[Pete Callan]

Can someone tell me how far away speakers should be from the TV. I've heard it can cause problems to the picture, but if thats the case how come 5.1 speakers are meant to have one speaker on the TV, or is that speaker specially protected so it doesn't hurt the TV?

[Ron240]

A speaker could only affect a tv's picture if it was placed too close and it was not magnetically shielded. The most common place for the centre speaker like you say is either on top or below the tv and this speaker will be shielded. As far as front speakers are concerned,some are shielded and some are not but even if they are not it should only cause a problem if you have them placed very close to your tv. Generally speaking,the bigger the speaker,the bigger the magnet inside it so it will generate a stronger magnetic field. I personally use speakers from Mission's M70 series and they are all magnetically shielded.

[groundy]

Speakers can be situated close to the TV only if they are magnetically shielded. Fortunately, most speakers such as Sub/Sat packages and others designed for Home Cinema use are magnetically shielded. You often see center speakers directly above or below the TV because they should be placed as close to the screen as possible. Problems can arise when a speaker's magnetic shielding is not strong enough but this is a rarity.

If a speaker is not properly magnetically shielded, it will cause colour stained areas on the TV. This can be fixed by getting the TV properly degaussed.

[Pete Callan]

Thanks...so how do you get the tv properly degaussed?