If you’d rather have a nice family portrait or piece of fine artwork as the showcase display in your living room than a whopping-size flat-panel TV, just hide that big plasma or LCD.

Easier said than done, you say. Chief Manufacturing has a solution that will make your TV like a drop-down projection screen. Its new CM2C40 Automated Ceiling Lift is admittedly designed for “high-end installations,” according to Chief, but it’ll be like magic when your flat-panel drops from the ceiling for everyone to see.

The CM2C40 holds flat panels up to 61 inches, or up to 190 pounds. The lift will lower up to 40 inches of travel with a stored height of just 31 inches.

It won’t take too long for results either. When you want to start watching a TV show or movie, the lift offers up/down travel at more than 2 inches per second, Chief says. There’s also a cable management system so the installation can be clean.

Now that’s a wow factor to see.

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.