Cheetah Mounts APTMSB Flat Screen TV Wall Mount Bracket for 32-55" Plasma LED LCD TV Includes Free 10' Braided High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet
by Cheetah Mounts LLC
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cheetah Mounts APTMSB Flat Screen TV Wall Mount Bracket for 32-55" Plasma LED LCD TV Includes Free 10' Braided High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet
Customer Review: A $20 mount...
Summary: 4 Stars
A couple years ago when I bought my first LCD TV, I purchased a $100 mount for it. That mount is a monster. This one is not.
The construction material is certainly sturdy enough. The bars are rugged and will support the size TV for which this is designed. However, the hardware, most notably the main lag screws, while large, are easily stripped.
I put this thing directly into studs and I am sure I could probably hang off this myself. There are a few problems with the kit itself.
1) The directions are pretty horrible.
"Step1: Assemble the Wall Plate
For this model, Part K Wall Plate needs to be assembled. Take the 4 metal wall plate pices and connect them together. You will then have a larger rectangle piece that closely resembles the part illustrated above"
This doesn't tell me HOW to connect them together. It doesn't detail which way certain parts should face, which way the bolts should face, etc. While it was fairly easy for me to figure out, I am also mechanically inclined. I prefer more straightforward directions.
2) The "adjustment" doesn't really work. This thing is so close to the wall that you can't adjust the tilt of it after the TV is up. Actually, once you've attached the arm brackets to the back of your TV, you can't adjust it much. The knobs they give you have such a long turning radius that you can't turn it a lot without having the knob pushing into the back of your TV or interfereing with the actual bracket groove. Therefore, you should really adjust the angle BEFORE you put it on the TV. This is problematic since you really don't KNOW what angle you want until the TV is up. You CAN, however, very easily adjust the left-right position of the TV on the wall once you have it up, so it doesn't need to be perfectly centered when you place it. Similarly, since the mount is so close to the wall, it's really difficult to lock in the bottom screws. You really need one person to hold the TV up while another screws in the locks.
3) This is a simply-designed mount. There isn't much confusion with putting this together, even with the lackluster instructions. It also sits very close to the wall, so it saves you a lot of space if you're worried about that.
You get what you pay for. For $20, this mount is pefectly functional, sturdy enough for the size TVs you're buying it for and is very compact. I managed to put it together and install my TV on it in under an hour. If you're looking for an inexpensive wall-mount solution with no bells and whistles, this is a good mount for the price.
Customer Review: Good Mount Did the Job
Summary: 3 Stars
Got one of the new Samsung LED TVs and this mount worked out fine. Just make sure that it fits. This mount is a little smaller than the last mount that I got. My last mount was also from Cheetah, but it was model APTMM2B. This mount was a few dollars cheaper so I went for it. It fits TVs where the holes in the back are up to 17" apart side to side and about 12" top to bottom. It turns out my display is what they call VESA 400x200mm which is about 16x8" so my TV just fit. I really don't think the weight is an issue as I think this mount could have held a lot more. But my last TV was a Panasonic and the holes on the back of that TV were further apart, maybe around 25" and so this mount would not have worked. I did not really pay that much attention to where the holes were before I bought so I guess I got lucky. The ad did say that most LCD or LED LCD TVs do follow the VESA standards like the TV I got so maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Panasonic was a plasma and not an LCD, cause the Panasonic is Not VESA standard. So anyway, you can save a little with this mount, just check the holes on your TV first.
Other stuff. The mount has a built in bubble level which was just a little off, but it did also include a nicer longer bubble level that was level. The longer level has magnets on one side and so when you are mounting the part that goes on the wall, you can just set the level on top of the top piece and it "sticks" there because of the magnets. The manual was decent and the mount came with a lot of screws that I ended up not using because my TV already had screws for a wall mount. It really is a shame that they have to include so many screws because my last 2 TVs both came with screws. I have ended up with 2 big bags of hardware that I will probably never really use for anything. But I guess some TVs don't come with screws so it is probably better overall if the big screw bags are there.
One other tip. Set the amount of tilt you want before you attach the TV to the wall. Once it is on the wall there really is not enough room for your hand to reach the tilt adjust. In my case I set it for a fair amount of tilt right off because that is what I need so I didn't really have to adjust it. That's it.
Customer Review: Best Wall Mount Bang For Your Buck
Summary: 5 Stars
A tilting wall mount under $30 is unheard of. But based on other reviews I've read, I saw no reason to doubt that this would do the job it was intended for.
