Tv mount
From BuildingHomes.ca
Flat panel TVs are available as LCD or Plasma.
I don't call these TVs anymore. Rarely does anyone use the tuners that are built into them. I prefer to call them a monitor, or a display.
Contents |
[edit] Plasma Vs. LCD
Plasma is excellent for reproducing dark colours, fast moving action and available in larger sizes. Disadvantages are they tend to run rather warm and use more electricity compared to the same sized LCD.
LCD works the same as your laptop or computer display. It is made up of a bunch of individual pixels that are lit from behind with a fluourcent light. The pixels act like little that can be opened/closed in rapid fashion to let the light through. Because of the light behind, it is very difficult for an LCD display to show dark blacks.
LCDs also have difficulty showing fast moving action without breaking up. Next time you are at the big box store picking out your display, make sure you are watching a hockey game or an action movie, you will see some distortion around the edges of the action in the picture.
LCDs do however work much better in bright rooms compared to plasma. They also tend to use less energy and provide a higher screen resolution. Keep in mind the highest HDTV signal is 1080 lines.
Plasmas can suffer from something called burn-in. Burn-in happens when the same picture is left on a display for a long period of time. It tends to stick. You may remember a simular thing happen with older CRT TVs. Burn-in is not much of a problem anymore with the current lines of plasma displays, unless of course you plan on leaving the same picture on your display, 24 hours a day for a week.
[edit] HDTV
HDTV stands for High Definition Television. It's a format that many television networks are moving to in order to bring you a higher resolution picture and sound. All current large LCD and Plasma displays are capable of displaying an HDTV signal, but you have to get it there first.
If you wish to view HDTV content on your display, you will require something to provide you with an HDTV signal. In Ontario you have 3 choices.
1) Your cable providers (Rogers or Cogeco)
2) Bell ExpressVu Satellite
3) Star Choice Satellite
Each one of these companies can provide you with a digital decoder which will receive and output HDTV signals. You cannot receive these signals directly on your display, you will need one of these boxes.
There is a 4th option, and that is using what you can grab out of the air, just like in the old days, with an ATSC tuner. Most displays come with an ATSC tuner built in, but the ability to receive these signals over the air is dependant on the stations in your area actually broadcasting them. The Greater Toronto Area has access to the CBC, CityTV and Global.
[edit] Thin Is In
These displays are thin, usually no more than about 18cm (6in). Because they are so thin they can save a lot of space in a room when it comes to placement.
A very popular option is to mount them to a wall. It saves space, puts it out of the way, and if done right can make the display appear to 'float' on the wall.
Floating cannot be done on every wall. For example, a hollow wall made of drywall is pretty easy, but if the wall is solid brick then that would prove to be difficult to impossible.
For drywall I'd recommend using a quality mounting bracket and securing it to at least 2 studs. If you have a 55" or greater display then use 3 studs. Again, using a quality mount can make all the difference in the world with hanging the display (and keeping it hung)
[edit] Heat It Up
If there are plans to mount above a fireplace, this can present some issues depending on the construction of the fireplace.
Does the fireplace bump into the room? Does it extend right to the ceiling? Or is it flush with the wall and bump out the back of the house? Is it all drywall or brick? Or multi-faceted brick?
All of these things are factors in how the display can be placed above the fireplace.
And yes, heat can be an issue. If you are running the fireplace while the display is on it may just shutdown. I'd recommend a blower for your fireplace to push the heat into the room as opposed to disipating into the wall cavity.
Hiding the wires for a fireplace is difficult. Usually what I do is run them down into the basement and then bring them up to where you want to put your components. You cannot just run them in a diagonal line unless you want them to melt on top of the fireplace inside the cavity. There is a special way to avoid this.
If you are putting a fireplace into your new home please do the following:
1) Take as many pictures of the fireplace during construction as you possibly can.
2) See #1.
3) If at all possible, have a conduit installed running from the top of the fireplace to the spot where you wish to have your A/V components. This will allow easy pulling of whichever cable you require in order to drive your display.
4) Consider an electrical outlet above the display. It's not required because the power can be run down into the basement, but in all cases plug it into a power bar that has surge supression and EMI filtering.
[edit] Doing It
If you are interested in having your display mounted in your home or business, please feel free to contact me at greg@phand.ca
