It is the most common mistake in home entertainment, and almost nobody realises they have made it until they have been living with it for a while and their neck is sore.
Why it happens
Two reasons, and both feel completely sensible at the time.
The first is that people copy what they have seen. TVs in pubs, airports and shop displays are mounted high because the audience is standing or a long way back. In a lounge room where you are sitting five metres away on a low couch, that same height is wrong.
The second is furniture. There is a fireplace, a sideboard, a cabinet or a power point in the way, so the TV goes above it. The decision gets made by the wall rather than by where you sit.
The result is a screen you look up at for three hours at a time. That is genuinely uncomfortable, and it is the same posture problem as a badly set up desk.
The height that actually works
The simple rule: when you are sitting in your normal viewing position, your eyes should be roughly level with the bottom third of the screen. The centre of the screen sits slightly below eye level.
For most lounge rooms with a standard couch, that puts the centre of the screen somewhere around 100 to 110cm from the floor, depending on screen size and how low the seating is.
That is often considerably lower than people expect, and lower than most TVs end up.
The number matters less than the principle. If you find yourself tilting your head back to watch, it is too high. If you can look straight ahead comfortably, it is right.
This is one of the first things worth establishing before a TV wall mounting job begins, because the correct position should be determined by the seating and viewing angle rather than simply by the available wall space.
The cardboard test
Before anyone drills anything, do this.
Cut a piece of cardboard roughly the size of the screen. Have someone hold it against the wall at the height you are considering. Sit down in your actual viewing position, in the seat you actually use, and look at it.
Then have them move it down 10cm and look again.
Almost everyone prefers the lower position once they see it in the room. It takes five minutes and it is the difference between getting it right and living with it.
Worth doing this at night with the lamps on too, because reflections and glare change with the height and the room lighting.
The fireplace problem
Above the fireplace is the most requested position and the most compromised one.
It looks tidy and it solves the furniture problem, but it puts the screen well above comfortable viewing height in nearly every room. It also puts the TV in the path of rising heat from a working fireplace, which is not good for the electronics.
There are situations where it works. Rooms with a raised hearth and high seating. Rooms where the fireplace is decorative and never used. Setups using a pull-down bracket that brings the screen to the right height when in use.
But it should be a considered decision rather than a default. Worth talking through the alternatives before committing, because moving a TV afterwards means patching the wall.
When higher is genuinely right
There are cases where a higher mount is correct:
- Bedrooms, where you watch propped up on pillows and the eye line is different
- Kitchens and casual spaces where viewing is from standing
- Rooms with a genuinely raised seating area
- Outdoor and entertaining areas where people are standing and moving
The principle holds either way. Set the height from where the eyes will be, not from where the wall is convenient.
Why this is worth getting right first time
Wall mounting involves fixings into brick, masonry or studs. Moving the mount means new holes, patching, and often repainting the wall.
The measurement itself takes minutes. Getting it wrong takes an afternoon and a paint tin to correct.
If a full home theatre installation is in the picture, the screen height also affects speaker placement and seating layout, so it is worth resolving as part of the whole design rather than in isolation.
The same applies to surround sound, where screen position, seating position and speaker placement need to work together rather than being decided independently.
All installation work carries a 12 month labour warranty.
Written by Yariv, Owner and Lead Installer at AVsion. 14 years installing AV, WiFi and security systems across Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Frequently asked questions
What height should a wall mounted TV be?
When you are sitting in your normal viewing position, your eyes should be roughly level with the bottom third of the screen, which puts the centre of the screen slightly below eye level. In most lounge rooms with standard seating that places the screen centre around 100 to 110cm from the floor. If you are tilting your head back to watch, the TV is mounted too high.
Why do so many TVs get mounted too high?
Two reasons. People copy what they see in pubs, airports and shops, where screens are mounted high because the audience is standing or far away. And furniture dictates the position, so the TV goes above a fireplace, sideboard or power point rather than at the right height for the seating. In both cases the wall decides the height instead of where you actually sit.
How can I check the TV height before mounting?
Cut a piece of cardboard roughly the size of the screen and have someone hold it against the wall at the height you are considering. Sit in the seat you actually use and look at it, then have them lower it by about 10cm and compare. Most people prefer the lower position once they see it in the room. It is worth checking at night with lamps on as well, since glare changes with height.
Is mounting a TV above the fireplace a bad idea?
It is usually a compromise. It looks tidy and solves the furniture problem, but it places the screen well above comfortable viewing height in most rooms, and a working fireplace sends rising heat toward the electronics. It can work in rooms with a raised hearth, higher seating, or a decorative fireplace that is never used, and pull-down brackets are an option worth discussing.
When is a higher TV mounting position correct?
Bedrooms, where you watch propped up on pillows and the eye line sits higher. Kitchens and casual spaces where viewing happens standing up. Rooms with genuinely raised seating. Outdoor and entertaining areas where people are standing and moving around. The principle is the same in every case: set the height from where the eyes will be, not from where the wall is convenient.
Can a TV be moved after it is mounted?
It can, but it means new fixings, patching the old holes and usually repainting that section of wall. Because mounting involves fixings into brick, masonry or studs, the original holes are not something you can simply fill and forget. Spending a few minutes on the height before drilling avoids an afternoon of patching later.
