Lots of Sweating Before Getting Mounted

All right, head out of the gutters!!

I’m referring to doing too much running around Saturday and surfing on the Internet before finally finding out what equipment was most appropriate to mount my new 42″ LCD TV. The manufacturer kept referring to a VESA-approved 400 x 600 plate. So with the four nodes that were sticking out the back of the TV, I thought it would be a plate that it would be attached to, perhaps similar to the “X-shaped” plates that I have seen.

Then I was checking out the prices which ranged anywhere from $99.00 to $400.00 just to mount the TV on the wall. I was not about to fork over as much as one-third of the TV’s cost just to mount the TV to the wall. I thought what would be best would be to check out the same model at Best Buy to see how it was mounted. Mind you, I bought the TV at a Best Buy further away than the one in town, because the one in town was out of that model until Friday. Checking online, I saw that they had models available at a Best Buy about 15 miles away. Checking the model at Best Buy in town, I came to the wall of TV’s only to my regret to see that my model was on its own stand on the floor. That gave me a “red flag” thinking that some high-priced mount was needed. I explained to the salesman that the mounts I see being sold don’t fit my models because the “nodes” on the back of the TV are too close to the screw holes (egads) to allow the bracket to be attached. And the nodes seemed immovable. At home I tried to unscrew them with my bare hands thinking they may be screwed in. They wouldn’t budge. Well, the salesman showed me “his holes” on the nodes that were of a star pattern and could be removed with an allen wrench. WHEW!!!!

Yes, that means I can keep the $99.00 mount I found at “Wal-Fart.”

So last night I spent my evening attaching the brackets to the rear of the TV. I also had the pedestal attached Friday so that I could use the TV the last few days to see if I was satisfied with the reception to keep the TV.

This afternoon I finally got the TV mounted. It looks good above the fireplace, but now I can’t watch TV from “my” chair at the dining room table. I’ll have to sit at the other end, or eat in the living room for all meals.

The TV was mounted at a decent height which still allows the mantle of the fireplace to be decorated. Final placement of cords yet to be determined. I hope to have a picture or two up of the TV when the sun is up again.

Those of you who have Comcast HD service, I will soon have a few questions regarding recording and viewing VHS tapes and DVD’s.