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 massive of a panel they will feasibly promote to customers.

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 will also be readily bought at many shops.

In recent times, nevertheless, corporations have been making an attempt to one-up one another within the super-massive TV area, as is the case with the current 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 front room with the largest TV display I may handle to suit by means of my door body. The enchantment 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 comprehend that the thought is each impractical and antiquated – this is what led me to this dedication.

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 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 a regular car, lug all of it the way in which dwelling, and set it up inside a typical front room area.

It is also necessary to think about 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 film 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 present listed at $15,000.

On prime of all this, you may 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 offers a helpful ‘recommended viewing distance for your TV’ help web page which outlines optimum setup circumstances — for a TV with a 98-inch display dimension, the corporate recommends a viewing distance of 9.8 toes (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 considerations in thoughts, the attract of an enormous and splendid TV dwelling theater setup has, till just lately, overridden my extra cheap instinct. If I could make a 100-inch TV work, why not bounce on the chance?

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

Other than taking on a considerable amount of bodily room, I discover most trendy large-screen TV units to decrease the ‘heat and comfy’ enchantment 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 wonderful 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 transportable projectors, that are product classes which might be a viable consumer-facing various 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 subject of view. They plug straight into your current 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 transportable design is right for nomads like myself, and it could actually rework any residing area right into a 100-inch dwelling theater setup in seconds. At $800, it is not an inexpensive product, however 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 front room setup as an asset versus a disappointment. Today, 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 area in my home for an enormous flat-panel show.

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