What is the best mounting position (height, etc) for a TV?

That's pretty much the entire question.

BTW I know that for computer monitors (based on a work design class back in college), slightly below eye level is considered "optimal" for most people. Unfortunately it seems most furniture for *TV* use causes the screen to end up being located slightly above eye level.

Bonus question : Any particular lighting schemes - number of light sources, their location, type of light (2700K? 4000K?) etc - that should be used to make TV viewing more enjoyable/comfortable?

 

seated eye level works best for me.

 

That's best

 

Indeed. I find this the most comfortable...

 

When plasma tvs became affordable,I can't tell you how many people I tried to dissuade from mounting above their fireplaces.Besides the heat factor, I'd have them sit for a few minutes with 3m painters tape marking the exact spot it would hang.After this demo I recall only one person still choosing to put their tv there.
My Panasonic is at eye level on a stand that I put heavy duty wheels on for easy access when rewiring or moving other hardware around.Works great for me.

 

I never understood the trend of mounting above a fireplace. It seems wrong on so many levels...

 

At or slightly above eye level (centered ~ 48 - 54" when seated) in your living room... mounting any higher is only appropriate in larger spaces with many people (like a classroom), and even then 65" on center is high enough.
And yes, it's incredibly silly to mount above a fireplace like they do on all the remodel/house hunter shows on HGTV. Unless you enjoy a stiff neck, that is.

 

At what point do you get a crick in your neck, after say half an hour.

 

Well, I would say it depends on how one's angle of view is from where you are sitting. Example, laying back in a fully reclined chair, if the screen is placed at the optimum angle for sitting upright, then sitting reclined, your eyes are almost closed to watch, (zzzz...) where if the screen were higher, you're sittin' pretty! All depends...
That's why laying in bed, it is ridiculous to have the TV screen low because it causes you to fall asleep much easier than if it were higher up, causing your eyes to be more opened, at least for a while.
But, I agree, for most normal upright sitting positions, eye level is about right.

 

Yeah, I had to argue with my brother when we were mounting the TV in my apartment. He thought it should go much, much higher, and I insisted that it be right at eye level. I won, and I love where it is. I have a pair of tower speakers on either side of it, with the center speaker mounted to the underside of the TV. Works wonderfully.

 

Most home theater experts recommend a "bias light" behind the display so that the screen it's self isn't the brightest thing in the room, improving contrast and easing eye strain.

 

Mounting a TV above a fireplace is for people who are more concerned with how the interior of their house is decorated than they are with audiovisual fidelity. They're frequently the same people who simply can't abide having a nice audio or home theater rig visible in the room, let alone the center of attention.

 

I'm particularly flummoxed by people who have a good chunk of change and better-than-average intelligence who wrongfully believe that TV sets should be mounted over a fireplace. Another bad reason to do so is that if you actually use the fireplace, the rising heat will cause the plastic screen to warp over time.

 

And I'm sure you know Vidiot,high temps are very bad for the circuitry inside any piece of electrical equipment.
The first plasma Panny I bought was the commercial model that came without a tuner,stand or speakers.No fans at the top rear frame to disperse heat were included in these early 720P models.I did buy this for my handicapped wife who watches a lot of television.After a few hours you could cook hot dogs like they do at the 7/11 on the top of this thing.So another project for the 100+ year old home.I told her I was putting the A.C. in for her but it was really for the her and the t.v..
I'll deny that.

 

I have discussed this issue with a number of installers over the years. What I took away from those conversations was that the eyes should line up with the middle third of the screen, measured vertically of course. (According to those same installers, who often mounted TVs above a fireplace because of their customers' wishes, it wasn't uncommon for them to be called back some time later to take down the TV and move it to a more appropriate location!)

 

I though this was a family friendly forum!

 

I think they believe TV=Painting. Except that they don't tend to stare at an oil painting for 4 hours a night.

 

I suppose you prefer the missionary position?

 

Only when watching a religious channel

 

It's done because your wife wants it done, enough said. The basement theater/listening room is my domain...and the plasma is at eye level.

 

I do a lot of installations, and the other thing I hate about mounting TVs above a fireplace is that...it is a FIREPLACE. Which is made out of brick, or cinderblocks, with concrete or plaster spread on it. So there is no place to hide the cables or power. You often have to grind a trench into the plaster to bury a conduit, bringing in pros to patch it, all to put it in the worst possible location. Put it on a normal wall with studs, and I can hang that sucker in an hour.

 

Same here. Who watches TV standing up??? They still do that on all the TV shows where they renovate houses. I don't get it. I want it to be at eye level while sitting on my couch.

 

I miss the big heavy wood console tv's sitting on the floor like a piece of furniture.

 

Not sure this is really an issue in modern houses, but in older ones the fireplace is often very much the focal point of the living room and there's not always an alternate spot that looks nice or is logical or doesn't throw the room "off" so yeah sometimes mounting over the fireplace makes sense. I agree though it's not optimal and ideally the TV should go in a different room altogether, though that's not always an option.

 

Well, you have to admit it is an elegant look.