Flat Panel over Fireplace - Discomforting?? - Page 2

I just hanged the 55" Hitachi above the fireplace and adjust the eyes for viewing

I have a friend that mounted a flat panel up high on this fireplace mantle and I absolutely cannot stand watching it from his couch. I know I am probably more picky than the average person on this subject, but I cannot at all recommend someone place their TV up high, figure out a way to avoid it.

I have been considering placing my to-be-acquired plasma above the fireplace. However, I'm very concerned with the smoke and heat arising from it. I have a wood burning fireplace, which we use quite a bit during the winter. Sometimes you just can't avoid brief periods of smoke arising out and up the outside.

Does no one have this issue?

In what way? I was told that with my setup that it would be horrible.

Due to the wide speaker audio dispersion angle, it works fine. We have no issues
watching movies in 5.1 in this setup. No, it's not measured and not below the screen,
but we've had this for months and we have no issues with tv height
or movie watching. I suppose center speaker could be an issue to some, just like screen
height, but not to my family.

So to read between the lines here, nobody has found or seen a solution that offers a large amount of vertical travel to alleviate the problem of having to place a unit over the fireplace??

Some of the items from a Company named Dectron look promising but expensive.

There's a wall mount thread that where you might get additional info.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=837291

Although maybe a little unconventional, you can set up L-C-R just fine if they are at the same level and pointed down towards the listener. With a lot of fireplace set ups, you have bookcases with shelves that can accomodate L & R speakers. Yes I understand the compromise in sound with speakers on a shelf, but it can work and sound pretty good.

"I just hanged the 55" Hitachi above the fireplace and adjust the eyes for viewing "

Forget how high the TV goes, those look like the most fancy uncomfortable chairs I've ever seen. I think I'd sit on the floor before I watched anything in them.

I did this when trying to decide whether a 32-inch LCD would be too overwhelming in our kitchen as a replacement for our 4-year old 15-inch Samsung LCD.

A 20-inch x 30-inch 1/4" foamboard was approximately an inch short in both dimensions (width & length). This had sufficient rigidty and seemed close enough to satisfy the requirement without involing a lot of cuttting. I temporarily attached it to the top and bottom of the bezel on the existing Samsung with a product called BlueStik which has the consistency of modeling clay but with the adhesive quality of a Post-it note. A small amount of this placed on the two spots indicated on the bezel and the foamboard attached with a small amount of pressure. Done.

It held the foamboard in place for over two weeks without failing, came down easily and left a slighly oily residue similar to that from modeling clay which cleaned up easily with a paper towel and window cleaner.

I cut a rectangular hole in the center the size of the screen on the Samsung and drilled a half-inch hole where the remote sensor was so that we could continue viewing in the interim.

My experience with this was that the mind gradually adjusts to the larger area such that when we took the foamboard down we really hated how small a set we had been living with! Our kitchen has a vaulted ceiling (8-ft rising to 11-ft) which I think helps to disipate any sense that the 32-inch set (Panasonic Viera TC-32LX700) might be obtrusive.

I just finished mounting this set within the last couple of weeks and have attached a photo.

I just installed a 50" Toshiba above the fireplace. I have 12 foot cathedral ceilins.

Laying down on the couch or reclining in a chair is the best viewing. When there is a party, most folks are standing and the center of the screen is about 6 1/2 feet with a tilted viewing angle, so it works fine for me.

This little gem got mounted last night. The bottom is about 6' from the ground. Viewing distance is roughly 14'. It's a touch high, but we'll get used to it. It's in a room with 18' ceilings so it doesn't look too out of place.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/uploads/...N0765_copy.jpg

I'm curious about more info on the mounting. I have a 47" LCD I just bought. I'm mounting it on my fireplace. Is it best to anchor in the brick or in the mortar? Another option someone mentioned seemed possible too.

Someone told me to drill all the way through the mortar line and use a bolt with a toggle nut (Collapses to fit through the hole then spreads out once its through)on the back side. Would this be better than doing anchors? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

That, ultimately, was the downfall for me as well...I need my sound to be right!!!! As a result, I mounted on opposite wall from the fireplace....

We finally finished ours.

We didnt like the old-fashioned brick fireplace.
It has an ugly mantle that would place our plasma TV too high.
So we refaced it into something more modern.

