This tends to be a loaded question around here and the building a house forum. Some love it, some hate it, not much middle ground. I lost the argument so we have it in our house. We have a gas fp, but I never thought of that as competing. It seems more like one unit, (fp, mantle,tv). Tilting mechanisms prevent neck strain. Look for a thread on this in building a house. Someone had a fabulous wood unit that hid it.
jo

We were in the same dilemna recently. FP or opposite wall.
We opted for the opposite wall. I'm very happy with that choice. Our ID told us that TV is viewed more comfortably when it is at eye level. The furniture could work both ways so that was not the issue.

Friends of mine bought a loft type TH in Phila (very high ceilings). Their TV was over the FP. When our guys were watching it their heads definitely were tilted up. I thought, I am so glad we did not go that route.

Here is a picture of ours. This part of the room is not completed yet. We need to order console but is will not be much higher than the table it is currently on. We thought about hanging the TV but it is very comfortable where it is at and have decided not to.

We are all about comfort at this point of our lives.

thank you, esp. for the picture, which drove home that it really is comfortable down low. and thanks for the heads up, Jo--not trying to cause trouble! Since you "lost the argument," have you decided it's OK, or would you do if differently if you could? Is it aesthetics or comfort?

I would definitely prefer the TV elsewhere but it really would solve a lot of space problems if it were over the FP. I guess everyone's story. Anyone else? I would love to see pictures of TVs over smaller FPs (i.e. not as high).

Holly

Definitely a loaded question around here -- like white ceilings, LOL!

My preference is NOT to have one big black rectangle stacked over another big black rectangle.

Just my preference!

Here is ours. The decorating has changed, but the main features are the same. Oh, and you are not causing trouble! People just seem to get so heated on this subject. For me it was aesthetics. I just don't like having my world revolve around the tv.

And I would agree. I don't even like looking at the TV when the armoire is open. I am already freaking out about what to do when our TV dies. I love the cabinet and need something to fit in it. Of couse, the way they are currently making them, there won't be much screen to see.
It just seems very awkward to me to have to look up at the TV.
There was someone who posted very recently, can't remember who, and they had a covering of sorts made to move off the TV when viewing. It was spectacular, although it looked pretty high to me. It was a large room with high ceilings and when the "cabinet" was closed, it looked like a beautiful piece of art over the TV. very nice.

I'm in the hate it camp. Dh went to get ceiling speakers for our sound systemw when we were remodelling and he came home with a TV for over the fireplace. 2 years on and I've watched it only a handful of times because it is uncomfortable (and we have it tilted as far down as it will go) I kind of hate the big black hole, too--our ceilings are low and it takes up the whole wall over the mantle.

I think it's a personal choice. My cousin has her TV mounted over her fireplace, which isn't even a high space, and I thought it was extremely uncomfortable to watch TV that way. Plus, it turns the TV into the focal point of the room. For me, that's exactly not what I would want.

We have one and I don't hate it, but like jojoco I lost the argument so din't really have a choice. I am having a hard time decorating around it but once we finally get around to painting I will post pics here to get some ideas.

Here is the link I was talking about. It actually is a pretty funny thread.Jo

Here is a link that might be useful: tv over fireplace

We did it and it is working out really well for us. For our room, this was the only way to avoid having a big piece of funtiure that had no function other than to hold the tv. We're not big tv people so it's not on all the time. No issues with eye strain. I will try to post a picture later, but I'm not sure how much it will help because the room is very unfinished.

I'm one who really doesn't like a tv over the fieplace. I have always loved a fireplace and decorating the mantle and something pretty above the mantle (right now ours has an antique mirror).

Secondly, being short, I think having a tv above our fireplace would never be comfortable for me. Thankfully, hubby has never wanted that either. I personally like a tv in a piece of furniture where it can be closed off if wanted. I have seen some wall mounted that I like and I do like many of the consoles.

tina

If your room is large enough for seating to be place far enough, it's not a problem. I came up with a good solution to DH's tv over the FP. I had the sliding panels custom made along with the shutter/door to cover the tv equipment and DVD storage.

{{!gwi}}

We have a direct vent FP. It puts off a lot of heat in the living room. WOuld the heat harm the tv? I am just thinking it was so hot the other day that touching the black part on accident when Iw as cleaning gave me a terrible burn. With heat rising etc. Just curious.

thank you everyone for posts...I would rather avoid it if possible but like others might be forced because of space. However the rest of the family hates the idea. Oh well...thank you for all the pics too--I love to see pix of FPs regardless of whether or not they have TVs! Holly

Just so you know...
I had the tv over the fp. The fp was gas, and the tv was sunken into the wall (so you wouldn't see the brackets from the side) with small air-space around the tv. Then there was trim around the tv so it was like a picture frame.

Well, the tv croaked after a year. It was an lcd, which runs a lot cooler than a plasma. When installing it we debated whether to have a fan behind the tv to draw the heat away from the tv, etc but our builder assured us he never had a problem with the tv overheating. Then we would also have to worry about the fan being noisy.

Anyway, if you're sinking the tv into the wall, BEWARE!!

We have a wood burning stove with a return above it. There's no way we would have been able to do a TV there if we'd wanted to. I'm one that does not like it over the FP anyway. My SIL has their's over and when I visit even for a couple of days I really dislike watching TV with them. After 4 hernated neck disks I find it does bother me a great deal. I also cannot get over that hospital room feeling of a TV higher than where I'm sitting. I keep expecting a nurse to come in to take my temp! LOL

We have our tv mounted on the wall over our wood stove without any heat problems. We have had the stove blasting heat on some cold nights. I like the wall mount as it frees up floor space.