Should I wall mount my TV?

This article outlines some considerations for wall mounting your TV and highlights the TOP 5 BENEFITS to wall mounting.

There has been much debate over the benefits of wall mounting your TV vs. setting it up on a cabinet or stand.  While there are many benefits to mounting your flat screen TV (of which I’ve outlined my top 5 reasons here), there are some things to consider before you decide for sure.



TOP 5 BENEFITS of wall mounting your TV.

1.    Looks stylish and sleek
Let’s face it, flat screen TV’s are designed for mounting.  Nicely mounted in the optimal position in your lounge room (or bedroom, entertainment area, sports bar etc) with the wiring concealed creates and ultra clean and stylish look for your room.  Most mounts are slim and place your TV between 2 and 8 cm from the wall which looks very sleek. Using modern technology or smart TV functionality, you can also turn your TV into an awesome wall display with family photos or slideshows when no one is watching TV.  Very cool!

2.    Save Space
Regardless of whether you are considering wall mounting for a TV in your lounge room, bedroom or another area of the house, there is no doubt that wall mounting is a space saver.  By mounting the TV on the wall you remove the need to have bulky cabinets or furniture to support the TV.  In addition, the variety of mounts available make mounting really flexible – for example in a bedroom you can get a corner mount to have the TV in the top corner of the room and avoid using up any valuable bedroom space.  Or a swivel mount that allows for a TV to be viewed from a family room or a kitchen depending on where you want to watch from. 

3.    Safety
As we’ve already said, flat screen TV’s are designed to be mounted.  They are built with holes in the rear of the TV where bolts are fitted to attach to the mounts, which are sturdy and designed to bear a particular weight (very important to ensure you have the right mount for the size & weight of your TV).  Correctly mounted, the TV is firmly affixed to the wall and will not come loose or fall even if pulled or bumped.  Conversely a TV (particularly a larger size TV) that is sitting atop a cabinet, is not secured and risks falling or moving.  Very dangerous in a home with small kids in particular, but a risk regardless – accidents happen!

4.    Optimal viewing angle
There are 2 main considerations when deciding on the height that your TV should be mounted.  The height of the TV should be optimised to ensure that;
       1.    There is little risk of incurring neck or eye strain when watching the TV.
       2.    The viewer obtains the full advantages of high definition viewing.
With the variety of mounts available, achieving the optimal viewing angle is much easier than being forced to have your TV on a pre-built cabinet or stand at a static height.  There are many factors involved in knowing and achieving the optimal viewing height, you can refer to our article How high should I mount my TV? for further information.

5.    Cost effective
Despite how amazing a wall mounted TV looks, it’s not that expensive to achieve.  There are a variety of mount styles and suppliers out there, so you can shop around or ask your installer (AKA AV Made Easy) to provide a suitable and cost effective mount.  Price of installation may vary depending on the size of the TV and environment for mounting, but you might be surprised to find that it's not crazy expensive to do.  Comparing the cost to wall mount, to the cost of TV cabinet or built in shelving and I’m sure you’ll agree that mounting is a cost effective option.

 So, we’ve established that wall mounting a TV has benefits, but…

Should I wall mount my TV?

Some of the things that you should think about before you wall mount include;

• Do you own the home or do you need to seek approval from a landlord before drilling mount holes in the wall?
• Are you planning to move anytime soon?
• Are you likely to rearrange your lounge room furniture often?
• Is your TV mountable (Flat panels are designed for wall mounting so most new TV’s will mount to perfection)?
• Optimal TV height needs to be considered (you should not need to lift your head too much to watch your TV).  Do you have a free wall space that will allow for mounting at optimal height?
• Is there adequate wall cavity to run “concealed” cables behind the wall (should be of particular consideration if mounting above a fireplace)?
• How many devices do you intend to set up with the TV?  You will need to consider the location of devices (e.g. low rise cabinet or device cabinet with receiver set up).

If you have considered all of the above and agree that wall mounting your TV is the way to go… Give us a call to arrange a quote for your TV mount job.  Alternatively if you have decided that wall mounting is not the way to go at this time, then we’d be happy to set up your TV on a cabinet, stand, bench or other location. 

Either way happy viewing!


Geoff

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