# Hidden TV



## sprucegum (Oct 27, 2018)

I have been looking at hidden TV hardware online. As some of you know we are in the middle of a new house build and one of the projects will be a entertainment wall in the living room. We do watch TV but I like the idea of hiding it when not in use. I have found quite a variety of hardware so I am wondering if anyone has used any of it or perhaps has a nifty idea for doors to hide the ugly thing.


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## TimR (Oct 27, 2018)

No experience with them. I guess you’re referring to the ones that rise from below ? ?
Always thought the ones that double as a mirror seemed cool too.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Arn213 (Oct 27, 2018)

I have used several of them on projects in the past. We have done motorized lifts on base cabinets- living room and master bedrooms. We have used different techniques on TV’s above the fire place. There are vertical lift hardware (you attach whatever art frame you have), but you need head room. There is also concealed sliding hardware for sliding doors that opens and closes- marquetry, inlay and intarsia artwork on the surface. A surface mounted mirror is okay with sliding glide hardware (full extension), but you need something nice on the opposite side to reflect something nicer. There is also one we have used where the framed artwork rolls away (opens) and closes- but, those can be pricey. You can also use barn door surface mounted hardware for any art panel. There are pivot hinge arms per side available for the art work to be lifted up. Could be manual or mechanical.

You can just buy an HD image that cost probably a $ 1 and have a library of it and change the images over time.

Whatever you do make the rough-in as wide and tall as possible for future upgrade of newer flat TV down the road- just in case the old one breaks down or you want to catch up with the latest technology and ever growing flat panel TV dimensions. Worth investing on a larger flat screen if your living room is big! Think of surround sound system (speakers recessed into walls and ceiling) as well so the sound is much more audible, fuller, much more enhanced. This is based on my design experienced and working with AV system sub-contractors on residential projects.

Reactions: Great Post 2 | Informative 1


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## rocky1 (Oct 27, 2018)

Not hiding mine, so I can't help you there but... I assume you're on dish given the rural setting. If they haven't upgraded your equipment lately, last time they worked on ours, they set us up with a wireless router that the dish feeds signal to. Ugly black three sided thing-a-ma-bob about the size of a gallon jug. From there the receivers on the TV have gone from briefcase size, down to a 6" x 3" x 1" box. And, nothing to wire except the dish with this setup.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## sprucegum (Oct 27, 2018)

rocky1 said:


> Not hiding mine, so I can't help you there but... I assume you're on dish given the rural setting. If they haven't upgraded your equipment lately, last time they worked on ours, they set us up with a wireless router that the dish feeds signal to. Ugly black three sided thing-a-ma-bob about the size of a gallon jug. From there the receivers on the TV have gone from briefcase size, down to a 6" x 3" x 1" box. And, nothing to wire except the dish with this setup.



Yes we will have to do satellite TV of some sort. I am going to miss my cable internet and TV. Sure would be nice to eliminate the rats nest of wires.


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## sprucegum (Oct 27, 2018)

Arn213 said:


> I have used several of them on projects in the past. We have done motorized lifts on base cabinets- living room and master bedrooms. We have used different techniques on TV’s above the fire place. There are vertical lift hardware (you attach whatever art frame you have), but you need head room. There is also concealed sliding hardware for sliding doors that opens and closes- marquetry, inlay and intarsia artwork on the surface. A surface mounted mirror is okay with sliding glide hardware (full extension), but you need something nice on the opposite side to reflect something nicer. There is also one we have used where the framed artwork rolls away (opens) and closes- but, those can be pricey. You can also use barn door surface mounted hardware for any art panel. There are pivot hinge arms per side available for the art work to be lifted up. Could be manual or mechanical.
> 
> You can just buy an HD image that cost probably a $ 1 and have a library of it and change the images over time.
> 
> Whatever you do make the rough-in as wide and tall as possible for future upgrade of newer flat TV down the road- just in case the old one breaks down or you want to catch up with the latest technology and ever growing flat panel TV dimensions. Worth investing on a larger flat screen if your living room is big! Think of surround sound system (speakers recessed into walls and ceiling) as well so the sound is much more audible, fuller, much more enhanced. This is based on my design experienced and working with AV system sub-contractors on residential projects.



