Mirrored decorative video display concealment and cooling apparatus and method

An apparatus for concealing a light emitting video display, which is fixed to a vertical surface, when not in operation by reflection of incident ambient light, comprising:

• a perimeter structure, for positioning adjacent to the vertical surface about the video display, having a front opening for enabling visual access to the video display;
• a decorative frame removably attached to said perimeter structure and disposed about said front opening;
• a multiple layer, vapor deposited, dielectric beam-split film applied to a glass substrate and supported by said decorative frame, disposed within said front opening, having the characteristics of partial transmission of the light emitted by the video display and partial reflection of the incident ambient light, wherein said multiple layer dielectric beam-split film is comprised of titanium-dioxide and magnesium-fluoride layers;
• a light baffle disposed along the bottom surface of said perimeter structure for enabling circulation of ambient air through said perimeter structure while preventing the transmission of ambient light;
• plural fans disposed along the top surface of said perimeter structure and aligned to exhaust air from within said perimeter structure, thereby circulating air through said light baffle and about the video display;
• a fan control circuit disposed within said perimeter structure, having a thermostat coupled to energize said plural fans at a predetermined temperature, and having a resistor coupled in series with said plural fans, thereby operating said plural fans at reduced speed to enable quiet operation, and
• a fan control circuit light baffle disposed on the interior surface of said perimeter structure and aligned to block visual perception of said fan control circuit through said front opening.

A method of concealing a light emitting video display that is mounted to a vertical surface, comprising the steps of:

• positioning a perimeter structure having a front opening adjacent to the vertical surface about the video display, thereby enabling visual access to the video display through the front opening;
• covering the front opening with a beam-split film;
• transmitting a portion of the light emitted by the video display during operation through a beam-split film;
• reflecting a portion of the ambient light incident on the beam-split film, thereby concealing the video display when not in operation;
• circulating air through a light baffle disposed about the perimeter structure and adjacent to the video display with a fan, thereby enabling air cooling of the video display.