Quote Originally Posted by green-minded View Post
He wants a motorized lift console so that the tv could be hidden when not in use. He wants to put all the components in our built-in cabinet on the other side of the room, next to the fireplace, running the wires under the floor (we have a crawl space). And to hang a nice tapestry or carpet above the lift console. My question is whether his idea is practical with such a large tv. I've been in a lot of nice homes and haven't seen any of these units...have you?
Its relatively easy to locate your components away from the TV unit itself in a hidden location elsewhere in the room. But it's old school to run wires under the floor. What you want to get is an infrared repeater setup explained here, there are plenty on the market and not all that expensive:

http://www.techlore.com/article/1026...peater-System/

I've made a few of the lift TV units you describe as custom pieces for customers. They are certainly do-able, and most the time we put them into a piece that looks like a period blanket chest when closed up (although they can be built in any style of case). The reason you don't see them in the general marketplace is the mechanism for the lift is complex and quite expensive. To do this right, you need a premium mechanism that is reliable, powered by a quiet motor and strong to keep tolerances within a small fraction of an inch during the lift and to prevent it from warping/twisting over time. Cheap mechanisms are unsatisfactory as with use they deteriorate rapidly causing lifts to bind and top lids to mis-align.

The end result, is a piece that is going to price out at $ 4,000 and up, depending on the size and weight of the TV.