Child proofing a plasma / plexiglass or tempered glass tv shield - Page 2

As I said, if you have kids playing and jumping around in a room, I wouldn't put a plasma in there until they're old enough to not jump around and break it. Or put it in a room that they have limited access to. Or get a cheap LCD. What's the point of getting a nice TV and then having to put plexiglass in front of it? Obviously glare would be an issue for PQ. Depending on the clarity of the glass, it could affect brightness, color, resolution, just about anything, negating the point of a plasma (PQ). So we're back to a cheap LCD that you're willing to sacrifice.

Or you could always get a front projector and project onto a wall. Then your only repair money would be for spackle and paint

plasma are cheaper than lcd

Well said. The idea that children cannot or even should not be taught not to break everything they can get their hands on is a ridiculous concept that seems to have only become popular of late. Childproofing should mean protecting the child from hazards, not having to protect the entire home and it's contents from unruly children

I have a tvarmor screen protector for my TV. It is reflective but does not affect picture quality in any other way.

I used it to protect my TV from my 3 year old until she learned not to touch the TV. Once I felt that she got it, I took the shield off. Now my toddler is starting to walk so I am about to break out the shield again. It was fairly easy to teach the 3 year old but I have no idea how you can teach a 1 year old not to touch the TV. The idea of speaking firmly to a 1 year old is hilarious. They just laugh at you because they think your making a silly face.

A screen protector sounds like the perfect solution for the original posters needs. In my situation I can not wall mount or that would work for me. In your situation with flying objects in the room, wall mounting plus a screen protector sounds like the best way to go.

According to TVArmor, their screen protectors reduce a TV's brightness by 5%, which you can compensate by increasing the TV's brightness.

Screen protectors have next to no affect on the PQ beyond glare and glare is primarily only an issue when the screen is off.


No, it's the pretty well established fact that kids under a certain age can't be completely controlled and may do things randomly without any real sense of why they're doing, why they shouldn't do something, etc.. You're also ignoring the OP's situation like all the other posters criticizing his parenting instead of doing anything useful. He has it in a "game room" where it's acceptable for them to rough-house.

A screen protector on a wall-mounted plasma would make perfect sense in this scenario. Now if you're done with your OT about how terrible his parenting is and how he should chop off his kids' hands if they ever so much as attempt to have fun in the game room...


Exactly. I don't think there's such a thing as a perfectly behaved 1-2 yo. People with perfectly behaved toddlers are mostly just lucky. They respond to many and varied stimuli and you can't fully control that. They also sometimes just do random things that "seem like a good idea" or seem interesting to them at the time. All it takes is a minute left by themselves and maybe they suddenly mistook the tv for a chalkboard or something else. They are not yet perfectly rational and it's a joke to pretend that they are.

That's pretty accurate. Either them or one of the other companies making them also make an anti-reflective screen protector (in case glare is very bothersome).

I have read over this thread and have yet to read anyone saying that the OP is a terrible parent. No one has attacked the OP as you claim by "criticizing his parenting". Even the OP responded to any suggestions with a sense of humor, so it is obvious that he is just taking a lighthearted approach to this thread and not taking offense. You seem to be the only one offended. Do you really feel you need to defend the OP so strongly and fight his battles that aren't even really battles? Do you always respond with such hostility if someone expresses a different view than yours?

And no, there is nothing off-topic here and nobody is "ignoring the OP's situation". His title does say, "Child proofing a plasma", after all. Now you are absolutely correct when you stated that toddlers can be somewhat unpredictable. When my son was a toddler, my biggest concern was not him damaging my plasma, but rather the possibility of a 140 pound tv squashing him like a bug. Therefore we bought a play yard like this one:



In other areas of the house, my son could play and pull himself up using furniture that was not likely to tip over. But whenever he played in our family room where the plasma was, we set up the play yard to keep him safe. He loved being in there and even cried when we would take him out. I would even jump in there and we would have a blast.

