Choosing a Television Wall Mount

Your television needs a wall mount. Would you like to be able to reclaim some space and at the same time, have a better view of your TV? The best way to accomplish this is with a television wall mount to pick your set up off the floor or keep from taking up space on a piece of furniture. Television wall mounts are available in a number of different configurations for different sized sets. Perhaps you still have an older tube-style set called a CRT. You can purchase a wall mount for that, or even a ceiling mount as seen in hospitals, just not as depressing.

Most common is someone just purchased one of the new flat panel HDTVs, and they want to stick it to the wall like they've seen in all the magazines and on all the television shows.  It is a very nice look, though, that also has function.  Even though, the CRTs can be wall mounted, the large majority of people are going to be mounting one of these flat panels.

It is important that you purchase the correct television wall mount for your application. There are a few things to think about before you get started. First what kind of TV do you have? What size is it. The size is usually a factor of screen size, so if you are talking about a 40” LCD, then the measurement is referring to the diagonal of the screen. The actual dimensions of the TV itself may be different. Often, the new HD panels are wider than their screen size, so it pays to measure where you plan to put the television wall mount to make sure it will fit with the TV sitting on it.

A sturdy television wall mount is an absolute necessity. Typically CRT televisions and Plasma panels are quite heavy. These are going to require a mount built for their size and of a good quality. If you have spent $1,000 or more on a new television set, the last thing you want to do is try to pinch pennies on a cheap mount that may fall off the wall. Think of the mount as insurance since it will keep the TV off the ground or furniture where it could get knocked about, and it will keep it from moving if you live in an earthquake prone area as I do. Of course, if your walls fall in, your TV is probably not going to survive, so it's a good idea to actually have insurance. That's another topic unrelated to television wall mounts.

Another thing to consider in the world of television wall mounts is whether you need it to have any adjustibility of movement. There are mounts that are fixed in position, but others are capable of tilting up or down for proper viewing angle from your sitting area. Still others do what is called articulate. This means that they can operate like an arm, capable of moving in multiple directions and even coming out forward from the wall. There are also hideaway mounts and devices, but such items tend to be expensive and require electrical expertise. Your average television wall mount simply requires some basics. If you can hang a picture frame straight, you probably are capable of correctly hanging your television wall mount.

So before we move on, let's write down the following so we have it at hand, shall we?

• Type of television
• Measurements of the television – this should include height, width, and depth)
• Weight of television – this is usually somewhere in the instruction manual or you can google
• Where the ideal viewing position will be located – important in order to position the TV correctly
• Where the electrical and A/V connections will come from – are you running these through walls to be directly behind the TV or will you use existing outlets?

This is enough to get started and move forward with finding the perfect television wall mount. There are a couple of other questions we haven't fully asked and answered that will be more fully explored in upcoming hubs.

Thanks,

The TV Mount Guy