Meeting room screen size calculator
What size screen does the meeting room need?
The seat farthest from the screen sets the size. Measure from the wall where the screen goes to that seat, enter the distance, and see the size for spreadsheets, for slides and video calls, and for video only.
Slides and video calls
The other two cases
Meeting room screen size chart
The smallest common 16:9 size that meets each rule, by the distance to the farthest seat. Each size links to its width and height.
| Farthest seat | Spreadsheets and drawings 4 times the picture height | Slides and video calls 6 times the picture height | Video and pictures only 8 times the picture height |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft (2.4 m) | 50 in the rule gives 49 in | 32 in the rule gives 33 in | 32 in the rule gives 24 in |
| 10 ft (3.0 m) | 65 in the rule gives 61 in | 43 in the rule gives 41 in | 32 in the rule gives 31 in |
| 12 ft (3.7 m) | 75 in the rule gives 73 in | 50 in the rule gives 49 in | 43 in the rule gives 37 in |
| 14 ft (4.3 m) | 85 in the rule gives 86 in | 65 in the rule gives 57 in | 43 in the rule gives 43 in |
| 15 ft (4.6 m) | 98 in the rule gives 92 in | 65 in the rule gives 61 in | 50 in the rule gives 46 in |
| 16 ft (4.9 m) | 98 in the rule gives 98 in | 65 in the rule gives 65 in | 50 in the rule gives 49 in |
| 18 ft (5.5 m) | 110 in the rule gives 110 in | 75 in the rule gives 73 in | 55 in the rule gives 55 in |
| 20 ft (6.1 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 122 in: a video wall or a projector | 85 in the rule gives 82 in | 65 in the rule gives 61 in |
| 22 ft (6.7 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 135 in: a video wall or a projector | 98 in the rule gives 90 in | 75 in the rule gives 67 in |
| 25 ft (7.6 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 153 in: a video wall or a projector | 110 in the rule gives 102 in | 75 in the rule gives 76 in |
| 30 ft (9.1 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 184 in: a video wall or a projector | Over 110 in the rule gives 122 in: a video wall or a projector | 98 in the rule gives 92 in |
| 35 ft (10.7 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 214 in: a video wall or a projector | Over 110 in the rule gives 143 in: a video wall or a projector | 110 in the rule gives 107 in |
| 40 ft (12.2 m) | Over 110 in the rule gives 245 in: a video wall or a projector | Over 110 in the rule gives 163 in: a video wall or a projector | Over 110 in the rule gives 122 in: a video wall or a projector |
A rule of thumb for a first pick, not a guarantee. A size within 2 percent of what the rule gives counts as meeting it. It assumes a 16:9 screen, ordinary slide text and people with normal eyesight. Small fonts, a bright window behind the screen or a long narrow table all call for the next size up.
How we work it out
We use the 4, 6 and 8 rule of thumb that audiovisual installers have used for meeting rooms for decades. The farthest person should sit no more than 4 times the picture height away to inspect fine detail such as a spreadsheet or a drawing, 6 times for ordinary slides and video calls, and 8 times to watch video.
A 16:9 picture is 49 percent of its diagonal high. So for slides, the diagonal in inches is about the distance in feet times 4.1. A seat 15 feet away gives a 61-inch picture, and the next common size up is 65 inches.
What to do with the answer
Check that the size fits the wall with the screen size calculator, which gives the width and height of any diagonal and the largest size that fits a space. Then the mounting height calculator gives the height of the centre and the bottom edge for people at a table.
A meeting is not a sign. People sit and read for an hour, so these rules are stricter than the ones we use for a screen people pass by. For a lobby, a menu or a notice, start from the viewing distance calculator instead, which works from the letter height people need.
Questions
What size TV do I need for a conference room?
Measure from the screen wall to the farthest seat. For slides and video calls, the picture height should be at least one sixth of that distance, which works out to a diagonal in inches of about 4.1 times the distance in feet. A seat 12 feet away needs about 49 inches, so 50 or 55; 15 feet needs 61, so 65; 20 feet needs 82, so 85.
Is a 65-inch screen big enough for a meeting room?
For slides and video calls, a 65-inch screen suits a farthest seat up to about 16 feet (4.9 m). If people read spreadsheets or drawings on it, keep the farthest seat within about 10.6 feet (3.2 m), or go larger.
What if the room needs more than 110 inches?
Past the largest single flat screens, the usual answers are a video wall, a projector, or a second screen partway down the room so the back seats have their own picture.
Does 4K let me use a smaller screen?
No. Resolution makes the picture sharper up close, but the size of the letters is set by the size of the picture. The people at the back need bigger letters, and that means a bigger screen or bigger type on the slide.