The cabinets for flat panel TVs have an abundant number of styles available from which to choose. Your imagination is the only thing that can hold you back from providing a unique cabinet look or your installation. Every style imaginable from basic modern to early traditional make for excellent choices for matching your existing furniture layout or creating a whole new look.

The basic idea behind a TV lift cabinet is that it provides a place to hide the TV during the times when the unit is not in operation. The flat panel TV is mounted to a bracket on the lift system. The unit is stored within the cabinet under a hinged door or a cut-out portion of the cabinet top fastened to the top of the mounting bracket above the TV. At the push of a button on the remote control, the TV begins to slowly rise from the bowels of the cabinet where it had been hidden from view. Either a hinged piece of the cabinet top swings up out of the way, or the cabinet top portion rises up just above the TV. Usually within thirty seconds the TV rises to its viewing position. When the viewing session ends, a touch of a finger on the remote control button starts the process in reverse so that the unit again is hidden behind the beauty of an elegant piece of furniture.

When searching for a place to purchase a cabinet either online or in a more traditional brick and mortar store, make sure that they are a reputable dealer and provide quality products backed by a guarantee.

It is also possible for you to have a custom cabinet constructed by your local furniture maker. There you can have absolute control over design, choice of woods, choice of finishes, and which hardware kit to use.

Don’t settle for putting your flat panel TV on the wall. Go for elegance with a TV lift cabinet that will set your TV viewing room apart from all the rest.

One Internet source for TV lift cabinet hardware is found at vectormotion.com. They offer hardware for various size TVs in three formats:  up to twenty-five inches tall, from twenty-five inches tall to thirty inches tall, and from thirty inches tall to thirty-six inches tall. The shortest sized kit takes approximately seventeen seconds to raise the TV to viewing height. The mid-sized kit raises the TV to viewing height in twenty-one seconds. The longest sized kit takes approximately twenty-five seconds to rise up to full height. Regardless of which size you select the hardware kit sells for $580.00.

Another online source for TV lift cabinet hardware is located tvlift.com. The Nexus 21 TV lift system is professed to be the most reliable system made today. The manufacturer has tested the hardware to the extent of confidently offering a five year warranty for their product. The Nexus 21 TV lift system comes in three styles of operation: the Standard Model that lifts the TV up from within the cabinet; the Swivel Model that raises and swivel the TV set; and the Drop Down Model that permits a ceiling mount hidden within a cabinet or area above the ceiling. There are variations of these three models depending on the size and weight of the TV.

Yet another Internet site that provides TV lift cabinet hardware is found at flatlift.net. Their hardware permits installations in custom cabinets, walls, ceilings, or even kitchen counters. It is even possible to use the lift systems in marine applications, aircraft, and motorhomes. The Flatlift® system can handle either plasma TVs or LCD TVs.

Building your own cabinet allows you the freedom to choose whatever style you need for your home décor. It also allows you the privilege to construct a custom cabinet within your shop’s capabilities. The joy of doing it yourself not only develops a sense of pride, but establishes a fine piece of furniture which you can enjoy for many years. It is even possible that through the right choice of TV lift cabinet hardware and material that you can have a cabinet that will last longer than the TV set.

The basic approach to building a DIY TV lift cabinet follows a simple procedure. Here are some guidelines on how to build your own TV lift cabinet.

Step One: Choose the cabinet you wish to use. Consider where you will place the cabinet in the room. If it will sit alone against the wall you can select most any style you would like. However, for a cabinet that would set at the end of your bed, you might want to choose one the size of a large blanket chest or credenza. Be sure to have the sizes of your TV with you when you shop for the cabinet.

Step Two: Next remove all drawers, doors, or any other elements of the cabinet to reveal the basic skeleton of the cabinet. Depending upon the structure of the unit you may have to re-arrange some bracing or even add some blocking to provide room for installation and/or strength to rigidly hold your TV.

Step Three: Whichever TV lift cabinet hardware you choose, follow the installation instructions at this point to install the unit within the cabinet frame. Always be mindful of the routing of wiring while installing the unit.

Step Four: Now place the cabinet framework with the installed hardware in the selected location within the viewing room. Work the mechanism to be assured that there are no obstacles or other encumbrances upon the unit as it rises and retracts. Once satisfied that all is well, remove the unit to your workshop for the next step.

