Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Advice for new house needed

Hi Mark,

I just got done doing a test with the bottom of my DLP sitting at 4’7” with my seating at 7’10”. I would not recommend this to anyone without reclining seats. And even with reclining seats I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who may have equilibrium problems.

With the TV mounted at 4’7” I found that when sitting reclined with the TV angled down at the seating it was more comfortable than having the center of the TV at or just above eye level when sitting either straight or reclined. Sitting up straight and looking up caused to much strain with extended viewing (an hour or more). When I angled the TV toward the seating the view was more natural but looking up at that angle was still straining when sitting upright.

Another issue that my father noticed (but didn’t bother me) was that when reclining and looking up at the TV angled down at him he felt nauseated because of the disconnect between the TV’s viewing angle compared to what “feels natural.” Might be something one would get use to.

I think your idea of putting it in the corner might be your best bet but I do have a couple of hair-brained suggestions.

First have you considered getting a projector and pull down screen. Doubt you could use the fireplace and the screen at the same time but you could still put the TV above the fireplace for casual viewing. Always something you could try later if you do put the TV above the fireplace.

Crazier idea is to build a vertical sliding carriage (like a target carriage at a rifle range) with counterweights allowing the TV to slide up and down in front of the fireplace. Ok I said it was crazy.

You could build a riser for the seating area to decrease the viewing angle if the TV is above the fireplace. You could also make it so there is a pit in front of the fire place.

Or you could just use the corner.

If you do put the TV above the fireplace I would seriously consider getting a wall mount that allows you to pull it out and tilt it down at the seating. One that also allows it to swing from side to side would let you better view the TV from other parts of the room.

Cheers,

Dean

My zwei pfennig:

o Conventional wisdom is that since higher frequencies are more directional / localizable, it's best to have tweeters roughly at ear level.

o Given the date factor, I'd nix the small spare room idea. If you led her in there to watch, she might consciously or sub-consciously feel like you were leading her to a bedroom. I may be out of my vulcan mind here but I found when suddenly dating basically for the first time in my late 38's that women (in their 30's at least) tend to be a bit suspicious and sometimes work overtime to find a reason to discount a guy. In other words, the living room is a more "safe" setting.

o Having gone through a divorce myself (MAN I wish I'd gotten away $ooner) I know you're not looking to spend money right now, which is one strike against the projector idea. Another is that front projector setups pretty much need a dark room, which may not be possible here, and which might come off as "fussy" to a date.

o I wince every time I see a thin panel TV mounted above a fireplace. In your case, you don't want you or especially a future date to get a sore neck and be uncomfortable.

o Another idea might be to put the TV in the corner where the dartboard is, at a 45º angle. Sure, you'll loose a few ft^2, but you could gain some flexibility in furniture. You could for example put an L-shaped sectional square with the walls with the inner angle facing the TV. You'd have fine spots for watching both the TV and still have a decent view of the fireplace on date nights if you can in fact use it down there. This would block part of the window, though.

o If the fireplace isn't so important, I'd honestly lose the mirror above it, and place the TV square in front of it.

o Placing it on the mirror wall (what's with all the mirrors?) might not be so bad an idea as you think. You wouldn't need to remove the light fixture -- just get a caribeener and hike up the chain. I did this in my old place and it worked just fine -- the ceiling slanted the same way too, though it was distinctly higher. If your room is 19.5' deep in that direction, I'd think you'd have plenty of room to place your dinette table *behind* the couch, though you don't show a photo of that fourth wall.

John,

I think my 9 inches from the top was an incorrect measurement.

Dean

Thank you.
Projector is a no go.
I do like the carriage idea. May look into that a little more.
Not sure on the riser.
I may look to a corner. Problem is there are only 2 possible corners, and one is occupied by my grand piano.

I already have a dual cantilever articulating wall mount that should handle the need. Can tilt, pan and articulate from 6 inches to 28 inches. Omnimount UCL-XL

Thank you Anthony,

I am going to look at the idea of the corner.

Not able to put the dining set behind couch as it is in direct line with the front door and opening to the kitchen.

Yeah, lots of mirrors. Some will come down for sure. Then again I can not complain, I own this house pretty much free and clear. It is (was) a rental unit I have.

mapatton,

I wouldn't throw out the projector idea yet. You can get a pretty good 720p projector for about $1000 or a good 1080p one for about $2500. Just check out audioholics.com for some reviews. The nice thing about a projector is that you could use a pull-down screen in front of the fireplace so that you don't have such a severe viewing angle. But, you couldn't use the fireplace when you are watching the projector though.

I just recently replaced my 32" crt with a 50" plasma. I am using the same stand and I did with the crt. The angle on my neck with the crt was slightly below level and I thought was very comfortable. The angle on my neck with the plasma is slightly above level. This was a huge adjustment for my neck. It took about a month or so to get used to it and I still would prefer to have the angle on my neck slightly below level. I just don't want to spend the money on a stand right now. The angle you are considering is so severe I wouldn't even think of it as an option.

- Nick

bump for more thoughts
as the viewing angle is about what I have now, thinking above the fp
Thought about some hockey pucks under the front legs of seating LOL

You could try using these under the feet of a TV stand.

http://www.ezmoves.com/

Then when you want to use the fire place just slide the TV to the side.

The audio wouldn’t follow the picture if you wanted to use the fireplace and the TV at the same time.

Dean

Another possibility is that you could build a DIY TV stand that fits in front of the fireplace but leaves it unobstructed. That would let you drop the TV down maybe a couple of feet (hard to tell from the picture).

Here are some examples of electric fireplace entertainment centers to give you and idea of what I am talking about.

http://www.nextag.com/electric-fireplace-with-entertainment-center/search-html

Big question is if you could do this within fire code.

Sorry for the double post but I missed the edit deadline.

Cheers,
Dean