The optimal height to mount your flat screen will vary depending on the following factors:

1. The size of the TV
   
2. The distance you will be watching the TV from
   
3. The room layout (e.g. position of lounge, bed, chairs etc)
   
4. Whether you’re likely to be sitting, standing or laying down while watching TV
   
5. Other mount considerations (placement intended above fireplace, bar area etc)
   

In our experience every case is different, the rooms, the layout and the way in which people intend to use the TV is different, so we recommend starting with the following steps to help you decide how high to mount.  It’s important to note here that most people when mounting their TV’s themselves, mount too high.  Try to be aware of this as you want to avoid neck and eye strain as well as ensuring optimal picture quality of your HD TV.

1. Sit, stand or lay down where you intend to mostly watch the TV from
   
2. Where possible place some markers (e.g. post-it notes) on the wall to outline the edges of the TV
3. Keep adjusting the height until you feel the position is comfortable for your neck and encourages optimal viewing.  You should not have to look upward or lift your neck to watch TV comfortably.
   

Here are my top tips for a common installation scenarios:

Standard Mount

For most lounge room installations where you will be sitting while watching, the centre of the TV will usually be 1 - 1.3 metres from the floor.  Standard (static or low profile) mounts will function well in this situation, as you will be looking at the TV directly at eye level.

Tilting Mount

If however, you prefer the look of a higher installation or if you’re mounting over a fireplace, you will need a tilting mount. Tilting mounts will allow you to point the TV downward so you can still view the TV easily. The average height for most tilting mount scenarios is 1.3 – 1.5 metres from the floor (sometimes more where an obstacle is involved (e.g. fireplace).

Swivel Mount

If you are likely to be watching the TV from various angles (such as lying down in bed or standing up at different points in a room such as kitchen or bar area), you should consider a swivel TV mount.  These mounts not only tilt downward but swivel left and right as well. Swivel mounts provide the greatest flexibility to adapt to the environment and the viewing activity. Like the tilting mounts, Swivel mounts are also typically mounted about 1.3 – 1.5 metres from the floor.

If you are looking for the most suitable mounting solution for your TV, give us a call and we’d be happy to provide a free assessment and quote for mounting your TV.


Geoff

There has been much debate over the benefits of wall mounting your TV vs. setting it up on a cabinet or stand.  While there are many benefits to mounting your flat screen TV (of which I’ve outlined my top 5 reasons here), there are some things to consider before you decide for sure.



TOP 5 BENEFITS of wall mounting your TV.

1.    Looks stylish and sleek
Let’s face it, flat screen TV’s are designed for mounting.  Nicely mounted in the optimal position in your lounge room (or bedroom, entertainment area, sports bar etc) with the wiring concealed creates and ultra clean and stylish look for your room.  Most mounts are slim and place your TV between 2 and 8 cm from the wall which looks very sleek. Using modern technology or smart TV functionality, you can also turn your TV into an awesome wall display with family photos or slideshows when no one is watching TV.  Very cool!

2.    Save Space
Regardless of whether you are considering wall mounting for a TV in your lounge room, bedroom or another area of the house, there is no doubt that wall mounting is a space saver.  By mounting the TV on the wall you remove the need to have bulky cabinets or furniture to support the TV.  In addition, the variety of mounts available make mounting really flexible – for example in a bedroom you can get a corner mount to have the TV in the top corner of the room and avoid using up any valuable bedroom space.  Or a swivel mount that allows for a TV to be viewed from a family room or a kitchen depending on where you want to watch from. 

3.    Safety
As we’ve already said, flat screen TV’s are designed to be mounted.  They are built with holes in the rear of the TV where bolts are fitted to attach to the mounts, which are sturdy and designed to bear a particular weight (very important to ensure you have the right mount for the size & weight of your TV).  Correctly mounted, the TV is firmly affixed to the wall and will not come loose or fall even if pulled or bumped.  Conversely a TV (particularly a larger size TV) that is sitting atop a cabinet, is not secured and risks falling or moving.  Very dangerous in a home with small kids in particular, but a risk regardless – accidents happen!

