Sanus Systems Vmpl50A-B1 32-Inch to 85-Inch Visionmount Tilt Mount

Bottom line, this is an EXCELLENT, adjustable TV mount product with high quality manufacturing. I was impressed by its capability, workmanship and it earned a solid five stars.TV Buyers Beware!!! If you're in the market for a giant TV beware of this problem: Regardless of manufacturer, the mount adjustment wrench length has not kept up with the width of giant TVs! This bummer factor means you can't make adjustments once the TV is mounted on the wall because the wrench doesn't have the required length to reach the adjustment screws deep behind the TV!Here's my review based on my installation: For wall mounted TVs, you got to have the right mount and this is one of the best. I used this mount for a SHARP 70-inch Aquos TV which weights in at 100 lbs. The reason for the gigantic TV size was to cover the old CRT TV hole above the fireplace. Actually, the old TV cavity above the fireplace was a godsend for two reasons. One, I was able to create my own 2x4 frame to the house structure inside the cavity then bolt the base of the TV mount to the 2x4s. No question about holding power of the mount. Second, since the TV cavity had a rear access panel, I was able to reach behind the TV once mounted and secure the mount tilt adjustment which would not have been possible otherwise. The adjustment wrench supplied was too short to reach the adjustment screws! This would be a serious bummer for a mount on a solid wall. Back to the installation, with the help of another person, we picked the TV up and placed it on wall mount and heard/felt the solid click of the TV mount bracket locking with the wall mount. No question the mount had the TV. The adjustment of the mount was fantastic. Under direction of wife, I was able to slide the TV left or right until it was exactly centered horizontally in her mind. Then I was able to give it a slight tilt downward. This would have been an easy step if the wrench had enough length. Like it was, I had to use my helper to hold the TV tilt in place while I went around to the back and tighten the tilt adjustment by reaching through the old TV cavity. We are very happy with our mount choice and installation experience.

Well, I purchased a slightly different sanus mount at Target for $120 and then came home and found a better model on here for half the price. It was the same mount except it was made to hold up to 60-inch flatscreens max and had a fabric pull hooked to the release clip for releasing the tv from the mount and this one just has a clip without something dangling at the bottom for my little ones to pull. Needless to say, I returned it and ordered the mount from Amazon. If these big box retail stores continue to overcharge then they can serve as my showroom from now on and then I will purchase from Amazon. Seriously, this is a great sturdy mount for my 50-inch Panasonic Viera and it was very easy to install. Thanks Amazon for saving me money.

The Good: The product itself is sturdy. The packaging is much smaller than I expected which is great. Its solid and doesn't have the flimsy bendable aluminum feel of other mounts I have had and seen first hand. The instructions are very simple. The phone support has an actual human being on the line that picks up after only one or two forwards which gets a star for that alone! The design is open so you can run cables into the wall through a variety of locations.The Bad: The compatibility is not up to date. The website shows this mount compatible with many TV's that it does not work with. Namely mine. I contacted them and a rep told me that they were aware of this but didn't tell me whether they were going to change or resolve the issue. The problem was that the mount has flat vertical mounts. If your TV has the VESA mounts drilled recessed, chances are it won't fit well. The SANUS mount ships with very long screws, and very short screws. Nothing in the middle which is just where my TV fit. My television is a Samsung UN55D8000 which is a pretty popular TV. The mount comes with spacers but the spacers don't fit correctly. When I spoke to rep he said he was aware of this, he said he could ship me some screws but recommended I go to a hardware store to get some myself.The Ugly: I went to Lowe's to pick up the right size screws, they had to be bolts because they were the only kind that had the right measurements and thread. This Mickey Mouse workaround was unpleasant and should have been avoided by including those screws and spacers in the product or not listing it as compatible. The mount is very thin which is great BUT because it is so thin and because the screws are recessed the TV fits VERY close to the wall. This would normally be awesome if it weren't for the angle tightening screw that sits right in a difficult spot. We had to jury rig a PVC pipe with a gap in the edge using a skill saw so we can reach between the wall and the TV to tighten it. Tightening the angle off the mount just wouldn't make sense.The Summary: The mount is well built. It is sturdy and wide enough to be mounted it on two studs. It has plenty of gaps and holes for both cables and screws. Be sure to do a practice mount before you get started to find out if it will even be possible. The compatibility list is unreliable so be careful. The mount comes with a long allen wrench used for horizontal balancing. It would have been great if this could also be used for tightening! Shipping and availability from Amazon was off by a week with standard shipping so expect the worst. This was very surprising considering I have received MUCH larger products from Amazon even BEFORE the expected date. I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a one time problem. Customer support is pretty great and seem willing to do whatever they can but they are really at the whim of whomever decides what gets shipped with these things.The device itself is good and once mounted stays where it is. Well worth the Amazon price but I wouldn't pay the $150+ Best Buy is asking for this exact mount. Definitely worth the shipping hassle had I expected them to miss the date.------BELOW IS THE EXPERIENCE I HAD WITH STANDARD SHIPPING. IT WAS POSTED BEFORE I RECEIVED THE PRODUCT----------Its really difficult to find a good referral for a wall mount. Most websites that "review" them also sell them so bias is possible. After extensive research I decided up this one which was also carried by Best Buy. That worries me because like the Rocketfish garbage they carry, I didn't recognize the name and worried it might be crap.I ordered it last week (the first week of December 2011) and it was in stock at the time. Everything else I ordered around the same time (even after it) has already shipped. In fact, most of the items have arrived. Because the other items I ordered were shipped and sold by Amazon like this wall mount I decided to schedule a handyman to come help me install it. Fishing cables on an outside wall is not one of my strengths.Well I've been stopping by daily to check and this item still shows "shipping soon" but it shows out of stock. Does anyone know if this means it is being processed or did they miscalculate their stock amount and are waiting for extra stock to ship mine?The sooner I cancel the handyman reservation the better. (Of course I will adjust my score on the quality of the mount once, or if, I ever get it.)Update: Well on the 6th I received an e-mail that the item had shipped with a UPS tracking number.(Sumner WA Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit - December 6, 2011 5:23:32 PM) UPS is pretty reliable when it comes to both their shipments and their tracking. So I head to their website and it doesn't report the same information. Yesterday it changed to, "A UPS shipping label has been created. Once the shipment arrives at our facility, the tracking status--including the scheduled delivery date--will be updated." That differs from what Amazon is reporting. Today it has not been updated but according to Amazon the delivery estimate is for today Thursday December 8, 2011. I really hope it hits the right mark so I can wall mount my TV tomorrow as planned.