MantelMount
Mounting your TV over the fireplace is a horrid place to put it, but unfortunately many times it’s about the only place in the room where you really can – especially in a lot of modern houses. In the past, I’ve always offered simple guidance on it: DON’T. Besides the obvious problem with viewing angles, you also end up looking up at the TV. Which, unless you have a dentist’s chair in the main room means you’re putting a lot of strain on your neck.
I don’t generally like PR emails, but every so often one pops up that makes the deluge worth it. MantelMount is one of these. It’s an insanely simple idea, so simple that it’s genius; really wish I’d thought of it. Of course, I’m sure that a lot of engineering went into it to make sure that it works correctly and won’t drop off the wall, and it helps that the inventor is a mechanical engineer. The innovation is that the mount not only swivels and tilts, but also can be lowered in front of the fireplace. Putting it in a much better position for viewing angles, and also bringing the display closer to the viewer (most of us sit too far from our TVs). There’s 3” of space for a center or soundbar between the temperature indicating handle and the bottom of the display, and it also support top mounted audio if your tastes run a bit larger. Not surprising that it was a CEDIA 2015 best new product finalist. While it’s not as cheap as some mounts, the $400 seems pretty reasonable for what it is and what it does. Right now it’s only available for US buyers, but MantelMount is expecting to begin distributing in the UK, Australia, and Canada within the next six months. Very slick!
Placing a TV above a fireplace moves the image you’re trying to watch well above eye level. Think back to the last time you went to the movie theater and had to sit in one of the front three rows. Chances are you walked out of the theater with a stiff neck. Cranking your neck into an unnatural position for an extended period of time is going to cause neck pain. Worse, doing so day after day, even for short periods of time can have lasting effects such as chronic headaches. With MantelMount, you’ll avoid that altogether.
What a great idea! I never
What a great idea! I never liked placing a flat screen TV above a fireplace, but as it says, sometimes that’s the only place you can install it. I love that it not only allows you to lower the TV for a better viewing height, but also allows you to swivel it if the seating is at an angle. It is a bit pricey, but I doubt that it has any competitors at the moment. Very cool.
I’m glad I don’t have to
I’m glad I don’t have to worry about a fireplace in terms of limiting viewing locations (though my wife does want a fireplace) but I’ve always been more concerned with the heat than viewing angle when looking at TVs.
Several friends have setup their TV above the fireplace (against my advise) and have ruined their TV due to prolonged heat.
I spent 5 (winter) months in
I spent 5 (winter) months in an apartment where the only logical place for it to go was above a ventless gas fireplace. That tv would get literally too hot to touch after the fire had been on for a while. Even knowing it was a short term accomodation I never would have kept the tv there except it was old and I knew it was being replaced the next time we moved. It survived though, spent a little bit of time as the second tv in our new house, and is now in its second life with a coworker as a basement/childrens tv.
Heat could definitely be an
Heat could definitely be an issue if you have an old fireplace with a stone or brick chimney. Most fireplaces these days are just inserts with a sheetmetal flue inside a wooden frame that’s insulated. Clearly, you should not have a fire going while the TV is lowered in front of the fireplace. The handle at the base of the frame apparently changes color when it gets to a certain temperature to alert you to overheating conditions. I would think that the mantel would protect the TV when it’s in the stowed position.