4.    Optimal viewing angle
There are 2 main considerations when deciding on the height that your TV should be mounted.  The height of the TV should be optimised to ensure that;
       1.    There is little risk of incurring neck or eye strain when watching the TV.
       2.    The viewer obtains the full advantages of high definition viewing.
With the variety of mounts available, achieving the optimal viewing angle is much easier than being forced to have your TV on a pre-built cabinet or stand at a static height.  There are many factors involved in knowing and achieving the optimal viewing height, you can refer to our article How high should I mount my TV? for further information.

5.    Cost effective
Despite how amazing a wall mounted TV looks, it’s not that expensive to achieve.  There are a variety of mount styles and suppliers out there, so you can shop around or ask your installer (AKA AV Made Easy) to provide a suitable and cost effective mount.  Price of installation may vary depending on the size of the TV and environment for mounting, but you might be surprised to find that it's not crazy expensive to do.  Comparing the cost to wall mount, to the cost of TV cabinet or built in shelving and I’m sure you’ll agree that mounting is a cost effective option.

 So, we’ve established that wall mounting a TV has benefits, but…

Should I wall mount my TV?

Some of the things that you should think about before you wall mount include;

• Do you own the home or do you need to seek approval from a landlord before drilling mount holes in the wall?
• Are you planning to move anytime soon?
• Are you likely to rearrange your lounge room furniture often?
• Is your TV mountable (Flat panels are designed for wall mounting so most new TV’s will mount to perfection)?
• Optimal TV height needs to be considered (you should not need to lift your head too much to watch your TV).  Do you have a free wall space that will allow for mounting at optimal height?
• Is there adequate wall cavity to run “concealed” cables behind the wall (should be of particular consideration if mounting above a fireplace)?
• How many devices do you intend to set up with the TV?  You will need to consider the location of devices (e.g. low rise cabinet or device cabinet with receiver set up).

If you have considered all of the above and agree that wall mounting your TV is the way to go… Give us a call to arrange a quote for your TV mount job.  Alternatively if you have decided that wall mounting is not the way to go at this time, then we’d be happy to set up your TV on a cabinet, stand, bench or other location. 

Either way happy viewing!


Geoff

OK so we all “kind of” know what digital TV is these days because by now, in Australia, we should have all switched to digital.  So what don’t you know about your new digital TV?  You might be surprised (or not) to learn a little more about your digital TV experience.

What is digital TV and how is it different from analog?

Digital TV is the sending and receiving of moving images, sound and other data by means of digital processes on radio of discrete (digital) signals, in contrast to the analog processed signals used by analog TV.

Why did we switch to digital?

Digital TV provides improved picture and sound quality as well as greater programming choice.  Using digital TV signal, broadcasters can provide viewers with access to a greater range of other features including:

·         additional channels
·         high definition channels
·         widescreen pictures not available via analog
·         ghost free reception
·         surround sound
·         electronic program guides (EPG)
·         datacasting services
·         closed captioning
·         interactive services, and
·         over the air upgrades for receiver operating software.

All of the above I’m sure you will agree increases our viewing experience, even if we aren’t yet seeing the introduction of lots of cool new interactive features by FTA’s.

While we are seeing an overwhelming benefit to digital TV, there are a couple of things that you may have noticed since having your digital TV in place…

[A couple of my recent customer calls.  “Every time I use the washing machine, my TV pixelates”.  “Every time I turn the lights on and off, my TV goes funny”. ]

The ‘digital cliff’

With digital TV, it is important to have a good quality signal because the picture and sound will suddenly break up if the quality falls below a threshold (‘digital cliff’ effect). Unlike analog TV, which gradually fades quality when signal strength or quality decreases, digital TV is excellent at correcting signal interference to keep the picture perfect.  But if the signal disturbance is too great, the signal can go from perfect to disappearing completely.  This behaviour is known as the digital cliff and describes the sudden loss of digital signal reception (take a look at the below image to get a better picture of the digital cliff). 

