[LaserGecko]

Hi there,


We have a 2.5 year old son and a couple of grandkids that are younger. I'm considering getting a plasma and a front projection system.


How do you protect the plasma from kids and the mishaps that happen?


Would a mounted, removable piece of Lexan over the front be the only way?


Also, I'm thinking about the TH-42PWD7UY. From what I've read in the last hour, there's just no better bang for the buck, right?


Thanks,

Jason

 

[amirm]

My two year old cracked the front screen in my rear projector. You are wise to be thinking of this. My solution would be to mount it high above their reach. Anything in front is going to cause pretty bad reflections.


Altenatively, buy a CRT TV.


Amir

 

[cmunro]

I agree with the above post. CRT's are just about indestructible when it comes to children. I own a 32" Toshiba and thats the TV the kid's watch, it's got the thick glass which is perfect because they always have there hands all over it. Every night I go through the windex and paper towel ritual to wipe off there little hand prints. I have 3 children oldest is 7, all 2 years apart and they can be quite destructive when they want to be. If you go with the plasma hang it high!!! GOOD LUCK. Put your new plasma in your bedroom that's an even better idea.

 

[LaserGecko]

We're buying it for a Living Room -> Home Theater remodel instead of a RP big screen so I can hang the front projection screen closer to the wall. So, we're not just buying a plasma to get a plasma.

 

[Ross in Toronto]

I bought a 50" Pioneer 1110HD with a 3 year old and 5 year old in the house. After mounting the display on the wall, I plunked down 2 foot tall and 5 foot wide AV stands in front of it to block access to the panel. I put doors on the front of the AV stands to keep grubby fingers off the reciever, DVD player, etc. I then placed the 4-foot tall speaker mains on either side of the stands to block access in behind it (and subsequently to the panel).


It is not the most elegant solution, but it has kept the wee ones from touching the panel. My 3 year old, however, has knocked down each of the 4-foot mains once. She probably thought it was funny when her daddy turned as purple as Barney. D'oh! Speakers (and tot) are just fine.

 

[LaserGecko]

Thanks for the response, Ross. How high do you have it mounted? I was thinking around 5 feet for the center.


It's really funny. My 2.5 year old son has been turning on the receiver and operating it ever since he could walk. The amazing part is that he can tell what he's done and can "fix it" when Mommy can't. He has the basics of the Tape Monitor circuit down when my wife, well...


He'll be an AV Tech for sure.

 

[jcpzero]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ross in Toronto My 3 year old, however, has knocked down each of the 4-foot mains once. She probably thought it was funny when her daddy turned as purple as Barney. D'oh! Speakers (and tot) are just fine.

One of my mains got pushed by the wee ones into the side of the CRT leaving a nice dent in the CRT. (Well, I want a plasma anyway - better the crt dent than the speakers). I have since used TV straps on both the speakers and TV to connect them to the TV cart. I then have earthquake furniture straps from the TV cart to the wall. Since I live in earthquake country, I should be set for both earthquake and toddler tipping.


Probably one of my biggest concers is damage on a plasma due to the young ones. My plan for now is to sit it in the middle or back of the TV cart with some earthquake TV straps to ensure they can't tip it over. It will still be vulerable from flying objects.


JCPZero

 

[quadad]

Finally a thread that "hits home". My user ID is accurate. We have four just-turned, 5-year olds (3 boys, 1 girl) and they are bound to be touching, bumping into, throwing something at, or climbing on whatever is in the house. Having eliminated the glass, brass and marble designer furniture of our pre-kids days, we have gotten very careful with what we put "where" in the house.


Though we haven't gotten the big screen yet, I am envisioning the combination of a fairly high up, wall mount and a very liberal extended warranty (if I can find one).

 

[jcpzero]

Quote:

Originally posted by quadad Finally a thread that "hits home". My user ID is accurate. We have four just-turned, 5-year olds (3 boys, 1 girl) and they are bound to be touching, bumping into, throwing something at, or climbing on whatever is in the house. Having eliminated the glass, brass and marble designer furniture of our pre-kids days, we have gotten very careful with what we put "where" in the house.

Hey quaddad: I am also a father of multiples - but one of the few times I could say "only twins". Double boys at 3 years. Definitely has changed the household landscape. Our glass tables will probably be going soon after Christmas as we just had a near miss with a plaster floor lamp. Twins and glass tables OK, floor lamp destroyed in many pieces. Maybe I should re-consider wall mounting...


