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Plasma Mounted Over Fireplace Offers Clean Look
In-wall speakers and a plasma mounted over the fireplace keep A/V from compromising this room's design.
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Photography by Jim Allsopp Snap Audio & Video
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May 01, 2007 | by Arlen Schweiger

Beautiful hardwood floors, 22-foot vaulted ceilings and a grand piano ... and how exactly do you want your electronics not to intrude on this elegance?

These homeowners wanted a clean look and a high-quality sound to their audio/video, which wasn’t exactly easy to do in their finely furnished family room, as installer Snap Audio & Video of Havelock, NC, can attest. And of course, they also wanted as big a plasma as they could get to place on their fireplace without doing any additional framing to it.

For the television, Snap gave them a 50-inch LG plasma that looks like it was made for the homeowners’ fireplace.

To optimize the sound and not compromise the wife’s wish to keep the decor pristine and not detract from that other music source in the area—the grand piano—Snap installed Jamo in-wall speakers for the rear surrounds and used Totem for the front. The husband settled on bookshelf models for the front right and left to fit snugly into the cabinetry around the fireplace. An easily movable Totem subwoofer completes the sound system.

To complement the decor, as well as provide functionality, Snap installed a lighting system for the living room as well as the entire home. Both the lighting and distributed audio can be navigated by the homeowners through their Control4 setup that includes a wireless touchscreen and mini full color touchscreen.

 

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Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine
Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.


EQUIPMENT LIST

SYSTEM DESIGN & INSTALLATION
Snap Audio & Video
Havelock, NC
252-626-7127
www.snapaudiovideo.com



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Comments (4) Most recent displayed first.
Posted by Jim Allsopp  on  06/04/07  at  03:06 PM

It has to deal with viewing angle, if the sofa is far enough back, your viewing angle is very comfortable. In this application, there is NO head tilting back at all to watch this TV.

Also the frame work of the room 99% of the time will determine the TV location in the room. In this case there is NO back area to place the TV. The right side of the livingroom has several windows, and no wall space. The left side of the living room has arches leading to the dining room, and entrance to the kitchen. There really was no other place to put the TV in this living room.

You have got to integrate/ design the best you can, to make the client happy. In this case you are looking at the final product.
Best regards,
Jim

Posted by Stephen  on  04/24/07  at  07:46 PM

Apologies for the poor spelling above.

Posted by Stephen  on  04/24/07  at  07:45 PM

I completely agree with your commnt,fellow Stephen. It’s entirely pimpractical to have somone looking up at the screen.

Eye-level at viewing only, please!

Posted by Stephen  on  04/24/07  at  04:24 PM

I purposefully talk my customers out of putting a Display over the fireplace. Regardless of profit potential.

1.  Ergonomics
2.  Detracts from the Fireplace - no longer a focal point.

I am a realist…...............

Stephen



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