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When I was a kid, movie theatres tended to have the screens fairly high and the seats were all at or near ground level (very gentle slope), meaning we all looked up at the screen. Over time people apparently concluded that this was bad, as stadium seating and higher seating elevations (relative to the screen) have become the norm in the theatres I've been in. Now it's much easier to look straight ahead at the screen.

Why, then, when LCD and plasma TVs give us the ability to mount the screen on a wall instead of putting it on a stand, do so many people mount it at or above eye level while standing? This means that if you sit to watch TV (which most of us do), you're looking up at the screen. I'm talking about people's homes, e.g. above the fireplace in the living room, not restaurants where other considerations might apply (like battles for control or risk of damage from patrons).

Are people being driven by a sense of what's aesthetic on walls (we're used to hanging pictures, mirrors, etc higher)? Is there some user-experience reason that it's better to look up when watching TV? If the latter, why doesn't it apply to movie theatres?

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    I asked myself the same question when I saw people mounting their TV on top of fireplace.
    – the_lotus
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 18:08
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    I think couches are partly to blame for this; their backs are inclined slightly, so looking up comes fairly natural with the slightly angled posture.
    – Zelda
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 19:33
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    The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the question "Why do people pick out tacky wallpaper?"
    – Rahul
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 22:04
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    It's so the neighbours can see through the window that you have a REALLY BIG TV. ;-)
    – PhillipW
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 22:37
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    @the_lotus Because when they're done with it, then can just unmount it and drop it into the fireplace :D
    – Cole Tobin
    Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 15:51

8 Answers 8

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It's usually the Fireplace that causes this. Traditionally, the fireplace was the central focus of the room. These days, it's often the TV. Obviously, it's easier to move the TV than it is the fireplace, hence the high mounted TVs in rooms with fireplaces.

Ergonomically, it's poor. Most recommendations for TVs (and computer screens, for that matter) is that the the top-half of the screen be mounted at eye-line. Aesthetically, however, it looks nice in a magazines and real estate listings.

So, this is likely an example of form trumping function.

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    I think this is the reason and started in home design magazines as a guess. In the past, you would never see a TV in such magazines so, nowadays, you have to put it somewhere and some apparently were led by the nose. As you said, it's ergonomically the worst place to put a TV. THX web site gives the best directions on TV placement.
    – Rob
    Commented Mar 17, 2013 at 12:03
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    It's not just ergonomically bad but also just plain bad for the TV! Heat, temperature cycling, and particulates are the enemies of electronics.
    – dodgethesteamroller
    Commented Jun 28, 2013 at 1:11
  • This is the best answer here in that people do often put the TV above the fireplace, which is a physical obstruction that forces it high up on the wall. However, it's not really the reason. It's entirely aesthetics. I have my TV mounted at eye level when sitting and everybody who comes to my house says something about how it's too low. It looks off. It looks weird. People are used to things on the wall being eye-height when standing (e.g. photos, art, etc) and when that expectation isn't met it looks weird. That's all this is. It just looks odd.
    – Wayne
    Commented Sep 7, 2022 at 15:21
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A few reasons, off the top of my head:

  1. Lower TVs are easier to bump into.
  2. Higher TVs are easier to use while standing (e.g., turning the TV on without the remote).
  3. Higher TVs leave room for cabinets, which must be at ground level to be usable.
  4. People like leaning back a bit on their couch, which moves their field of vision upwards.
  5. Couches may move your head close to the same height as when standing.
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    Re #2: I wonder how many people know how to turn their TVs on/off without the remote. :-)
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 18:11
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    number 4 is why I like it. Recliner + TV with no craned neck is amazing.
    – VoronoiPotato
    Commented Nov 7, 2012 at 20:25
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    having to change the angle of my neck to talk to people in the room and to watch TV is incredibly annoying. I hate high mounted TVs, I just refuse to watch them.
    – mikebabcock
    Commented Nov 8, 2012 at 4:38
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    You make many good points. Is it just that flat-panels now allow us to put TVs "where we've always wanted them, but you can't wall-mount a CRT"? Older TVs often sat on stands/cabinets, putting them out of bumping-into range and not precluding under-TV storage. Did we lean back on our couches less then while cursing our inability to put the TV higher?
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 19, 2013 at 22:32
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    @MonicaCellio I have 2 TV's in my house, and both I always turn on manually. The one in my living room has a soundbar in front of it and it blocks the IR signal from getting to the TV. All channel swapping/volume changes are done through the cable box. I rarely have to adjust the input/color settings. The one in my bedroom, I cannot get my cable box remote to control it. Instead of having 2 remotes to lose, I just use the cable box remote, and turn the TV on manually. The TV is half way between the door and my bed, so I must pass it regardless. It's no big deal, it's really just become habit.
    – dberm22
    Commented Aug 10, 2015 at 14:42
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At a movie theater, the screen is high up so you can see over other people's heads.

