There are a few things in the world that can WOW a room quite like a big screen TV dropping from the ceiling. You can transform a room from an elegant living space to the ultimate movie theater or sports den by simply having a TV rising out of a fireplace. But before you rush out and grab any old TV lift, you’re going to need to know the different type of TV lifts and what they do for you. The different types of TV lifts are design to help meet the diverse needs of the various applications. There are two main types of TV lifts that are described by their lifting mechanism: Pop-up and Drop-down.
Drop-Down TV Lifts
Drop-down TV lifts are used to move the TV downwards and are designed specifically to allow the TV to be hung vertically and be dropped down when the mechanism is extended. As the name suggests, these TV lifts are built to allow you to have your TV drop from the ceiling or out of a cabinet like seen below. The UTVL-200 series lifts, which is shown below, also includes an adjustable drywall bracket that allows you to attach a piece of your ceiling to the lift, which makes it possible to hide your TV inside of the ceiling as the drywall bracket can be flush with the rest of your ceiling.
Pop-Up TV Lifts
Pop-up TV lifts are designed to have the TV appear when the mechanism moves upwards and to disappear when the mechanism is retracted. These lifts are ideal when you want to have you TV hidden inside of a cabinet, behind a dresser, or to pop out of a protective case for outdoor applications. Pop-up TV lifts can have two different mounting styles, either bottom mounted or rear mounted. Bottom mounted means the TV lift is mounted at the bottom to the floor or some other perpendicular support, while rear mounted means the TV lift is mounted along the backside of the lift to the wall or some other parallel support. The only difference between these two mounting styles is how they are mounted and your choice between them will simply depend on your application and needs.
The choice between pop-up and drop-down TV lifts can be pretty straight forward and will simply depend on your desired application and effect. Do you want your TV to pop out for a cabinet? Go with a pop-up TV lift. Want your TV to drop-down from the ceiling? Go with a drop-down TV lift. You don’t have to conceal your TV with the TV lifts described above as they can also be used to provide vertical adjustments for the optimal viewing experience.
If your living space requires multiple viewing angles, all of the TV lifts described above are compatible with our TV swivel mount for the maximum adjustability and peak viewing experience.
Specifications
Once you know the type of TV lift that you need to achieve your desired arrangement, you are going to need to ensure it will work within your specific application. To do this, you’ll want to check out the specifications of the different TV lifts of your chosen type. Most importantly, you’ll want to ensure that the TV lift you choose fits with the size of your TV. TV lifts will usually have a range of TV sizes they work with and for some TV lifts, their stroke length will also impact the range of TV sizes they can be used with. If you plan to conceal your TV in a cabinet or in the ceiling, you’ll also want to check that your TV lift will hide your TV when fully retracted. You’ll also need to ensure the stroke length is long enough to ensure that the TV is at the ideal viewing height. Generally, the larger the stroke length needed, the longer the fully retracted length will be.
Other TV Mounting Options
While TV Lifts are a great way to conceal and reveal your TV, you might want to display your TV all the time. If you are looking for non-automated options, you could go with the basic TV wall mount or with the TV swivel mount that allows you to adjust the view angle for living spaces that require multiple viewing angles. There is also an electric TV swivel mount that provides adjustable viewing angles at the push of a button. Finally, you can also flip down your TV from the ceiling using our motorize flip down TV mount.