Heres the slideshow of the entire project.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gompol/F...83057057508274

Very nice fireplace upgrade!

Heath

I would concur with that. It looks very nice.

Looks very, very nice. I was surprised how well the lights just above the set turned out. Gives a nice atmosphere in the room. I sure hope my wife doesn't see this.

Went all out there eh mate?

Very nice job indeed. Looks smashing.

In our situation, our brick facade actually fell down during construction

The result was that we deleted the woodburning fireplace and replaced/moved it to a corner with a free standing gas fireplace (not wood burning) in the corner.

We then mounted the 50" plasma on an articulating wall mount in a constructed wall unit where the fireplace was originally.

Part of the problem before hand was the height above the mantel that the plasma would have been hung on. Regretfully, I have a neck problem that this would have made it VERY uncomfortable for me as I also wear progressive lense eye glasses.

Our current situation is the best of both worlds and I can smile as I watch the plasma in its current new location elevated, but not directly over the hearth/mantle of the fireplace.
..Mark

Newbie to the forums here... Was searching for a "vertical" articulating wall mount over the fireplace when I found gompol's post. Your hearth make-over turned out real sweeeeet ! ! Congratulations, m' friend

I am really considering a similar installation. My only concern is the viewing angle. I have a TIG welder that I can use to fabricate my own wall mount that could provide a little vertical adjustment over the fireplace. If I do, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and post them on the board.

Again, kudos to gompol and his "crew"

-- ale

Rant - Wouldn't it be nice if new home builders/designers would stop the nonsense of making fireplaces the center of attention in family rooms and living rooms? Most new home designs I've seen out here in CO (at least for the average buyer) need significant improvement from the standpoint of supporting audio/video equipment and creating a pleasent viewing/listening environment. Personally I'd prefer that they dispense with them all together. After all, how many people really use them these days? Not to mention older designs are not "green friendly" - lots of heat escapes up the chimny.

OK, I feel better now. I'm a little miffed there is a fireplace in the only good place for TV viewing/speaker installation and there really aren't any options to work around it. I don't like the thought of putting a flat panel over the fireplace (would have to look up at it in an uncomfortable postition). Think I'll just get a cart and roll it over when I want to watch - not very attractive I'm afraid. Sheesh.

Here's a couple before and afters of my 37" LCD mounted over a gas fireplace. Over the mantle would have been too high for viewing in my small condo living room. After some thought I decided "mantle be gone!". Ripped it down, had wires run, added a little paint, and viola!

I am mounting a 58" Plasma over a gas fireplace in the basement. I was originally going with a 42", but since the wife doesn't want a full, dark Home Theater room, we opted to go bigger with a flat panel. The panel will be about 50" above the floor and I marked out the area for several weeks with cardboard and do not see any problem with neck/eye strain from a viewing distance of about 12'. I'll also go with a tilt mounting bracket. These calculations put me at ~ 20 degrees...right iin the 15-20 degree acceptable range. As far as heat being a problem, I just installed a blower so that will move heat out through the bottom. Still, there is very little heat rise that goes straight up to the panel given the fireplace has a 3" canopy and another 4" for the the mantel. I also have the panel recessed a couple of inches back and allowed a couple of inches clearance on the top/sides. I am also going to install small vents on the top of the recess.
I did a lot of research on this subject and I think the naysayers make this a bigger deal than it really is. I also put a thermometer in the TV area and the little additional heat the FP generates comes no where close to affecting the operating temperature of the TV.
Good Luck

If any one wears Progressive Lense glasses, you might have a concern at that height.

Take it from one who has been there~

If wearing eye glasses are not an issue, then it may not be an issue.

I'm surprised this isn't the primary issue.

I have 2 friends that have active fireplaces where they burn wood.

The brick wall they are built into and a portion of the ceiling above the fireplace is dark with soot.

Now, I could see this amount of dirt accumulating in a roadhouse where everyone smoked and there was no ventilation (!) (don't laugh, I watched a Steeler football game in such a place in Tampa FL.... 6'4" ceiling, everyone smoked, no ventilations.... our eyes burned so bad, we had to run outside every timeout or commercial)

If you move the display away from the wall and still above the fireplace, then you pick up radiant heat. However all you need is a sheet of metal which is an effective heat shield (has to do with T to the 4th power, Stephan-Boltzman yadda yadda)

What is the required ambient operating temperature of the various types?