Step Five: Install the TV to the lift hardware. Again work the mechanism to be certain all works well. Once satisfied with the workings of the unit, re-assemble the cabinet completely. Apply any additional finishes at this point to conclude the construction phase.

Step Six: Move the finished TV lift cabinet to its final location and connect all wiring and cables. Set back in your favorite chair or bed, depending upon the room, and work the controls. Everything should work as planned. If there is anything that needs tweaking, now is the time to do it.

Congratulations, for you have successfully created a custom DIY TV lift cabinet like no other in the world. Take plenty of pictures and share them with friends and family. You might find yourself at the threshold of a new cottage industry to provide custom TV lift cabinets for a good many people!

The stand that accompanies most flat-screen TVs is not too stable. There are many stories of new owners setting up their new televisions only to have them topple over and become irreparably damaged. The best thing available on the market is a flat screen TV lift cabinet.

When shopping for a TV lift cabinet it is easy to be distracted by the beauty of the cabinets. They are beautiful pieces of furniture. Many of them are made of the finest American hardwoods and have gorgeous finishes.

You really must pay attention to a few guidelines before you purchase your flat screen TV lift cabinet. Some of the guidelines are:

• Make sure you are buying a cabinet that fits your style of flat screen TV. There is a great deal of difference between a plasma TV and an LCD HDTV. Weight is one of the bigger factors to consider as well as overall dimensions.
• Where will it be used in your house and which portion of the room will it occupy?
• Know you room décor. Complimenting the style that exists in your home currently is a must. You don’t want an eyesore with this new piece of furniture.
• Check for some necessary options with your cabinet such as an automatic stop feature if the TV lift makes contact with an obstruction. Also, a nice feature to have is for an auto off button built-in to the TV lift mechanism to assure the TV set is off before it lowers into the cabinet to avoid any fire as a result of an overheated storage space.
• Usable storage spaces within the flat screen TV lift cabinet are always a nice feature. You will need a place to store your DVDs and other accoutrements associated with your TV, DVD player, and other electronic entertainment components.

The practicality of a flat screen TV lift cabinet is a great feature also. When the TV is retracted into its storage area it is hidden from the view of potential thieves. Having the television lowered into its cabinet also protects it during off-viewing hours from problems brought on by either children’s play or the curious activities of certain pets.

Just imagine sitting in a beautifully furnished family room or living room. The room is deliciously decked out with the finest furniture and art pieces. There is no hint of any type of TV anywhere. Then the host picks up a remote and pushes a button. Instantly one of the furniture pieces reveals a hinged door that quickly flips up and open to allow a large plasma TV screen silently rising into view. In less than a minute the flat screen stops moving and the electronic wonder comes to life. For the next few hours you and your host enjoy some fine entertainment brought to you by way of the cutting edge in television technology.

There are many articles regarding the science behind the new HDTV phenomenon, but let us pay closer attention to the cabinet where the unit is installed. The new motorized TV lift cabinet styles match practically any major home décor imaginable. There are cabinets that appear to be chest of drawers, credenzas, vanities, and armoires. There are some that could fit into living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, family rooms, and even on the patio.

The heart of the motorized TV lift cabinet lies in the mechanism. Remove the beautiful furniture casings and the quiet-lift technology is revealed that offers silk like movement to raise either plasma or LCD TVs weighing over 120 pounds and measuring 55-inches x 6.5-inches x 32.5-inches. In fact, one of the factors to add to the shopping criteria for the TV lift cabinet is just how big the new television is and how much it weighs.

It is also crucial that you decide where you wish to place your motorized TV lift cabinet in the room. Viewing angle is not too much of a concern with the new units, for they have close to 180°
viewing angle and therefore you can sit most any place in the room and get a good view of the display.

Some of the better motorized TV lift cabinets are put out by following manufacturers:

• Unique Style Solutions, Inc. of Springfield, Missouri.
• Auton Motorized Systems located at Valencia, California. They have been designing motorized TV lift cabinets for over fifty years.
• Cabinet-Tronix, LLC, based in Chula Vista, California, provides TV lift solutions for homes and major hotel chains.