Arm to hold TV in alcove and pipes to run cables?

[GeX]

Hi. I'm having some shelves / cupboards built into the alcoves in the lounge. Currently the TV is on a glass/metal unit but will end up being on top of the cupboard in the alcove. Rather than have it a silly angle hanging off the edge of the cupboard top I want an arm for it to mount.

It'll need to be something that'll pull out and be hinged at both ends. This isn't something I've looked at before - so not sure what to look out for or avoid. Any pointers?

For the shelves on the other side, I want to run wires up for some speakers / lights. There will be a gap between the back of the shelves and the wall as skirting board prevents it being flush. My plan was to run plastic pipes down that gap from each shelf to the cupboard at the bottom. Is this a good idea, or is there a better way of doing this - or any actual products rather than plastic pipes?

 

[lucid]

Mini trunking or D-Line curved profile minitrunking is normally the thing.

Avoid running power leads and speaker cables/AV leads in the same trunking. There's a good chance they'll pick up mains interference. The general rule of thumb is to separate mains cables from the other lead/cables by about 9 inches.


For your bracket, you're looking at a cantilever design A.K.A. full motion bracket. Most of the budget Chinese/Malaysian made ones work on the same principle. For heavier TVs you have a diamond leg/arm system. There's a fixed point at the wall bracket and the TV bracket, then two flexible elbow joints to carry the weight and provide a range of motion. You can see this quite easily in something like the Flexson Cantilever Mount.

As with all things, you get what you pay for. What I've found in both specifying/supplying for customers and in fitting units they bought is that they all look pretty good in the adverts and in the box. What separates the men from the boys though is sag.

When the bracket is installed and the TV hung from it, any play in the bearing surfaces will be seen in a lopsided TV. If the bracket isn't designed well then that lopsidedness can switch from running uphill with the TV Flat againstst the wall and be the opposite once it is extended. At the very least, make sure you buy a bracket that has some ability to adjust the skew of the TV so you can get it parallel with the floor when parked home.

Flexson and Peerless brackets are very good, but you pay for the engineering. The rest of the mass market stuff is a bit of a bun fight. Too many brands chopping and changing availability to give any worthwhile recommendations.

 

[GeX]

Thanks for the excellent advice again @lucid (I took your advice wrt ceiling speakers and fitted BCP65-SS in my bathroom, sounds great!)

Flexson and Peerless brackets are very good, but you pay for the engineering. The rest of the mass market stuff is a bit of a bun fight. Too many brands chopping and changing availability to give any worthwhile recommendations.

I was looking at the Flexson FLXPBCM1021 online, but can see it has mounts for fitting a Sonos sound bar. I don't have one, and don't plan to get a Sonos sound bar. Have you used this mount, I'm assuming that the sound bar mount can be removed. Is it likely that mount can be used for other sound bars? I'm not really sure on how they mount, is there a standard like the VESA mounts?

The Peerless SLWS251 looks much less substantial, despite having less metal - would you say it is as stable?

I went to my local RicherSounds to have a look at what they have out on display. They only had a Sanus BMF220-B1. Whilst cheaper than the Flexson and Peerless mounts, it still isn't something I'd call cheap. Have you had any experience with these mounts?

I'm leaning toward the FLXPBCM1021 as it looks like it'd be the most stable, but am unsure about the sound bar side of things.

 

[lucid]

There are bracket designs with and without additional support for a soundbar. I think you really have to settle on the combo of TV and soundbar first, then go bracket shopping.

I've used a fair few Peerless projector mounts, and honestly, nothing else came close to the design and the quality. I'd have equal faith in the TV brackets. The fact that they're strong and stable despite looking slender is, to me at least, one of the key attractions.

I haven't used the Sanus brackets to the best of my recall. I did have a customer buy one of the last big Pana plasmas (TX-P65VT65) and a "£250" bracket from Richers. Can't recall what that was, but it sagged like a sad 'un. I remember at the time I'd recommended something along the lines of the Mountech Motion Maxi, but they were far more expensive (£300 IIRC) but a sheer delight to use. True finger tip lightness to move and absolutely rock solid and level.

 

[GeX]

There are bracket designs with and without additional support for a soundbar. I think you really have to settle on the combo of TV and soundbar first, then go bracket shopping.

I'm not able to do that unfortunately. I need to buy the bracket within the next week or so as we are having bespoke alcove cupboards constructed and updating our TV (an oldish 40" Samsung LCD) is not on the agenda at this stage! All I can do is aim to get one that'll cover up the size I screen I might eventually put on it - and have scope for hanging a soundbar

I've used a fair few Peerless projector mounts, and honestly, nothing else came close to the design and the quality. I'd have equal faith in the TV brackets. The fact that they're strong and stable despite looking slender is, to me at least, one of the key attractions.

Understood, I'll keep them on the list!

I haven't used the Sanus brackets to the best of my recall. I did have a customer buy one of the last big Pana plasmas (TX-P65VT65) and a "£250" bracket from Richers. Can't recall what that was, but it sagged like a sad 'un. I remember at the time I'd recommended something along the lines of the Mountech Motion Maxi, but they were far more expensive (£300 IIRC) but a sheer delight to use. True finger tip lightness to move and absolutely rock solid and level.

The one in the shop didn't seem to move as smoothly as I'd like, looks like I'll stay away from Sanus. The Mountech Motion Maxi looks to be around £200 online at the moment, though I can't see a way of attaching a soundbar / kit to add one.

 

[monkey_boy]

I used this to mount an old 40in lcd in the kids’ playroom. The old lcd easily weighs more than a modern 55in so I have no worries that it will manage when the tv is changed. There’s no sag and it moves around nicely too. I used D Line trunking to hide the cables and used command strips to stick an extension lead to the back of the TV. There’s also an appleTV mounted to the back of the TV. I’m pleased with it for something where the wires aren’t plastered in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AYBLPNA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ig6VBbV8BTXEB

 

[Buffman]

I used this to mount an old 40in lcd in the kids’ playroom. The old lcd easily weighs more than a modern 55in so I have no worries that it will manage when the tv is changed. There’s no sag and it moves around nicely too. I used D Line trunking to hide the cables and used command strips to stick an extension lead to the back of the TV. There’s also an appleTV mounted to the back of the TV. I’m pleased with it for something where the wires aren’t plastered in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AYBLPNA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ig6VBbV8BTXEB

I've got one of these and a smaller one from same brand in the kitchen. Please with both and very robust.