JCPZero

 

[Ross in Toronto]

Quote:

Originally posted by LaserGecko Thanks for the response, Ross. How high do you have it mounted? I was thinking around 5 feet for the center. It's really funny. My 2.5 year old son has been turning on the receiver and operating it ever since he could walk. The amazing part is that he can tell what he's done and can "fix it" when Mommy can't. He has the basics of the Tape Monitor circuit down when my wife, well... He'll be an AV Tech for sure.

I just measured my mounting height. My 50" display is mounted 4' 5" from the floor to the centre of the display. We simply eyeballed the height as "comfortable" given a seating location 10' away (using a suitably sized rectangle of cardboard held against the wall prior to mounting).


My 5 year old can run the DVD no problem (including menus, pause, etc.). My wife and I are both engineers with four post-secondary degrees between the two of us. We're hoping he turns out to be a doctor or lawyer or something.

 

[kgidley]

Quote:

Originally posted by jcpzero Maybe I should re-consider wall mounting... JCPZero

Picturing the tykes doing chin-ups on the articulating arm fully extended....

 

[Ross in Toronto]

Quote:

Originally posted by quadad Finally a thread that "hits home". My user ID is accurate. We have four just-turned, 5-year olds (3 boys, 1 girl) and they are bound to be touching, bumping into, throwing something at, or climbing on whatever is in the house. Having eliminated the glass, brass and marble designer furniture of our pre-kids days, we have gotten very careful with what we put "where" in the house. Though we haven't gotten the big screen yet, I am envisioning the combination of a fairly high up, wall mount and a very liberal extended warranty (if I can find one).

Gadzooks. Reminds me of a story from several years ago when a guy I met at work told me he had to get broadband Internet on cable because his boys were tying up the phone line all the time. I asked him how old his kids were. He said, "Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen and thirteen. All boys."


I don't think height alone will protect the plasma. You need to get some distance between the front of the display and your munchkins. That's why I stuck the AV furniture in front of the plasma. So far, so good.

 

[quadad]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ross in Toronto ... All boys." I don't think height alone will protect the plasma. You need to get some distance between the front of the display and your munchkins. That's why I stuck the AV furniture in front of the plasma. So far, so good.

Hmmm, 13-year old boys , not something I want to think about right now. I will comment about the plasma furniture in front of the plasma though. One of my boys is a specialist in the area of climbing. When we changed out the toddler beds for bunk beds and left the old mattresses in the garage for a while, he even climbed up those! Its all a challenge to them. No fear, no thoughts about right and wrong, etc., just GO ! That's how they are wired.


So, I'm thinking maybe a pit in front of the screen would work ...

 

[Ross in Toronto]

If your house is large enough, you can make the "plasma room" off-limits unless a parent is in there with them. Saves on pit or moat maintenance costs. I suppose a dry pit would be cheaper to maintain than a moat.


My tots don't climb on the furniture (or at least they haven't discovered the joys in doing so), so I'm okay leaving them alone in the room with the display. When their friends are over, however, they're not alowed in there unless an adult supervises. I have no idea how destructive / not destructive are the neighbourhood kids, and I'd hate to call some kid's parent to tell them that their little Bam-Bam tore a $15,000 plasma off the wall. Actually, I'd probably hate to receive that call, too...


Ross

 

[LaserGecko]

We have a good sized house, but everything's going in the Living Room so there's no way to keep anyone out.


The more I think about an easily removable acrylic screen protector, the more I like it.


Of course with the recent "42 inch screens will be down to $1,000 in 2006" post, we may end up waiting.

 

[Ross in Toronto]

Quote:

Originally posted by LaserGecko Of course with the recent "42 inch screens will be down to $1,000 in 2006" post, we may end up waiting.

Heck, at that price you can buy two and leave one in the box in case the first one is damaged.

 

[jcpzero]

Quote:

Originally posted by LaserGecko Of course with the recent "42 inch screens will be down to $1,000 in 2006" post, we may end up waiting.

The falling prices add to peace of mind in case the little ones end up damaging the Plasma.


JCPZero

 

[CCrawford]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ross in Toronto Heck, at that price you can buy two and leave one in the box in case the first one is damaged.

Make sure to leave holes in the box for the kid to breathe.


Of course, just a gentle reminder to everyone that a falling television can do a lot of damage to the kid underneath. Consider using the aforementioned earthquake straps, or industrial strength sticky-pads underneath any stand-mounted TV, even if you don't have kids.


--C