How to Set Up Your Home Theater System for the Right Seating Distance

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Seating affects your home theater experience almost as much as any other single aspect. You will want to be an appropriate distance from the television and the surround-sound speakers to get the most out of your home theater system. Follow these steps to set up your home theater system for the right seating distance.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Home theater system

Step1

Note what kind of television you have. Higher definition televisions like plasma screen and HDTVs allow a viewer to sit closer because they have more lines of resolution. Rear-projection TVs require you to sit further away to get the best quality viewing.

Step2

Sit about twice the distance of your television diagonal measure for higher definition televisions. If you have a 52-inch high definition television, you will want to sit about 10 feet from the television to get the best picture quality.

Step3

Sit a little further away, about three times the diagonal, for traditional, analog televisions. This may require a pretty large room if you have a big-screen analog TV. If your TV is a larger screen, you may need to sit as far away as possible in your room.

Step4

Consider the angle from the side. Depending on what kind of television you’re viewing, you may have image distortion or discoloration if you’re viewing it form too far to either side. LCD and projection screen televisions are notorious for this effect.

Step5

Consider your acoustics. Refer to your sound system’s owner’s manual for advice on how to position speakers for optimal sound conditions. Likely, they’ll be surrounding the “sweet spot,” which is where you’ll be listening from.

Tips & Warnings

Don’t forget your guests. When considering your visual and audio arrangements, think about where guests will sit when they come over.
Consider aesthetics. Try not to sacrifice a good-looking room for sound quality. If nobody wants to be in a room because its décor is awkward, it won’t matter what the speakers sound like.
If you set your seats up too close to the television, you’ll see too much detail. You’ll be able to discern pixels and lines of resolution, which will compromise the image quality.