The right viewing distance

If there is only a six-foot space between you and the wall you plan to hang a screen on, a 60-inch plasma panel may not be the best idea. A screen that is too wide will tire your eyes during extended viewing, as your vision is likely to dart around the picture. On the other hand, your viewing experience will be less than immersive if the screen does not make the most of your field of vision. There is no consensus formula for figuring out the right screen size for a given viewing distance, but a general rule of thumb is that the minimum viewing distance for a wide-screen TV or projector screen with a 16.9 aspect ratio is the diagonal screen size multiplied by three.