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Putting a TV where the mirror is above the disused fireplace. It's a solid brick chimney breast that has been skimmed. How best to deal with the cables?
Chase them in.
It will be too high though. To high TVs suck balls.
Dennistoun flat?
Done similar, used a multi tool and drill to channel some plastic box section conduit in, fillered over the top, run cables through the box section conduit. Needed a lot of filler and sanding to smooth it out. Helped that I had a cabinet underneath the TV that had sockets in etc
It will be too high though. To high TVs suck balls.
My thoughts exactly.
It will be too high though. To high TVs suck balls
This is true.
My TV is about that high, never been an issue at all.
If cables showing is undesirable, then you'll need to break back the plaster and insert a wire duct into the wall before skimming it over again. Hanging the TV is easy enough these days, and you can get tools to make chasing the wall easy, i.e. putting a channel into the plaster/brick in the desired direction and depth, it'll be a messy job and require replastering and repainting afterwards, are you looking at non destructive routes to tidy cables as well?
as others say, it's too high, should be at eye height when in your normal position, i.e. couch, otherwise you'll have to slant it, which can bring it's own issues when viewing around the room. The top of the fireplace seems to be the perfect location for centre of screen, so slanting might be the only option, not a terrible option to be fair.
++ too high, but...
How best to deal with the cables?
Really depends. To some 'wall mounting' apparently means having it hanging away from the wall so all the cables etc. are visible from the sides. If that's the case, then it's going to look crap anyway, so just run some trucking up to it.
If you're doing it 'properly' then chasing a conduit in is the only way. Presumable you'll need to run it over to shelves on left or right for any AV kit.
Power cable tends to be the trickiest, depending on length / whether it's detachable etc. Non detachable ones are a bugger as cutting + extending tends to void warranty (officially).
Also worth thinking how you are going to deal with audio - eg. you might want to be also chasing cables away from a wall-mounted soundbar.
Doesn't look like it will be too high, natural position will not be sat upright - surely you'd both be sat with feet on table, head back on back of the settee with eyeline pointing directly at the telly.
We got the electrician to take a spur off a nearby socket and put two double sockets behind where we wanted the telly. Consider how many things you will need to power, as we have the TV, a soundbar and a Firestick all plugged in there.
As others have said - put a conduit in the wall so you can add other cables if needed
Another option is just to add a plasterboard sheet in front of the entire chimney breast. Allows you to countersink the TV (which can look nice) and creates less dust than sinking cables, which is by far the messiest thing I've ever done.
Or as has been suggested, run cables behind the skirting then up the chimney and drill directly into it
Another idea - replace that fire/thing with a cupboard with all your gubbins and boxes in?
It will be too high though. To high TVs suck balls.
Put longer legs on the sofa?
Disused chimney and fireplace?
Drill straight in behind the TV, drop down to the fireplace/thing
Is the correct answer, but if that is the OPs wall then how's he going to get to the cables once they've gone through the hole behind the TV?
Thanks all, some options to think through.
Was exactly the Reddit I was thinking of
Doesn’t look like it will be too high, natural position will not be sat upright
It absolutely does.
You can draw all the sketches you want but that will be uncomfortable
Is that fire (and godawful fireplace) in use? You probably don't want a TV directly over the top of it if so. If not then knocking out a brick to access the cavity behind will get you to floor level though I'd be tempted to chase a conduit horizontally to where the shelves are. And by that I mean, I'd be tempted to get someone else to do it for me, I'm quite practical but I do have my confidence limits.
Where are these cables going to? One of the plug sockets in the corners? What else? Aerial for terrestrial TV, sound bar, games console... ?
I had this issue recently. I got a TV almost as wide as the chimney breast, painted the wall a dark colour and used a couple of lengths of this stuff.
It absolutely does.
You can draw all the sketches you want but that will be uncomfortable
I agree, but it does look to me as though the angle of the photo isn't doing perspective any favours either.
I bought a 65" Samsung 'The Frame' which has a control box all the hdmi cables,internet etc run into. Then that is transferred to the TV by a single thin cable.
I've got it wall mounted and I could bury the cable in the wall, but the cable is thin enough you hardly notice it, and besides, doing that wi.l involve plastering, redecorating and its just not worth it.
Went through deciding on optimum height recently with a wall mounted 65inch one in living room. Google says middle of screen 42 inches off floor for normal viewing sat on a typical couch. The guys from John Lewis who fitted it reckoned that was far to low but put it at that height for us, and it’s perfect!
Are you intending on using speakers either side or a decent soundbar mounted underneath the tv?
Our extension was built with conduit - not by us. I did not mount a TV where the previous owners did, but I haven't sealed the large conduit either. We have a projector screen that comes down to the fireplace and just below. Behind it was a 42" plasma TV. That TV was always too high. The projector screen is not, but we often lean back onto a large sofa.
Full length chunky mantel shelf a couple of inches above the fireplace running from alcove to alcove. Make it hollow or have grooves in the underside for cables and a port through where the telly sits for connections. It can be as rustic or sleek as you like. If you do ir in MDF and use the same wall paint it won't grab your attention.
Loads of inspiration on here…
Never heard of that, but lounging on my sofa I feel satisfyingly smug. Don't put your TV all the way up there.
