I’m not the only one with three TVs in my living room — meet my compatriots

Every day on the internet, new micro-trends emerge, only to become old news five minutes later. In Polygon’s new series The Next Generation of Everything, we’re looking at what’s blowing up in the worlds and fandoms we follow, and what the latest shifts say about where Extremely Online life is going next.

It’s important to stand by your beliefs, even if your style is too forward-thinking for the people of your time. Earlier this week, I revealed my powerful TV setup, featuring three TVs mounted to a single wall. There’s been an outpouring of rage and confusion, a failure to understand how I could get my sound mix so perfect. But there’s also been an outpouring of something else: support.

Several powerful, smart, and I have to assume handsome readers reached out regarding their own multi-TV groupings — several of which are even more powerful and grand than my own. Here are some of their setups.

The Monolith — Brian Jacobson

Photo courtesy of Brian Jacobson

Brian Jacobson contacted me with their five-TV setup, designed for viewing five different sports games at once — that’s two football games, two basketball games, and NFL GameDay all on at once.

They use a 65-inch, two 32-inch, and two 24-inch TVs — which I’ve dubbed The Monolith. Each is hooked up to the sound bar, so Brian can swap between the games at will. They use the Logitech Harmony to manage the setup.

This setup is interesting because it’s so much in one direction, like it’s all one image. This is not his-and-hers TVs and a third one to share, this is ALL SPORTS, ALL THE TIME. It’s like a sports bar, complete with one TV hanging slightly over the wall in the upper right. That is, of course, a compliment. If you’re going to watch multiple games at once, where better to do so than a sports bar? And with that logic, why not just build a sports bar in your home?

The security room — Anonymous, just outside of Detroit

Photo courtesy of anonymous from outside of Detroit

This setup is so powerful, its owner requested I not reveal their name, merely their approximate location.

Here we see what looks like an impressive work station, with three giant monitors. But those monitors are actually 43-inch 4K Roku TVs from TCL. Each TV has access to the TV airwaves via an antenna system, and each has an ethernet cable hooking them to the internet. All three also double as monitors for the owner’s computer. It looks like a security room you’d find in the back of a museum, hence my name for it.

This setup may not seem that extreme at first; many of us have two or even three monitors at our desks right now. But these are not large monitors; they are big, 4K flatscreens. There is nothing stopping Anonymous from watching a movie, watching a football game, and playing a video game all at once. And that’s playing with power.

“Poolworld” — Cosmo Orlando

Photo courtesy of Cosmo Orlando

This three-TV setup is from Cosmo Orlando, who revealed that they refer to their home as “Poolworld.”

This is a setup similar to my own, utilizing a much wider wall to display three much bigger TVs. How much bigger, I’m not entirely sure, but Cosmo pointed out the coffee mug next to the center TV for scale.

I’m not sure what Cosmo uses these TVs for, but I can imagine myself in this setup. One person on the couch, another on the lounge, each enjoying their own thing while we both also watch WandaVision, and while our cats (another thing Cosmo and I have in common) get in our face.

A tale of two TVs (and a trampoline) — Michael California

Photo courtesy of Michael California

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

The primary TV is a 65-inch, while the TV on the roller cart is 43 inches. There’s also a trampoline sitting behind the roller cart, which Michael purchased for their six-year-old, who reportedly cheers on his parents while they hunt Rathalos and other beasts. The trampoline is crucial to this setup because it is, in fact, adorable.

I like this setup because it’s a bit more practical, and less embarrassing for having guests over. With on TV being on a roller cart, it seems that Michael and company can move it when people come by, giving the illusion that this isn’t a house filled with people who have a need to cooperatively consume media. I also love the mini-trampoline as an exercise in keeping your kid busy until they’re old enough to join in on the Monster Hunter hunts. Of course the proximity of the cart TV to the trampoline does give me some serious anxiety.

If Michael sounds familiar, you may recognize their name from this Death Stranding piece, which appeared on Polygon in 2019.

