what type of downlight for TV entertainement unit

Hi all,

I am starting to draft the plans for my future TV entertainment unit. I have attached the draft of the entertainment unit. It is not a clasic TV unit in the sense that their won't be any TV in the middle shelf but a video projection screen.
So far I have 2 options but there are only slight difference between them.
As you can see, I am planning to install some downlights. The ones near the centre speaker will be only 20-25cm from the wood. So I would have like to know what type of light you guys would install.
My concerns are :
-safety: I don't want to install lights that generate too much heat especially close to the timber
- alteration of the timber colour. Intense heat might change the colour around the surrounding timber.

I would appreciate any help, suggestion, where to buy those lights , etc....
Also if anybody has built a TV unit with lights, any other suggestion ?

I am planning to use different type of timber: jarrah and what I have in my stock

low voltage downlights would be the go.
They get hot however 20cm would be a good enough distance from either side of the wood.

The issue of the wood changing colour can't really be answered untill we know what finish you use. Some finishes turn yellow in time but can be taken off the reapplyed.

With both designs I would personally go with the first one with the raised sides.
It adds more interest from a design point of view.
Are the speakers going to be inside of the edge? (next to the glass doors)
What sort of wood are you going to be making it out of?
Oh and what sort of projector and sound system are you using?

The front speakers will go on top of the sides
The cupboards on each side of the glass doors are pull-out storage.
I have found this idea from a website in the usa (www.furnitureonline.com). They have a good range of TV entertainment for the standard Tv up to the big wide screen rear projection TV.
My preference goes also for the first design although it involves more work

Regarding the timber, I was first planning to use jarrah but it is expensive. I bought last year premium timber from a guy who used to be a timber importer and was retiring
so I have heaps of nice wood from australia, usa, asia, etc.. but the problem is that it is only 2-3 boards of each and not enough for a complete design unless I mix them all but I am not sure about what the tv unit will look like once finished :)
So the tops will be jarrah and the drawers maybe a different timber
For the finish, I will certainlyuse danish oil
The total length is around 3m because a 100" screen will fit between the two glass door, just above the centre speaker
Regarding the sound system, the projector is a Dreamvision Cinex One DLP, 1024X768, amplifier is Harman Kardon 4550, speakers JBL, subwoofer Cerwin Vega and Pioneer DVD player
BTW, the screen is home made from 3 pass blockoout fabric and black fabric(spotlight) and some pine for the frame. Easy to make (except for tensioning the fabric), very cheap ($85 for a 100") and results are very good - almost identical to a $1800 screen according to the info found on the net

If you have a bandsaw have you thought about veneer for the base? using either MDF or plywood? This would allow you the use the quality timber more cheaply but still give you the look of solid wood.

When veneer is done right it looks really nice and you can hardly tell that it is veneer. (Bookmatching the best you can)

3m is a big screen.. I'm getting the case of envy hahaha nice setup too

I don't think you would have too much of a problem with danish oil and heat..

I haven't used Danish oil, however its high in linseed oil which I have used a fair amount, including on cubourd doors above an oven thats used reguarly and except for a yearly oiling again holds up fine under the constant heat and doesn't discolour for me.

I would be willing to go out on a limb and say you shouldn't have any problems with the lighting however someone more experianced with danish oil might be able to answer that question.

have you considered hiding the speakers inside of a cabinet covered in speaker cloth? it would help tie in and hide the speakers and give a more seemless look.

I stretch canvas reguarly so I can understand the pain it can be to get it tight as a drum when doing it by hand...

I don't really like MDF, plywood and I am not familiar with veneer
I also don't have the tools for veneer
I thought about it but these veneer sheets are very expensive too
And I lie the touch and feeling of real timber :)

I thought of hiding the front speakers but this will force me to make taller side cupboard since the front speakers needs to be at least above the screen to produce a better sound and give a notion of depth
so if I increase the height of these cupboards, it will look a bit messy

One option is these new LED lights:

They are cold to the touch and run for orders of magnitude longer than your standard halogen and use a fraction of the electrictity. The downside is the cost and that the colours are very "cold" - ie the white has a very eary blue about it.

Luxeon is the main brand. http://www.luxeon.com/

Thanks Simon.
I had a look at their webiste and it is pretty nice and efficient
They have this new warm white range which seems not so "cold"
I am not sure if we can buy them hre
Have you used this type of products?
If so, where did you by them from?
thanks

Some of the specialist electronics shops have them.

Also, Click (ie Ringgrip) have brought out a range of LED garden lights. I bought some at the weekend. They are cheaper than normal garden lights and have a siginificant advantage that you can have 20 times the number of normal garden lights on the same transformer and they don't suffer from the 30m cable dimming limit that garden lights can suffer from. HOWEVER - when I tried them, the blue/white colour looked awful so I took them back.

