Okay, I'm having a hard time deciding on the HT thing...

[JulesMaximus]

My wife wants the plasma and she wants to hang it on the wall above the fireplace in our family room. My problem with this is that it puts the bottom of the TV about 5' off the ground so you're looking up at the TV instead of having it at eye level when sitting in the main viewing area. Another problem with this mounting situation is that it leaves me nowhere to put my center channel speaker...oh, and there's the problem of running wires to the set from my components. We won't even get into the challenges of where to put the rear channel speakers.

The pros of going with a DLP is that I can get 1080 resolution, my center channel speaker will sit on the stand below the TV and I really won't have to move anything around to go with this setup. My wife however wants to get rid of the monolith that is our current TV to free up space in the family room. I told her that this solution would be best for our current setup and it would free up some space but not a whole lot.

Personally, I don't want to be looking up at the TV all the time. Above the fireplace would be nice for viewing from the kitchen but sitting in the family room I could see that being a neck strainer after a while.

Anyone mount their TV up above eye level and learned to live with it?

UPDATE:Well, last night I bought a Samsung 50" DLP HDTV. I also bought a stand for it that has the set about 20" off the floor. Perfect height for viewing IMO. My wife is happy with this setup as it looks much better than our old setup and it does take up less room. I am very happy with this TV. The picture is very bright and clear. I popped 'Master and Commander' in and was blown away (yes, my DVD player is 1080p and HDMI capable so I think I got the best picture out of it possible). It will be even better when my new HD DVR is installed this Friday.

I kind of wish I had the plasma but I saw more artifacts in the plasma display than you see on the DLP sets and I like to watch sports so I thought the DLP would be better for that.

 

[amdskip]

I would not like that at all. Is there another place you could place it in the room?

 

[tw1164]

tell her you'll use the money you saved on the DLP to buy her some jewelry, you'll be fine then

 

[Viper GTS]

Stand your ground on the eye level issue. My g/f wanted a wall mount TV until I explained that it would have to be mounted at waist height to be correctly viewable. She caught on quickly and then was in full support of a DLP since she didn't want a LCD or plasma at waist height on the wall.

Find a new spot for the TV if it's going to be that big of a problem.

Oh BTW the final nail in the coffin for her LCD/plasma dreams was taking her to look at a 61" DLP. After that she was all for it. Under $1800 for a 61" 1080P is hard to beat.

Viper GTS

 

[michaels]

I have DLP and picked up the center channel speaker stand a from CC that works great. It mounts on the back of the tv and even holds my big ass center.

 

[Rage187]

you should only mount tv's at eye level.

who wants to stare up at a tv?

BTW: get http://monoprice.com/products/product.a...cs_id=1082801&p_id=2852&seq=1&format=2

save yourself a few hundred dollars.

 

[Gunslinger08]

My plasma sits on top of my dresser, which is about 4 to 4.5 feet tall. It's really not that big of a deal... and I sit about 3-4 feet away from it.

 

[ElFenix]

gf's parents put it in the fireplace

 

[JulesMaximus]

I can't wall mount anything in my family room because the only place with enough space is above our fireplace (I could fit a 50" plasma up there though). One side of the room is open to the kitchen, the other wall has a huge sliding glass door with a large window next to it. The opposite side of the room is a wall with a large opening to the living room (we have shutters in that space now) and the fireplace splits the other wall into two unusable halfs.

Pic of room in question.

 

[aldamon]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximusPersonally, I don't want to be looking up at the TV all the time. Above the fireplace would be nice for viewing from the kitchen but sitting in the family room I could see that being a neck strainer after a while.

Stick to your guns. Mounting a TV over a fireplace is really dumb looking IMO. I imagine there are some people out there mounting TVs over a hot, smoky, working fireplace. LOL. Also, a TV of that magnitude is not an after-thought. It should be in a focal point in the room for comfortable viewing, and like you said, manageable speaker installation. This is her way of reducing the TV to the level of wall art. Unacceptable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Should I get the plasma and stand mount it or just go with the DLP set? I've heard that the DLP sets refresh quicker than the plasma TVs. The room is pretty dark and even during the daytime I can get it pretty dark in there so there is no reflected light to drown out a picture. Also, the TV has the only windows in that room behind it the way I have the room setup now.

