Planning a TV Mount

[MortarThePoint]

I've been living under a stone for the last 7 years without a TV, but plan to have one in the new house. I want to put the required connections above the fireplace mantel for it but don't want then to clash with whatever TV mount I go for. I plan to route a 1-gang mains socket and two HDMI cables. I have found that 1no. HDMI cable can be passed down a straight length of 25mm round conduit. There may be HDMI cables that could be squeezed down 25mm oval conduit, but not the standard cables (may try sanding one down).

 

The main question is where is best to place these connections so they don't clash with the TV bracket? Looking at a few bracket designs (examples below) side by side on the vertical centre line looks a reasonable choice. The first shown below looks smaller, but most Perlegear tilt mounts have an 8.46" high wall plates. Their multi motion ones are around 10". A TV display is half its diagram dimension high, so a 40" TV should just hide a 1-gang socket centred up to 200mm below the TV's centre line. If I centre the 1-gang at 200mm I think it would allow a mount wall plate height of up to 2*(200 - 0.5*86)) = 314mm = 12". Even the largest mount I have seen has a wall plate less than 12" (42" to 85" TV full motion example below).

 

I expect the wife is going to want a shooting gallery of kitsch under the TV, so I imagine the bottom of the TV will be about 250mm above the mantel piece. I can then centre my connection points 300mm above the mantelpiece and all should be OK. 

 

 

 

 

[ProDave]

Choose your tv mount then plan the wiring.

 

As a minimum fit a DOUBLE socket with two USB outlets so you can power other devices, e.g. a firestick.

 

3 hdmi cables to "somewhere" you might want to locate set top boxes, game consoles etc.

 

A spare conduit and draw cord for whatever supersedes hdmi (if you were doing this 20 years ago you would have installed a load of scart cables....)

 

And some coax for a good old fashioned television aerial seems a pretty good idea.

 

Sockets are best just above the tv bracket, there tends to be a little more space, as long as they are not so high they show above the tv.

 

Are you happy with the generally lousy sound from most inbuilt speakers in tv's or would you like a nice surround sound system?

[MortarThePoint]

5 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Are you happy with the generally lousy sound from most inbuilt speakers in tv's or would you like a nice surround sound system?

 

I would probably have speakers at the back of the room and a soundbar would be nice, but might be hard to keep it clean looking. Can you put a sound bar in a coffee table?

[MortarThePoint]

These things are huge! A 55" TV is probably considered the minimum for a new TV and they start at around £250, Wow. Below are some layouts with the connections below the mount and above the mount as @ProDave suggests. In reality, the 40" TV would get raised up slightly. The mount shown is the Tilt one in the original post. The 55" and 75" options look more in proportion. Perhaps the 75" dominates the space a bit?

 

The mantel piece shown is actually the Concrete lintel (215mm high) which I had thought to dress with something, but I guess it doesn't have to be exactly the same height.

 

[MortarThePoint]

36 minutes ago, ProDave said:

As a minimum fit a DOUBLE socket with two USB outlets so you can power other devices, e.g. a firestick.

 

3 hdmi cables to "somewhere" you might want to locate set top boxes, game consoles etc.

 

Good shout on the double socket with USB. I am planning to route Ethernet there as well. I may struggle to get 3 HDMI cables there. I was wondering if I could just use an HDMI switch, but that could rule out screen-in-screen if that is available on the TV (i.e. most of screen showing one input with a smaller window showing another input)

[MortarThePoint]

Looks like you can get a lot for your money (£379), this includes all sorts. Last year's model but I plan to have it for more than a year 🙂

 

Under connectivity, it says "Optical connection". Is that for audio, i.e. SPDIF? EDIT: Seems to be

 

 

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9336342?clickPR=plp:2:74

Edited January 4, 2023 by MortarThePoint

[PeterW]

35 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

A 55" TV is probably considered the minimum for a new TV

Why..?? Have a look at the Sky Glass ones and they start at 42” and that’s a pretty decent TV ..! 55” is nuts unless you can sit about  20 feet away from it ..! 

[ProDave]

I dislike a television that high up the wall. It's a personal thing.  Mine is at eye height.  We have a clock above the tv now and I would hate to sit for hours looking up at the height of the clock.

