Fov (field of view) - here's what i think.

As Turk says, if you're getting very low results from the FOV calculators then move your monitor as close as you can.

The whole "feeling of speed" issue is mostly artificial, generated by ridiculous FOV, head shake and blur effects used in other games/sims.

 

Thats how I feel with my correct fov when i test out fov calculators.

My "correct" fov is around 22 but im im using 38 or 39, cant remember. At first it feelt really slow but now it feels like im actually sitting in a car driving, well, as close at it can be with my setup. One important thing that Ive noticed making it feel better is to raise the seat (?) ingame.

1920x1080, 24inch, 77 cm away from the monitor (yes i have measured )

 

@Cote Dazur / Can you explain to me why the result from P.I. Calculator is so different compared to Project CARS or iRacing calculators, which to me feel much more 'correct' and 'realistic' at 41-45 degrees? What sets the AC calculation so far apart from those two prominent games, thus making the given 24 degree FOV 'correct'? This is what I don't understand, and the huge difference against not one, but two calculators is why I'm skeptical about it. Open my eyes!

Also, thanks for your concern but I'm not depriving myself of anything, quite the opposite. At 24 degrees I would be depriving myself of vision.

 

Just trust basic trigonometry and a calculator.

46" TV @ 53"/135cm distance

So, you've got a 46 inch TV. That's about 116.84 cm and that's the diameter of the screen. Assuming the screen ratio is 16:9 you calculate the width and the heigth using the Pythagorean theorem:

(16*a)^2 + (9*a)^2 = 116.84^2

I get a width of 101.8 cm and a height of 57.3 cm. You should measure your screen to get correct values. The real diameter of the screen is not necessarily 46".

To calculate your vertical FOV you need to examine the right triangle ABC where

A is your viewing point
B is the center of the screen
C is the center-top of the screen

(Get a pen and some paper. Draw that triangle.)

You know the length of AB: 135 cm. You also know the length of BC: that's half of the height of your screen, 28.65 cm. What you need to know is the angle of BAC. That'll be half of your vertical FOV.

By the definition of the tangent function we know that

tan (angle of BAC) = BC / AB.

So the angle BAC will be

atan (BC/AB) = atan (28.65/135) =~ 12 degrees

Double that and you get your correct vertical FOV, 24 degrees. If you wish to calculate the horizontal FOV, just examine the right triangle ABC where

A is your viewing point
B is the center of the screen
C is the left-center of the screen

You'll end up with

atan (BC/AB) = atan (50.9/135) =~ 21 degrees

Double that and you get your horizontal FOV, 42 degrees.

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I prefer using values quite close to the correct FOV. However that requires sitting very close to the display. You're sitting so far away from the screen that a correct or even a nearly correct FOV is not usable for you. Just find a compromise that works for your situation.

 

@Sakaama thank you for this explanation, also agree 100% with your comment at the end:" You're sitting so far away from the screen that a correct or even a nearly correct FOV is not usable for you. Just find a compromise that works for your situation."

@John Lennonjohto I cannot comment on Iracing, but in the PI Calculator, you have both value, AC and Pcars. both are expressed in degrees, one is vertical value and the other is horizontal. AC requires a Vertical degree value, PCars requires a Horizontal degree value, the result will be the same, the horizontal value is always bigger than the vertical value, because our screen, in 16:9, are horizontally wider than they are vertically tall.

When you write" Also, thanks for your concern but I'm not depriving myself of anything, quite the opposite. At 24 degrees I would be depriving myself of vision.", we are in total agreement, I am not recommending using 24 degree, I am recommending to get closer to your screen, in order to be able to drive with a nice and realistic FOV value.
If you can get 2 feet from your screen with a 16;9 46 inch screen, you could be enjoying a 51 degree FOV. Proper FOV is only efficient when close to the screen, setting to far is like driving from the back of the bus, it does not matter what you do, it will never feel right, as a SIM experience.

Do not believe me, please, try it for yourself, FOV of 51 at a 24 inch distance from the screen is totally different than 51 degree FOV at 53 inch distance.

I am just trying to help, I have nothing to sell or prove. All I know is that once you will get there, you will also want to share with your fellow SIM racer/driver.
Also wanted to add that it took me a few back and forth myself before I eventually got it, not totally evident, specially after years of console gaming, but totally worth the small efforts. Bonus: getting closer to the screen usually cost nothing.

