TV Bed Azure review

A bed with a TV that rises majestically out of the baseboard may sound like something you’d only see in a celebrity’s house or in a really expensive hotel, but with a TV Bed you can afford to have the same thing at home. We’ve got the Azure model on review here in the double size, although the bed is also available in King and Super King sizes, too. It’s sold through a variety of retailers, although the name is sometimes different; Furniture Village (our listed supplier) calls this bed the Cabaret.

One of the first things you might think, is why have a TV built into the bed? Far from being opulent or a bit show-offy, most bedrooms simply aren’t designed to have a TV in them. Thanks to windows, dressing tables and wardrobes, any TV tends to be awkwardly located and can look cluttered and out of place. By putting the TV in the baseboard and having it lowered when not in use, it’s placed perfectly to watch, yet doesn’t disturb the harmony of the bedroom.

TV BED AZURE LOOKS

Of course, when making a product like this, the first most important step is making a bed that looks stylish. After all, nobody is going to want a bed in their bedroom if it looks more like a TV stand than something you’d want to sleep in.

Fortunately, the TV Bed Azure looks fantastic. Available in black, chocolate and white faux leather, the Azure is a great looking bed by any measure. Its finish is superb, with lots of padding, particularly on the large headboard, which is incredibly comfortable to lean against when you’re sat up in bed watching TV or reading.

First and foremost, the TV Bed Azure is a stylish-looking bed

Importantly, the Azure just looks like a really nice bed in its default state and there’s no real indication that there’s a TV lurking. This is largely thanks to the thin baseboard, so the Azure’s not much longer than a regular bed. TV Bed makes the thinnest beds you can buy, so cheaper models will bulge out more.

TV BED AZURE TV MECHANISM

When you want to watch TV you just need to hit one of the buttons on the side to activate the lift mechanism. It’s incredibly quiet in operation and we never got bored of the sight of a TV raising itself steadily out of the baseboard. It’s clever the way it works, too.

This curved plate, combined with a magnet in the baseboard’s flap ensures smooth operation when the TV’s going up or down

As the TV lifts up, a curved metal plate on the stand pushes against the magnet on the baseboard’s flap, gently opening it. The lift then comes up, bringing the TV with it and continuing until the bottom of the TV sits level with the top of the baseboard. As the TV comes up, its power is activated, turning it on automatically.

It’s good to see that there’s a platform on the bottom of the lift, so that when the TV is raised, you don’t have a hole that things can fall down; we’ve looked at rival models that forgo the platform and it isn’t pretty.

It’s good to see that the TV sits on a platform, so you can’t drop stuff into the void

Tap the button on either side of the bed and the lift lowers itself gently back into the baseboard. This time the curved part of the stand attracts the magnet on the flap, gently lowering it back into place. As the TV sinks out of sight, its power is cut, turning it off. Within 30 seconds you’re back in bed mode and the uninitiated would never know that you’ve got a TV hidden in there.

TV Bed uses German-manufactured motors, for long-life and reliability. It also opts for Blum hinges, which are a well-known Austrian brand, famous for its reliable hinges. It’s great to see metal buttons with plenty of feedback to operate the bed; we prefer these to a remote control, as you can’t lose them and you’ll never have to lean over a sleeping partner to shut the bed down.

Blum hinges and German-manufactured motors should ensure reliability

TV BED AZURE BUILD QUALITY

A bed like this may sound rather complicated to deal with, but TV Bed makes it simple and you get a 32in TV pre-fitted. Having the TV fitted makes a lot of sense, as TV Bed can make sure it’s done properly. The company can also sure that there’s exactly the right amount of clearance and the weight’s right for the lift.

With beds where you can fit your own TV, the documentation normally says that you can fit a 26in or 32in model yourself. However, there’s a lot of variance in size between TV models and we’ve seen some cheap 32in sets with big bezels, top and bottom, which would be difficult to fit.

The stand’s VESA mounting point is easy to reach with the TV out

That’s not to say that TV Bed fits the TV itself because it has an overly-complicated mechanism. In fact, it’s one of the most simple. Once the TV is raised, the VESA mounting point is easily accessible, so that the TV could be removed or replaced. Next, the TV lift is easy to get to. Just remove the two magnetic covers under the baseboard’s flap and a couple of screws come out, letting the entire mechanism come out. That’s not a job that you’ll have to do, but if something should go wrong, it’s nice to know that an engineer can quickly replace any problem parts.