My entertainment center will not be very deep, probably around 16"so I have some limitations headroom is not a issue as the room has 9' ceilings. Good suggestion on the sound system. The living room is approx. 15' x 24' but the tv viewing will be the 15' way. I expect the TV will get upgraded when we move.


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## Arn213 (Oct 27, 2018)

sprucegum said:


> My entertainment center will not be very deep, probably around 16"so I have some limitations headroom is not a issue as the room has 9' ceilings. Good suggestion on the sound system. The living room is approx. 15' x 24' but the tv viewing will be the 15' way. I expect the TV will get upgraded when we move.



Actually just finished designing in the same vicinity room dimensions as yours, but 24” x 22” with a 10 foot ceiling. We put in a minimum of 75” flat screen, but have the rough in for over an 80”. We recommended a surround sound system as they wanted a “movie” like feel visually and audibly.

The 16” deep is not a limitation- trust me when I say that and that is very, very generous. If you are not planning to mount the TV in the wall and want to just let it sit on the surface, the depth for a standard 75” would have a feet base of about 12-1/2”. You will still have enough depth to put a sliding door upfront (flush at the center seam)- you can surface mounted it on the finished face, but track will show. If it was for me, my preference would be to put the track and recess it on the top and the bottom of the shelves for the door to slide east and west. If you do a wall mount for the flat screen, you need half that space; thickness of TV plus thickness of mounting hardware.

This is what I would suggest if you are planning to figure out the proper size TV is find a 75”, then an 80”, etc. Get the dimensions (width and height). Cut the dimension on a cardboard (or use blue tape or masking tape in the job site and mock it up) and placed it up agains the wall. Then get some chairs at 15’ on center and sit there and switch the size around on the wall- this will give you an idea of what size will work so you are not squinting. You can also go by basic size of tv with viewing distance range- 1080p HDTV range differs from 4K ultra hdtv. For an HDTV a 75” has a max of 15’ suggested viewing distance. The 4K is different in a way that if you want to see the extra details, most brand recommend you sit closer, so say a 75” version would be a maximum distance of 9-1/2 feet.

So, here is a little trick and this is if you want to wall mount it. Put a dummy panel behind the flat screen tv where the flat screen would be mounted- it has to be properly frame so you can secure the mounting bracket for the flat screen TV. You can use a recessed box for a quadruple outlet, cable TV outlet and use this empty space to run/manage wire way from the TV to cable box, to receiver, to speakers, etc.

The mounting hardware for a flat screen TV to be mounted on the wall comes in different types. The hardware can be fixed or it can tilt/slide or it can be full motion (it has an arm and can extend out swings left and right). Just keep in mind, whatever hardware you pickout will have different depths and finished projection of the front of the TV.

Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 1


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## sprucegum (Oct 27, 2018)

Arn213 said:


> Actually just finished designing in the same vicinity room dimensions as yours, but 24” x 22” with a 10 foot ceiling. We put in a minimum of 75” flat screen, but have the rough in for over an 80”. We recommended a surround sound system as they wanted a “movie” like feel visually and audibly.
> 
> The 16” deep is not a limitation- trust me when I say that and that is very, very generous. If you are not planning to mount the TV in the wall and want to just let it sit on the surface, the depth for a standard 75” would have a feet base of about 12-1/2”. You will still have enough depth to put a sliding door upfront (flush at the center seam)- you can surface mounted it on the finished face, but track will show. If it was for me, my preference would be to put the track and recess it on the top and the bottom of the shelves for the door to slide east and west. If you do a wall mount for the flat screen, you need half that space; thickness of TV plus thickness of mounting hardware.
> 
> ...