I think they are a technology that is going to take the lighting industry by storm at any moment - but are probably still just a techies product at the moment.

If you are reasonably up to speed with basic electronics you could buy some kits. I have seen some companies selling direct replacements for halogen globes. You sometimes need to buy a "driver" as well as the light itself.

Do a google in Australia for Luxeon or Lumiled

Cheers

try Jaycar.

I have been trying to design a low lying entertainment unit for my projector home theatre system too.

Just wondering, where are you keeping your sub woofer?

LEDs is an option, they run cool and last .. well a looonnnggg time. (over 10 years anyway)

Each led of course doesn't put out much light, but it's no problem to hook up as many as you need.

This page has info on making a PC case light from a few $$ of common components. I see no reason it wouldn't work in your cabinet. As others have said the white leds have a bluish tint rather than the yellow that incandescant lamps have. Depends if you want this I guess. Maybe make up one unit first? The whole light array should run from a little 'wall wart' plugpack.

http://www.dansdata.com/caselight.htm

A company I worked for has built large leds array for use in kinetic scupltures where movement and difficult access to replace lamps was a problem. Imagine 600 leds soldered to little circuit boards and mounted in a plastic 'fishbowl' :eek:

Cheers

Ian

I like your design and hope that you post some pictures when you finish it.
I suppose I'm going to have to be the odd man out and play devil's advocate.
I don't see the point in illuminating a 25cm space in the centre of the unit particularly when that space may only be waist high as I assume it may be. A dome shaped light or back light are the only things that could throw enough light out to the sides in such a small space and that wouldn't be practical because you would be staring straight at it when seated. With those two centre lights and those from the DVD and AMP it's going to look too much like a christmas tree and will detract from the lights in the side cabinets.
Downlights are usually used in cabinets to highlight something and that is far too small a space to use one to any great effect.
You didn't mention whether you would be installing glass shelves in the side cabinets. I'm assuming that these will be display cases and will need glass shelves so that the whole area is illuminated. (unless of course, you only want to illuminate the top shelf)
Another thing that you have probably already thought of , but I'll mention it anyway, is that you will have to allow for a cavity to contain the wiring and downlight frame and that doesn't seem to be an option in the centre shelves. You will have to take this space into account when designing the height of the glass door so that the glass starts below the level of the cavity.
I think you are probably looking for something other than traditional down lights and would be looking for something more like the dome light in a car which has a much lower profile.
I would go to a lighting specialist because lighting a closed timber cabinet needs care.

I put Halogens in my Computer desk which has overhead book shelving. The globes supplied with the lights got hot quick and started to buckle the timber I used for the shelf. I went to the "B" shop and got some lower wattage ones and these are fine, an excellent light to work under.

When I made the shelf I constructed a frame with a cavity space in which to install the down lights. I used plywood on the underside in which the lights are mounted. The plywood is excellent because it is stable and I got one which was finished one side in a veneer that went with the rest of the unit. Much better than any timber I could have put there (or MDF Yuk!).

When I get around to it I will try the LED globes from Jaycar.

Cheers

For Redback: I'll keep the subwoofer separate and will not integrate it in the unit. A subwoofer is more critical to install in term of location than front speakers. whether you turn it right, left, place it against a wall, etc... can change drastically the sound. That's the reason it will not be integrated in the unit.

@Adrian: thanks for your comments. Very useful. First of all, I do not intend to have the lights on when watching a movie or when the projector is on so it will not really disturb me. These small spaces will only be used to display small items but in the end I am not sure if I'll put them. For the side doors, yes the shelves will be glass shelves
sicne the sides will be only used for display. I have thought about the cavity but I still have to figure out how to integrate them in the design. I am not too worried about the cavity in the sides but if I decide to install the downlights in the centre, that might be a problem since it will either reduce the space or increase the height if I want to keep this 20-30cm
When talking about Lighting specialists, are you talking about Australian Lightings, Beacon Lightings or shops of this type?
I hope not because for me, at least all the ones I have been are not really lighting specialists but just lightings resellers.

And for the pictures, I will post some when it is finished but I don't know how long it will take :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EMistral

When talking about Lighting specialists, are you talking about Australian Lightings, Beacon Lightings or shops of this type?
I hope not because for me, at least all the ones I have been are not really lighting specialists but just lightings resellers.

And for the pictures, I will post some when it is finished but I don't know how long it will take :)

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No, not lighting shops. I think you are better off chasing wholesalers or manufacturers.
Try this link.
http://www.ndlight.com.au/shop/index.html