LCD TV Above Fireplace?

[admin_exported]

I have just purchased a 40 inch Sony TV and am now wondering about where to locate it.  Simply replacing my old TV on a low stand is one option, but that positions the screen immediately next to the left hand loudspeaker.  (The loudspeakers, ATC floor-standers, are either side of a bay window; the TV is currently between the left 'speaker and the window.)

So, the other option is to mount the TV on the wall above the fireplace.  That would enable me to position the loudspeakers on either side of the fireplace, with the TV nicely in-between.  However, I am unsure as to whether having the screen that high (the bottom of the screen would then be c.4 feet above the floor) is a great idea.  Second concern: I would then have to sit only 10-11 ft. away from the loudspeakers and TV, and right against a wall, rather than c.15 ft. and several feet away from the back wall with the current layout.

Comments?  Any thoughts as to whether this sounds a good or bad idea most welcome. 

 

[professorhat]

It's a tricky one, personally I would avoid having the TV above the fireplace at that distance - you'll constantly be straining your neck when watching. Of course that's only my opinion

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, professor. ÿAnd, yes, that is precisely one of my two concerns (the other being that I suspect the sound from the hi-fi would also be compromised .... the hi-fi being far more important, of course ....

).