Samsung frame for the win. You hardly notice the single transparent cable that leads to the gubbins box and when it’s switched off it doesn’t look like a tv at all. It’s brilliant. The soundbar plugs into the gubbins box as well so no problems with that. I hid my box in a drawer in a console table, drilled a few holes in the back of the drawer and powered a pc fan on a thermostat off the external usb socket on the box to keep the temp down.
Put longer legs on the sofa?
Or raise the balls?
Went through deciding on optimum height recently with a wall mounted 65inch one in living room. Google says middle of screen 42 inches off floor for normal viewing sat on a typical couch. The guys from John Lewis who fitted it reckoned that was far to low but put it at that height for us, and it’s perfect!
Mine is about 52" from the floor to the middle. I find that ideal, though Im sitting about 12' away from it.
White wash the wall, get a ceiling mounted projector.
That fireplace style should have a wooden surround to look "right"
TV at mantelshelf level and run the cables inside the most convenient vertical pillar. Something plain in MDF, off-white maybe, job done
PS DIY-it. Three MDF boxes and a window shelf
no one has mentioned a wireless TV yet. Simples.
DrP (runs off to invent 4 AA powered 65" 4k TV)
Just looking at the Samsung Frame, I'd not heard of it. Spotted this on Samsung's website.
"The Frame TV is built with motion censored technology."
no one has mentioned a wireless TV yet. Simples.
You expecting 240volts to jump out of the plug into the back of the telly?
You expecting 240volts to jump out of the plug into the back of the telly?
Of course not, silly sausage!
It'll run on 4 AA batteries.
DrP
Much as I hate their products, you have to give credit to Samsung for somehow making people think the go to TV for nicely flat mounted on a wall is their Frame thing. If you want something that is both an excellent TV and mounts beautifully on a wall, you want an LG G3.
What's wrong with Samsung? Genuine question. I know nothing about TV's but I will be shopping for one in the new year and I can get big discounts on Samsung through work.
What’s wrong with Samsung? Genuine question. I know nothing about TV’s but I will be shopping for one in the new year and I can get big discounts on Samsung through work.
Dunno, Samsung, along with Sony and LG are probably the top 3 brands for OLED TV's.
I'd say LG are generally the best (at present) as they do high (for a TV) refresh rates, which for PC gaming, is invaluable if you use it for a second screen, and the HDR is nothing short of glorious.
Arguably the best user interface too, but that's not saying much, they are all irritating in thier own unique ways!
If you can get big discounts on Samsungs, then that would be a sensible thing to look at.
you have to give credit to Samsung for somehow making people think the go to TV for nicely flat mounted on a wall is their Frame thing.
They arent making you do anything, and its not a big conspiracy on their part. The idea is a good one- ie not have multiple wires hanging out the back and also a very practical one, as in people add and remove different components. Buy a new dvd or whatever player, you need to take it off the wall to get the plugs in or out, and mounting to the wall isnt a conspiracy either. As televisions have dropped in price and become much larger(originally a 40" flat screen would have cost £4k) The best place to put them is on the wall.
.
But being on the wall presented problems with the cabling, both fitting(see above) or overall look given many peoples walls are white, or a light pastel, and the cables used are black, with the contrast showing them up. A single, unobtrusive cable, light coloured to blend in better to its surroundings, going into a central control box, where adding/removing components is simple is a very good concept, and one others should follow. But maybe others dont want to invest in such a system and are happy to take the money for the same old thing.
Well done Samsung, for the concept and their innovation.
.
What’s wrong with Samsung? Genuine question.
Mainly me being an opinionated dick, but to try and add something useful... Decent TV = OLED, and it used to be simple because Samsung didn't make an OLED TV, as they thought they could get away with putting a "Q" in front of LED and pretending it was somehow similar. Last year they gave in and started selling OLED sets (which was hilarious). So now you can at least get a decent TV made by Samsung, but there are options which are better (Sony), or both better and cheaper (LG).
or panasonic, at least it was 3 years ago when i got mine but research made it between a sony or panasonic as the best for PQ, wasn't bothered about gaming so lg's better gaming features didn't come into it.
panasonic's smart stuff isn't as good but picked that over sony due to how good my previous 2 plasma's had been, the 12 year old 50" is still in use on my bedroom wall and the picture still looks better than a lot of new tv's for HD content.
I think a better way of looking at it, is, it's actually quite hard to buy a 'bad' TV, unless you buy the biggest & cheapest thing you can find.
How good it is on a scale of mediocre to excellent, is a different debate 😀
no one has mentioned a wireless TV yet. Simples.
@DrP (runs off to invent 4 AA powered 65″ 4k TV)
How about a wireless TV that sticks to the wall with suction cups? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/zip-lining-wireless-tv-lands-on-self-deployed-foam-if-vacuum-suction-mount-fails/
We've had a TV up at that height before and didn't die as a result.
Anyway, back the OP. We chased it out, buried the cables and re-plastered.
I think a better way of looking at it, is, it’s actually quite hard to buy a ‘bad’ TV, unless you buy the biggest & cheapest thing you can find.
Probably the most sensible thing said here.
AIUI there are very few companies which actually make the panels. LG is probably(?) the biggest manufacturer. So long as you stick with a recognised brand (eg, Sony rather than HiSense) you're not going to go far wrong. If I were buying a TV tomorrow it'd be one of LG/Panasonic/Toshiba (I'd probably swerve Sony because whilst great they tend to command an Apple Tax price which is unjustified IMHO).
If you're comparing two similar sized TVs, one's a grand and the other is 200 quid, there's probably a reason for that.
