TV Wall Mounts

This articulated dual arm from Cheetah Mounts can stand up to 180 lbs and suits screens from 32″ to 63″. It is a sturdy and relatively heavy mount, weighing over 30 lbs. The dual arms extend to more than 20″ and when they are completely folded, they come as close to the wall as to less than 5″, offering a really flat profile. Its universal design would fit most TV sets within this size range, be them VESA-compliant or not. This mount has a good versatility, with its 120 degree swivel and the +- 15 degree tilt.

The main drawback of this Cheetah mount is its weight, which makes installation rather difficult. Hanging the TV will prove to be a tedious job, for maybe three solid people. The instructions inside the pack are detailed enough to be easy to understand, yet it would have been better if some pictures were also included. The tilting mechanism can be also tricky to get installed and working properly, but once you get it done, it’s very nice to be able to adjust the viewing angle just the way you like it, as the range of movement is really impressive. If you make sure to attach it firmly to the wall, there’s nothing to worry about, as it would support the weight of your big plasma TV without any problem. Just check thoroughly the screws and accessories that come with the mount and buy new ones in case you think those ones won’t be suitable for your walls.

See more details or buy CHEETAH MOUNTS PLASMA LCD TV ARTICULATING DUAL ARM WALL MOUNT FOR 32-63″ DISPLAYS UP TO 165LBS BLACK

The Sanus VMPL50B VisionMount Tilting Mount is an universal flat panel TV mounting device, which means that it should fit virtually all types of flat screen TVs within that screen size range. Being universal, it has not mounting plates, like VESA ones do, and it can be set in position simply by moving the brackets. It is a tilting mount, and it installs very close to the wall, at only 2.5 inches. This is nice, because you can obtain a low profile for the LCD TV, but in case you have some bulky adapters and plugs that need to fit on the back panel, you may find out that you simply don’t have enough room for them. The tilting mechanism operates on plastic glides, which seem to do their job very well. The hardware pack includes multiple types of screws and even those concrete wall anchors, in case you want to install the mount on a concrete or brick wall.

The tilting range goes up and down widely enough to accommodate even the most peculiar watching positions. Tilting is also useful when you want to plug and unplug those jacks on the back panel. In case of mounts with smaller or no tilt at all, you need to take the TV down from the wall each time you want to plug in an additional jack. This can be embarrassing, as it’s a two people job and you might not have the second person to help you all the time.

The fact that the mount doesn’t have a pattern for mounting can be useful in case you are encountering troubles in making holes in the wall or in the studs at precise distances. Sturdy and inexpensive, at less than $70, this Sanus mount is suitable for both LCD and plasma screen TVs.
See more details or buy Sanus VMPL50B VisionMount Tilting Mount For 30″- 56″ Displays – Black

Articulating wall mounts feature an articulated arm that allows the TV screen to swivel, for finding the optimal viewing position. As most flat screen television sets are either black or silver, the mounts are also available in these colors, for obvious aesthetic reasons. Amongst all types of TV wall mounts, these are perhaps the ones that offer the best functionality per price ratio. They aren’t exceptionally finished, but since the most part of them isn’t visible, this is a minor issue.

Prices vary with the display size, and that’s normal, since bigger displays are much heavier, therefore the mounts need to be sturdier, so the materials used are perhaps more expensive, adding to the final cost of the product. We are going to see a few examples from each category of screens:

Articulating Wall Mounts for Up To 22″ Display

Here are our choices for today:

Peerless

The Peerless articulated arm mount for small screens features a great flexibility and it’s quite affordable, compared to other similar products. In terms of design, however, we’ve got only one word: ugly. Be it that you buy the black version or the silver one, they are equally unaesthetic, with rough edges and with visible screws, not only on the back panel of the TV set, but also on the wall support. The functionality is great, with 180 degrees swivel possibility, which makes it a good choice for public places such as conference rooms or hotel lobbies, or for in-store merchandising displays. It’s expandable up to 15.25 inches and when it’s folded flat, it’s only 2″ deep. It comes pre-assembled, so you don’t need lots of tools and skills to have it installed. It fits VESA 75/100 mm back panels. If you’re not too picky on details, it can go very well in any of your rooms. I’m picky, so I’d place it in bedroom, where I don’t have the occasion to see it all day long. Buy the Peerless PA730 Articulating Wall Mount for 10″ to 22″ Displays (Black) or see what other people think about it.

Sanus VisionMount SF213B

This mount can support flat TVs up to 27″. The arm can extend up to 13″ away from the wall. Additionally from the Peerless presented above, this one can not only swivel 180 degrees, but also tilt up and down the TV set, for even more flexibility. The tilt range is +15 degrees to – 15 degrees. When the arm is completely flexed, it’s 3″ in depth. Although it’s not state-of-the-art in design, this mount looks much better than the previous one. However, it’s almost double the price, so you have to put all details in balance and see if it’s worth paying the extra money.

Tomorrow we are going to see what you can buy for bigger screen TVs.