Ha ha never thought I would need a 80" TV. I think we may have a 50" now and I'm sitting a good 9 feet away. Next time I'm in a box store with a big TV display I will have to bring a tape measure and try viewing them at different distances. I still remember how excited I was when my dad brought home out first TV, a little 20 something inch Zenith B&W and put it in the corner of our huge old farm house living room. Can't say that I miss going up on the roof in the dark of night to adjust the antenna or fix a broken lead wire so my mother could watch the Lawrence Welk show. 

I was originally thinking of using a TV lift because I thought they were cool but I think sliding doors with a good adjustable wall mount will be more practical. On a every day basis only about half of the living room will be used for watching TV but I think a adjustable mount may work to make it viewable from more of the room for the occasions when the house is full of family & friends.


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## Arn213 (Oct 27, 2018)

^^^^^My wife and I actually went to the electronic store and measured out the distance of the viewing area relative to the size of the TV to make sure the 75” we were recommending will be efficient enough. The problem with the store is that it is way overlit, too many distractions and the volume size is way too big for the actual size of the room that the TV needs to go on. That is why I suggested to just do it on site where you can either cut the size from paper/cardboard or put masking tape around the viewing wall to see if the size will work for you- this way you are dealing with the right size volume in the actual space. We actually mocked this up on the real job site (the 75”) for the viewing distance of 20 feet- the size needs to go up as you would be straining trying to view it and it probably would not be comfortable for prolong period of time for people with not so good eye sight (I wear glasses and I am near sighted).

The lift could be costly- especially the ones motorized. I say do the more simplistic one with the sliding door and use the savings from that to buy a better size flat screen TV or use some of it to put into the surround sound.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Nature Man (Oct 28, 2018)

Pictures would really be helpful, if you have any. Chuck


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## Arn213 (Oct 28, 2018)

Dave, not to add to your budget- though while you have everything opened up and can run wires, etc., you and your family might want to add recessed speakers in the ceiling or recessed speakers in the wall to adjacent rooms like the dining room and kitchen.........that is if you all like listening to music. You need about 2 speakers per room- location should ‘not’ be near the windows or door openings if you want to retain a fuller sound. If you want to control the volume without having to go to the main control center (living room), you can add a volume receptacle in the wall in each room. 

I don’t want to go over board on you, but, you can also ‘zone’ the outside (if you have a deck or enclosed deck) with speakers. 

When you get to designing the cabinet for the equipment- cable box, receiver, dvd, etc. keep in mind in placing a quadruple outlet for that and the most important thing is to ‘vent’ the base cabinet properly because equipment delivers heat. You can do that by having a ‘slot’ (grill) at the underside of the toe kick and a ‘slot’ on the top surface for the heat to rise up.

Those added little things just gives you that ‘quality’ space for better living experience. Easier to do those little things now when everything is opened up.


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## Mike1950 (Oct 28, 2018)

no big screen here but Kathie had dining rm and outside deck wired for speakers. pandora - delvers us music to our yard a summer. If you like to be outside and like music wire the outside speakers. it is nice.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## sprucegum (Oct 28, 2018)

I will probably run some speaker wires. The kitchen LR and dining area are pretty much one 24 x 36 room so I guess I don't need to go overboard on speakers, maybe better to invest in a headset to contain the sound. TV is really not a big part of my life mostly sports, weather, and news. Been watching forged in fire some lately but I'm tiring of that. 25 acers of woodland, a sawmill, and hopefully a new shop occupy most of my time. My main goal is to make a attractive wall that makes the TV disappear especially when the My Pillow guy is on every 8 minuets

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (Oct 28, 2018)

sprucegum said:


> I will probably run some speaker wires. The kitchen LR and dining area are pretty much one 24 x 36 room so I guess I don't need to go overboard on speakers, maybe better to invest in a headset to contain the sound. TV is really not a big part of my life mostly sports, weather, and news. Been watching forged in fire some lately but I'm tiring of that. 25 acers of woodland, a sawmill, and hopefully a new shop occupy most of my time. My main goal is to make a attractive wall that makes the TV disappear especially when the My Pillow guy is on every 8 minuets


outside speakers were on sale at costco- been up and used since 2005. I watch no TV- kathie documentaries and history. But we both like the music.

Reactions: Like 1


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