Hidden TV's

Drop Down Lift - Lake Oconee, Ga

The client’s interior designer on this particular project threw down a challenge. She wanted a flat panel TV that would come down from the ceiling and allow the client to view the TV from her master bedroom and the adjoining office. We found a ceiling lift from one of our partners (Chief Manufacturing).

We were excited to find out that this was a completely enclosed TV lift system. This unit holds a flatscreen in the ceiling, lowers it on command, tilts it outwards, and swivels the TV for optimal viewing. The swivel can rotate the TV 360-degrees, and the tilting module can extend the screen forward to 30-degrees. We automated it with a Crestron touch screen hand held controller. All her friends and neighbors are jealous!

The drop-down or pop-down lift is essentially the opposite of the pop-up. The mechanism is concealed either in the ceiling or a cabinet soffit. When the TV is turned on, the mechanism lowers down from the cabinet work or ceiling above and conceals whatever is behind the TV. This system works well if it is planned in advance with an architect and designer.

Folding Ceiling Lift

The folding ceiling lift requires minimal depth in the ceiling (about 6-8” for a 42” Plasma). The TV literally folds down from the ceiling when being used. Some units will also tilt or swivel for optimum viewing once lowered.

These lifts are constructed of structural marine grade aluminum and stainless steel, are fully Heli-arc welded, and have a powder- coated finish. Nearly all the parts are CNC machined adding to the lifts quality. The unit consists of an outer aluminum frame that attaches to the surrounding rough opening. The Plasma TV attaches to a swing-arm that is operated by a gear driven cam-lever system that is totally counter- balanced. The unit operates very quietly, and swings down for viewing and can be adjusted to swing back an additional 18 degrees for a proper viewing angle in any installation. When stowing the device, the swing-arm returns to the closed position, and activates a mechanically controlled safety locking bolt to secure the swing-arm in it’s position. The lift is activated by a relay interface.

Hidden TV within furniture

A hidden TV lift is the ideal solution to obstructing your TV from view when it’s not needed. The hidden TV lift can be placed behind a cabinet or built within existing furniture. When it’s time to watch television simply push a button and the flat panel will rise into viewing position. The hidden TV lift provides convenience for the owner and safety for the television. Parents don’t need to worry about possible damage to the screen from playful children with this concealed design.

Limited space in the home can oftentimes be problematic when owning a large plasma TV, yet a hidden TV lift can eliminate these potential issues. TV lifts also allow your television to take advantage of small spaces.

Another benefit to using hidden TV lifts is that the cables and tracking accessories from the flat panel itself can be concealed from view. The unsightly cables fit within the constraints of the lift system to make them not visible to television viewers.

Tapestry - Douglasville, Ga

This client chose a Tapestry Flat-Screen Cover (picture above) because it offered a stylish, yet economical solution to hiding a flat-screen television. She actually found us through the Tapestries, Ltd website. We programmed a Universal Remote to lower her tapestry into place, changing the personality of the room from casual to elegant in seconds. A tilting motorized automated mount was also added to this project. This required ETI to remove stone from the fireplace to accommodate the motorized mount.

The client pushes one button on the Universal Remote and a series of actions happen:

1. The tapestry rolls up to expose the TV
2. The TV turns on
3. The TV chooses the appropriate video source
4. The automated mount moves the TV into the room
5. The automated mount tilts the TV down towards the client at a pre-programmed position

The client also chose a tapestry design that suited their décor and the proper size to cover their TV and to fit their living space. Tapestries, Ltd. offers hundreds of beautiful tapestries, woven on traditional jacquard looms throughout Europe, as well as exquisite hand-woven tapestries woven in the aubusson style. The display brackets are hand-painted and are available in various designs and finishes to coordinate with the tapestry, while serving the function of supporting the motorized rod.

In all concealment systems, proper ventilation of the TV must be addressed early in the game. Inadequate ventilation will lead to premature failure of the TV or even worse.