 

All the wiring hidden for various feeds (from the AV cupboard under the stairs) and for the surround sound speakers.  Thats the surround sound amp in a pocket built into the wall under the tv.

 

That's a 50" plasma. Takes 2 to lift it.  

 

[Radian]

49 minutes ago, PeterW said:

55” is nuts unless you can sit about  20 feet away from it ..! 

More like 2.35m away

 

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers recommends sitting at a distance where the screen fills up a minimum of 30° of your field of vision for a good experience.

 

Try this size to distance calculator

[ProDave]

6 minutes ago, Radian said:

Try this size to distance calculator

I thought I had a problem with size.  That tells me I need 86"

[SiBee]

I’m fed up mounting screens on walls. Might be worth having an idea of model as even sticking to the same brand, connection points can vary. Some are bottom entry only and it can get difficult hiding cables from view. One screen we did had the power and hdmi pointing straight out of the back which required an ugly gap from the wall even using angled connectors.

The pull out/ fold away brackets we have used all have unwanted lateral movement which becomes obvious with the heavier screens. It soon drives you mad when the screen is always wonky.

Depending on your budget and brand preference and if your interested in AV tech. John Lewis and Richer sounds are respected sources for decent stuff.

Smart tv’s, set top boxes instead of fire sticks are popular so a hardwired internet connection would be good. Sat cable from dish?

Always a good idea to buy last years recommended models. Still good a year later, just a bit cheaper. Pick one with as many hdmi ports as possible.

I never wanted a sound bar in my own home as I wanted a clean look. However, I quickly conceded Once the the tv was powered up.

[Adsibob]

3 hours ago, ProDave said:

I dislike a television that high up the wall. It's a personal thing.  Mine is at eye height.  We have a clock above the tv now and I would hate to sit for hours looking up at the height of the clock.

I couldn’t agree more. I would really try to reconfigure your set up so that your tv is not above the fireplace. Ruins a fireplace as well!

[MortarThePoint]

10 hours ago, ProDave said:

I dislike a television that high up the wall. It's a personal thing.  Mine is at eye height.

 

7 hours ago, Adsibob said:

I couldn’t agree more. I would really try to reconfigure your set up so that your tv is not above the fireplace. Ruins a fireplace as well!

 

I agree, but it is a common choice these days. I was wondering if you could get an articulating backet that would allow the TV to be lowered by a couple of feet. I could make such a thing, but that would become a project in itself.

 

Perhaps I should have a sofa that jacks up on stilts 🤣

[Adsibob]

Why don't you put the tv to one side of the chimney breast, usually such rooms have alcoves either side, so it would go in one of those alcoves. We have just built some cupboards either side of our chimney breast and the one where the TV is, is angled so that the when the TV sits on it, it faces the centre of the room. We will then have a corner sofa on the opposite corner and still enough space for an armchair, coffee table etc. This way your TV and main sofa face each other down a central diagonal of the room, allowing you to place satellite speakers in the other corners (if you want) and allowing the fireplace to have its own space and the TV to have its own space, with neither affecting the other.

[MortarThePoint]

These HDMI cables from Lindy are slim but importantly have a compact connector (7mm x 16mm apparently) that should fit through 25mm conduit. Up to 4.5m long. Not cheap at ~£10/m.

 

Connector:

    Dimensions (approx.)
    WxDxH: 19x16x7mm (0.75x0.63x0.28in)
                   21x16x7mm (0.83x0.63x0.28in)  for connector with chipset

 

Cable:

    Jacket Diameter: 3.2mm (0.13in)

 

Spec:

    Supported Bandwidth: 10.2 Gbps   [so not 18Gbps]
    Maximum Resolution: 3840x2160@60Hz 4:2:0 8bit

 

https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/audio-video-c107/4-5m-cromo-slim-high-speed-hdmi-cable-with-ethernet-p11688

https://www.amazon.co.uk/0-5m-CROMO-Speed-Cable-Ethernet-Black/dp/B01ANI2ICQ

[MortarThePoint]

6 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Why don't you put the tv to one side of the chimney breast, usually such rooms have alcoves either side, so it would go in one of those alcoves. We have just built some cupboards either side of our chimney breast and the one where the TV is, is angled so that the when the TV sits on it, it faces the centre of the room. We will then have a corner sofa on the opposite corner and still enough space for an armchair, coffee table etc. This way your TV and main sofa face each other down a central diagonal of the room, allowing you to place satellite speakers in the other corners (if you want) and allowing the fireplace to have its own space and the TV to have its own space, with neither affecting the other.

