When calculating screen size, there are two things you need to know: diagonal measurement and aspect ratio. The diagonal simply means the measurement from one corner to the opposite corner of the screen surface. On the other hand, the aspect ratio refers to the relationship between the height and width of the screen.
Calculating the screen size – whether for a TV, laptop, monitor, or projector screen – involves the same process.
Here are the three simple steps on how to measure the screen size.
Step 1: Find the Aspect Ratio
First, you should find the aspect ratio of the screen. Some of the most common aspect ratios include 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10, although there are some screens that can’t be reduced to these ratios. Anyway, you may already know it from your device’s manual or specs sheet, but in case you don’t, here’s how to calculate it.
The formula for finding the aspect ratio is
AR = W / H
Where AR is the aspect ratio, W is width, and H is height. Let’s take 1680×1050 for instance, which is a common monitor resolution. Divide 1680 by 1050, and you get 1.6 as the result. Therefore, the monitor has an aspect ratio of 1:6:1 or 16:10.
To make things easier, you can also use an aspect ratio calculator.
Step 2: Find the Screen’s Diagonal Measurement
You can get the screen’s diagonal by measuring from one corner to the opposite corner. For instance, you can measure from the bottom left to the top right, or from the top left to the bottom right of the screen.
Most of the time, the diagonal measurement is already stated in the manual or specs sheet. Still, you can simply use a tape measure to get the values.
Step 3: Calculate the Dimensions Using the Screen Size Formula
The last step is to use the screen size formulas to calculate the width and height values.
Screen Width Formula:
The screen width is equal to the aspect ratio width (ARw) multiplied by the screen diagonal divided by the square root of ARw squared plus the aspect ratio height (ARh) squared.
Screen Height Formula:
The screen height is equal to the aspect ratio height (ARh) multiplied by the screen diagonal divided by the square root of the aspect ratio width (ARw) squared plus the ARh squared.
Of course, to make things easier, you can use the calculator we’ve provided for you.
What is the Best Screen Size?
The best screen size really depends on what your needs and preferences are. It may also depend on the environment where you’ll be using the screen. For example, a TV for an outdoor bar might be larger than the one you’ll use for your living room.
And sometimes, a higher pixel density is more important than size if you’re okay with a smaller screen. So, there’s no universally best screen size for everybody. It will always depend on the user preference and application.
