Our client loves sports, and he wanted to be able to watch 3 different games at the same time.  He already had 3 Panasonic 50″ Plasmas and a surround system.  What he needed from us was an installation plan, mounting system and a control system.  We used a Chief flat panel mounting system that allowed us to place all the TVs side by side with no gap in between them.      

  The first step was to run cabling and power to all three TVs and then layout the bracket pattern.   

Once all three TVs were hung and the speakers mounted, we installed the AV gear: a surround receiver, a Blu-ray DVD player and 3 Direct TV satellite boxes.  We used a RTI T3V and a ZRP6 to control the system.  With the T3V, the client can change the channel on any of the TVs and switch the audio to any of the TVs without any crosstalk or inteference.    

The final result - command central for the ultimate sports fan!

On the latest cabinet modification we did I had to laugh. The old television was over 3.5 feet deep and the new flat panel we replaced it with was a whopping 1.2 inches deep. What a dramatic difference. To make everything  look seamless we made some minor modifications. Check out the before and after photos below.

Before

After

Here is the before shot. This is a common problem. Notice the large CRT TV that has it’s own base that goes down to the floor. If you wanted to put a flat panel in its place, it would be impossible to find a base that would match.

Above is the after picture. We created a bottom piece that would match the existing cabinet and we mounted the flat panel to a floating false wall. Everything matched  very nicely even though the existing cabinet was a manufactured cabinet with  a weird stain. In the end the cabinet modification we did was seamless and looked like it had always been like that.

Over the past year I have worked with many clients to modify their cabinets. The story is usually the same and it goes something like this. “Ten years ago we had this beautiful cabinet custom made for this specific big screen tube television. Now we want to update to a new flat panel HDTV, but our cabinet was not made for a flat panel. What can we do?” Sometimes the solution to the problem is simple and other times it is not. The above picture is an example of a simple problem. So let’s walk through the solution.

Before any installation takes place we need to come to the job site and take measurements so that we can find what fits just right. Sometimes we will even borrow an existing cabinet door to match paint or stain color. All the preliminary work is done and now it’s the day of installation. First we need to get that beast of a tv out of it’s hole. Next we put up a “false backing” that will match the existing cabinet. Third, we run the necessary cables and set the mount in position. At this point we also install custom trim work, caulk and do touch up painting. We really have an attention to detail at this stage.

The fourth step is to prep the flat panel for the bracket. During this step we align the position so that the gap around the flat panel is even all around the edges. Next, we hook up all cables to flat panel and mount it to the bracket. It is important during this step to work with “kid gloves” because the new HDMI cables are very sensitive to bends and it is easy to scratch or damage the surrounding cabinets while mounting a flat panel. We want everything to look beautiful, so we take great caution mounting any tv.  Finally, we train the client on their new set up and answer any questions they might have. We really work had to make this whole process as painless as possible. The goal is to do the modification in such a way that it looks like it has always been apart of the cabinet.

Now that you have a general idea of the process I will be posting some before and after images from future cabinet modifications. If you have more questions, or you would like me to come to your house to look at your cabinet, just email David and I will get back to you asap.