UK Best Price & Read Reviews on Discount Homeware & Furniture for Sale

I ordered this with my new 40″ 6-series Samsung LED TV, both through Amazon, and I have to say I am very pleased with the end result! I wasn’t prepared to pay the premium for the official product so would like to tell you about my experience.

Like everyone who has taken the plunge and mounted a TV onto the wall themselves, I was a bit nervous for a number of reasons. These are the questions I repeated over and over to myself, and the answers I finally came up with:

Q: Will the bracket be strong enough?
A: The build quality is excellent and I tugged and pulled as much as possible to test the strength and couldn’t see it would give any time soon (hopefully). The TV only weighs 12kgs which isn’t actually much at all. The official product is pretty much the same just of a higher quality finish which in my opinion doesn’t matter because you don’t even see it. The plastic elements, being the weak points I guess, are thick and sturdy. I’m sure most failings would be covered in the next question…

Q: Would the wall be strong enough?
A: My house is a new build with block (thermalight with a hollow centre) and brick construction, and plasterboard on dabs. A lot of new builds are timber frame (especially apartments) so you have to make sure you fix to the timber studs themselves and not just the plasterboard (i’d buy 4″ woodscrews though). If you look at the official product video though ([...]) apparently you can hang the TV on plasterboard directly (if you use toggle fittings, which are NOT supplied). I personally wouldn’t risk it though even with the correct fittings.

The bracket comes supplied with fittings for use directly into brick or block, as is typical with older houses. If you’re not sure what your walls are made of, drill a small hole somewhere inconspicuous! As my walls are plasterboard on dabs (i.e. plasterboard fixed back to the block with adhesive, leaving a 10-20mm gap), I had to buy a couple of special fittings called ‘RigiFix’ anchors which only cost about £1 each delivered on eBay. The M6 versions are more than large enough, and can hold upto 105kgs each! The rawl plugs are about 100mm long and designed to bridge the gap between the plasterboard and block which otherwise would fail from weight of the tv. Definitely recommended although I had to enlarge the hole slightly to fit the screws supplied with the rigifix, but this wasn’t an issue. After installing the rigifix, I fixed the circular brackets to the wall (a bit wonky, but didn’t matter) and hung as much weight off them as I could – didn’t move a bit!

Fitting the other components to the TV itself was straightforward and the supplied screws fit exactly (apparently they are too short or long for some Sumsungs). Note that the rubber bits are supposed to face the wall, not the TV). Then it was a case of hanging the TV onto the wall brackets, bit of levelling (you can move probably +/- 5mm by hand) and job done!

Q: What about those ugly cables?
A: I was initially going to buy plastic trunking and paint it to blend into the wall. But, after having seen photos of professional installations with the wires hidden in/behind the wall, I decided to drill two 45mm diameter holes into my new wall (1 behind the TV, one as low as possible behind the TV unit) and route the cables through the gap between the block and the plasterboard. I’m so glad I did this as the TV looks stunning with no visible cables, but it was only easy for me due to the wall construction. This would be just as easy with timber frame, but gets more complicated with a solid construction wall. I did have to check that the ‘drop’ was free of adhesive (by knocking and listening for solid / hollow sounds), and after that I used a piece of string with a large bolt tied to it to pull the cables up through the wall. Very high tech.

Q: What about when it’s on the wall?
A: The design allows the TV to be levelled by probably +/-5mm in case, like me, the bracket wasn’t perfectly level. One of the bottom brackets has a metal arm (which should be installed so it pulls downwards, not upwards) which allows the TV to be angled off the wall temporarily to access inputs etc.

Final thought:
TV looks like a picture on the wall… Get a fireplace DVD and everyone loves it! I don’t usually write reviews but I was so pleased with this product and the end result I though I’d give it a go. Obviously all the bracket does is fix it to the wall so I can’t comment on the actual TV, DIY skills, or long term performance (it’s only been hanging for 48hrs or so). It does it’s job well and yes I still worry it will fall off one day, but I don’t worry all the time either. As long as you use the correct fixings and test things as you go along it’ll all be worth it I promise.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comments (12)

After having seen the price of Samsung’s own wall bracket system (c.£150) I thought I would give this generic version a go.

It does the job well and hangs the TV virtually flush to the wall. It even includes the ‘prop’ at the back that the Samsung version has, which enables easy access to cables without having to lift the TV off the wall.

The cost saving measures are fairly obvious to see with a lesser finish on this version versus the Samsung original but given that the price is roughly one third I was happy to accept the compromise. The bracket is almost totally obscured from view (which is what you want) so the fact that the chrome is not as well polished as the original is neither here nor there.

In conclusion, a good cost effective alternative to the very overpriced original from Samsung (and a whole lot safer than trying to hang your TV from picture wire!)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comment (1)

It does what it says on the box, easiest way to hang your TV on the wall. 2 holes, 2 bolts, 2 screws and voila!. My only worry was the strength of the metal wire that is used to hang the TV on the disc-shape hooks, not being able to see how the wire is attached around the elements that you screw to the TV, but after one month now it still holds. I don’t think any other system get your TV that close to the wall. After getting the cables properly pinned and disguised in plastic pipe it looks like a large painting.

Edit 08/08/2011:
OOPS, as much as I enjoyed the product, the TV unfortunately FELL OFF suddenly yesterday evening, after 1 months of being there. The steel cable on which the TV is hanged broke out of the socket in the plastic part that is screwed to the TV. Apparently, contrary to what i believed, the cable doesn’t go around the screw, but is just smelted into the plastic from one side (big mistake). 40″ Samsung LED TV (12kg weight) miraculously SURVIVED the fall (around 2ft/50cm drop) and still works (!), but I will buy now a proper, 4 point frame, mount. BEWARE!

Can supply pictures if needed.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

|

 Comment