Thanks ogoopogo. Is it good for sitting up in bed as well as lying down?

It really depends not only on the size of the room, but on the size of the TV, what your actual options are, and what the seating positions are that you'll be using.

In my living room, I have a 50" TV 54" off the floor over the fireplace (see below) in a room that's only 15' wide, but it works fine (I do have it on a tilt bracket, but that really doesn't make a bunch of difference and is a bit gimmicky, in my opinion). In my master bedroom, I have a 42" TV 37" off the floor over my dresser (see below) in a room that's 15' wide, and it also works fine because my bed is directly across from it and because I have a high dresser and low profile box springs. If I didn't have the low profile box springs, I would have just mounted the TV higher.

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This post was edited by KevinMP on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 23:39

Thanks ogoopogo, I see the photo this time. Your tv is a bit higher than I thought of doing, so I need to do as lolauren suggested and put a poster there. Good idea lolauren. I've been looking at tv mounts and some are just flat mounts and others tilt. I don't want to buy the mount until I figure out where and which kind.

Our bed is like yours lolauren, about 35" and the same height as the dresser that the tv is on now. Our room is about 12' wide so the tv is about 11 from our heads.

My large TV in a small living room, a bit lower than most would hang. Lay on the couch and have a separate chaise. So we view it from partial laying down. It really depends upon where you are viewing from. The paper cutout is a great idea. Do consider a tilting mount. Much easier to get to the connections when needed. They are little more expensive, but worth it.

The only advice I can give is don't build a FP according to how high you want a TV. There could come a time where you want the TV on a console and you'll be stuck with an odd FP. :)

Our tv is above a tall dresser and there are times it's not high enough. When laying down the higher the better.

If you don't have many options, and it would look goofy to mount the TV higher (i.e., if you're mounting it above a dresser but need to mount it as high as though it were above a chest or fireplace), I would also consider getting a low profile box spring. As you can see in my picture, that makes all of the difference.

The comment about tilting helping with accessing the wires was a good one and is definitely true. You should be able to find a tile mount for about the same price as a flat mount. The mounts that found to be expensive are the ones that have the accordion extension and swivel side to side.

This post was edited by KevinMP on Sun, Dec 16, 12 at 9:34

My dentist has a 32" mounted on the ceiling above the chair. It works when you are flat in the chair, but not so much so when she's shining the light in your face.

The point to that is that a lot depends on your body position when trying to view the TV. If you are a sitter upper in bed and watch, then the 36" height on top of a dresser is probably OK. If you are one who prefers to snuggle in and be horizontal while it lulls you to sleep, then 60" or higher off the floor is a better choice. In a bedroom, higher is always better because you can just become more horizontal a lot easier than you can become more vertical.

In a family room or not so big room that doubles as a receiving space for guests, the opposite is true. You want to err on the side of a lower to the floor mount. You will mostly be sitting in an upright position here rather than lying down. 24-36" from the ground is the ideal viewing height as that puts the center of the screen about eye level when you are seated. That height however is too low for placing above a fireplace, and it's why the adjacent console at about the fireplace height has become popular. People who are really comfortable with TV's mounted above their fireplace tend to be ones to recline a bit on their sofas rather than sit on them, or have recliners to tilt their body position back, or have large enough rooms where the chairs can be placed further back from the large TV to get the more ergonomic angle.

Kevin, I didn't see your first post when I replied earlier. I like our bed height and we are going to move the dresser and put something else in it's place. I'm thinking something like a tallish sofa table with benches underneath.

hollysprings, funny you should mention the dentist, because it was a trip to the dentist last week that made me start thinking about this again. My dentist has the tv mounted on a big arm like other dental equipment so it can be moved anywhere and at any angle. Not something I would want in a home though. ;)