Disagree with this point. Hiding your TV by disguising it as regular furniture is super-tacky.



The viewing angle can be compensated for by getting an angled or motorised mount. Depends on the height of the fireplace, of course. Hiding the cabling will, depending on the fireplace construction, be difficult but not impossible.



But, yeah, I wouldn't be happy putting a TV above a fireplace, no matter how good the flue was. You're going to get heat, you're likely to get (at least some) smoke and ash. Not good for the longevity of the TV.

Our TV is mounted on the chimney breast above an unused fireplace. It's quite low down, and it's on an angled mount, so the viewing angle is fine. I've not done anything about hiding the cables -- they travel a short horizontal distance from the nearby shelf where the AV kit is before going behind the TV. Probably only visible for about 4 inches.