Hanging a plasma screen above fireplace.

[anonymous-user]

Is this a good idea or will I fry my Plasma screen?

I've seen many a screen hung above a fireplace but don't know whether any special care need to be taken, or is there special kit you need to buy (insulation for example).

I have a Pioneer 42" (Kuro) screen, and its just your bog standard gas driven fake fire.

Cheers

[DavidY]

Loads of people do it, it's not ideal putting electronic equipment directly in line with a hot air flow.

But IMO it looks crap, and do you really want to spend all your time looking up at a screen?

davidy

[Eggle]

Noooooo
Don't do it. The screen is way to ergonomically high above a fireplace.

[Zod]

Depends how far away you sit and on the shape of your sofa. Also depends how hot the chimney breast gets.

Ours is above the fireplace and we are very happy with it. Compromise is necessary in most houses.

[satans worm]

Zod

I assume thats a real fire? And the TV works ok with this?

[10 Pence Short]

Zod said:

Depends how far away you sit and on the shape of your sofa. Also depends how hot the chimney breast gets.

Ours is above the fireplace and we are very happy with it. Compromise is necessary in most houses.

I'm assuming the Cyrus gear is pre/powered. An integrated Cyrus on it's own would turn into a little oven in there!

[FlossyThePig]

Couple next door were going to have it done but the installer refused:

1. Heat from the fire
2. The strength of the brickwork can be affected by the fire.

I was thinking of installing a TV over the fireplace in a room we are about to decorate but as the wall is nearly 200 years old (soft bricks and lime plaster) I have decided not to take the risk. We are going to install a wood burner in the fireplace as well.

Hugh

[hilly10]

Don't do it its known as the Chav Position

[Emeye]

Doing this is going to seriously harm your neck(s)!

[jkennyd]

Everyone I know that has done it wishes they hadn't.

[CraigW]

DavidY said:

Loads of people do it, it's not ideal putting electronic equipment directly in line with a hot air flow.

But IMO it looks crap, and do you really want to spend all your time looking up at a screen?

davidy

totally agree, it can look rubbish. I did mine slightly differently..

[Plotloss]

Generally speaking, we'd advise against it.

[CraigW]

inkiboo said:

In my experience, it is pointless putting a plasma or LCD above a fireplace because the screen is then simply too high. Your viewing pleasure will be ruined. I run my 50" 45cm off the ground and that is perfect (depending on the height of furniture).

Everyone said I was mad, that it was too low. Now having viewed it they realise that it's the right height.

agree, in the above setup plotloss and I spent ages getting the height to an acceptable level & now I'm very glad we did.

[Lost soul]

Zod said:

Ours is above the fireplace and we are very happy with it. Compromise is necessary in most houses.

Sure you need to comprimise but dont you get a hell of a lot of glare from the fire as to make the TV unwatchable

[Plotloss]

inkiboo said:

CraigW said:

inkiboo said:

In my experience, it is pointless putting a plasma or LCD above a fireplace because the screen is then simply too high. Your viewing pleasure will be ruined. I run my 50" 45cm off the ground and that is perfect (depending on the height of furniture).

Everyone said I was mad, that it was too low. Now having viewed it they realise that it's the right height.

agree, in the above setup plotloss and I spent ages getting the height to an acceptable level & now I'm very glad we did.

Personally yours is slightly too high my tastes but nowhere near normal fireplace height. What have you got for amp, speakers etc?

Its a relatively high sofa base height and its a deceptive photo.

Amp is a Yamaha RXV3800, RBH MC616 LCRs, Gallo Duet Surrounds and an AE Linear sub.

[CraigW]

Plotloss said:

inkiboo said:

CraigW said:

inkiboo said:

In my experience, it is pointless putting a plasma or LCD above a fireplace because the screen is then simply too high. Your viewing pleasure will be ruined. I run my 50" 45cm off the ground and that is perfect (depending on the height of furniture).

Everyone said I was mad, that it was too low. Now having viewed it they realise that it's the right height.

agree, in the above setup plotloss and I spent ages getting the height to an acceptable level & now I'm very glad we did.

Personally yours is slightly too high my tastes but nowhere near normal fireplace height. What have you got for amp, speakers etc?

Its a relatively high sofa base height and its a deceptive photo.

Amp is a Yamaha RXV3700, RBH MC616 LCRs, Gallo Duet Surrounds and an AE Linear sub.

what he said

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for all the replies - I was worried about the height of the screen....and it being above the fireplace.

Its a bugger of a room to arrange because of its shape and the location of the doors.
Its 27' by 16' and at the moment only about a 2/3rd's of the room is used as we have everything down one end. I want to open up to use maximum space, but its layout makes this difficult

____________FP_____________
|
W
W
W
W
|
___D D___________________D__

This is a (very) a rough layout.
FP is fireplace
W are windows
D's are doors

At the moment the screen is in the top right corner at 45" angle to wall.
The whole left side of the room from the double doors is currently not used.

I will be buying all new furniture, but can't figure out the best layout to use.
Only other option I've considered is to mount the screen on the opposite wall to the fireplace, but that's going to mean a lot of cables moving, and I'm still not convinced that's the right place for it.

Edited to add, that didn't turn out very well ! the right hand side of the room mirrors the left (i.e. mostly windows).

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 19th February 14:52

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 19th February 14:54

[JustinP1]

With regard to the height issue I really think it is a matter of personal preference.

With our lounge, there was only one real place to mount the plasma on the wall as it was so big it would make the rest of the room look unbalanced. That was above the fireplace.

The viewing angle is of course higher than if it were on a stand, however we are a good 4m or so away from the screen which is elevated in a position similar to being in a cinema, which is good as our sofa naturally promotes a position where you are slightly leaning back.

It's horses for courses, it won't ruin your room by any means.

[RedLeicester]

JustinP1 said:

With regard to the height issue I really think it is a matter of personal preference.

With our lounge, there was only one real place to mount the plasma on the wall as it was so big it would make the rest of the room look unbalanced. That was above the fireplace.

The viewing angle is of course higher than if it were on a stand, however we are a good 4m or so away from the screen which is elevated in a position similar to being in a cinema, which is good as our sofa naturally promotes a position where you are slightly leaning back.

It's horses for courses, it won't ruin your room by any means.

Quite. Our Kuro has been deemed to be "too high" up the wall, but what with the viewing position being 16' from the screen and on fairly hefty sofas it feels perfectly natural.




Still... Plotters hasn't turned up to complain as yet.... nor have the builders finished, so the cables are still all over the shop!

[theboyfold]

You could always ditch the fire and use it as a place for the centre speaker. That's what we have done, we have boxed it in slightly to match the size of the speaker.



And a little while later it looks like this:



We still need to box in the sides, but it's taking shape. The screen is the Plotloss approved height of 1m to the centre of the screen, about 5 inches higher than it was on the stand.