I as soon as dreamed of proudly owning a 100-inch TV

Ever since flat-screen television sets first hit the scene within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, producers have been attempting to push the boundaries as to how huge of a panel they will feasibly promote to shoppers.

It did not take lengthy for a standardized set of dimension courses to emerge: 42, 50, 55, 65, and 75-inch TVs are commonplace, whereas smaller and bigger fashions can be readily bought at many stores.

In recent times, nevertheless, firms have been trying to one-up one another within the super-massive TV house, as is the case with the latest HiSense 116-inch Mini-LED panel, which was showcased on the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) again in January.

For the longest time, I used to be firmly within the ‘greater is healthier’ camp, hoping to sooner or later outfit my front room with the largest TV display screen I might handle to suit via my door body. The enchantment is evident: a extra immersive dwelling cinema expertise, and far more display screen actual property for having fun with TV exhibits, video video games, and extra.

For as nice as a home theater setup sounds on paper, full with an imposing 100-inch centerpiece show, I’ve come to understand that the concept is each impractical and antiquated – here is what led me to this willpower.

Huge flat-screen TVs are impractical

On the entire, dwelling theater setups are costly and space-consuming affairs

Hisense

To place it merely, flat-panel TV units change into a logistical nightmare wherever above the 65-inch dimension. Any bigger, and it is a real problem to suit the product into a regular car, lug all of it the way in which dwelling, and set it up inside a typical front room house.

It is also vital to think about that bigger TVs aren’t all the time higher TVs. The larger the display screen, the extra unfold out every particular person pixel is, which signifies that decision and film crispness will take successful. That’s, except you are prepared to dish out cash on a very high-end mannequin.

These high-end supersized TVs are prohibitively costly, too — Samsung’s 110-inch Micro LED model prices $150,000, and the aforementioned Hisense 110-inch Mini-LED panel is at present listed at $15,000.

On prime of all this, you will have to have a leisure or front room that is bodily giant sufficient to comfortably home a TV of such a grand show dimension. Samsung gives a helpful ‘recommended viewing distance for your TV’ assist web page which outlines optimum setup circumstances — for a TV with a 98-inch display screen dimension, the corporate recommends a viewing distance of 9.8 ft (3 meters).

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Why hassle with a 100-inch TV when projectors and headsets are readily available on the market

Pocket-lint / Samsung / XREAL

Even with all these impracticalities and pricing issues in thoughts, the attract of a large and opulent TV dwelling theater setup has, till lately, overridden my extra cheap instinct. If I could make a 100-inch TV work, why not soar on the chance?

There are two elements which have since modified my outlook on super-massive TVs as an entire: a want to cut back the presence of digital muddle in my dwelling, and the existence of good augmented actuality (AR) glasses and moveable projectors.

Apart from taking over a considerable amount of bodily room, I discover most trendy large-screen TV units to decrease the ‘heat and comfortable’ enchantment of most dwelling areas. All-black show panels, low-cost shiny plastic outer casings, and fixed mud assortment make me yearn for the wood and knob-filled CRT TVs of yesteryear.

It is maybe unsurprising, then, {that a} new class of painting-style tv units has began to take off — Samsung’s The Frame is a superb instance of a tech product attempting to organically blend in with its environment, and client reception appears to be positive.

Then, there’s the existence of AR glasses and moveable projectors, that are product classes which might be a viable consumer-facing various to the big-screen TV life-style and all its problems.

The XREAL Air 2 Pro, for instance, is a $400 pair of AR glasses that supply a 130-inch spatial show, full with a 46-degree subject of view. They plug immediately into your present devices by way of USB-C, value a fraction of a super-giant TV’s price ticket, and will be stowed away in your nightstand drawer.

Miniature projectors have come a great distance lately, too. Samsung’s The Freestyle is probably the perfect example: its compact and moveable design is right for nomads like myself, and it could rework any dwelling house right into a 100-inch dwelling theater setup in seconds. At $800, it is not an affordable product, but it surely’s additionally a fraction of the price of a conventional XL TV setup.

With all these elements in thoughts, I’ve come to see my TV-free front room setup as an asset versus a disappointment. Today, I really feel extra inclined to economize for an eventual buy of AR glasses or for a mini-projector, whereas sparing the necessity to reserve bodily house in my home for a large flat-panel show.

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