The size of TV screens is almost always measured in inches, everywhere in the world.  For those of you who prefer metric measurements, one inch is 2.54 cm.

The size quoted by manufacturers is that of the viewing area, not the whole of the product, which will inevitably by slightly bigger because of its casing, measured diagonally from one corner to the other.  The most common sizes available today are:

• 26 inch (66 cm)
• 32 inch (81 cm)
• 37 inch (94 cm)
• 40 inch (102 cm)
• 42 inch (107 cm)
• 46 inch (117 cm)
• 50 inch (127 cm)
• 52 inch (132 cm).

In general, the bigger the better!  As far as your budget (and the amount of space in your home!) will allow, go for the biggest TV you can.  Be careful, though, as sitting close to very large TVs can be uncomfortable – you don’t want to be any closer than two metres of a 52 inch screen.

Remember that you can use the formula the other way round, too.  If you currently sit about 2.5 m away from your TV, then you can halve that distance and convert it to inches, to work out that a TV of up to around 50'' would be fine for your room.