[Dream Weaver]

I've spent the past 6 months researching home cinema systems, and in January/February will be buying all the kit I need - Panny 42PX70/PZ70, speakers, DVD player etc.

I've been using the forum for inspiration, but everyone seems to have compromised their living space for the sake of a home cinema system, mostly by removing fires/surround etc and having the TV where the fire was, or in a fireplace and then having amps and racks all over.

However...I want a fire, and a surround with a mirror above it - I don't want a 42" TV in its place, and dont want it hanging above the fire so we have to stare into space to view it :D I also want a setup which isn't really seen apart from small satellite speakers.

So, does anyone have a "normal" room layout any more? You know, window, fireplace, back wall etc and if so how do you have your kit? Any pics?

We have a large ish lounge, but there is a fire in the middle, bay window to one side, settees to the sides and then an arch into the dining room, so the only place for a TV setup is in either alcove around the fire - I was thinking of mounting the TV on the alcove wall using a swivel/tilt bracket so we could then swing the TV round when in use, or flatten it when not in use - feasible?

[Paulie-W]

We have a small normalish lounge, fireplace, window, door etc and the tv is on what would be the side internal wall (not wall mounted). One of my friends has a 50" sammy on a swivel out elbow mount, but is going to be getting a yammy sound bar thing for it.

A lot probably depends on where you want to mount your tv. Wall or bench/rack.

[mossym]

sounds okay, i have the dedicated room, but we have a normal sitting room as well, fire in the middle, big surround. 37" lcd in the corner on a stand. will post some pics for you tonight if you want. the tv as a focal point in the room is only if you really want it and are into the best performance

[ptben]

We have a "normal set". Sofa faces fire with the plasma mounted on swivel bracket in the alcove next door. On the other two sides of the room is a bay window and on the opposite wall a radiator. So the plasma is in the corner, small unit underneath with the amp, dvd, sky on and there are 5 small satellite speakers around the room, all cables hidden by trunking abive the skirting.

[Tony Ounsworth]

We don't have a fireplace, but we do have a large mirror taking up the main available wall. I didn't want to ditch that in favour of the TV, as it makes our small lounge look bigger, and also because my Missus thinks that dedicating the living space to the TV is "common".

So we ended up putting the TV in the corner, in the same place we had the CRT. I suppose it's not very space efficient, but we can have a rethink when we move.

This is what a lot of people were proposing:

Which we ruled out because the person sitting where the X is wouldn't be able to see a thing. Yes, that is supposed to be me slobbing out on the sofa.

So we went for this:

Which is a compromise, but it works. The thing I dislike most about it is that there's a radiator and a window behind the TV, but at least we can both see the screen. It's also the furthest possible distance away from my eyeballs, which increases PQ.

From what you say, it sounds like you have a traditional victorian terrace type lounge, which I would imagine is an awkward shape. Do you have a picture at all? Since it sounds like you have a through arch into the dining room/kitchen, I guess that's one less wall available to you. If that's the case, having it mounted in the alcove would be a solution, although I can imagine it being "out" permanently and getting on your nerves having to constantly move it out of the way.

[Astraeus]

We have a fireplace, several cabinets and flowers in our 'home cinema' room. Using the discreet Anthony Gallo speakers and a single unit in which to hold the DVD, PS2, amplifier/receiver, Sky+ and stereo, it's not intrusive at all and the TV is recessed into the wall slightly so as to not make it dominant. I can't do you illustrations at present but imagine it like this if you can:

[SPK][-------CABINET----] [---37" plasma---] [-----FIREPLACE-----][SPK][CABINET]


__________________________________________________ ____________[CHAIR]


[SPK]___[-----SOFA-----]_[TABLE+SUB]_[------SOFA------]_______[SPK]

And the configuration works an absolute treat, sounds magnificent and, with lights dimmed, you are immersed in the TV even though it's only a 37".

[Dream Weaver]

Cheers everyone, ptben do you have any pics as that sounds what I'm thinking of.

Tony, I love your diagrams, thought it was a dead body at first

It is a Victorian semi, circa 1927 but the lounge and dining room have been knocked through as per the quick drawing below which isnt to scale btw:

I think the lounge is about 14-16ft long by 12ft wide ish. This is also affecting the TV size we go for as well - you can see that someone on the small sofa is about 9-10ft from the TV, but I usually sit on the left of the big sofa so I end up about 6ft from the screen.

[insomniak123]

this is ours, TV at one end on a wooden beech effect low TV stand, with small Sony hi-fi unit next to it, couple of speakers to widen the stereo effect, then all the seating at the other side. Large "to the floor" window on what is the 'top' edge of the photo, and a nice regular shaped room. Fireplace isn't really a fireplace either, its one of them fake surrounds, but we don't have a chimney at all

Really nice clean setup imo, good viewing positions for about 5 people, plus a lot of floor room for more

[Member 209117]

I also had this problem, so I used a swing arm product and used my old 3 tier AV stand for the other stuff, amp, sky etc.
Alternatively you could use a glass stand, see link
https://www.avsupports.com/view_brac...t_type_idx=168
and yes you are right most people seem to rearrange the furniture around the new TV.