Some checks and balances when considering a TV mirror

Television mirrors have come a long way from being a cool “wow factor” to becoming an affordable and functional vanity mirror and TV combination. More and more hotels are using the devices to differentiate from competitors and offer a unique selling point.

“Quite honestly, many guests today expect the same luxuries in hotel rooms and guest bathrooms as they have at home,” says Gretchen Gilbertson, founder of Seura. “When they travel, they don’t necessarily want to downgrade to amenities in a hotel room, they want to have the same or better.”

Gilbertson offers a few tips when selecting a TV mirror for your project:

1. Location. There are different TV mirrors for different applications. For example, a unit for the area outside of the bathroom should be optimized for TV performance first and mirror quality or reflection second. The opposite is true for a unit in the bathroom, which should be optimized for mirror performance first.

“Seura has developed coatings on the backside of the glass that are color corrected,” Gilbertson says. “The exact red, green and blue colors of our mirrors are the same ones you’d see in your average mirror at home.”

2. Desired performance. Take a look at how you want your product to perform. Is it a high-light area with a lot of natural light? Or does the design require a thin product? Be sure in a retrofit that there’s no need to put a hole in the wall to accommodate the depth of the unit.

3. Budget. Not all television mirrors are created equal.
“We’ve done projects with very highly customized, intricate designs, unique to a hotel property that required panes flown in from Switzerland, for example,” Gilbertson says.

Brian Walter, director of sales at MB Quart, says issues that older TV-mirror models had have been resolved. Complaints included the mirror being too dark, the TV being hard to see, or the cost of installation being than the unit itself.

“MB Quart and other manufacturers have worked hard to answer these issues with solutions to make a functional, affordable, unique entertainment product,” he said.

Walter says there are two key points when selecting a TV mirror: overall quality/function and installation. Older TV mirrors used an existing LCD HDTV by a major brand. The advantage was a history of brand reliability and the ability to advertise a high-end brand at the property. However, the LCDs were 4 inches in depth, which needed to be concealed by recessing the TV in the wall, leading to added installation costs in labor and material. Now, most of the major industry manufacturers have created slim LCDs ranging from 1-2 inches in depth, allowing for an easier surface mount.

Walter advises designers and owners/operators to understand what they are purchasing.

“Some units require external sound, which adds the cost of speaker and installation,” he says.
“When units have internal sound, make sure you’re satisfied with sound quality.”
Also understand what accessories are available. For example, “most manufacturers offer framed solutions,” Walter says. “Purchasing a mirror and frame separately leads to increased labor. Know the labor cost on both options. Perhaps your end cost is more than your upfront product cost.”

Television mirrors are used outside of the bathroom too.

“The trend is to use TV mirrors throughout the property,” Gilbertson says. “There’s a project we’re working on right now that is installing TV mirrors in every room of the hotel, in their elevator and in the restaurant downstairs. The elevators are used more for digital signage and the restaurant uses the TV in the morning for business customers. So it’s an opportunity to have the technology only when they want it and when their customers want it.”