___________________

Oh, forgot, a power retracting screen front projection would probably be the safe bet.

I've been looking (unsuccessfully) for a wall mount that moves up and down (not talking about tilting).
When I really want to watch a game or movie, I'd love to be able to lower the plasma (mounted above the fireplace) so that it is as close to seated eye level as possible.
Anyone make such a thing (commercially or a custom solution)?

Thanks

I've finally got my TV in place above the fireplace and I love it. It is definitely high and will take some getting used to, but reclining chairs are great, and I really feel I can stretch out better with the high tv. Plus people can walk in front of me without really disturbing my viewing!

The mount I got (http://www.premiermounts.com/product.asp?partID=1417) holds it a few inches away from the wall such that there is a good deal of space behind the TV for air to move such that I don't believe the fireplace is going to cause an issue. The mantel will help and a small fan would probably alleviate any issues in severe circumstances.

I would recommend putting the TV in another or using a regular fixed mount.

Even though they make some nice anchoring systems for brick, any mount that is constantly tilted or moved (such as what you are looking for) will create a small vibration when moving it that over time could (and most likely will) loosen up the anchors in the brick. To me it's a not a risk I would want to take, nor would ever I mount a tv on brick with any type of moving mount for someone.

I'm also thinking of mounting a FP over a fireplace (dormant); are there any brick-specific mounts or is it just anchors-away for any model?

Here's some info that you might find helpful, regarding FPs mounted over fireplace.

Plasma TVs Above the Fireplace?
Reviewer: Phil Connor
[All Rights Reserved.[/i]

We receive a lot of e-mails asking about the possibility (or even plausibility) of placing a Plasma television or plasma monitor above a fireplace.

Living room configurations often put the fireplace as the central focal point. Since we all know that the real focus of your living room is the television, we hit upon the question of integration -- how to merge the logical focal point of a living room (the fireplace) with the actual one (the TV). The introduction of plasma displays has made such integrative gestures real possibilities. Mounting a plasma display above the fireplace is a great space saver, not to mention an attractive way to display the panel. This is a very common application for plasma TVs today.

Will the heat from the fireplace harm the plasma TV?

There are a few precautions to take before hanging a plasma screen TV over your fireplace. First, take a thermometer and tape it to the wall above the mantel, in the place where the plasma TV will reside. Then build a fire, and let it roar awhile. Now, check the thermometer. If the temperature is above 90 degrees F, then the area is receiving too much heat -- either escaping from the front of the fireplace and rising up the face, or radiating through the chimney to warm the outside wall -- for a plasma TV to hang there without receiving some modicum of residual damage. It would not be advisable to run the plasma for a long period of time while its environment is this hot. Though the Plasma TV has its own cooling system, the surrounding heat will force the Plasma display to work harder to cool itself, thus shortening the overall lifespan of the unit over time. A Plasma TV may still be run for short periods of time without harming the unit (even with the environment heat at 90 degrees F or above).

If the plasma display is not turned on while a fire burn in the fireplace, then the unit will not be harmed at all even though the temperature surrounding the unit may be warm. Of course, this might not be an option for people living in places where winter lasts seemingly forever, and fires are an everyday fact of life. In such cases, you should be advised to monitor the amount of heat your plasma display is exposed to while it is running.

Can the Plasma TV be mounted onto a brick fireplace?

Yes, cement anchors may be used with the wall mount to secure this application. Again, the amount of heat to which your plasma is exposed should be a concern here, as some brick fireplaces can radiate quite a bit of heat.

Will the Plasma Display TV be too high? Can I tilt it?

Even though plasma TVs typically have a 160-degree viewing angle, tilt wall mounts may be purchased if the mantel is high. A tilt wall mount application will allow the user to tilt the unit from up to 15 to 25% vertically (in this case, downward). With this mounting installation the user will have the choice between a flat or tilted affect while adding only 1.75 inches depth to the plasma TV. A flat wall mount can add as little as 1.25 inches to the depth. So, the difference is only half an inch.

Can I just place the plasma on the mantel?

A typical table stand for a Plasma TV is between 4 and 6 inches in depth. If your mantel can accommodate such a plasma TV stand, you have it made.