Finding Sturdy Plasma Wall Mounts to Hold Your Gargantuan TV Firmly in Place

While sticking a plasma TV on a stand is certainly an option, plasma wall mounts have become a far more popular alternative to the traditional TV on a stand/shelf routine. There are two major reasons for this. Firstly, plasma TV’s are much slimmer than older CRT models, making it an ideal space-saving venture to simply mount them to a wall and use stands or shelves for other items which can’t be mounted to walls.; Things like plants and books, though we aren’t putting it past anyone to create a plant wall mount in the future.

Secondly, plasma TV’s are generally quite large, unlike LCD models which can come in a variety of sizes. Because of the manufacturing process for plasma TV’s, companies are all but forced to make large models to turn a profit, which is why most plasma TV’s are in the 40 inch or more range. This makes them unsuitable for typical wall units, and causes them to dwarf most TV stands, which makes for an odd aesthetic quality.
Thus, the wall mount was born. Owing to the vast size and sheer weight of most plasma TV’s, plasma wall mounts are heavy duty affairs, and come in different models. There are fixed models with low wall clearance, meaning they’re about as close to the wall as they can possibly get for a seamless look, and then there are the tilting and fully adjustable models, which allow for at least a limited range of motion, perfect for variables such as avoiding natural light sources which can cause great glare on plasma screens.

A major consideration after you’ve purchased your wall mount is determining whether you wish to install it yourself or have it professionally installed. While there’s nothing overly complex about installing the wall mount and fastening the plasma TV to it, there are a number of niggling issues to consider. At the very least, if installing the TV yourself you’ll almost certainly need someone with you to help lift the TV, as most plasma TV’s are exceptionally heavy and large.

Another factor to consider beforehand is how you’ll set up the wiring. Will you run it through the wall behind where the TV will be hung to keep it out of sight, or allow the wires to hang down? If you do decide to hook the wiring up simply, you could effectively hide them by having some form of shelving just below the TV, which is usually a necessity in some form at any rate, for holding cable boxes, DVD players, etc.

Lastly, when looking for plasma wall mounts, be sure to take into consideration the VESA number(s), which are displayed either in inches or millimetres (and represent the spacing(s) available with that wall mount), and match these to the spacing of the mounting holes on your TV. The last thing you want to do is go to the trouble of purchasing and installing a wall mount, only to discover it isn’t compatible with your TV.