 

I couldn't give a toss what any "FOV calculator" tells me I should be using. My FOV is set to 70 degrees, and it's staying there. None of this daft "I am slowly lowering it because otherwise the rest of the sim racing community will laugh at me" rubbish. I use a single 19"monitor in 4:3 format (ie. not widescreen), so I use a higher setting to compensate for the lack of peripheral "real estate". It looks perfectly fine to me.

 

Heehee - I use maximum of 20 FOV.
It increases the sense of immersion because other cars look closer to real size. I worked my way down gradually starting at 35. The only problem is - hairpins. Race tracks are fine - their haipins are usually quite wide (eg Imola 'Tosa'), but a track like Petersberg Hillclimb is utterly impossible.
As for vertical view - I was driving along in my real car recently & just suddenly became very aware of exactly the view that I could see looking straight ahead. Up until then I'd been keeping the tachometer/speedo etc just at the bottom of my view in AC - after all, I didn't want to waste the beautifully modelled dashboards, but now all I can see at the bottom of my view is just a tiny bit of the windscreen bottom edge & often one of the windscreen wipers. Of course, in reality you'd have to actually glance downwards to look at your gauges - they're not in your normal FOV when driving. This is also one of the major reasons I'm so eagerly anticipating Oculus Rift - I'll finally be able to see the lovely interiors & 'look-into' corners.
I really wish there was a 'mouse freelook' feature in AC like there is in flight sims. I was driving on Pikes Peak & wanted to look up at the paragliders & birds - instead I just stopped & got out to have a wander in FPS view for a bit (then the car started rolling away & I thought 'oh crap - I need to get back to the car & jump in & hit the brakes before it rolls away!' - erm

 

I don't think there's anything to laugh at as long as you're happy with your settings. I'm sure all of us would prefer a rig with huge displays showing correct FOV, a high force wheel and racing caliber pedals, a sturdy H-shifter and a comfortable seat. I'm quite sure that would take gaming to another level. However quite few of us are willing to dedicate a room and spend an amount of money comparable to a value of a regular family car for gaming.

However there's is a correct FOV which delivers the rendered image with correct proportions and angles. That is the FOV matching your display's apparent size (measured in degrees, not in inches) and that is what those FOV calculators calculate. Those who have the equipment allowing using the correct setting should be aware of that. Those who could use angles somewhat close to the real FOV should also be aware of that. The rest don't really need that information.

With my current equipment the correct FOV would be 35 degrees vertical, 56 degrees horizontal with a single 16:9 display. However I find that a bit too narrow for racing purposes with a single 16:9 display so I've settled with 40 degrees vertical and 65 degrees horizontal. (Those are identical settings with a 16:9 display.)

 

The question is:
"Is your monitor a window into the world, or is your steering wheel simply a game controller?"

For me, unless you have a triple screen setup, projector or similar large, wide display, then your window isn't big enough no matter how close you try and sit.
If you show the virtual wheel/hands, then you're using a game controller.

Nothing wrong with any of it, you use what you have in the way that suits you, so don't worry too much about the fov being "correct" unless you are sitting in a decent sim rig.

 

@Sakaama @Cote Dazur

Thanks for the math and your views on the matter. As much as I'd like to, getting the TV closer would be quite challenging atm because as you can see, it's sitting on a pile of bricks with the wheelstand up against it. Also, I gotta be able to move that stuff away quickly and easily so right now building something permanent is out of the question. TBH though, 46" at that distance is HUGE to me and I'm not sure if it would even be good for the eyes to have it much closer, but I'll find some temporary solution to try it at same point!

Anyways, spent the evening in MP feeling out different settings and settled for 32 FOV for the moment which, surely enough, is what would come out of the equation suggested in the OP. Kind of middle ground between the different calculations. Felt pretty good actually once I got the hang of it, although I feel it lacked a little in sense of speed in anything slower than GT cars at least. We'll see where I end up with it.

 

I was the same. I've raced in numerous racing titles over the years and havent touched any FOV settings and was quite happy. There's a certain thrill with racing at high speed you only get with scenery blasting past you.

Once you find the correct FOV though, you'll know what I mean (which you won't cause it sounds like you took it personally).

Numerous posts about doing whats comfortable which i'm all about, I'm just expanding on that.