TV behind Art – Option 1

The Sliding Art Frame: At the touch of a hand-held transmitter, this product lets you conceal and reveal a recessed TV behind your favorite painting. There are no exposed tracks or wiring. Pressing a button on the remote moves your original artwork to reveal your TV. This art lift can be configured to move up/down/left or right.

Another Media Décor option is the world’s first silent, Precision Electronic Dual Sliding Lift for using Original Art, Mirrors or Panels to Conceal TVs. This is actually called a ‘Diptych’. 2 separate pieces of complimentary art slide outwards to reveal the TV. Typically 2 wrapped canvases are used, but it can be 2 framed artworks, mirrors or panels. No sliding lift can match the ultra precise silent movement of this electronic sliding lift. If you have valuable original art and demand near silent operation, the Eclipse Art Lift is the best solution. Noise level: 44 dBA.

TV behind Art – Option 2

The Motorized Art Frame from Media Décor is a ‘stationary’ solution patented to concealing the plasma display. When the TV is off, all that is seen is a framed piece of art. When the TV is on, the canvas retracts into the top of the frame and reveals the plasma TV with a wooden frame around it.

The Media Décor motorized art frame design is based on research of what factors are most important to clients and designers who wish to conceal large displays with motorized artwork. It was never designed (in its present form) to appeal to a price point driven mass market.

The classification of our product is essentially ‘custom furniture’, not electronics. Because it is rare for 2 clients to want the same TV, same artwork, and same frame: each unit must by definition be custom made. It is similar to having a custom piece of furniture built to conceal your Plasma TV.

In order of importance, the following design/performance criteria were requested:
1. Quiet operation
2. Smooth movement of artwork/canvas
3. Avoidance of the window shade or garage door movement of canvas
4. Tensioning of canvas in all directions
5. Large selection of artwork and custom artwork
6. Large selection of frames
7. Warranty

Items 1-4 were the biggest design challenge. Over 1500 hours of design time and prototyping, along with a lot of ‘out of the box’ thinking, paid off. We successfully met the first four criteria.

TV behind Mirror

The Media-Mirror™ is a new product developed and patented by Media Décor, LLC. In simple terms, it is a mirror when the TV is turned off and a TV when the TV is turned on. Unlike 2-way mirrors, Media-Mirror features “Beam-Splitter” technology. Instead of a half-silvered coating, it has a high efficiency dielectric coating designed to transmit the TV picture at maximum brightness and reflect like a mirror when the TV is off. Its transmission is about 5 times that of conventional 2-way mirrors. The reflection specification is approximately the same as 2-way mirrors.

Designed and engineered by SÉURA, The ONE™ is a low-profile 19” high definition 1080P LCD Television Mirror with stunning features, big performance, and a slender shape. At only 1” thin, The ONE™ may be installed virtually anywhere, and integrated into any space. Available as part of the Enhanced™, Deco™, Enhanced Lumination™, and Deco Lumination™ Collections, this versatile solution is a phenomenal option for most Television Mirror applications! (Picture Below)

Underbed Lift

This underbed lift neatly tucks any Plasma or LCD screen up to 60” out of sight. The customized folding front panel and a wide selection of custom finishes ensure you will not be faced with a choice between the decorating style you love and the high tech equipment you desire. The optional “rotation” feature allows you to change the location from which you view your screen. Because the left, right, and center channels mount beneath the screen, the sound stage rotates with the lift.

The underbed lift eliminates bulky cabinetry at the foot of the bed, leaves your view unobstructed and your decorating options limitless. It fits neatly under any King or Queen size beds requiring only 8.75” of clearance between the bed and the floor. It is as easily installed in existing homes as new construction.

MK 1 Studio designed the underbed lift to work seamlessly with any automation system. Alternatively, you can use a switch interface if you prefer a non-automated application of the lift. If you select our wiring package, you receive our lift pre-wired for 7.1 Surround, tactile transducers, DVI, VGA, S-Video, component, subwoofer and surge suppressor which will substantially reduce your installation time and costs. A specialized equipment enclosure places all of the AV equipment in the lift and under the bed. Choose one of our high quality speaker packages to create the ultimate sound experience.