If you’ve decided to go for a wall mount for your new flat screen TV, you still have to make up your mind regarding other aspects, such as the color the price and thew type of the mount. Here are the three TV wall mount types you can choose from:

Flat mount: the simplest and the cheapest solution for hanging a flat TV on the wall, this mount doesn’t allow any movement of the screen once you’ve placed it into its final position. It can’t be installed very high on the wall, because it needs room in the upper part for sliding down the TV set. However, if you don’t wish to change the viewing angle, this solution is a very elegant and practically invisible one. Your screen will sit on the wall pretty much like a framed painting.

Tilt mount: this is a bit more sophisticated than the previous one, as it allows the TV screen to tilt either downward or upward around a horizontal axis. Because of this additional movement possibility, the TV set is placed a bit further from the wall, even when not tilted at all. Therefore, if your room is not very tall, you’re probably not going to need your TV set to tilt downwards, so you’d better choose the flat mount which is not only more elegant, but also a bit cheaper. However, if your television set doesn’t have a flat back, this type of mount is the best, as it allows you to access the plugs and other interfaces in the backside box of your TV set.

Articulating mount: this is the most versatile system, but also the most expensive one. Basically, it features an articulated arm which allows the TV set to swivel left and right and to tilt up and down. If you have a very large room, with couches placed in different corners, this could best suit your needs, as you’ll be able to adjust your TV screen for optimum view wherever you may want to sit. A simpler version is the swivel mount which allows a maximum 90 degrees swivel.

Apart form these three types, there are mounts that get fixed on the ceiling and others which can be mounted under the kitchen cupboards. Prices may vary with the size of the mount, which is influenced by the weight of the TV set. The weight is influenced at its turn by the screen size. You don’t need to learn any weight-size correlations, because the weight is usually written on the TV screen box. Besides, the shop assistant would surely help you in indicating the most appropriate wall mount when you buy your television set.

When we say “flat screen TV”, most of us usually don’t think further. We are concerned solely with the fact that TV sets are flat and we also care about the screen size. However, there’s more to talk about when it comes to choosing a new TV set for your living room.

First of all, flat screen TVs are of two types: plasma and LCD. The difference between an LCD TV and a plasma one is rather in the technology that makes images possible rather than in the look and feel of the TV sets. In a plasma TV, there are two glass panes which are sealed together and the resulting space between them is filled with plasma, which is a gas that’s electrically charged by electric impulses, determining color changes that finally compose the image as we see it on the screen. LCD screens are based on a totally different technology: two polarized, transparent panes are stuck together, one of them featuring a thin layer of a polymer containing liquid crystals. When electric impulses pass through this material, the crystals are polarized, thus composing the images on the screen.

Many people ask themselves if they should buy an LCD or a plasma TV. It’s not the purpose of this website to enter in such details. Basically, both variants come with their advantages and drawbacks, but regardless your final decision, you’ll still benefit from a great viewing experience. One small consideration, though: with LCD TVs becoming available in Full HD resolution, they’ve gained a significant competitive edge over plasma screens.

From the wall mount point of view, you should be aware that plasma TVs are heavier, therefore at the same screen size, you’ll have to buy a sturdier support. This would add a little bit to the cost, but taking into consideration that you’ll have to take a lot of money out of your pocket anyway, the difference is not that important and it shouldn’t be a selection criterion.

The LCD TV or flat screen TV market has become extremely diversified and accessible to a broad category of consumers. Prices went way down compared to five or six years ago, when a plasma TV had the price of a room in a small apartment. Newer technologies and manufacturing methods made such television sets to replace more and more the old, thick models which are now so out of fashion and which take a lot of room.

Unlike classic TVs, flat ones need to be installed in their place and not just placed on some furniture piece you’ve already had in your living room. There are two ways of doing this: hanging them on the wall or incorporating them in a special piece of furniture called a TV stand. Either way, an additional purchase is necessary: a TV wall mount or a TV stand. The wall mount is cheaper and it is very useful if your room is relatively small, so you can save some space for other furniture items. Stands are more expensive, but they look very stylish and many of them come with incorporated speakers and with a special place for the DVD player, thus you can set up your home theater system in a neat and clever way.

Both methods allow matching the frame with the color of the TV set: if your flat screen panel has a black frame, you can choose a black wall mount or a black stand. If the frame is silver, you can go for a silver wall mount or stand.

Depending on the budget you can afford to spend, you can choose a wall mount that’s been manufactured with all details in mind, or a rough one. The cheaper ones usually have visible screws and joints, but otherwise, they can provide almost the same functionality as the more expensive ones. However, if you can afford the extra cost, buying an expensive wall mount would offer you the pleasure of a very well-finished piece of furniture, with hidden screws, with channels and tracks for hiding the cables and with more tilting and panning possibilities. For example, a wall arm mount would allow positioning the TV screen in the best position for optimal view much better than a mount that’s not adjustable in its distance against the wall. If for some reason, you can’t use the walls for hanging your LCD TV, a ceiling mount is exactly what you need. Some of these ceiling mounts come with an extension column which makes it possible to have the TV screen positioned at the desired height.

As a conclusion, I can’t say that one solution is better than the other. My personal choice would be to buy a stand, but if the space was small, I’d go for a TV wall mount any given time.