Looking for some feedback on this. I have a customer who wants one of these set-ups for the bar in his basement. The plan is to recess a 50" monitor flush with the wall (open storage area behind so no ventilation issues) then hang the mirror.
I've looked into a couple of companies that make these mirrors, they say that they use an "optic filter" instead of a two-way mirror. The cost was pretty high, $2500 to $3000.
My questions are have any of you guys used these? Did it make a difference over a regular two-way mirror? And for those who have done this with a regular two-way, how does it look? Any other issues with these set-ups.
I've checked with a mirror shop and I can have a two-way mirror cut to fit and framed for about $500.

I've done quite a few, using just your basic two mirror crap. About $70 bucks for a 50 inch display...
Cons: Does of course darken the picture some, but actually seems to boost the contrast levels.

Pros: Looks good provided you don't have direct sunlight on the mirror, and we usually boost the color temp and brightness a bit. Never had a complaint (yet), only rave reviews. But, again beware of daylight issues... if it is in a drak bar area... should not be a problem at all.
In terms of the other optical pieces you mentioned, well, I'm not Joe Kane --- but that seems like a heck of a lot of money... Heck, buy a sample piece of mirror (1ft square), take it to your shop, set it up in front of the plasma. If ya don't like it, hang the mirror in the restroom!

Mr. Stanley,

Thanks for the response, this is darker area with no direct sun light so it should be OK. I've been wanting to do one of these for a while, looks good in the portfolio. I was also surprised by the cost of the other mirrors, I was afraid when the customer heard the price he would say forget it.

media1

We sell a lot of Seura LCD mirrors.......

On this boat we did, they requested the mirror treatment... This old, old lady that owns the local glass store told me they wouldn't be happy with it... But I took a chunk of it over to the boat, had everybody eyeball it & they all gave it the thumbs-up.

I was actually not expecting to get as decent of a result as I did... I guess I'll have to see if any of these other mirror guys will be at CEDIA in september, and see what they are all about.

They probably have lower loss, but ARE $$$$$!

The companies I've checked with are Media Decor and Aristos Art. They where both at Cedia last year.

Haw did everyone handle the audio?

I hate the Seura LCD mirrors, too much money and what a pain in the ass to take it all apart to put in an emmitter, especially since the sharp tv they use doesnt have an on command in their rs232 protocol. Way cheaper to just get the mirror and mount your own tv behind it......

I have only done one. Countertop to ceiling mirror, tv appearring in the middle. More than one wall was mirrored and you could see a slight difference between the wall with the two way and the standard mirrored walls. Just an FYI.

As far as sound... It was a parade house, so initially the builder didn't want sound (extra money). When the house sold the homeowner chopped the bathroom tv sound out of the quote, I had quoted a niles piece, amp with AB auto switching between whole house audio and tv.

Joe, the sharp LCD's can be powered on and off by RS-232. There is a thread on it you can see here. ( i may have even started it).

[Link: remotecentral.com]


Simon.

What do you guys with your homebrew plasma-behind-mirrors do about ventilation? There's a reason that Seura uses LCD and not plasma There's also a reason they're so expensive.