Don’t mount your TV too high
One of my biggest pet peeves in the AV world is people who mount their TVs so high that you have to crane your neck to see it. It’s such a huge phenomenon that there’s even a subreddit about it: /r/TVTooHigh! With the holiday season approaching, I’m sure many people will be attending family gatherings, so take a minute to determine if your TV is mounted in an acceptable location.
While the picture above is extreme, how many televisions have you seen mounted above a fireplace? Aesthetically this looks great, like artwork above the mantel, but in practice, you have to tilt your head back to see it and that can cause fatigue and neck pain when watching a movie. It’s also not uncommon for a room to have built-in shelves with a small opening for the television. Frequently, this insert is much higher than it should be and while it makes the room look nice, it does limit your options.
In addition to hurting your neck to watch TV, most LCD displays look more washed out when viewing off-axis. Test it out by getting close to the display and then move your head to the right of the screen and you’ll see that the display is faded on the left. Plasma and OLED don’t generally have this problem, but LCD displays are still the vast majority at this point.
The other issue with mounting your display over the fireplace is that, since heat rises, the electronics can be degraded over time. On one hand, this could reduce the longevity of the television, but on the other hand, it could be used as a built-in excuse to upgrade more frequently!
The ideal height should have you looking straight ahead at the middle of the screen. It’s impossible to make that work for everyone, since you probably have people of all different heights in your home, but this is a good rule of thumb. There won’t be much of an issue if you’re off by a couple of inches.
Having said all of this, I realize that it’s often easier said than done as you frequently have to deal with built-in cabinets, fireplaces, and the like. So try your best, but realize that your friends may be rolling their eyes at the setup as they hurt their necks watching a movie at your place.