concealed doors for giant plasma television

[bridger]

so I have a client who wants an entertainment center to hold- in addition to a bunch of other electronics and just plain tchotchkes- a giant HD plasma tv. he of course wants doors that go away a la flipper door hardware. thing is these freakin' teevees are so wide now and so thin that there isn't enough depth to the cabinet to bury the doors in there- there would still be more than half of the door poking out into the room when it is fully shoved back into it's pocket.

I thought about folding the door first, bifold style, then sliding it back into the pocket. I'm not sure how likely I am to find pocket hardware that can accomodate this, and even if I do it will mean that the bifold hinge is facing the room when it's open, which sounds pretty ugly to me. knob placement is another issue with this configuration.

tambour doors is another option. they also need a place to go, which in this case is the space behind the tv, which is needed for wire chase and other access. it might be doable, but before I get too invested in a particular design I'd like to see if any of you all have any bright ideas....

[mike hide]

tambour seem the way to go in this case .I would leave enough room between the tambour door asd the back of the TV to bring the wires up from below...mjh

[Tom Watson]

Since you won't have the usual depth problem, I wonder if you couldn't run the tambour into a box at the back of the carcase and have a space between that box and the panel that will be penetrated for wires and such.

Another interesting idea might be some panels that fold up on Soss hinges and fit into a pocket on the side when open.

Interesting problem.

[Ken]

try running the tambour over the top of TV. There shouldn't be any clearance problems in back , cause tambour will not go all the way down. Been there, done this.

Ken

[loutent]

I remember a TOH from a few years back where Tommy put a 42 inch plasma behind doors over a fireplace.

IIRC, they were bifold doors and folded on themselves but did not slide into the wall.

Tambour seems the best option if the client likes that look. Not sure I'd want that for an entertainment center - rather have no doors.

FWIW

Lou

[Robert Bonomi]

Bzzzt! check your design again.

bifold can have the hinge pins on the side against the TV screen.

e.g., like this, when 'partially' folded.

| : [[[ T V DISPLAY ]]] : | * :...... ......: * \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\o// \\o//

First you fold the bi-fold allthe way up, then you push 'em back out of the way.

guide pins on the top/bottom of the 'center' edges of the doors is

*highly* recommended. running in an L track, as shown by the 'dots' in the graphic above.

An hinge alternative is SOSS 'invisible' hinges.

This kind of a design *is* a PITA to use, cuz you don't want the flipper part to start sliding back until the bifold is *completely* folded.

tambour can _coil_ beside the TV, doesn't have to go 'behind' it.

Alternative is 'roll-top desk' style. where it 'goes away' on top of, and maybe behind the set.

Could even go 'down', if the display is actually supported from the rear. For real fun, you motorize it, tied to the TV going on/off. and a 'repeater' for the remote, that will carry commands to the TV with the door closed.

[Lew Hodgett]

At the risk of sounding blasphemous, not sure this is a good application for wood.

How about a stage curtain concept that is perhaps 2'-3' wider than the screen, operated by draw strings on one end, using a very heavy drapery material?

Create a wooden box structure as a valance above to cover all the operating hardware.

Just a thought.

Lew

[Upscale]

Not yet mentioned is a fabric screen on a roller that rolls up or down to reveal or hide the TV. There's electronic versions that are remotely controlled. All the components are located in the vicinity of the roll itself, so no interfering with rear electronics. These fabric screens can be blank or have an image of some type on them.

[arw01]

How about going up like a garage door does?

Personal preference is a bifold that then slides into the sides like most entertainment systems now.

Alan

[Mike]

Last Fall I built a base for my new 62 Mitsubishi DLP, and when we first got it, SWMBO was a little nutty on the size of the thing being out there all the time, but she got used to it. Anyway, i had toyed with the idea of a "cabinet" with doors, and this set is about 16" deep IIRC. The tambour doors seemed very logical because I had done something very similar in a boat that had a teak-trimmed interior, building a stereo cabinet with teak tambour doors that met in the middle.

