[encantotom]

6.9-11.5' is the recommended viewing distance for a 55" HD TV at 1080p.  That distance increases to 10-20' at 720p.  For standard definition (480) anything closer than 20' is going to result in seeing the pixels on a 55" TV.  Typical rule of thumb for HD TV is a minimum of about 1.5 times the diameter of the screen (hence the 6.9' for a 55") however, THX recommends for watching movies and being "immersed" a 40 degree field of vision for the TV is appropriate which would be about 5.5'-8' for a 55" HDTV.

If you go up to a 4KUltra TV (and assuming there was 4KUltra programming available) you could be in the 3.8-7.0' minimum distance for a 55" HDTV.  I find that about 10.5' seems to the sweet spot for an 80" HDTV.

We are about 13 ft from our 80 inch in our family room.   Darlene says I can't get a bigger one since it wouldn't fit between the windows right. Ha

Tom