How good are those TV inside a mirrors?

blizeH

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Hi, despite being super underwhelmed by it in person, we decided to buy a Samsung Frame TV for the living room since we couldn’t find anything better

However, in trying to find another Frame for the bedroom I’ve come across this: Amazon product ASIN B08LLCSNPC
It’s exactly what my wife was after originally - something that looks good when the screen is off, and unlike the Frame it won’t waste energy.

The reviews are amazing, but also too good? Can the picture quality really be that good when it’s inside a mirror? I’m not bothered that it’s only a Q60 tbh that’s already a huge step up from our current TV. Thanks!
 
You can currently buy a Q60 for less than £600, so you'd be paying over £1200 on top to hide a fairly average, mid-range TV behind a mirror :eek:

Bear in mind that for less than £1000, you could get a 48" LG C2 which would absolutely blow the Q60 away in terms of picture quality. The C2 would have minimal bezels too, whereas watching the Q60 within that chunky frame will probably feel like watching an old TV from the late 2000s in that respect.

The other aspect to this is that you would normally mount a mirror at eye level when standing, which would make it way too high for comfortable TV viewing when seated. The example photos in the Amazon reviews are all mounted far too high up the wall.

In terms of energy usage, I would check this very carefully. I remember seeing glass privacy panels used in a house featured on Grand Designs where an electric current had to be passed through them in order to make them appear frosted. If that mirror works in a similar way, then it would be using energy when the TV is turned off in order to give the mirror effect. If it works in the opposite way then it may require energy to become see-through, in which case it'll be using extra energy when you're watching TV. Either way would be undesirable with the way energy prices are heading, so this is definitely worth enquiring about.
 
The frosted panels are liquid crystals, and can work either way (default open or default closed) depending on the type, but as far as I'm aware they don't have a mirror finish themselves.

This is likely just a normal piece of one-way glass that's relying on the TV's brightness to make itself visible when turned on. Although if that's the case then it will still be using more energy as it'll cut some of the brightness coming from the TV and require it to be cranked up higher for the same ambient lighting conditions.

Yup, looking on their main website it pretty much says it's just one-way glass:

It might be worth approaching a local framing place to see how much they'd charge you to frame a TV using one-way glass. I suspect this would work best with a very light mirror tint.
 
Ah - it looks like I was a bit naive in thinking that the extra £1200-odd would buy you some clever technology !

Whatever the technology involved, I can't help but think that adding an extra layer of glass in front of a TV screen is not only going to affect picture quality but also make potential issues with reflections a whole lot worse.

OP - another thing to bear in mind is cable management. You'd need a power socket and TV aerial outlet directly behind the TV in order to achieve the look seen in the photos and if you're wanting the TV flat to the wall like a mirror would be, then the sockets may even have to be recessed. Extra cables from any external devices would have to be factored in to this too and the Q60 doesn't come with a One Connect box, which would make this easier.
 
I have one question.
Why?
 
The height of tacky. Designed for people who think it's smart to mount a TV over a fireplace.
 
Designed for people who think it's smart to mount a TV over a fireplace.

What I really don't understand is then when you do that and have 2 sofas both at right angles to the TV and fireplace.

How do you actually watch TV like that without lying on the sofas?
 
What I really don't understand is then when you do that and have 2 sofas both at right angles to the TV and fireplace.

How do you actually watch TV like that without lying on the sofas?
 
The frosted panels are liquid crystals, and can work either way (default open or default closed) depending on the type, but as far as I'm aware they don't have a mirror finish themselves.

This is likely just a normal piece of one-way glass that's relying on the TV's brightness to make itself visible when turned on. Although if that's the case then it will still be using more energy as it'll cut some of the brightness coming from the TV and require it to be cranked up higher for the same ambient lighting conditions.

Yup, looking on their main website it pretty much says it's just one-way glass:

It might be worth approaching a local framing place to see how much they'd charge you to frame a TV using one-way glass. I suspect this would work best with a very light mirror tint.
Ah - it looks like I was a bit naive in thinking that the extra £1200-odd would buy you some clever technology !

Whatever the technology involved, I can't help but think that adding an extra layer of glass in front of a TV screen is not only going to affect picture quality but also make potential issues with reflections a whole lot worse.

OP - another thing to bear in mind is cable management. You'd need a power socket and TV aerial outlet directly behind the TV in order to achieve the look seen in the photos and if you're wanting the TV flat to the wall like a mirror would be, then the sockets may even have to be recessed. Extra cables from any external devices would have to be factored in to this too and the Q60 doesn't come with a One Connect box, which would make this easier.
Ah! Thank you both. Maybe getting some one way glass over the top is an option then. Alternatively we're thinking of getting a canvas just to put over the top of the TV

I have one question.
Why?
My wife thinks a room with a big TV in looks really bad and 'chavvy', so it's either get a 32" TV by the side that doesn't stand out much, or it's get a larger TV and try to cover it/hide it. She also wants to discourage our little ones from watching a big screen (they have a 32” in their room) and I can kinda see her point tbh.
 

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