Sony uses augmented reality to help you choose the best TV screen for your room

When it comes to buying a TV, most people believe that bigger is better, but the largest screen available isn't always the right screen for everyone.

Some people don’t want a huge TV as the focus point of their lounge room but are surprised that the TV they purchased in the store looks smaller (or bigger) than they imagined when they get home.

So how big is too big when it comes to your own living room?

To solve the dilemma, Sony has created an augmented reality web app that help users envision different-sized TVs in their home.

"Up until now a tape measure and guess work is all that most of us have had to rely on when it comes to picking the best sized TV for the home and this often leads to mistakes. We know consumers put a lot of emphasis on getting the right screen size and our research has shown that this is one of the most important features they look for when buying a TV," explains Tim Schwarz, Online Content manager, Sony Europe. "What people don’t often realize is that TVs take up a lot less space than they used to, so you really can go larger. This is why we've developed this simple guide - to give you the confidence to choose the right size TV by accurately visualizing how it would look in situ before you buy."

As technology improves, consumer-focused corporations and e-commerce sites are taking advantage of augmented reality applications to provide user-customized services.

Online clothes retailers such as British online clothing store Banana Flame, which uses a service called Webcam Social Shopper, and Australian Boutique Accessories have embraced augmented reality to create virtual dressing rooms where their clients can try on clothes in their own living room.

A recently published patent application revealed that Apple is working on an augmented reality Map + Compass iOS application that allows users to "capture [a photo of an] intersection on your iPhone's camera and do a search based on that image."

To use Sony’s TV Size Guide visit http://www.sony.co.uk/article/tv-size-guide and follow the instructions.