Now if you somehow still see my suggestion, based on my own personal experience, as an off-topic personal attack on the OP and his parenting skills, and that I am ignoring his initial query completely, then I don't know what to tell you.

Since it's a "play room" a protective screen might not be such a bad idea after all.


I still think I'd probably just take my chances and on the off chance it actually gets busted submit a claim. The only thing your gambling is your deductible....not your plasma. (A little incentive not to smash the TV.....whoever breaks it pays part of the deductible.....if these are kids earning allowance or other income)

You clearly haven't actually read the posts by the OP describing his situation, either of you.

The room is a game/horsing around room. Sectioning off part of it isn't really an option, especially where nerf and other projectiles are concerned.

And yah, asking a 1-5 yr old to pay part of the deductible out of their "allowance" is completely absurd.

Wall-mount it and put a protective screen over it, like one from TVArmor or the other companies making them, and it should be fine.

If you read his posts, you'd also realize that it's one of several tv's in the house. He WANTS a tv in that room so all these suggestions telling him to put the tv somewhere else, discipline his toddlers better, don't let them in the "mancave" designed to be a fun area to begin with, etc.. etc... are completely off-base to the purpose of providing the OP with useful advice.

The best advice has already been stated several times, which is just wall-mounting and putting a screen-protector over it as the OP's intuition told him.

All the parenting advice doesn't help him at all beyond making clear who hasn't actually bothered to read his posts and just wants to post something theoretical on the topic of parenting instead of actually paying closer attention to the OP's situation and suggesting anything practical.

The "projector" idea still seems best IMHO. Nothing like a big screen for movies, cartoons, and football!

On a budget? Well I've just the ticket. Go over on to the Rear Projection Units Forum, and go to the thread titled "Don't Dump Your CRT RPTV". These Tv's were very large, but had the most beautiful color, contrast and overall PQ for big screens. The thing is, with everyone going koo-koo for cocoa puffs over flat screen displays, these large screen CRT RPTV's have been showing up on Craigs List, etc. for peanuts on the dollar. You can buy a 65" Mits or 64" Pioneer Elite or a 63" Panasonic CRT RPTV cheap, then have the optics deep cleaned, & TV alligned & calibrated, and you'll have a jaw-dropping beautiful pic on a very large screen for practically nothing. Here's a big plus too, those TV's are virtually indestructable and will hold up to many times the abuse that would normally harm a flat screen display. These TV's are one heavy Mofo, but no big deal if you've got a room to park it. Read Mr. Bob's posts, as he's one of the best people still around that can work the magic on these TV's. Check it out.

I have to second this suggestion, I was thinking about suggesting to buy secondhand as well.

Does anyone know any cheaper solution than TV-Armor for 60" television? I really liked the TV-Armor product, at least by looking on their website and reading reviews at couple of places but for 60", TV-armor costs $280 (+NJ tax) that's over $300.

Having owned a couple of these monsters in the past and being the current owner of an SXRD rear projection set I really have to agree that for pq these sets are great if you can stay within the sweet spot for viewing. The screens, however, are just as if not more vulnerable than those on flat panels. Fact is that in their heyday screen protectors were a frequently sold option for these sets specifically for families with small children. Also, it would appear that the OP wants a set that can be viewed easily while engaging in other activities in the playroom, meaning the off-angle dropoff inherent in these sets would be a major problem.

You make some very good and valid points. The main point w/suggesting the used CRT RPTV was to do this on a very tight budget, and its cost would be a few hundred dollars for the large screen TV (some I've seen are even free) + several hundred more for the optics deep clean & calibration so even if the kids do destroy the TV, the OP isn't out a lot of money and it's budget friendly. Also, for the eco-minded it avoids another big CRT RPTV in the landfill and recycles a useful product.

