Replies

1. 
   Castlewerks | Mar 28, 2007 07:19pm | #1

   No... well, actually... I know a guy who has one in his home, but then again this is his business:

   http://www.framemytv.com/servlet/StoreFront

   Cheers,

   Michael

1. 
   pzgren | Mar 28, 2007 09:11pm | #4

     They seem to be pretty proud of their frames.....

   .<!----><!----><!---->

   Tschüß!<!----><!---->

   <!----><!---->James<!----><!---->

   <!----> <!---->

   "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that...."

    

   -- A.C. Clarke

1. 
   Castlewerks | Mar 28, 2007 09:28pm | #5

   You would likely be shocked by how successful his business has been.
   Apparently there are plenty of people with $800+ to spend on custom TV picture frames... As a cabinetmaker you can't look at this and not shake your head in disbelief... It's all marketing baby :-)

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 28, 2007 09:31pm | #6

   I've known for quite awhile that folks who have these big TV's will spend lots of $$ on their "entertainment room" but I'd never seen a frame before.  Just curious if it's a popular item with the in-crowd.  Not my style, but to each their own.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 29, 2007 03:49am | #12

   I don't mean to be disagreeable here but I'm seeing something different.  We all have TVs in our homes.  Integrating them into the furniture is what I'm seeing.  

   IMHO I want my TV/Entertainment Center to be as non existent as I can make it.  I want it to blend in a way that when not in use it isn't seen. As an example, I'm currently making a Queene Anne interpretation that will house the components for our entertainment center with a flat panel display mounted on the wall behind. 

   It's also possible to connect the 'puter in here so that it can display on the flat panel any picture you might want, perhaps a mural further disguisng the high tech!

   That's just my take.  Any way I can incorporate modern technology into my home without it being In my Face, I welcome.

   Regards, 

    

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

   Edited 3/28/2007 8:53 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres

   Edited 3/28/2007 9:00 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 28, 2007 10:02pm | #8

   For a specialty item like that, I don't think their prices are too far out of line.  These aren't the frame you see at Michaels craft stores, with tacks and miter gaps, and short lifespans.  No, I wouldn't pay that much, but then I can't afford a plasma TV either.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Castlewerks | Mar 28, 2007 11:13pm | #9

   I can also tell that you each frame when ordered is modified for the particualar TV. The reason is that the frame completely covers the border of the TV -- where the IR receiver is for the remote.
   Each frame is modified to include a small hole in front of where the IR receiver is located on the TV. Since each TV has this located in a different place...

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 29, 2007 07:43pm | #16

   Thanks for the web site link and all the information.  Fascinating.  It looks like the Pottery Barn frames take a different approach, wherein the frame does not come up to the TV body itself, so there are a couple ways to go at it.  Was he the first to specialize in these?  Pretty smart!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   Castlewerks | Mar 29, 2007 08:02pm | #17

   I *think* that Panasonic is offering their own version for their TVs, but I'n not sure of the quality, etc... I assume that there are others, but I really don't know what they bave to offer. I hear that his business is gaining momentum...

2. 
   dukeone | Mar 29, 2007 05:22am | #13

   Michael: Some nice looking cabinets on the "FrameMyTV" web site, what do you all think?

   DukeSupport the Troops, Support your Country

   Support Western Civilization:

   Fight Islamofascism

2. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 28, 2007 08:06pm | #2

   Mine has curtains on it, just like in the movies! 

   View Image

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

3. 
   xmike | Mar 28, 2007 08:43pm | #3

   Arggh!
   Too tacky.
   Mike

4. 
   Joe Sullivan | Mar 28, 2007 09:33pm | #7

   I wonder if they charge extra for the empty booze bottles, or if you can get a discount if you empty your own and use them?

5. 
   kenshep | Mar 28, 2007 11:27pm | #10

   Frames are an option available on the panasonic web site for their plasmas.  No plasma for me yet.  The prices keep falling so fast that I would get a terminal case of buyers remorse one year later.

    

6. 
   Pondfish | Mar 29, 2007 03:15am | #11

   Oh, that is so lame.  I guess maybe they have guilt when watching the schlock on TV, that the frame makes the programming more respectable?

   I've never run across one, but I make at least 2 mantles a month similar to the one that Gary Katz wrote about in this month's FHB, where some bigass TV is mounted above the fireplace.

   Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
7. 
   kenshep | Mar 29, 2007 06:49pm | #14

   To further add on to the discussion of framed TVs.  Panasonic also gives some free images to those who buy their HDTVs and they also sell hi def images of artwork.  So, you can 'display' artwork that you would never probably be able to buy in original form.  Also, you can personal pics of your own via memory chip slots to have a dynamic picture frame.  The illusion of a framed photograph is achieved with the 'picture frame' around your television.

   Bill Gates has incorporated this virtural art in his 'smart house'.  He has purchased rights to original masterpieces and images of them are displayed on plasma screens throughout his home.  In fact, an energetic host can have a selection of artwork, music, etc... that a guest prefers queued up for their visits.  Smart tags that the guest wears in the house can tailor art/music/lighting preferences as they walk thru the house.  Also, off limit rooms can remain closed to the wandering guest.

   Here are panasonic's stock offerings for frames in case you want to dabble in this niche as an aftermarket supplier.

   http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/websphere_framed_plasma/flash/panasonic_plasma.html

    

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/29/2007 12:00 pm ET by kenshep

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 29, 2007 07:39pm | #15

   This discussion is really fascinating to me.  We live in a small house, more than a little funky -- a big plasma TV would look ridiculous in our living room.  But many, if not most, of the newer houses on the island are very 21st Century in design, since we basically serve as a bedroom community for Seattle, and everyone is high-tech.  The kids must have their gaming consoles, and the adults and families must have their in-home movie theaters. 

   I'll be pretty happy when our current TV dies and we can get an LCD TV, easy to locate and move.  In the meantime, who knows, maybe I can make some of those frames for the hip crowd.  From reading the product information on that web site, sounds like they are mostly veneered MDF, which makes sense given how wide the frame stock is.  That would require a vacuum bag set-up, methinks....   Nah, there's other things to build.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

8. 
   acornw | Mar 29, 2007 09:03pm | #18

   We have built about a half dozen of these in the last few years. We actually do these more like picture frames, so the wood comes right down and covers the plastic. When the screen is off, it looks more like a black mirror.  We make a removable mount on the wall so the frame can be slipped up and off if needed for service, painting, etc.

   What the venerable Pottery Barn is showing is one of the solutions that alleged furniture manufacturers have trotted out to help dress up the latest in American acquisitions. The irony is that both the Tv and the alleged furniture are both coming in from China.  Low cabinets with backboards also come to mind. I see these fall out of the Sunday paper advertising every week.

   One of the first ones we did was a Knotty Pine frame. We delivered it while the TV guys were finishing up, and I had my camera (film) ready to take a few pics of the nicely finished product. I asked that they turn on the TV so the photo would show that it was a TV, and the techs said that they only had on channel. You guessed it. I have a nice photo of a very expensive installation, with Jerry Springer on the TV. All that money, and all you see is trash.