Size comparison

85 vs 98 inch: how much bigger?

A 98-inch screen is 11.3 inches wider and 6.4 inches taller than a 85-inch screen (28.8 cm and 16.2 cm), and it shows 33 percent more picture. Both are the usual 16:9 shape, measured on the lit picture.

85-inch vs 98-inch screen size comparison, drawn to scale on one centre — Drawn to scale on one centre. The dark shape is the 85-inch screen and the lighter shape behind it is the 98-inch screen.

85-inch and 98-inch 16:9 screen dimensions compared
16:9 picture	85 inch	98 inch	Difference
Width	74.1 in 188.2 cm	85.4 in 217.0 cm	11.3 in 28.8 cm
Height	41.7 in 105.8 cm	48.0 in 122.0 cm	6.4 in 16.2 cm
Diagonal	85 in 215.9 cm	98 in 248.9 cm	15% longer
Picture area	21.4 sq ft 1.99 m²	28.5 sq ft 2.65 m²	33% more

Worked from the diagonal and the 16:9 shape, so these describe the lit picture only. In portrait, swap each width and height. The outside of a cabinet is larger by the width of its frame, so use the drawing of the exact model for a recess or a tight wall.

How far away does each one read?

The larger screen fits bigger letters for the same words, so the same message reads from farther away. Each distance is the farthest point where that much text still fits at a letter height people can read, in landscape.

On the screen	85 inch, read from up to	98 inch, read from up to
One short line A sign or a room name	386 ft (117.6 m) capitals 12.9 in tall	445 ft (135.6 m) capitals 14.8 in tall
Three short lines One message on a slide	245 ft (74.7 m) capitals 8.2 in tall	283 ft (86.1 m) capitals 9.4 in tall
A list of eight lines A menu, a schedule or a directory	92 ft (28.0 m) capitals 3.1 in tall	106 ft (32.3 m) capitals 3.5 in tall
Pictures and video Little or no small text	Works well to 35 ft (10.6 m) 56 ft (16.9 m) is the limit	Works well to 40 ft (12.2 m) 64 ft (19.5 m) is the limit

We plan on 1 inch of capital letter height for every 30 feet of distance, assuming 20/40 vision, and a line takes 1.7 times the capital height. For pictures the rule of thumb is 10 times the picture height, with 16 times as the limit. To start from your own distance, use the viewing distance calculator.

Pixel size at the same resolution

If both screens have the same resolution, the larger one has larger pixels, so it needs a little more distance before the picture looks smooth.

Resolution	85 inch pixel pitch	98 inch pixel pitch	Pixels blend from
Full HD, 1920 x 1080	0.980 mm	1.130 mm	11 ft (3.4 m) and 13 ft (3.9 m)
4K, 3840 x 2160	0.490 mm	0.565 mm	5.5 ft (1.7 m) and 6.4 ft (1.9 m)

Pixels blend where one pixel takes up about one arcminute of your vision. Whether a given model is Full HD or 4K is on its own spec sheet.

Questions

How much bigger is a 98-inch screen than a 85-inch screen?

A 98-inch 16:9 screen is 11.3 inches (28.8 cm) wider and 6.4 inches (16.2 cm) taller than a 85-inch one, and it has 33 percent more picture area. The diagonal grows by 15 percent, but area grows with the square of the diagonal.

Will a 98-inch screen fit where a 85-inch screen fits?

Only if the space has 11.3 inches (28.8 cm) more width and 6.4 inches (16.2 cm) more height to spare, before the frame. The picture of a 98-inch screen is 85.4 x 48.0 inches; check the outline on the drawing of the exact model before you commit.

From how far away does the extra size matter?

For pictures and video our rule of thumb is 10 times the picture height: about 35 ft (10.6 m) for the 85-inch and 40 ft (12.2 m) for the 98-inch. If people stand farther back than the first distance, the larger screen is the safer choice.