Advice on HDTV location in room.

[aristobrat]

I'm going to be able to shortly replace our 32" standard living room TV with a 42" HDTV, but I'm killing myself trying to figure out how to make this living room work.

The problem I'm having is that the focal point of the living room (I think) is the brick fireplace, which does get frequently used. So right now, we have the couch and chairs pointed in that direction.

Unfortunately, that's not a great viewing angle for the current TV.

I had hoped to be able to put the new HDTV directly on the fireplace (removing the mantle). Heat's not an issue, but I think the height of the fireplace is. Because the fireplace is a foot off the floor already, if I mount the new TV a few inches over the current fireplace opening, the TV will be higher than normal line-of-sight if look at it from the couch. From what I've been reading, HDTV should be viewed at a normal, straight-on angle, so I'm worried about it being a foot or so higher.

I've seen some pretty awesome desk/rooms/what-have-you setups from other MacRumors folks, so I thought I'd post a few pictures here and see if anything pops into peoples minds as to how I might be able to make this work.

We've only lived in this house for around two months (thus the paint samples on the walls), and we've yet to come up with a living room arrangement that everyone loves. I was hoping a HDTV's ability to be mounted anywhere would really help, but maybe that's not the magic bullet I thought it would be.

Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated. THANKS!

 

[Koodauw]

Well I am sort of in the same situation as you. I just moved into my first place of my own, and also just got a new tv. It sure is a challenge.

here is one suggestion, although you would need a love seat, chair, or second couch to pull it off.

How about putting the tv where the fish tank is now, leaving the sofa where it is, (facing the fireplace) and add a small love seat facing the fish tank/ new tv wall. (Making an L shape with the two sofas). That way you can still watch tvs, or with a slight move, you can watch the fire burn. The fish tank could move to where the tv is now, or somewhere else you feel fits.

 

[pseudobrit]

I think it would be easier to reposition the furniture into a double-use position (fireplace and TV) than to find a catchall solution with just TV placement.

The killer hardcore solution would be to have the screen emerge from a panel in the floor just in front of the hearth and glide up gracefully into position level with the firebox.

 

[ShermDog]

I too was in a similar situation earlier this year when I bought a townhouse. The living room was designed so that the only reasonable spot to place a large plasma TV would be above the fireplace--which I definitely didn't want because of the line-of-sight issue. But, fortunately, I was able to get our builder to move the fireplace to a different location.

I know you don't have that as an option, but one thing I did consider doing was mounting the plasma above the fireplace on an articulating arm--one that moves up and down as well as in and out. That way, when I wanted to watch, I could pull the TV out and down to an appropriate height. When done, I could just push it in and up and it wouldn't block the fireplace. Obviously, you couldn't watch TV and light the fireplace at the same time, but I thought I'd throw it out for your consideration.

A second option would be mounting the TV on wall to the right of the fireplace. If you use a full-motion mount, you could swing it out so that it faces your sofa much like your current TV does. Hope that helps.

 

[aristobrat]

Thanks for the ideas.

I'd love to have an articulating arm, or have the TV rise up from the floor, but budget wise, I'm pushing my luck with just getting the new TV.

I really like the idea about putting the new TV where the fish tank is and adding a love seat to form a "L" with the current couch. One person could totally kick back on the couch and get a good angle, and the love seat would be a straight-on angle, so that should be fine.

Everyone'd be roughly 12ft away from the TV then. Wonder if I can pull that off with a 42"?