Should something go wrong, an engineer can remove the magnetic covers and screws to remove the entire TV mechanism

The rest of the bed is just as simple to put together, with the two side panels bolting on to the headboard and baseboard, and a central slat support running between the two. The slats are then simply clipped into place.

As well as fitting the TV, TV Bed also pre-fits cabling, running three HDMI cables (all labelled, so you know which one is which), and an aerial cable from the TV. The HDMI cables are then run into the compartment in the side of the bed, which is big enough to hold a games console, set-top box and Blu-ray player.

Pre-fitted HDMI cables, neatly labelled are a nice touch
There’s no under-bed storage other than this box and, once a mattress is in place, you’ll find it hard to get under the bed, so our advice is to have a four-way put in, so you’ve got power there ready to go.

There’s plenty of room under the bed for all of your AV kit

You may be wondering why you’re limited to a 32in TV, particularly when larger King and King Size beds are available. It’s all a matter of size: put a bigger TV in and you’d not only need more width, but more height, which starts impacting on the size of the bed and killing the looks. Besides, when you’re sat no more than six-feet from the TV you’re watching, a 32in model is the ideal size.

TV BED AZURE TV

The basic model comes with a Samsung UE32F4000 model. It’s one of Samsung’s entry-level TVs with a 720p (1,368×768) resolution. It has a standard Freeview TV tuner, too, rather than an HD tuner. Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of Freeview HD channels out there, so you’re not missing out on too much content.

Picture quality is pretty good for a basic set, with decent colours and contrast. All-in, for a bedroom TV, the UE32F4000 isn’t a bad set. However, TV Bed also has an upgrade available to the 5 series Samsung (£150). It’s packed full of features including built-in Wi-Fi and Samsung’s excellent Smart TV portal. We’re big fans of this portal, as it provides a wide range of pre-installed and downloadable apps, including Netflix and Lovefilm, plus catch-up services with BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Channel 4’s 4oD and Five’s Demand Five. With a smooth and clear interface, getting at all of this internet content is quick and easy.

If you want to play content from over your home network, there’s support for media servers, with the Samsung UE32F5500AK having no trouble playing back any of our test files. As well as that there’s a Freeview HD tuner, so you can watch all of the regular live content, too.

It’s worth upgrading to the Samsung Smart TV, as you’ll get a brilliant selection of on-demand apps and great picture quality

Picture quality is great from the LED-backlit set. We noticed no problems with backlight bleed and it was evenly lit. Viewing angles are great, but that’s less of an issue here, as the position of the TV in the bed means you’re going to be sat straight in front of the TV.

Colours are rich and vibrant, perhaps a little too vibrant at times, but you can dial them down using the Colour and Tint controls in the menus. You also get Backlight, Contrast and Brightness control to adjust the image settings; we’ve seen more detailed controls on other TVs, but for the purpose of a bedroom TV what you get here is more than adequate.

It’s worth playing with the sound settings a little. As the TV is mounted in the baseboard, its speakers can’t bounce off a wall as they’d usually do if it was sat against a wall. Fortunately, there’s an option to put the TV’s sound into ‘stand’ mode, which helps make sure you don’t lose any detail and can clearly hear speech.

As the TV won’t be mounted near a wall, it’s worth setting the sound to the TV Mount option

TV BED AZURE CONCLUSION

With the Azure, TV Bed has made a stylish and attractive bed, with an incredibly thin baseboard hiding a high quality TV. Yes, you can buy cheaper beds, but you won’t get the same build quality and you’ll probably have to fit a TV yourself, running the risk of getting something wrong – let’s face it who wants to end up trying to fish a TV out of a baseboard because of a mistake or poor-quality parts? The Samsung Smart upgrade is worth doing, as you’ll get a much better TV.

Currently TV Bed is offering the Azure for £1,999 including delivery for any size (double, king, super king), with the recommended Smart TV upgrade an additional £150. If you’re looking for a way to get a TV into the bedroom without compromising on style or quality, then the TV Bed Azure is for you.