I guess there's no solution that has a perfect answer, and I definitely agree about that off-angle viewing. If the OP goes the budget projector route, then he has a problem w/too much light. If he goes the used CRT RPTV route, then he's got off-angle viewing problems & a TV that although he got dirt cheap can still be damaged. If he goes the large screen Plasma TV route, he'll be beyond budget and will need an optional protector screen installed. LCD TV cost more per screen inch than Plasma and has viewing angle problems as well, so I wasn't even going to suggest that as an option unless the OP has an ultra-bright sunlit viewing room.

What option would you suggest?

Are you trying to protect the kids or the TV?

I just ordered my first HD TV and it is a G25 (should be here in a week). Between the time I ordered it and now, I learned that the display is a pane of glass and that the glass may not be very thick. Now I am slightly concerned that my kids might run into it an hurt themselves. Is the glass on a plasma tv tempered?

If your only worried about the tv screen then I wouldn't sacrifice any picture quality just to guard for the off chance that something might get thrown. Unless your kids are just that rambunctious

If your really worried about it, the TV Armour looks like it would do the job of protecting the screen and your kids with minimal impact to the display quality. I will probably just purchase a relatively tall and wide TV stand to put some distance between the kids and the TV.

One last thing for all the folks with parenting advice. If you don't have kids, don't comment about how to be a parent. You have no idea. A couple hours with a niece/nephew doesn't count.

I have an uncle doing 5-10 at the federal "play yard", says it reminds him of being a kid.

+1 !!

Hang the TV and put a cupboard below. Not a TV console as it is too low and easy to climb. I don't trust TV pedestal even when secured. There are deadly instances of TV falling on kids. They are really huge compared to your kid.

Not the best viewing experience as it is about 2 feet too high but safe for your loved ones and TV.

Bumping an old thread as there aren't many on this board regarding screen protectors.

We lost a 3mo old PN51D8000 to a wii remote (clasp was not of the locking sort and came loose from our 4.5 year old while bowling). Our replacement arrived today. We'll be putting a 1/4" plexi-glass cover on it(won't mount the TV until we have the protector ). Going to purchase a custom cut piece at TAP Plastics and mount with heavy duty adhesive velcro.

IMO, as a parent, the degradation will be negligible vs the peace of mind. Kids aren't perfect... they make mistakes.

Will report back regarding any PQ degradation.

somegeek

Ended up going with 3/16" plexiglass. Had it cut at a local TAP Plastics. Made up some brackets, bolted them to the plexiglass and hung this on my PN59D8000. No noticeable difference in PQ for me. The plexiglass is quite clear. It's reflective but so is my plasma. Great option in my opinion if you have kids and want a flat screen with some peace of mind regarding it's longevity.

somegeek

My wifes family was over a couple of months after we just got our DLP tv ( this was years ago). The tv was about $3.5k. her brother and his wife are those parents who dont watch the kids closely. Their kid throws a dog toy right at the screen and somehow makes some black marks behind the screen. My wife and I were super pissed and yet her parents and brother said it was somehow our fault...?! They didnt pay for the damages, but a few months down the road I got the screen replaced under warranty due to an unrelated manufacture defect. So things do happen.

Someone here mentioned a heavy blanket, then I thought that a really heavy curtain that you could open and close might look like a theater curtian and serve the purpose of protecting the tv.

I remember when I bought my 46pz800u Panasonic was chucking wiimotes at their screens to argue for their (panasonic's plasmas) durability vs LCD. Of course, those plasmas had two panes of glass and were built like tanks-- my 46" weighs over 80lbs WITHOUT the stand! I doubt Panasonic would attempt that with their current lineup...

I can train and control my kids but my big fear is other people's children. I entertained this idea of a cover when I purchased my PDP a few years back. IMO Acrylic/Makrolon/Plexi is just too heavy for a 60" PDP. If you get it thin to control the weight then it is too flexible. I thought about a temporary cardboard cover for when company is over and the TV is off. In the end I just grabbed a beer and parked myself in front of the TV like a goalie. So far so good LOL