Funkoville — Steve Salai

Photo courtesy of Steve Salai

Funkoville — so named for the legion of figurines under the TV and to the left of the screen — is the creation of Steve Salai.

Steve didn’t offer me any details regarding their setup, but we can see the big TV playing what looks like a TV show about cereal, flanked by a smaller TV hooked up to a PC and playing Overwatch. The primary TV is also nicely backlit, and both flatscreens seem to have a speaker connected to them with what looks like a pretty serious surround-sound system for the primary setup.

This setup just looks comfortable. The dim lighting combined with the backdrop and the candle give it that cave-like feeling. And it looks like that Overwatch TV can lay flat against the wall when not in use. I’m all about that kind of practicality, so I appreciate Steve’s commitment to the multi-TV lifestyle.

TV Chic — Kyle Hilliard

Photo courtesty of Kyle Hillard and Ashley Godbold

Kyle Hilliard, co-host of the MinnMaxShow, and his wife Ashley Godbold sent me a setup that is probably the cleanest of the bunch. Here we have what I call TV Chic, as it doesn’t sacrifice aesthetic for the pure efficiency that two flatscreens 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, a PC in the middle, and a really nice-looking digital clock. Both sit on identical entertainment centers, each flanked by identical cabinets.

Aesthetically, I love this setup, and kinda wish I had the space for it myself. You get the real combination here of the mirrored setup (the Xboxes and the Switches’ unique positioning is a nice touch) but sitting on what looks like nice, adult furniture. It’s lovely.

Star lights and chill — ChromeDreams

Photo courtesy of ChromeDreams

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

This setup offers some nice mood lightning. From a format perspective, it’s quite similar to my own Triforce setup. ChromeDreams has two larger TVs under one smaller TV — which also seems dedicated mostly to streaming and entertainment. The rest of the setup comes from a variety of sets — not that there’s anything wrong with that — and also features two hidden cats.

Similar to Steve’s Funkoville setup, ChromeDreams’ setup just seems comfortable. We’ve got some lovely items from fan-favorite franchises adorning the room, as well as the string lights to give it that homey feel.

Exodia — Steven Williams

Photo courtesy of Steven Williams

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

The central TV is 70 inches, while the four others are each 35 inches. The entire setup is hooked to DirecTV. Around the entertainment center we can also see a PlayStation 4, a football (of course), and various 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 reads “There are two times of year. Football season and waiting for football season,” which feels delightfully out of place.

Steven has also done something here that many of my colleagues at Polygon, myself included, have failed to do, which is hiding the wires. That’s a lot of work for so many TVs, and it really gives the whole setup a clean look. This is the kind of room that your childhood friend’s dad might’ve had — a room that you weren’t allowed into when he was home. The type of room where that dad thinks, “I’ve worked my entire life for these five TVs, and I’ll be damned if I let some 12-year-old spill Kool-Aid on the carpet in there.” And I mean that in the best way possible.

The command center — Grady Bailey

Grid View

• 2010 Photos courtesy of Grady Bailey
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This command center setup from Grady Bailey is a lot to take in. Not only do we have numerous setups to look through here, but Grady has been living the multi-TV life in some shape or form since 2010. That’s dedication to the craft.

The more you click through these setups, the more appears. Notably, at least one setup features eight (EIGHT!) screens going at once. Interestingly, Grady also seems to pare down their setup over time, with what looks like only two TVs in 2021. You can also see Grady pick up a pretty sweet replica Portal gun in 2018.

Of all these setups, this is the one that makes me feel both inadequate and extremely pleased that people have the ability to build their own setups like this. It’s also proof of something I’ve known all along: Sports nerds are eons ahead in the multi-TV game.

These are the homes of the awesome folks who reached out to me over the past week and agreed to be featured here. These eight brave souls prove that there has to be at least a dozen more of us who have cool setups like this. If we’ve learned anything from all of these awesome entertainment centers, it’s that each person and family has their own entertainment needs, and you shouldn’t allow what other people might think to derail your awesome plans for a sick multi-TV setup.