Many of these new sets still need some circulation, but I think the plasma type might get away without it. You ought to take a look at the AV Forum where we have two dedicated threads; one for ready-made TV stands and entertainment centers, and another (which I started) for those who would build their own for pleasure or profit. Here's the main link, go there and browse around:

of the electronics are delicate too, I equipped my set with a 640 watt APC backup system because the bulbs will die quicker if you have shutdowns without a power-assisted cooldown from the internal cooling system. Funny when we have power outages... everything goes dark in the house but the TV stays on. I also bought some cable channel from Rockler that keeps most of the cables in a long split-sided tube. Its an informative site if you're considering making the plunge.

Mike

bridger wrote:

[loutent]

Hi Mike,

I know this is off topic, but as I am in the process of building an entertainemt center for some new WS Plasma/DPL/LCD in the next year, I have run into an interesting problem.

If I understand correctly (and I may be wrong), the DLP and LCD units use bulbs that must/should be replaced every 3000 hours or so (about a year?). About $200 to $400 per bulb.

The plasma units, although more expensive initially, have ratings for 50,000 hours.

If my math is ok, it seems to me that a plasma is a better buy and better picture (deeper blacks etc) if you intend to keep a set, say, 10 years.

Plasma for 10 years at (say) $6K = $6K.

DLP for 10 years = $3K + ($300/bulb x 10) = $6K (or more) also - not counting aggrivation.

And plasma has a better picture.

Am I wrong here?

lou

[Patriarch]

loutent wrote in news:020620052023156933% [e-mail]:

Or look at it differently:

$3k now, plus a few bulb changes, and a new system at some point in the future at lower prices and newer technology, vs:

$6k now, and keep it in spite of the tech changes.

One thing that has been pretty constant has been the silicon curve as applied to consumer electronics. Prices fall, capabilities increase.

Broadband proliferates. And what were considered 'high speed connections' 5 years ago are now not adequate for leading edge services today, let alone tomorrow.

What we are still missing is access to quality content with a sustainable economic model, in a world of TiVo and Napster-like services.

Welcome to the future.

Patriarch

[Art Greenberg]

The HID lamp used in these sets should be good for much more than 3,000 hours. The service manual for my JVD I-DLA claims 5,000 hours.

3,000 hours in a year is over 8 hours per day. That's a lot of time in front of a TV. You must have young kids at home.

AFAIK, you only need replace the lamp when it no longer fires. I am not aware of any significant output fall-off with age in HID lamps.

Plasma displays begin to loose brightness as soon as you turn them on. The life of the display is a matter of what's acceptable to you. You may become unhappy with it much sooner than 50,000 hours.

I can change the lamp in my JVD I-DLA from the front of the set (there is one screw on the left side that has to be removed). Its a 5-minute job.

Don't know about the cost. It may come down in the future, too.

Probably. But I've seen some pretty impressive-looking RPTVs, and prices on them are falling faster than the same-size plasmas.

[loutent]

Hi Art,

Thanks for this information. I am leaning toward DLP since it seems to give more bang for the buck. The pictures that I have seen in the stores is pretty impressive in HD.

Lou

[Odinn]

Yes.

Plasma still has burn in problems that LCD and DLP do not have. DLP can match plasma resolution, contrast, and viewing angle. DLP doesn't have the problem with burned out pixels like an LCD can. Bulbs can (and often do) last considerably more than 3000 hrs (my ex's LCD is over 2 years old and still on the original bulb, and they watch a lot of TV).

[Upscale]

The only time when you'd *want* a bulb to burn out eh? Or, does your separation agreement make you responsible for maintenance of it? :)

[musials]

How about having the TV raise out of the base? Put it on a lift and the entire thing would come up out of the base for viewing and go back down when not in use.

[Odinn]

Only maintenance I have that I'm responsible for is our daughter, and that's enough maintenance for both her stepdad and myself to deal with :)

[Preston Andreas]

I have done several cabinets with bifold doors and pocket door hardware. The hinge goes on the back side of the door. You need heavy duty pocket door hardware. Even then you have to use all the adjust to hold up the doors when closed due to the moment exerted on the hinges. Use magnet catches and stops at both the center and end of the doors. You have to allow about 3" clear at the sides for the door to retract at a double thickness. Use

similar hardware.

Preston

[musials]

Here's a link