So you may have had this experience;

-          perfect picture
-          pixilation (as you approach the digital cliff)
-          picture loss (you have just leapt off the cliff)

If you are sitting close to the cliff’s edge you may experience intermittent pixilation or signal loss, often caused by something simple like a windy or rainy day.

Also with digital TV picture break-up can be experienced from interference generated by electrical equipment especially with arcing contacts e.g. motors in hair driers. This is known as electrical impulse noise and was a contributing factor in the cases of my recent “washing machine and light switch” customers.  So keep an eye out the next time you are using your hair drier.

What can I do to keep away from the digital cliff edge?

Ensuring that you have good quality equipment (antenna, cable, and connectors) is the first step, but more important will be ensuring you have good signal strength and quality being received.  Your local TV antenna installer can perform digital reception test to check the signal level and quality margins (basically see how close you are to the cliff’s edge).  If you are too close and experiencing signal loss, your installer may recommend a Masthead or Distribution amplifier to boost the signal level and support higher signal strength and better signal quality to the TV.


Talk to us today about getting your digital TV performing at it's best.

In more recent years, this is a really common question as the family dynamic and access to technology increases.  With many of my customers having TV’s in multiple family rooms, bar areas, media rooms, sheds and bedrooms, the desire for good signal across the whole house is certainly there. So how many TV’s can you have running off the 1 antenna???

Well, the answer varies I’m afraid. It will depend on a number of contributing factors such as:

-          Signal strength and quality in your area
-          Quality and condition of your antenna
-          Quality of cabling

As a rough guide you could say that in a good signal area, with the right antenna and cabling, you could run up to 6 TV points off the 1 antenna.  More common however is around 4 TV points running off a single antenna before you begin to experience degradation in the quality of picture.  Some of my customers in more challenging signal areas, struggle running even 1 or 2 TV’s off the 1 antenna.  
Arrange for a signal strength test.

In terms of the antenna, the age, type and brand of your antenna can play a large role in the quality of signal that you receive.  Despite the hype, there is no such thing as a “digital” antenna, but the modern antennas are better at filtering out external noise, ensuring that the quality of the signal is maximised which is crucial to a good digital reception.   There are many different types of antenna’s available all of which have a use and a role in this digital world.  The different types of antennas along with their use will be covered in a future article.  

Get a quote for a new antenna.

Then there is the cable to consider.  You want to ensure that you have high quality RG6 quad shielded coaxial cable.  Today’s digital TV’s require a certain signal level and quality in order to function at the highest level of picture quality.  With only a finite amount of signal coming into the antenna, its imperative that there is minimal disruption to the cable between antenna and TV before it starts to lose signal and degrade quality.  Some of the older air core RG6 and RG59 cables will experience greater signal loss and are more affected by other factors such as noise.  It’s a much safer bet to ensure that you have good quality cable carrying a strong signal all the way to the TV points, with minimal interference. 

Talk to us about a cable upgrade.

How will I know if I am getting the best quality picture on all TV points running off 1 antenna?

You will either notice picture quality issues (e.g. pixilation) or signal loss on 1 or all of the TV’s, which could be caused by this signal deterioration due to overload on the cable.  Or you can ask your local TV antenna installer to test the signal strength for you.

What if I don’t have enough signal strength for the number of TV points I want to run off the antenna?

You could install a Masthead or Distribution amplifier to boost the signal level and support higher signal strength and better signal quality to the TV.  This is a totally suitable solution for improving signal strength however does come with some considerations, such as additional cost and the need to have a power supply available.

If you would like further information or to book a service to get your TV picture up to scratch, give me a call.

Geoff.