Officially, I’m not the only one with three TVs in the living room

It is important to defend your beliefs, even if your style is very innovative for the people of your time. Earlier this week, I revealed my powerful TV setup, with three TVs mounted on a single wall. There was an explosion of anger and confusion, a failure to understand how I could make my sound mix so perfect. But there was also a manifestation of something else: support.

Several powerful, intelligent readers and I have to assume that readers have attracted respect to their own multi-TV groupings – several of which are even more powerful and grandiose than mine. Here are some of your settings.

The Monolith – Brian Jacobson

Brian Jacobson contacted me with his five TV set, designed to watch five different sports games at the same time – two football games, two basketball games and NFL GameDay all connected at once.

They use 65-inch TVs, two 32-inch TVs and two 24-inch TVs – which I named Monolith. Each is connected to the soundbar, so Brian can switch between games at will. They use Logitech Harmony to manage the configuration.

This configuration is interesting because it is very much in one direction, as if it were a single image. This is not his and hers TV and a third one to share, this is ALL SPORTS, ALL THE TIME. It’s like a sports bar, complete with a TV hanging slightly from the wall in the upper right corner. This is, of course, a compliment. If you are going to watch several games at the same time, where better than a sports bar? And with that logic, why not build a sports bar in your home?

The security room – Anonymous, on the outskirts of Detroit

This configuration is so powerful that its owner asked me not to reveal his name, only his approximate location.

Here we see what looks like an impressive workstation, with three giant monitors. But these monitors are actually 43-inch 4K Roku TVs from TCL. Each TV has access to the TV waves through an antenna system and each has an Ethernet cable connecting them to the internet. All three also function as monitors for the owner’s computer. It looks like a security room that you would find at the back of a museum, hence my name.

This configuration may not seem so extreme at first; many of us have two or even three monitors at our tables now. But these are not big monitors; they are large, flat 4K screens. There is nothing to stop Anonymous from watching a movie, watching a football game and playing a video game, all at once. And that is playing with power.

“Poolworld” – Cosmo Orlando

This configuration of three TVs is by Cosmo Orlando, who revealed that they refer to his home as “Poolworld”.

This is a configuration similar to mine, using a much wider wall to display three much larger TVs. The bigger one, I’m not sure, but Cosmo pointed to the coffee mug next to the central TV to see the scale.

I don’t know what Cosmo uses these TVs for, but I can imagine myself in this configuration. One person on the couch, another in the living room, each enjoying their things while the two of us also watch WandaVision, and while our cats (something else that Cosmo and I have in common) are in our face.

A story of two TVs (and a trampoline) – Michael California

Michael California sent me this setup that they and their partners use when hunting monsters together in Monster Hunter. I call this one “A Tale of Two TVs (and a Springboard),” because, as you may have noticed, there is an unusual piece of furniture accompanying this setup.

The main TV is 65 inches, while the cart TV is 43 inches. There is also a trampoline behind the wheeled cart, which Michael bought for his six-year-old son, who is supposed to applaud his parents as they hunt for Rathalos and other animals. The trampoline is crucial for this configuration because it is, in fact, adorable.

I like this configuration because it is a little more practical and less embarrassing to receive guests. With the TV being a wheelbarrow, it seems that Michael and company can move it when people pass by, giving the illusion that this is not a house full of people who need to consume media cooperatively. I also love the mini-trampoline as an exercise to keep your kids busy until they’re old enough to join the Monster hunts. Of course, the proximity of the TV stand to the trampoline causes me serious anxiety.

If Michael looks familiar to you, you can recognize the name of this Death Stranding piece, which appeared on Polygon in 2019.

Funkoville – Steve Salai

Funkoville – named after the legion of figurines under the TV and to the left of the screen – is a creation of Steve Salai.

Steve didn’t give me details about their setup, but we can watch the big TV playing what appears to be a cereal TV show, flanked by a smaller TV connected to a PC and playing games Overwatch. The main TV is also well lit from behind, and both flat screens appear to have a speaker connected to them with what appears to be a very serious surround sound system for the main configuration.

This setup looks comfortable. The poor lighting combined with the scenery and the candle gives the feeling of a cave. And it looks like Overwatch The TV can be flat against the wall when not in use. I love that kind of practicality, so I appreciate Steve’s commitment to the multi-TV lifestyle.

TV Chic – Kyle Hilliard

Kyle Hilliard, co-host of MinnMaxShow, sent me a setup that is probably the cleanest in the group. Here we have what I call TV Chic, as it does not sacrifice aesthetics for the pure efficiency that two flat screens provide.

There are two TVs that appear to be the same size and brand, two sound bars, two Xbox Series Xs, two Switches, a PlayStation 4, a PlayStation 5, which appears to be a very large router in the middle and a really beautiful digital clock. Both sit in identical entertainment centers, each flanked by identical offices.

Aesthetically, I love this configuration and would like to have space for it. You get the real combination here of the mirrored configuration (the unique placement of the Xboxes and Switches is a nice touch), but sitting in what looks like beautiful adult furniture. It’s adorable.

Starlights and relaxation – ChromeDreams

This setting comes from ChromeDreams, which is the Reddit username that this person asked me to use for them.

This setting offers a good lightning mood. From a format perspective, it is quite similar to my own Triforce configuration. ChromeDreams has two larger TVs under a smaller TV – which also seems to be mainly dedicated to streaming and entertainment. The rest of the setup comes from a variety of sets – not that there is anything wrong with that – and it also features two hidden cats.

Similar to Steve’s Funkoville configuration, the ChromeDreams configuration looks comfortable. We have some lovely fan favorite franchise items adorning the room, as well as rope lights for a homey touch.

Exodia – Steven Williams

Photo courtesy of Steven Williams

Steven Williams receives the coveted title of Exodia, as all five TVs come together to form an unstoppable setting for sports viewing.

The central TV is 70 inches, while the other four are 35 inches each. The entire configuration is linked to DirecTV. Around the entertainment center we can also see a PlayStation 4, a football (of course) and several snacks, including what appears to be beef jerky in two mugs. There also appears to be a small bear in front of the sign that says “There are two seasons in the year. Football season and wait for football season ”, which looks delightfully out of place.

Steven also did something here that many of my colleagues at Polygon, including me, failed to do, which is to hide the wires. This is a lot of work for so many TVs and it really gives the whole set a clean look. This is the kind of room your childhood friend’s dad may have had – a room you couldn’t get into when he was at home. The kind of room Dad thinks: “I’ve worked my whole life on these five TVs and I won’t mind if I let a 12-year-old boy spill Kool-Aid on the carpet in there.” And I want to say this in the best possible way.

The Command Center – Grady Bailey

This Grady Bailey command center setup is a lot to absorb. Not only do we have several configurations to look at here, but Grady has been living the life of several TVs in some form or form since 2010. This is dedication to art.

The more you click on these settings, the more it appears. Notably, at least one setting has eight (EIGHT!) Screens active at the same time. Interestingly, Grady also seems to reduce its configuration over time, with what appears to be just two TVs in 2021. You can also see Grady pick up a beautiful replica Portal weapon in 2018.

Of all these configurations, this is the one that makes me feel both inadequate and extremely satisfied that people have the ability to build their own configurations like this. It is also proof of something that I have always known: sports nerds are eons ahead of the multi-TV game.

These are the homes of amazing people who came to me last week and agreed to show up here. These eight brave souls prove that there must be at least a dozen more of us with legal configurations like this. If we learn anything from all these incredible entertainment centers, it is that each person and family has their own entertainment needs and you must not allow what other people think to get in the way of your incredible plans for a sickly multiple TV setup.