Wallbot
How cool is this?
We bought our Samsung LCD TV from Crutchfield, lured by a special sale that included a $100 gift certificate, free shipping, and a free Samsung WMN-5090A remote control motorized wall mount. The wall mount is normally $800 at Crutchfield although I'm sure you can get it for less elsewhere. The fact that it integrates so well with the TV made it impossible to pass up.
As the video shows, we've mounted the monitor over the fireplace mantel, which is far from optimal. But the tilt feature of the mount mitigates the awkward placement.
We can also program three position settings and move the TV to any of those positions with the touch of a button on the remote control. When the TV is turned off, the mount automagically returns it to its centered and flat-to-the-wall position.
By the way, if you're wondering why we have that ugly cable running from the cabinet to the TV, it's because we just got a 10 meter in-wall rated HDMI cable today which will eventually snake its way up the wall and back down to the Suddenlink DVR that provides the high-def signals. I'm patting myself on the back for running a pull cable when I installed the center channel speaker cable back before the wall was sheet-rocked. However, the HDMI cable is thicker than I anticipated, so I'm still going to have to do some drilling in the attic to get the connector up through the joist or rafter or whatever-the-heck you call that 2x6 that's in the way.
By the way, I am underwhelmed by Suddenlink's high-def offerings. However, the few free channels that are available are just as amazing as the hype would lead you to believe.
But...but...that's a forty-foot wall!
Posted by: Eric at April 10, 2008 08:12 AMThere was a story a day or two ago out of the northeast noting that Verizon's HD signals were better than the ones Comcast was providing because the latter used more compression in their signals, resulting in an inferior picture when the signal reached home viewers. I'll bet Suddenlink is using the same type of signal compression as Comcast, resulting in the underwhelming HD images.
Posted by: John at April 10, 2008 10:44 AMAfter being underwhelmed by SL's offerings myself, I called up Dish Network. They have something like 70 channels in HD, some good like movie channels, some bad like the "TreasuresHD", a channel dedicated to collecting things. They carry local channels but in SD, I put up a antenna and get the locals in HD (except no so Big2). By the way, over the air HD signals are uncompressed and you get true Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
If you need any help running cables just let me know, been there and done that. Also if you do go up in the attic, do it in the early morning or after the sun goes down it's MUCH cooler up there at those times. The heat nearly got me when I was running no less than 18 cables for my install.
John, it's hard to say. I watched a bit of "Lord of the Rings" on one of the HD versions of the superstations (TBS or WGN) and it was, frankly, stunning...very close to DVD quality. But other programs? Not so much. I can't tell if it's the source material, or the cable system.
Bleu, thanks for the tips. This is going to sound odd, given how much I harp on this, but we're really not passionate TV watchers. I had a satellite dish at one time in our previous house and got tired of the picky care and feeding, and I'm certainly not motivated to put up both a dish and an antenna (and our HOA deed restrictions has something to say about installing the latter anyway; it requires approval from the architectural review board).
As to your tips about running cable in the attic, my experience is that trying to do anything after 9:00 a.m. is asking for heatstroke!
Posted by: Eric at April 10, 2008 02:00 PMI have yet to purchase my first flatscreen, so good on you! :)
Posted by: Stephen at April 10, 2008 03:50 PMStephen, I'd rather have a new bicycle, but we had this big blank space over the fireplace...
Posted by: Eric at April 10, 2008 04:13 PMEric, that looks eerily like my living room, except of course my TV is not mounted over the fireplace...yet.
Posted by: Jon at April 10, 2008 09:36 PMI do have to say that I think that's pretty cool. :o) Someday I might be as cool as you. ;o) Might being the key word there, of course. ;o)
Posted by: Emily H at April 15, 2008 10:28 PMEmily, it's good to have goals, even if they're probably unachievable. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at April 16, 2008 06:34 AMI feel like those lips were following me around the room.
Posted by: dale at April 16, 2008 10:26 AMYou say that like it's a bad thing.
Posted by: Eric at April 16, 2008 01:43 PMAbout the publisher
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Much too small. I can still see the wall.
Start over.
Posted by: Natalie at April 10, 2008 07:55 AM