I put the TV on a separate wall than the wall which will eventually have a wood burning stove. (The mantle and backdrop is already in place. Right now I am dealing with homeowners insurance that doesn't want me to have one.) I don't watch much TV at all, and I really dislike - for me - having an ugly black box being the center of living room attention. When I have guests over, we're here to talk. I can think of exceedingly few occasions I'd be watching the idiot box with guests. Probably if they were here several days, we'd rent a movie or two via Amazon Prime. (Moot point right now, COVID and all.... but hopefully that won't last...) And with a wood burning stove, the exhaust pipe will go up and bisect the view of any TV over the mantle. I sat down on the couch to figure out the best viewing height - which is well below what the mantle might ever be, at least on this couch. It would be fine if I could lean back and rest my head, to have something over mantle height - assuming I'd go with a regular fireplace. But at six feet tall - there just isn't a couch or sofa like that. Plus as others have said, what about decorations? I enjoy decorating my mantle for various holidays! After all, that's really what mantles are for, right? The thing is off to the side, and it does not get glare there, either.

The nook over our fireplace was originally framed out for our existing CRT set and as such is only 43" wide. My plan is to install a new Hitachi 55" plasma unit up there that is 59" wide. The nook is almost 3 ft. deep. Does anyone have experience with what type mount (150 lb. capacity)might extend horizontally to take up that depth and hang the TV flush with the wall itself? BTW, totally comfortable with heat and viewing angle. Thanks for the help.

I would expect that, if you put a decent blower fan with your FP, it would help keep heat from concentrating above your FP. Also, proper insulation around the FP should be a code requirement, so heat shouldn't emanate from the FP through the framing. I would also suggest NOT putting the TV there simply from a comfort standpoint. Even with it tilted down, think about where you're eye level will be while seated, and how much your neck will be craned upward to watch. We put our flat panel TV (42" plasma) in built-in bookshelves to the side of the FP. It is mounted on the rear wall inside the shelving, so we can push it back in flush with the shelving, and pull it out (and adjust the angle, if needed) to watch. The bottom of the TV is about 39" high (36" cabinets below, with a bit of clearance between them and the TV), and the viewing angle is perfect. The other reason we like this set up is that the TV is not the focal point of the room when it isn't on. We wanted the FP and whatever we have on the mantle to be the focal point. Installing the TV this way has accomplished that goal.

Hi, this may be unwanted info, but I'm a big AV enthusiast, and everything I hear and read in the AV / Home Theater community strongly cautions against mounting TV's above fireplaces. This is both for the concern you have, but also because it's after a while considered a pain in the neck (literally) to have the TV mounted up there. It's apparently preferred to have it at eye level when you're sitting down. From my readings, both in AV magazines, as well in online forums, I hear it is uncomfortable having to look up to see the TV, especially w/prolonged viewings. And I admit, the idea of having it exposed to the smoke and possibly the heat makes me uncomfortable enough to not have tried it myself.