Redefining Flat

Written by Custom Audio Video

ack in the days of yore (the late 1990’s) we first began to see the emergence of flat-panel plasma televisions. For as long as some of us can remember, televisions had been exceedingly deep plastic and glass boxes that often found arguments with the other elements of home décor. The result being living rooms and dens with ridiculously deep custom-built cabinets and armoires that were almost as obtrusive as the TVs they concealed. Then, all of a sudden, we were presented with a new option. A plasma TV with an average depth of five inches instead of the thirty-six plus we had grown accustomed to. Almost overnight TVs went from sitting in rhinoceros-sized armoires to nimbly clinging to walls and fireplaces. Interior designers and cabinetmakers alike let out a collective sigh.

Most of the innovation these sets have seen since their release into the residential marketplace has been improvements in the displayed picture. Early plasmas with 640 x 480 screen resolutions were replaced by large plasma displays capable of displaying 720p HD video signals. These displays have in turn been replaced by LCD & plasma TVs with even higher resolution capabilities, but other than larger sizes becoming more available through the years, the physical characteristics of these TVs have remained largely the same.

In the last few months Hitachi Directors Series and other manufacturers have begun to develop and release LCD televisions with a scant one and a half inches of depth. Whereas a traditional flat-panel TV on a wall mount might have a total depth of eight inches, these new slim-line displays can be fastened to the wall with purpose-built, low profile mounts yielding an amazing two inches of depth off the wall. For installations where one might see a wall mounted TV from the side, less of the wall mount and audio/video cabling will be visible, making for a cleaner more elegant installation. A wider variety of decorative treatments such as picture frames and motorized wood panels can be used in new and creative ways. All around, less depth means less intrusion into an otherwise beautiful home design.

While these new low profile TVs probably are not as ground breaking as their five-inch predecessors were to the super- deep televisions we all grew up with, one can definitely appreciate the added sleekness and elegance of these new video displays.