Choosing a Wall Mount for your LCD or Plasma HDTV?

Answer 1

When you take home your new LCD or Plasma HDTV, you are initially faced with the question of where to put it. While most TVs will come with a base stand to place on an old bookshelf or entertainment center, the true beauty of new flat panels is that they can be mounted on the wall with relative ease, with very small space requirements. There are three different types of wall mounts for HDTVs: low-profile or flat mounts, tilting mounts, and full-motion mounts.

Low-profile mounts offer exactly what they say; a simple, flat design to keep your high definition TV on the wall with as short a clearance as possible. They are ideal for small spaces where the viewing angle is likely to remain the same across viewing sessions.

Tilting mounts offer a bit more freedom, allowing you to tilt vertically or horizontally. This type of wall mount is most used in rooms where there are multiple seating locations, or when the TV must be mounted high above eye level. They do take a bit more space outside of the wall, but it is a small price to pay for the flexibility they offer.

Full motion mounts are the granddaddy of them all, allowing you to literally swing the TV out and away from the wall, which opens up corners as a possible TV location. They provide the most flexibility of all the mounts, but they often carry a hefty price tag and use more space than a more traditional wall mount.

On the back of any HDTV, there are going to be four mounting points in a square or rectangle. They should all be a fixed distance away, based on the VESA mounting standard, depending on the size of the TV. Typically, a larger or heavier panel will have wider spaced mounting points in order to better accommodate a larger structure. Before shopping for a wall mount, it is important to know the width of the spacing on the back of your HDTV in order to get the right model.

No matter which style you choose, wall mounts are a great solution to a common problem: Where should I put my TV?