Choosing the appropriate size TV size for your home comes down to seating distance—how far you sit from the screen. If you buy a massive TV and sit three feet away, you’re going to be staring at pixels and lines. If you buy one that’s too small, you won’t get an immersive visual experience in your living room.

It seems like every time you turn on a cable channel, some design expert wearing leather pants and purple rimmed glasses is hanging a beautiful new flat panel TV high on a wall above a fireplace. While this might be aesthetically pleasing to an interior designer, it is not always the best advice for maximizing your viewing experience.