Correct height to hang a flat panel TV set ?

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pctong

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#30306 4-Feb-2009 10:37

Hi Everyone

I have a sony lcd tv set, and I want to hang it on the wall. What is the correct height to hang it ? I am confuse ! Should I run the cable behind the wall or is there cable cover that I can use to hide the cable running from under the TV set. Please help.

regards

PC Tong

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#193931 4-Feb-2009 11:01

good question, i'd be interested to know this too.

JimmyLizar

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#193934 4-Feb-2009 11:10

I think a lot of people hang them too high on the wall as they look best from an aesthetic point of view. This however means that you will be looking up at the tv when seated on the couch.

For best results (when seated) the top of the tv should be at eyeline, but this might look too low when you are standing. You could compromise and raise if up half a screen height so that your eyeline when seated is the middle of the screen. Probably best to get a piece of cardboard the same size as tv and pin it to the wall at various heights and see what works best for you.

As far as cable covers go, I have seen one but cant remember where (will try to have a look around and see if I can locate). Might even have been on Geekzone. Was a plate that you fix to wall. The cables run up the plate and a cover snaps over the plate to hide the cables.

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Jaxson

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#193936 4-Feb-2009 11:18

There's no set height you have to do it at. The wall hang approach looks cool, but it's all totally dependant on your room situation/layout etc. I'm not trying to put you off, but it can either be easy or close to hell depending on a bunch of factors. Off the top of my head you need to consider:

Too high and it will strain your neck. Too low and it's likely to look odd and be blocked easily.

What is your house made off/building style. Concrete floors, cross braces, textured wallpaper etc can all make laying cables and pulling through walls etc damn difficult and hard to reinstate the finish etc.

TV's can weigh a bit so you need adequate reinforcing in their to hold the thing up. A bracket will usually need two studs and they might not lie where you want the TV to be.

Power. You need to have a socket installed on the wall really.

If you have a fireplace, you need to consider heat from this, so it really needs a decent top lip on it to give a pocket of air for the TV to be it.

Also don't forget that you have to put your dvd,freeview box maybe, consoles etc somewhere so most people still have a tv cabinet type thing anyway. A cool TV cabinet can be the same or cheaper than the wall install job (requires little work and shorter cables etc) and can still look the part.

Jaxson

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#193937 4-Feb-2009 11:20

Jimmy is right here. A wall mounted TV at the height we all had our CRT's just looks stupid. You're caught between looking good and being used every day sort of thing. I'm selling my house so went with the wall mount. It looks really good, but it's physically high and the amount of downwards tilt doesn't change the fact it's still mounted high on the wall. At my next place I might not bother, but we shall see...

bazzer

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#193957 4-Feb-2009 12:25

Jaxson: Jimmy is right here. A wall mounted TV at the height we all had our CRT's just looks stupid. You're caught between looking good and being used every day sort of thing. I'm selling my house so went with the wall mount. It looks really good, but it's physically high and the amount of downwards tilt doesn't change the fact it's still mounted high on the wall. At my next place I might not bother, but we shall see...

I beg to differ. OUr TV is mounted on the wall at about eye level, maybe a tad higher. I don't see the point in mounting the TV somewhere where it "looks good", a TV is for watching. Even though we could've just put the TV on the stand on the cabinet, it looks much nicer mounted against the wall.

Mattnzl

281 posts

Ultimate Geek

#193958 4-Feb-2009 12:30

Out of reach of young children!

smarsden

118 posts

Master Geek

#193967 4-Feb-2009 12:46

JimmyLizar: As far as cable covers go, I have seen one but cant remember where (will try to have a look around and see if I can locate). Might even have been on Geekzone. Was a plate that you fix to wall. The cables run up the plate and a cover snaps over the plate to hide the cables.

This is called Clipsal Ducting, and is available from either Ideal Electrical, or J A Russell. Comes in 4m lengths (easy to saw to size), of varying dimensions depending on how big a cable(s) you need to feed through it (max is around 25x25mm, I think). Looks nice and discrete once installed.

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JimmyLizar

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#193994 4-Feb-2009 14:03

The ducting I was thinking of was wide and flat.

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timbosan

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#194001 4-Feb-2009 14:18

I am just in the process of hanging my new 52" Sony on the wall in the lounge. I have already mounted the bracket on the wall and run teh cables inside the wall. The walls are gib (it's an old bungalow) so I just cut holes where the cables enter and exit, and over every 'nogging' and routed them through. Then I just covered up the holes over the 'nogging' with new jib and filler, sanded and painted.

As for the height it is was combination of looks and practicality. The set will sit above my hi-gi rack so will need to clear that plus the center speaker on the top of it, plus the TV sits between two windows so I make it line up with the top for looks. The lounge is 4meters deep so whilst it is higher than my previous TV (a 32" Loewe) it is not that high and really easy to get used it.

One thing to note - do NOT run power cables through the walls! (the ones that go from the socket to the tv). They are NOT rated for in wall use. Get an electrician to do the work.

Personally I like th totally hidden look rather than the 'cheap plastic trying to hide the cables from my expensive TV on the wall' look. I will post some pics when I get home

Jaxson

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#194008 4-Feb-2009 14:36

I think that what looks best is the height you'd normally hang a picture on your wall.
What works best is roughly tv middle or bottom at the eye height when you sit on your couch.
Where you end up putting it is a combo of the two and is up to you and the room you have to play with.

bazzer

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#194033 4-Feb-2009 15:46

timbosan: One thing to note - do NOT run power cables through the walls! (the ones that go from the socket to the tv). They are NOT rated for in wall use. Get an electrician to do the work.

What about not through the wall, but through a hole in the wall (from one side straight across to the other, plugged in on the other side? Still a no-no? If so, what does it really matter?

tkr001

416 posts

Ultimate Geek

#194098 4-Feb-2009 19:59

If you are doing that then it is a trivial job to do it properly and have a proper socket for the TV. In the wall, through the wall it is still illegal and may well invalidate any insurance you have. Just do it right the first time I say.

bazzer

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#194192 5-Feb-2009 09:16

tkr001: If you are doing that then it is a trivial job to do it properly and have a proper socket for the TV. In the wall, through the wall it is still illegal and may well invalidate any insurance you have. Just do it right the first time I say.

Getting a bit off topic now, but that's not the point for me. I'm trying to keep the power stuff away from the rest of the equipment, so I was going to house the power board in the adjacent room and run all the power cables though to there. There must be a legal way to do it? It can't be any worse than the mass of cables most people have under their computer/AV equipment.

gammy

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#194564 7-Feb-2009 05:17

I am about to embark on this.
I have a wall mount about 3ft above my electrical outlet..also, I want to connect my WII, a/v cables etc;
to the t.v.

so, I was planning on cutting a hole at the wall mount and another one near the electrical box and fish my wires through these holes (exterior wall also)..i.e. running my power cord through these holes (in the wall) and to the plug in....

Is this a safety issue?

If I can't do that and I am unable to install another electrical outlet...what type of housing (for my wires (power, a/v/, etc;) looks decent?

Starting this Sunday...any advice would be very much appreciated.

richms

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#194728 8-Feb-2009 12:46

The correct height was explained to me as 2/3rds the way up the screen at eye height when viewing it - thats pretty much the normal horizon and eyeline area for onscreen action so it looks the most natural.

Richard rich.ms

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