What is a mirror TV and how does it work?

It's always very impressive to see an ordinary mirror that suddenly turns into a TV with a screen in the middle. Just like it's great to have a full mirror surface when your TV is turned off and nothing is showing.

This new type of TV screen is also called Magic Mirror TV and it is now very popular in different rooms of the house: bathroom, living room, bedroom, kitchen, pool, fireplace, sauna, spa, etc... 
As an experienced manufacturer and world leader in this type of product, we will now share with you the essential constraints and features to get the best mirror TV on the market.

What is a mirror TV and how does it work? In this article, we will explain in detail the specifics of the technology and the common terms to talk about televisions that become a mirror when they are turned off and commonly called mirror TVs, TVs that appear and disappear at your whim or magic mirrors.

1. WHAT IS A MIRROR TELEVISION?

WEMOOVE 21,5'' built-in mirror TV with custom made mirror - SUN HEE hair salon, Cagnes-sur-Mer

Installed price from 2990 VAT included

We call Mirror TV, a screen placed behind a semi-transparent mirror. It is similar to a simple mirror that is totally homogeneous when the screen is turned off, but as soon as the screen is turned on, an image is displayed and becomes visible. That's why it is often called " Magic Mirror TV " or " TV Miroir Magique ". Many sizes ofscreens are available on the market with diagonals ranging from 15 inches (38 cm) to 75 inches (190 cm).

There are two types of mirror screen ranges:

• Standard size mirror TVs that can be built into the wall or mounted on a wall: these are all-in-one, ready-to-use mirror screens with fixed mirror and screen sizes. These mass-produced screens make it possible to offer an exceptional product at a lower price.
• Custom Mirror TVs: These screens are designed specifically to fit a customer's interior precisely. The mirror is manufactured to the specific dimensions required based on the space available for the mirror or the size desired by the customer.

2. WHAT TYPE OF MIRROR IS USED TO DESIGN MIRROR TVS?

As you have already understood, it is not by magic that the screen of a mirror TV appears or disappears, but it is the result of a physics principle. There is a type of mirror called semi-transparent mirror especially used in the design of mirror televisions. It reflects part of the light to obtain a mirror effect when the screen is off, while allowing the transmission of light from the screen hidden behind the surface of the mirror to allow the image to be seen when it is on. 

3. WHAT IS BEHIND THE MIRROR?

Some mirror screen "manufacturers" install an ordinary consumer TV set purchased in the shops behind a mirror. Consumer televisions have the advantage of being cheaper, but they are not really designed for this type of installation and some problems may appear:

• Parts of the TV may be visible through the semi-transparent mirror because it is not easy to fit the TV frame and the mirror precisely to avoid this. In practice, the TV screen must be glued as close as possible to the mirror to avoid any image duplication generated by a gap between the mirror and the LCD/LED screen.
• The brightness of a consumer TV is too low, especially for small sizes like 19" or 21.5" or budget models. It is therefore important to check that it is a television specially designed to be used with a mirror. It usually has a metal heat sink housing to prevent the screen from heating up and ensure its longevity and must be assembled with precision to the mirror. Waterproofing is also often the norm for this type of TV which is used in humid rooms: bathroom, shower, swimming pool area, hammam... LCD/LED panels with high brightness should be chosen as a priority to ensure good image display performance even in daylight.

4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN CHOOSING A MIRROR TV

Two features are very important to consider when buying your mirror TV:

The transmission rate of the mirror (T) and the reflection rate of the mirror (R = 1- T)
The brightness of the screen

Concerning transmission and reflectionThe best balance must be found knowing that R (reflectance rate) + T (transmission rate) = 1. Thus, the more the mirror will reflect the images when the TV will be turned off and the less the image will be visible when the TV will be turned on, reducing the performance of the screen. Generally speaking, the transmission rate (T) oscillates between 0.3 and 0.7, so that the reflectance rate R is equal to a value between 0.7 and 0.3, inversely proportional.

But the most important parameter of the TV set remains the brightness of the screen miroir. Let's imagine that we place a standard PC computer monitor behind a semi-transparent mirror with a transmission rate of 0.5. The original brightness of the monitor is about 200 cd/m2 but when it is placed behind the mirror we only have 50% of this light passing through the mirror, i.e. 200 cd/m2 *0.5 = 100 cd/m2. This is unfortunately not enough if you want to watch TV in ambient daylight. That's why WEMOOVE as a manufacturer uses the brightest LCD/LED panels that will guarantee the best performance for your built-in or wall-mounted mirror TV.

In conclusion, even if you know exactly the T-rate and R-rate used for manufacturing a mirror TV and also the brightness of the screen, we still recommend that you personally check the actual performance to see the real result. Another problem that may occur when the T-rate is high is that some parts of the internal structure (TV frame, internal components) may be visible and your mirror will not be aesthetically pleasing when the screen is turned off (you will not see a homogeneous mirror which will remove the charm and discretion of a mirror TV). 

Color reproduction problems may also occur depending on the type of LCD/LED panel used and the type of tint applied to the mirror. It is important to always use the best quality LCD/LED panels (grade A+), with the best brightness combined with a branded LED backlight module as well. Tinted mirrors (bronze, black...) will distort the colors and the display result will not be natural anymore (dull faces, gray, green or pinkish white). That's why the LCD/LED panel parameters must be adjusted at the factory in order to display the best result. Still not convinced of the quality of a WEMOOVE mirror TV screen?

Click here to see our mirror screen installations: https://wemoove-tv.tech/nos-realisations/

Mirror TVs WEMOOVE

At WEMOOVE, as a manufacturer of recessed, custom-made and waterproof mirror TVs for over 10 years and world leader in the market, we have worked for many days on this "balance" between Reflectance and Transmission and that is why we now use different types of mirrors and different LCD/LED panels adapted to each screen size, in order to achieve the best possible display performance.

Currently, as an upgrade from our standard brightness TV mirrors, we also offer ultra-high brightness panels for brighter images even in bright daylight. Brightnesses ranging from 500 to 1000 cd/m2 are available on almost all our models.

A high-end product like our mirror TV must have top of the line performance that can only be achieved by using the best quality components combined with the latest technology. We guarantee the best LCD/LED panels available on the market because it is one of the most important components to get the best picture quality on a TV.

Interested in one of our products? Contact us by clicking here, we will do everything to satisfy your request. https://wemoove-tv.tech/assistance/