Thin is in: high-definition TV is here to stay

Custom Home, July-August, 2005 by Rebecca Day

Scott Jordan, system consultant for Electronic Design Group in Piscataway, N.J., says his firm takes framing support to the max for flat-panel TVs. "We sandwich wood pieces between two studs and bolt them in to support the weight of the plasma," he says. His company's rule of thumb is that the frame for a TV that hangs on the wall should be able to support five times the weight of the TV. "It's for peace of mind," he says.

At several inches deep, plasma and LCD monitors are ideal for positioning over a fireplace. That eliminates two quandaries designers wrestled with for years as video and home theater became more prominent throughout the house: how to hide a massive big-screen TV when it wasn't being viewed and how to position both the TV and fireplace in the line of sight from the living room sofa.

But when the TV mounts above the fireplace, it changes how electronics installers have to wire the systems. "Everything is different today when it comes to TV," says Jordan of EDG. "It's not like in the old days when we'd hide a tube TV and equipment in the armoire. Today people have these sexy TVs that they want to show off." Flat-panel TVs yes, the supporting cast of black boxes, no. Installers have to find remote locations for satellite receivers, DVD players, and sometimes the TV circuitry too. Often the flat-panel screen is just a monitor with the tuner, decoder, and connectors located in a separate component.

"If we're doing a plasma over the fireplace," Jordan says, "most of the equipment isn't local. We have to distribute the signal from the head-end in the basement or wherever the equipment is located, which could be 15 or 25 feet away." The good news for installers is a plasma monitor is easier to wire than a full-blown TV but the long wire runs for the outboard parts make for a more expensive installation.

Jordan, too, reinforces the need for multiple cable runs to all locations that could house a TV. That includes the attic where an off-air antenna might be located for local HD broadcast signals. He suggests power to the attic as well in case a rotor is required to turn the antenna to find different stations.

"The advent of flat-panel TV has been an interior designer's dream because it has made electronics more attractive," Jordan says. "But we're left with the job of finding a home for the other gear."

Rebecca Day specializing in writing about home electronics. She can be reached at customhomerd@aol.com.