How high should you mount your TV?

The short answer

Put the center of the screen at about the height of your eyes when you're sitting down. For many sofas, that works out to roughly 40 to 45 inches from the floor to the middle of the screen. Your neck should be relaxed and you should be looking straight ahead or very slightly down, never up.

Measure your own eye height

1. Sit where you normally watch, in your normal position.
2. Have someone measure from the floor to your eyes. That number is the target for the center of the screen.
3. Find the height of your screen (see the table below) and halve it.
4. Subtract half the screen height from your eye height. That is roughly where the bottom edge of the screen should sit.

A deep, low sofa puts your eyes lower than a firm, upright one, which is why measuring beats any rule of thumb.

Bottom-edge heights by TV size

For a 16:9 TV with the center of the screen at 42 inches. Screen heights are for the picture area; the TV's frame adds a little.

Going bigger? The bigger the TV, the lower its bottom edge sits for the same center height, which is one reason a soundbar under a large TV needs planning. TVs up to 75″ start at $200 to mount, and over 75″ at $350.

Bedrooms, game rooms and kitchens

• Bedroom. If you watch lying in bed, your eye line is higher than on a sofa. The TV usually goes higher, often over a dresser, angled slightly down toward the bed.
• Game room or loft. Gamers sit low and close. Keep the screen at their seated eye level, which is often lower than in a living room.
• Open kitchen and family room. If you watch from two places, pick the spot you use most for the height, and consider a full-motion mount (+$70) to angle the TV toward the other.

Above a fireplace

It is a popular spot in many Reno-area great rooms, and the hardest one to get comfortable. A mantel often pushes the bottom of the TV to 55 inches or more, so the center of the screen ends up well above eye level. A few things to weigh:

• Neck angle. For a movie now and then it's fine; for hours of TV every night, a lower spot is kinder.
• Heat. Run the fireplace for a while and feel the wall above the mantel. If it's hot to the touch, check your TV maker's guidance before mounting there.
• A slight tilt. Angling the screen down a little can help with glare and viewing angle when the TV has to be high.
• The wall itself. Brick and stone surrounds cost a little more to mount on (+$50 brick, +$75 stone). See mounting on brick and stone.

The tape test

Before anything is drilled, cut a piece of cardboard the size of your TV, or outline it on the wall with painter's tape. Leave it up for an evening and watch something from your usual seat. If you find yourself tipping your head back, lower it. It is the cheapest way to avoid a TV you regret.