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HOW TO SAFELY INSTALL YOUR The key to mounting success of your new flat screen, (and great viewing in any room), is careful planning and preparation. |
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Flat screen displays are the hottest category of products in consumer electronics today, and prices are continuing to be extremely competitive for the consumer. You can choose from a variety of sizes and types of screens, such as LCD, plasma, LCD projection, 720p or 1080p, etc.
Hiring a professional installer is always a smart idea, but with some careful forethought, using the right tools and mounts, and getting help from friends and family (especially with lifting and holding), you can install your new LCD or plasma screen easily. First, plan, plan, plan.
Unless you don’t mind seeing cables hanging from beneath the screen going down to a nearby wall socket, it’s very important to use a licensed electrician to prepare the wall space behind the screen for proper outlets and wiring for the display’s current requirements. These are very important considerations since a 60” flat panel display can use as much electricity as a small refrigerator. Before you begin, here are some important tips you need to consider: Buy the right size screen for the room. This is based on how close, or how far, you will be sitting from the display. Buy the right size mount for the display – and make sure the mount is UL approved. A lot of the cheaper ones are not. The mounts will be flush, tilt, or articulating, or robotic arm. Use the mounts made for smaller displays (13” – 23”) and the stronger mounts for the larger displays. (The wrong mount will just add time and headaches to an otherwise simple installation.) For displays over 23”, try to buy a mount that provides multi-point mounting, (a mount that needs at least 4 lag bolts) and have built-in levels to insure a straight and balanced installations. K2 mounts are great for this. (www.k2mounts.com.) Have a good idea of the other A/V equipment you are going to be using with your new flat-screen display, for example, flush mounted speakers, Surround Sound, DVD, Cable box, VCR, Cable card, or off air HDTV.
How close to the display is the electrical outlet? Check with your electrician to see if you can add a outlet if none are close enough for the length of the power cord supplied by the manufacturer. (If you add a longer power cord it MUST HAVE the same electrical current carrying specs.) Otherwise, you may have warranty problems.
Try to keep the display on the same electrical circuit as any equipment you are going to plug into the display unit. This helps prevent ground loop hums and vertical hum bars. Tools Needed:
Know the location you are going to hang the screen. IMPORTANT: For wood stud walls, know where the studs are in relation to the center of the display. Use a stud finder to mark where the studs are located and drill four holes into studs with a 3/16" drill bit, 2-1/2" deep. For concrete walls, drill 4 holes with a 1/2" masonry bit, 2-1/2" deep. Install anchors in the holes, flush with the wall, so that the hinged ends face out. You should mark out the mount on the wall or even hang it before you cut any holes for wires or outlets. (Use pencil because it can be covered by paint; markers and pens can bleed through the paint.) Anchor the mounting plate to the wall. Using a 7/16” wrench, attach the mounting plate to the wall with the supplied lag bolts and washers. Attach the mounting brackets. If the screws that came with your screen hold the bracket securely without twisting or pulling out, use them, otherwise use screws from those provided. Make sure that the hooks are on the top, and that the security screws are facing the side screen edges. Now hang the screen. Make sure that the display does not exceed the maximum load weight of the bracket (150 lbs.). Tighten the security screws. Installing a robotic arm mount allows you to remotely adjust the display to favor a particular side of the room or angle. They’re not that difficult to install. You can see a step by step procedure on how to install a remote control robotic arm mount at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiPR8eWW5wI.
Using an experienced installer for hanging your new flat screen display is always a smart idea. However, with the variety of mounts and detailed instructions being provided by the major mount manufacturers, “hanging-the flat-screen-yourself” is now a relatively easy procedure. The key to mounting success of your new flat screen, (and great viewing in any room), is careful planning and preparation. Al Abrams is a creative marketing and PR consultant to national retailers and manufacturers of consumer electronics products and home entertainment-based services. You can contact him at al@abrams-creative.com; phone: 818-343-6365. Here are some examples of mounts:
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No
matter what type of flat screen you buy, if you’re not going to use a
stand or specialized furniture as a base to hold your flat screen, like
this Bazio B004M50 TV table, 
….then
you’ll want to mount it on the wall. 
You
need to make sure you know where the wires attach to the display unit.
If you can cut the holes for the wires to come through the wall just
above the mount, then the chances of seeing the cables or having them
drape below the display are much less. Know how you want to hook up
these other pieces of equipment. 
If
you, or the electrician, are going to add an outlet, try installing a
“Clock” outlet. They have a single receptacle that is set back about an
inch. This will give you more room behind the display unit so you can
use the tilt feature of the mount. 
Installing
a flat screen over a fireplace involves special consideration of what
the wall is made of, what’s behind the wall, where the electric wiring
will be snaked and if there’s a mantle to deflect the rising heat of the
fireplace. It’s best in these cases to make the screen as flush as
possible. 
