I'm looking for folks who have seen any cheap and innovative ideas out there.  I'm planning on mounting my 52 inch Samsung LCD (LN-T5271F) over my stone fire place.  I live in Florida so I only have about 5 or 6 fires a year and the rest of the time, I'll be using it for TV watching.  I've been looking for a ceiling mount for this TV that will allow me to raise and lower the TV at will.  In other words, for the 5 times a year I'm going to have a fire in the fire place, I'd like to raise it up about 18 inches out of the way (visually and for heat).  For the 99.9% of the rest of the time, I want it down low enough such that It's at least close to an ergonomically correct viewing level.  Oh yeah...it's an 8 foot ceiling, my viewing distance will be about 14 feet and I'm cheap.  I'm not looking for something automated and I don't need it to go to 20 different heights in between.  It's either up and out of the way or down for viewing.  I was hoping to find something for $300(ish) or better.

 Anyone seen anything out there so I don't have to go build my own system?  The next plan will be to figure out how to mount my center channel on the same widget...

How much does TV weigh?      http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:RHqZ8G9oFMUJ:www.cabletronix.com/pdf/Plasma%2520Mounts/CT-PLB-CE3%2520Ceiling%2520Mount%2520Adapter%2520for%2520PLB%2520Series%2520Mounts.pdf+ceiling+mount+ct+plb+ce3&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

***Please note that mount is only approved for certain type ceilings!!! A good rule of thumb is 3 times the weight plus mount capacity when appending to a ceiling. Twice is good, however..... proceed with any plans with safety/caution! This mount may retail for around $150, IMO....Other mounts may be preferable given construction.

I'm planning on it being able to support 80 to 100 lbs if I look at my long term plan on attaching the center channel speaker to the same stand.

*Edit:Please refer to my last post! Thanks!

I spent some time looking at this link and followed it to their larger website and what it looks like to me is that if you want to raise the TV, you have to support the 100 lb TV, remove the screw from the pre-set lock points and then raise the TV and re-lock it to the new position.  I was looking for something a little simpler that could be raised and lowered on the fly while holding my drink in one hand.  I'm sure this one wouldn't hold up against the "wife factor" either as she couldn't lift the load.

Thanks though.

You could get a wall mount version that is more versatile an mount it higher on the wall, while doing good math. That ceiling mount is a no frills for price/design, and while sturdy if mounted into good stuff, is just a functional version. More of a 2  person operation.

A quick look and I found this, http://www.omnimountpro.com/pro/Product.aspx?productid=C84870A9-F5A8-41BA-AFD1-BD22DCCB3395.  It is rated to hold tv's from 37" to 63" and support up to 200 lbs.  I also looked and found that it sales for under $300.

James