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 large of a panel they’ll feasibly promote to customers.

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

Lately, nonetheless, corporations have been making an attempt 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 ‘larger is healthier’ camp, hoping to someday outfit my lounge with the largest TV display screen I may handle to suit by my door body. The attraction is evident: a extra immersive residence cinema expertise, and far more display screen actual property for having fun with TV reveals, 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 comprehend that the thought is each impractical and antiquated – here is what led me to this willpower.

Huge flat-screen TVs are impractical

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

Hisense

To place it merely, flat-panel TV units develop into a logistical nightmare anyplace above the 65-inch dimension. Any bigger, and it is a real problem to suit the product into an ordinary car, lug all of it the best way residence, and set it up inside a typical lounge house.

It is also essential to contemplate that bigger TVs aren’t at all times higher TVs. The larger the display screen, the extra unfold out every particular person pixel is, which implies that decision and movie crispness will take a success. 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 the moment listed at $15,000.

On prime of all this, you may must have a leisure or lounge that is bodily massive sufficient to comfortably home a TV of such a grand show dimension. Samsung offers a helpful ‘recommended viewing distance for your TV’ assist web page which outlines optimum setup situations — 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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Lately, higher options can be found

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 considerations in thoughts, the attract of an enormous and splendid TV residence theater setup has, till just lately, overridden my extra cheap instinct. If I could make a 100-inch TV work, why not leap on the chance?

There are two elements which have since modified my outlook on super-massive TVs as a complete: a need to scale back the presence of digital litter in my residence, and the existence of sensible augmented actuality (AR) glasses and moveable projectors.

Other than taking over a considerable amount of bodily room, I discover most trendy large-screen TV units to decrease the ‘heat and comfy’ attraction 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 shopper reception appears to be positive.

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

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

Miniature projectors have come a great distance in recent times, too. Samsung’s The Freestyle is maybe 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 residence theater setup in seconds. At $800, it is not an affordable product, however it’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 lounge setup as an asset versus a disappointment. Lately, I really feel extra inclined to save cash for an eventual buy of AR glasses or for a mini-projector, whereas sparing the necessity to reserve bodily house in my home for an enormous flat-panel show.

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