TV defense screens

Based on this post on an innocent light saber battle gone terribly wrong, I thought up the idea of a protective cover for your television screen. Why should the most fragile part of this expensive device be utterly unprotected from damage. Originally, I pictured something like the halves of a clamshell camera's protective case, but when I tried to picture this on a 40 inch plasma screen, it seemed just a bit ridiculously large and obtrusive. Instead, something like Roman blinds made of some tough, yet soft (on the inside) material, which would roll or pleat up out of the way when you wanted to watch the screen. Alternatively, the blinds could be vertical, in two halves, and roll up to the sides.

In the course of business, I've encountered the type of TV cabinet with swinging or sliding doors to conceal the entire television, the kind often seen in hotel room armoires. The advantages of a non-furniture-based screen protector are:

1. It would work with TV screens which don't normally sit in entertainment centers (such as wall-mounted plasma TV screens).
2. The material for the blinds could coordinate with the room window treatments. In the ultimate implementation, the flat-screen TV could appear to be just another window on the wall until the blinds are opened.


3. The mechanism to open the blinds could be connected to the power circuit, so that it would automatically swing open when the remote was switched. This would be cool and would provide protection at all times when the TV is not in use.
   


4. Some microfiber cloth could cover the inside of the blinds, so that every time they were opened, dust would be wiped away, helping the screen to remain clean.

It sure seems like a winning idea to me. Note that neither this scheme nor the entertainment center door protection would help if the television screen were menaced while it was being watched by someone, whether saber battling or throwing beer bottles at the umpire.