 

[Feldenak]

I don't really have an opinion in this debate. I just want everyone associated with those damn "It's the mirrors" DLP commercials beaten within an inch of their lives.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I can't wall mount anything in my family room because the only place with enough space is above our fireplace (I could fit a 50" plasma up there though). One side of the room is open to the kitchen, the other wall has a huge sliding glass door with a large window next to it. The opposite side of the room is a wall with a large opening to the living room (we have shutters in that space now) and the fireplace splits the other wall into two unusable halfs.

Pic of room in question.

How would the seating be moved if it was above the firsplace?

If you had recliners or something it might work, but sitting in a normal couch it seems like that would get pretty annoying.

 

[RagingBITCH]

DLP. I'm loving my 46" Sammy. I would have liked a plasma, but couldn't justify the addtl cost for one.

 

[Dirigible]

The only people I know with plasmas above the fireplace are ultra-concerned with decor and interior decorating. They don't care that it sucks functionally. I can't stand watching their TVs.

If you want to watch your TV comfortably, don't mount it above the fireplace.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I can't wall mount anything in my family room because the only place with enough space is above our fireplace (I could fit a 50" plasma up there though). One side of the room is open to the kitchen, the other wall has a huge sliding glass door with a large window next to it. The opposite side of the room is a wall with a large opening to the living room (we have shutters in that space now) and the fireplace splits the other wall into two unusable halfs.

Pic of room in question.

How would the seating be moved if it was above the firsplace?

If you had recliners or something it might work, but sitting in a normal couch it seems like that would get pretty annoying.

It wouldn't. We could add a matching brown leather recliner but the couch would stay where it is now...I don't want to cut the room in half by moving the couch out so that it is facing the fireplace.

Again, speaker placement becomes a real challenge if we mount the TV above the fireplace.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
The only people I know with plasmas above the fireplace are ultra-concerned with decor and interior decorating. They don't care that it sucks functionally. I can't stand watching their TVs.

If you want to watch your TV comfortably, don't mount it above the fireplace.

Exactly. I always seem them mount TV's like that on those design shows, and I'm always thinking "who in the hell watches a TV like that?"

 

[blackdogdeek]

regarding the neck strain issue:

our bedroom tv sits on top of a small armoire. the base of the lcd is about 5' off the ground which means that watching the tv is fine for if you're standing or if you're lying down in bed.

whenever we try to watch sitting up in bed we end up getting tired necks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
The only people I know with plasmas above the fireplace are ultra-concerned with decor and interior decorating. They don't care that it sucks functionally. I can't stand watching their TVs.

If you want to watch your TV comfortably, don't mount it above the fireplace.

My wife is a realtor...she is constantly looking at other people's homes and this was basically her idea. Don't get me wrong, I am all for getting a new HDTV but I don't want to get annoyed by a stiff neck everytime I watch it.

 

[zixxer]

Eh - my plasma is above the fireplace. It is high - and different, but not HORRIBLE.. my ikea poang chair doesn't lean back enough, and I'm getting reclining couches (need new couches anyway...) which will help

 

[Aharami]

blech. TVs should be placed at eye level when sitting down. Dont put it above the fireplace

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I can't wall mount anything in my family room because the only place with enough space is above our fireplace (I could fit a 50" plasma up there though). One side of the room is open to the kitchen, the other wall has a huge sliding glass door with a large window next to it. The opposite side of the room is a wall with a large opening to the living room (we have shutters in that space now) and the fireplace splits the other wall into two unusable halfs.

Pic of room in question.

How would the seating be moved if it was above the firsplace?

If you had recliners or something it might work, but sitting in a normal couch it seems like that would get pretty annoying.

It wouldn't. We could add a matching brown leather recliner but the couch would stay where it is now...I don't want to cut the room in half by moving the couch out so that it is facing the fireplace.

Again, speaker placement becomes a real challenge if we mount the TV above the fireplace.

In that case, yuk

My own display is a bit higher than I would like it to be for various reasons, but it's nowhere near as bad as that would be sitting in those seats.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Bumped for updates in original post.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Nice How much did you pay for the stand, out of curiousity? Looking for a decent stand for my 46". (My cousin has the same TV as you, got the stand thrown in for free from Crutchfield)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=665890

Good link to get you started on starting points for calibrating the tv, issues, etc for your model TV.

 

[aldamon]

Congrats!