accept to give the centre, bottom and top heights. A tilt of 0° puts the centre exactly at eye level, which THX calls optimal.
How to use the TV Mounting Height Calculator
- TV screen size (diagonal)
- Aspect ratio
- Eye height when seated — Typically 38–44 in (97–112 cm) on a sofa
- Viewing distance
- Your viewing distance
- Tilt angle to the screen centre — 0° = centre at eye level (THX optimum); keep it at 15° or less
Results update as you type, every field has its own unit menu, and everything is calculated in your browser.
How it works
Enter the diagonal and aspect ratio, your eye height when seated, how the viewing distance is chosen and the upward tilt angle to the screen centre. The centre height is eye height + distance × tan(tilt); half the screen height is subtracted for the bottom edge and added for the top edge, and the angles are checked against THX (≤ 15° to the centre) and SMPTE (≤ 35° to the top).
Worked example
A 65-inch 16:9 TV is 56.65 in wide and 31.87 in tall. With THX’s 40° the seat is 28.33 ÷ tan 20° = 77.8 in (1.98 m) away. Accepting a 10° tilt with eyes at 42 in, the centre goes at 42 + 77.8 × tan 10° = 55.7 in (141.5 cm), the bottom edge at 39.8 in and the top at 71.7 in. The top edge is atan(29.7 ÷ 77.8) = 20.9° above eye level – within SMPTE’s 35°. With 0° tilt the centre sits at 42 in and the bottom edge at 26.1 in.
Centre height at eye level 42 in, by distance and tilt
| Viewing distance | 0° tilt | 5° tilt | 10° tilt | 15° tilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 m (78.7 in) | 42.0 in | 48.9 in | 55.9 in | 63.1 in |
| 2.5 m (98.4 in) | 42.0 in | 50.6 in | 59.4 in | 68.4 in |
| 3 m (118.1 in) | 42.0 in | 52.3 in | 62.8 in | 73.6 in |
| 3.5 m (137.8 in) | 42.0 in | 54.1 in | 66.3 in | 78.9 in |
Inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| TV screen size (diagonal) | Units: in, cm, m, ft, mm |
| Aspect ratio | Choose one: 16:9 (all modern TVs), 21:9 (cinema TVs, ultrawide), 4:3 (older TVs) |
| Eye height when seated | Units: in, cm, m, ft, mm. Typically 38–44 in (97–112 cm) on a sofa |
| Viewing distance | Choose one: SMPTE – screen fills 30° of view, THX – screen fills 40° of view, THX back row – 36° of view, I will enter my distance |
| Your viewing distance | Units: m, ft, in, cm |
| Tilt angle to the screen centre | In °. 0° = centre at eye level (THX optimum); keep it at 15° or less |
What each result means
- Screen width = [TV screen size (diagonal)]×[Aspect ratio]÷sqrt([Aspect ratio]^2 + 1)
- Screen height = [Screen width]÷[Aspect ratio]
- Height of the screen centre = [Eye height when seated] + [Viewing distance]×tan(rad([Tilt angle to the screen centre]))
- Height of the bottom edge = [Height of the screen centre] – [Screen height]÷2
- Height of the top edge = [Height of the screen centre] + [Screen height]÷2
- Vertical angle from eyes to the top edge = deg(atan(([Height of the top edge] – [Eye height when seated])÷[Viewing distance]))
- Horizontal viewing angle = deg(2×atan([Screen width]÷2÷[Viewing distance]))
Formula
Screen W = diagonal × AR ÷ √(AR² + 1), H = W ÷ AR · Distance d = (W ÷ 2) ÷ tan(θ ÷ 2) (θ = 30° SMPTE, 40° THX, 36° THX back row) or your own · Centre height = eye height + d × tan(φ) · Bottom = centre − H ÷ 2 · Top = centre + H ÷ 2 · Angle to top = atan((top − eye) ÷ d)
Worked example
Inputs — TV screen size (diagonal): 65 in; Aspect ratio: 16:9 (all modern TVs); Eye height when seated: 42 in; Viewing distance: SMPTE – screen fills 30° of view; Tilt angle to the screen centre: 0 °.
Results — Screen width = 56.65 in; Screen height = 31.87 in; Viewing distance = 2.69 m; Height of the screen centre = 42 in; Height of the bottom edge = 26.07 in; Height of the top edge = 57.93 in; Vertical angle from eyes to the top edge = 8.6 °; Horizontal viewing angle = 30 °; Comfort check = Within THX and SMPTE guidance.
Key terms
- Eye height
- Height of your eyes above the floor when seated in your usual position.
- Tilt angle
- Vertical angle between the horizontal and the line from your eyes to the screen centre.
- Viewing angle
- The horizontal angle the screen fills in your view.
- VESA mount
- Standard hole pattern on the back of TVs used to attach wall brackets.
Frequently asked questions
How high should a 65-inch TV be mounted?
With eyes at 42 in and the centre at eye level, the centre sits 42 in (107 cm) from the floor and the bottom edge about 26 in (66 cm) up.
How high should the centre of a TV be?
At or slightly above seated eye level – usually 40–48 in (102–122 cm). THX recommends keeping it within 15° of your line of sight.
Is it bad to mount a TV above a fireplace?
Often yes: a centre 60–70 in high viewed from 3 m is a 9–13° tilt, acceptable, but from a closer sofa it can exceed 15°, and heat and soot can harm the TV. A pull-down mount helps.
What viewing angle does THX recommend?
About 40° of horizontal view for an immersive picture (distance ≈ 1.2 × diagonal for 16:9), with 36° as the limit for the back row.
What does SMPTE recommend?
SMPTE EG 18 targets a screen filling about 30° of view, the top of the picture at most 35° above the horizontal and preferably about 15° to the centre.
Should a bedroom TV be higher?
If you watch reclining, your eye line rises and tilts upward, so a higher centre and a tilting mount are fine.