Flat TV's behind one-way mirrors?

February 19, 2008 5:24 PM

Flat TV's behind two-way mirrors? Good idea or no?

Does anybody out there have any firsthand experience with LCD's or Plasma TV's situation behind two-way mirrors so that they "disappear" when they turn off?

We are renovating our house (on a budget!) and the designer suggested this scenario to my wife as a way to de-clutter our home. I'm open to it but know from experience (i work in the film biz and visual effects) that ANYTHING you put in front of a light source (or tv) will knock down the gain. my question is how bad of a hit will i take on the luminance of the TV? I have seen the commercially available flats that offer the tv-to-mirror feature, but they are WAY out of my price range. What I was hoping for is a resource for the right type of glass that will achieve what we want with a minimal light loss (if there is such a thing).

thanks for any help

posted by monkeybutt to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

I have seen this successfully done in a bathroom mirror. People catch up on the news while brushing teeth, hair, getting ready for work etc. The image is a bit darker so not sure if you would want that to be your main TV.

Of course that was a few years ago...LCD brightness, etc may be better now.
posted by UMDirector at 5:29 PM on February 19, 2008

Yeah I've seen this, and in my opinion it looks like crap. There's a definite difference. Most high-end av places that do install or will sell you the mirror will also give you a small sample to try out. Give that you work in visual effects and film, you'll probably notice the distortion. In any case go with the sample.

Of course if you're going this route it probably means you're building your television into an alcove to sit behind the mirror? Why not look into solutions where the television descends down into the wall instead?
posted by geoff. at 5:31 PM on February 19, 2008

Response by poster: we have entertained the idea of a descending tv, but since the area it is going in is so close to the edge of the roofline it would need to angle into place. the mechanics would not be impossible, just more than we are willing to engineer at this time.
posted by monkeybutt at 5:37 PM on February 19, 2008

Of course if you're going this route it probably means you're building your television into an alcove to sit behind the mirror? Why not look into solutions where the television descends down into the wall instead?

Or a solution where the mirror descends in front of the television...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:44 PM on February 19, 2008

Hotels put them behind bathroom mirrors, but the quality really matters not there. I have a few mirror iPod cases, which are kind of cool, but mostly I bought them because they were on sale. They darken the display. Well, flat screens already have issues here. I wouldn't do it unless you are always going to be sitting in a fairly dark room.
posted by caddis at 8:06 PM on February 19, 2008

2nding Cool Papa Bell. It would be very simple to raise an mirror up in front of a recessed TV.
posted by jrishel at 4:58 AM on February 20, 2008

Do you already have the TV?
posted by Caviar at 5:32 AM on February 20, 2008

Response by poster: no, not yet. most likely will be a 50+ sony bravia LCD
posted by monkeybutt at 2:05 PM on February 20, 2008

Then you might consider an HD projector instead. I very much like the fact that when it's off, there's no giant TV monopolizing my living room.
posted by Caviar at 5:58 PM on February 20, 2008

Response by poster: we've considered a projector and in theory i prefer it, but two problems with the projector:

#1 light in the room. the room isn't overly bright but could easily overwhelm the output of a projector in the same price range as the TV (once you include the screen and the engineering to hide it)

#2 the placement of the projector in/on the ideal wall for where it needs to be is problematic, if not impossible.
posted by monkeybutt at 1:36 PM on February 21, 2008