 

I was wondering about to the side, but the room will be centred around the fireplace as the focal point. The fireplace is recessed as well.

[Adsibob]

7 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

 

I was wondering about to the side, but the room will be centred around the fireplace as the focal point. The fireplace is recessed as well.

Can you post a drawing of the room shape/layout? Here is mine:

 

 

The projections of the cabinets is initially equal, it’s just that the second then goes out at an angle to make a corner unit. I haven’t drawn it very well here. 
 

The Ss are potential spots for satellite L and R speakers.

 

The corner sofa could also be curved, and the armchair could be angled towards the TV when you are watching TV or towards the fireplace.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Adsibob

[Kelvin]

22 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

 

I was wondering about to the side, but the room will be centred around the fireplace as the focal point. The fireplace is recessed as well.

TVs above fireplaces don’t work in my opinion as they tend to be too high. Fit a large picture above your fireplace to mimic a TV and then sit where the sofa will be. It’ll give you a better idea what viewing a TV will be like. 
 

If you have the space on the left of the fireplace put it there on a nice TV table. The house we’re renting has a large fireplace and a TV above it would ruin the look of it and be too high on the wall so we have our TV to the left of it and it looks fine. Our TV is a 12 year old Panasonic 42” Plasma TV which has a wide surround so it’s about the size of a modern 48” TV I guess. I think it’s about as big a TV we could get away with in the corner so placing it here will limit the size. 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Kelvin

[Kelvin]

13 hours ago, MortarThePoint said:

 

I would probably have speakers at the back of the room and a soundbar would be nice, but might be hard to keep it clean looking. Can you put a sound bar in a coffee table?

Yes sound bars work well on a TV/coffee table. Some are pretty good at giving you a pseudo surround sound 

[Radian]

39 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

Our TV is a 12 year old Panasonic 42” Plasma TV

I've got a perfectly good Panasonic 42" plasma monitor in storage - only its more like 20 years old! Used to be the heart of my AV setup only now I haven't got the heart to dump it! Free to collect if anyone has a use for it.

[MortarThePoint]

I was just mentally designing a lowering mount and there they are: https://www.tranquilmount.co.uk/mounts/pull-down-tv-mount-uk/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Y2ZN3LH

 

Here is a motorised pillar type: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08B1NT8M5?th=1

It is designed to raise a TV from behind a unit, doesn't look like you could turn it upside down and use it to lower a TV though. Perhaps it could be modified.

 

Both stick out quite a bit though.

 

There are all sorts of ceiling swing down mounts but that's not what I am after.

 

 

    

Edited January 5, 2023 by MortarThePoint

[Kelvin]

The Panasonic plasma TVs were awesome. Anyone that sees ours on can’t quite believe the picture quality from a 12 year old telly. It’s a bit power hungry though. 

[Adrian Walker]

1 minute ago, Kelvin said:

The Panasonic plasma TVs were awesome. Anyone that sees ours on can’t quite believe the picture quality from a 12 year old telly. It’s a bit power hungry though. 

Totally agree, the blacks are very BLACK and it is like having a radiator on the wall!

[MortarThePoint]

I'll stop posting mounts, but here is a motorised one which is cool and allows about 580mm of lowing: https://vivo-us.com/products/mount-e-mm070

 

Reality is I'll probably not do it but wanted to collect the info here.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by MortarThePoint

[Adsibob]

that mount is very clever. But I still think it looks pretty bad to pace a tv there. Even when it's off, it detracts from the natural beauty of a fireplace. A fireplace should not have a large black rectangle above it. A mirror yes, a nice painting also, but not a tv.

When the TV is not in use, it occupies a far too prominent location in the room. Unless the room is ONLY going to be used for tv watching, the tv should be balanced with other elements of the room. But if it really is going to be a cinema room, then you don't need a fireplace there.