At home, people try to recreate a movie theater.

Are you familiar with the parable of the pot roast and the pan?

(for what it's worth, my TV's centerline is aligned with my eyes when I slouch on the couch. So it's not everyone that does this.)

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  • Ah, that makes sense! My TV is aligned with my seated eye-level too.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 20:34
  • As is mine. And I've had many people ask why it's so low. I just tell them to sit down and look at it.
    – Gidgidonihah
    Commented Nov 7, 2012 at 18:41
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    Even at a theatre the center of the screen isn't as high compared to your field of vision as that of a screen mounted above a fireplace.
    – mikebabcock
    Commented Nov 8, 2012 at 4:38
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Another consideration ... Some people have small kids around (or have friends with small kids) and they don't want their nice new TV to get trashed.

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    There are lots of good reasons for parents to mount the TV up high. Even if it doesn't get trashed, keeping it near floor level is asking for fingerprints all over it, or for child 1 to press the buttons while child 2 is watching and so on. Plus with it higher up child 1 can play on the floor in front of the TV while child 2 is watching. And at the end of TV time, the remote goes on the shelf and you can be sure the TV stays off.
    – Colin Pickard
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 11:26
  • But kids no longer get to wait for the dot to shrink in the middle of the screen and disappear : (
    – user67695
    Commented Jun 30, 2015 at 19:47
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If it's opposite to the bed, it's really hard to look straight forward while lying on it.

But it could be that they're just following some instructions coming with the TV or they've seen that it's this way at the neighbours', so they do it that way as well.

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    I hadn't been thinking of bedrooms, but that's a good point.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 18:10
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The TV isn't the only thing hanging on the wall, and to get the right balance - you hang the TV higher up on the wall. At that time, the TV is off and you see it as a thing among others and want it to be nicely placed.

When you realize you mounted the TV too high up on the wall, since its uncomfortable to look up, it's too late to change. The drilling holes in the wall are already there. If you where to lower the TV you also need to fill the other holes, and paint them over. Takes too long, so we'll do it later.

So you're stuck with a too high mounted TV set

enter image description here

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Usually people put their TV above the fireplace because that's the wall they want their TV to be at, and they cannot put it in front of the fireplace obviously.

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    Where did they put them before TVs were wall-mounted? That is, what's driving the desire to put them over the fireplace now?
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 9, 2012 at 15:18
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    Because now they can. When they couldn't they compromised by putting it in a less perfect spot in the room, or placed it in a different room altogether.
    – z-boss
    Commented Nov 9, 2012 at 15:26
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    @MonicaCellio. Because older tellies were smaller, and would fit beside the fireplace. These massive screens don't.
    – TRiG
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 19:38
  • It would seem to me that the TV should be located in front of the fireplace, and then slide out of the way when there was a fire, because you are only watching one or the other. The other option would be to put the TV in front of a window: you are obviously not using both at the same time.
    – user67695
    Commented Jun 30, 2015 at 19:49
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    In my case I have a TV mounted above the fireplace. The room is too small and does not have enough wall space to mount a TV elsewhere. My previous (tube) TV fit great in the corner, but the flat screen would not work in the corner - would block a window and leave too much room space behind it.
    – Bob
    Commented May 10, 2016 at 19:22
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In public spaces like restaurants TVs are usually placed out of arm's reach to prevent the conflicts that might otherwise arise.

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    Thank you for helping me to refine my question. :-) I meant to ask about homes, not restaurants/bars, and have edited the question. (Another reason to raise them at restaurants would be to reduce the chance that unruly or clumsy patrons will damage them.)
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 20:22
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    Also, high TVs in restaurants and pubs allow prople to walk without interfering that much with the others view.
    – Juan Lanus
    Commented Nov 2, 2012 at 20:55
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    The high TV in homes also offers this feature for pass through entertainment rooms.
    – VoronoiPotato
    Commented Nov 7, 2012 at 20:24

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