In short: A screen that's too small or too large ruins meeting comfort — we show a simple sizing method.
A screen that's too small means participants sitting further back struggle to read the text on a slide. One that's too large, positioned close to the front row, tires the eyes and forces people to keep scanning back and forth across the image. We show a simple method for choosing screen size that avoids both problems already at the room-planning stage.
Why screen size isn't just an aesthetic question
Screen size in a conference room should be driven by the distance from which the farthest-seated participant will view the image, not by the size of the room itself or the equipment budget. A screen that's too small for a large room means some content — small text in a table, details in a chart — simply won't be legible from the back rows, no matter how good the projector or TV is.
A simple sizing method
In AV practice, the most common approach is a simple relationship between the farthest viewer's distance and the screen height, based on the so-called 1:6 rule for general content such as presentations and video calls, and the stricter 1:4 rule for detailed content such as spreadsheets or technical drawings.
Rule of thumb: divide the distance from the farthest-seated person to the screen by 6 (general content) or by 4 (detailed content) — the result is the minimum screen height the room should have to maintain comfortable legibility.
For example, if the farthest participant sits 6 metres from the screen and the room is used mainly for presentations and video calls, the minimum screen height should be around one metre. At the same distance, but with more frequent display of detailed data, it's worth planning a taller screen, closer to a metre and a half.
The upper limit — when a screen is too big
Screen size also has an upper limit, driven by the distance of the front row of participants from the image surface. Being too close to a large screen forces constant head and eye movement to take in the whole surface, which quickly becomes tiring during longer meetings. As a general reference point, the closest-seated person shouldn't be positioned closer than a distance roughly equal to the width of the screen.
Viewing angle and room layout
Beyond distance alone, the angle at which participants seated at the sides of the room view the screen also matters — chairs positioned too wide relative to a narrow screen lead to perspective distortion and difficulty reading content near the edges of the image. When designing the room layout, it's worth accounting not only for the central axis but also for the outermost seats, especially in rooms with an unusual, elongated shape.
Summary
Choosing screen size should start with the question of who will be watching it and from what distance, and only then move on to picking a specific TV or projector model. The 1:6 and 1:4 rules give a quick, practical starting point for a conversation with an installer, who will additionally factor in the shape of the room and how it's typically used.
Read also: RTINGS