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

Ever since flat-screen television sets first hit the scene within the late Nineties and early 2000s, producers have been making an attempt 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 shops.

Lately, nonetheless, corporations 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 ‘larger is best’ camp, hoping to sooner or later outfit my lounge with the most important TV display I may handle to suit by means of my door body. The attraction is evident: a extra immersive dwelling cinema expertise, and far more display 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 appreciate that the concept is each impractical and antiquated – this is what led me to this dedication.

Large 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 grow to be 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 way in which dwelling, 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, the extra unfold out every particular person pixel is, which signifies that decision and movie crispness will take successful. That’s, until 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 presently listed at $15,000.

On prime of all this, you may have to 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 dimension, the corporate recommends a viewing distance of 9.8 ft (3 meters).

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Lately, higher options can be found

Why trouble with a 100-inch TV when projectors and headsets are readily in the marketplace

Pocket-lint / Samsung / XREAL

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

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

Except for taking on a considerable amount of bodily room, I discover most fashionable large-screen TV units to decrease the ‘heat and comfortable’ attraction of most residing 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 are 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 provide a 130-inch spatial show, full with a 46-degree discipline of view. They plug immediately into your current devices by way of USB-C, price 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 might rework any residing house right into a 100-inch dwelling theater setup in seconds. At $800, it is not an inexpensive product, nevertheless it’s additionally a fraction of the price of a standard XL TV setup.

With all these components 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 a large flat-panel show.

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