The first thing I noticed is that the mount is totally modular. I don't know if that plays into part of the cost difference, but every other wall mount I've ever installed (three prior to this one) has been a one-piece design. This one requires you to actually assemble the main section of the mount from four pieces. The finished, assembled product is square, sturdy and true. Overall gauge of the metal used seems adequate. Packaged hardware could have been better. Instead of including two molly bolts, a better selection of spacers (or short screws) would have been nice as the included screws for my set were far too long. I can't understand the need to include the two molly bolts since they're designed for hollow wall installations -- an installation you would not want your 60 pound flat panel supported by in any way.
Aside from the minor hardware gripe, the pre-installed level bubble was split open and empty on my mount. Even if it were intact, I'd still have a hard time trusting it to be completely accurate. Invest some money in a good 2' AND 4' level as these are tools that every home owner, DIY-type should have around the house. And although the included plastic torpedo level is a nice gesture, I would again encourage the use of a good quality 2' level.
The finished, installed mount is very solid. The only problem I ran into was turning the tilt lock-downs with the mount on the wall. There isn't enough clearance to spin them in complete rotations to make them tight. This somewhat defeats the purpose of a tilting mount if you have to take it off the wall to adjust the tilt. I tried various degrees of tightness before mounting so that I could still adjust the angle while being able to crank the adjusters down tight with it on the wall. I had no luck whatsoever. Either it was too tight or too loose. I had to mark the position with a pencil and then tighten it off the wall.
Bottom line: despite some minor design gripes, this is still the best wall mount money can buy. I intend to buy another Cheetah mount for my 50" plasma.
Customer Review: Barely adequate.
Summary: 2 Stars
TV wall mounts can be expensive, so I decided to try this inexpensive Cheetah mount. I guess you get what you pay for in this case. This mount does the job... barely. For starters, the built-in bubble level was cracked, so there was no liquid in it at all. It comes with a cheap handheld level as well, but I just used my own. No big deal, but its indicative of the overall quality of the product. Next, the wall mount itself is only 19" wide. That means after you hit two 16" studs, you don't have a lot of options for centering the TV in the place you really want it. In my case, the studs are not positioned such that I can center the TV on the mount. Even after sliding the mount over on the wall as far as it will go and then sliding the TV most of the way to one side of the mount, it still isn't centered where I want it on the wall. I need a wider mount to really make my install perfect. Third, the brackets that attach to the TV hook onto the wall mount, but the bottom of the hook is secured only with screws whose bottom just grinds into the metal on the bottom of the mount. There's no screw taps or anything there. I've seen other mounts that have nice positive gripping for both the top and bottom of the hook. If you have kids that might hang on or bump the TV, it may slide along the mount. The screws are also hard to tighten when the TV is angled down far enough. Tilt adjustment is difficult. You pretty much need to take the TV off the mount to do it correctly. And finally, there's a fairly limited selection of cheap screws and washers to attach the TV to the hooks. There was actually no washer correctly sized to prevent the screw (going into the TV) from passing through the hole on the hook part of the mount. I had to use screws and washers I had sitting around from a more expensive mount. If you're not that lucky, you'll probably be going to the hardware store. Once its all said and done, I guess it holds my 32" LCD TV to the wall. But I'm concerned about whether it will stand up to my kids. If I had to do it again, I'd spend more on a better quality wall mount.Customer Review: Fantastic TV mount at an unbelievable price
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fantastic product at a great price. I was hesitant at first to buy this given how much lower in price this was compared to other mounts, but bought it given the Amazon reviews. I was not disappointed and would highly recommend this to others that want a fixed position mount. I used this on a 32" Samsung LCD.
Note- this mount only tilts up and down, not left to right, and once mounted is in a fixed position (i.e, you don't go the mount and swivel it or pull the TV out on an arm). I'm guessing this will work for most people's situations, but you should be aware of it.
Pros:
- Relatively easy installation - you put a bracket on the wall, and attach a bracket to the TV, then hang the TV bracket on the wall bracket and tighten. The tricky part can be getting the tilt right - see my note below.
- Great installation kit - unlike some other products, includes a variety of items in the hardware pack to accommodate multiple installation situations (mounting to various types of TVs, etc)
- Sturdy - I have no fear this well fall down, as long as you mount it to solid wood.
Installation tips:
The instructions work pretty well. A few random tips though:
- Get the tilt set before you try mounting it - just have a friend hold up the TV at various angles until you get it right, then try to approximate that with the mounting gear before you actually put it on the mount.
- Get all your wiring plugged in before you mount the TV. If you have a spare HDMI that you want to plug in for a future device, do it before you mount this - it's a lot easier than futzing with it once mounted or taking it on and off again. I mounted the TV then decided I wanted to move another device onto this TV and had to take it off the mount to plug in another HDMI cable. If I were to do it over again, I would just buy an extra cable (cheap off Amazon basics) and plug it in in case I added something (dvd player, Netflix box, etc.)