Selecting an appropriate television wall mount or TV mounting brackets is not easy. Awareness of a few items is needed when choosing LCD wall brackets or a plasma TV mount.

If the appropriate TV mounting brackets, such as LCD TV wall mounts or a plasma TV mount, arrived as part of the original television purchase, then the first half of the work is done. However, most flat panel televisions are delivered with a base for positioning the television on a flat surface and not with any TV mounting brackets. If this is the case, or if the decision to wall mount the television was made after the original purchase, then there is some work to do to ensure that the television is supported properly and can be positioned appropriately for viewing.

There are at least three critical attributes that must be known about the TV to assist in the search for the proper television wall mount or even an LCD ceiling mount.

• Brand of television and model number
• Generic size of the television, as well as the actual width, height and depth
• The weight of the television that must be supported

Armed with this information, the owner of the television is ready to begin the search. This may be done at an appliance store where the brand of television is sold, or may be done via the internet. Some owners prefer to search online prior to purchase even if buying from a local store is intended.

There will be some additional options that should be considered prior to beginning the search for the television wall mount or TV mounting brackets.

• Is it a “fixed” installation of the plasma - LCD mounting or the plasma - LCD ceiling mount
• If not fixed, then how much movement is required up and down and side to side
• Is rotation needed left and right
• Is rotation needed forward and back
• How much movement is required away from the wall or ceiling

Now that the appropriate flat screen wall mount (or ceiling mount) has been selected, it is time to move on to the installation. There are a wide variety of mounts or brackets based on the type of TV, as well as the size. How the mount or bracket is required to function will also contribute to the how much the designs vary. For instance, there may be an LCD ceiling mount, a plasma TV mount for the wall or even a generic LCD TV wall bracket to add to the variety. Due to this variety there cannot be explicit installation instructions for all of the possible configurations of television wall mounts. However, there are a few general pointers:

• A stud finder will be required to locate the wall studs (or ceiling joists for a plasma or LCD ceiling mount)
• Studs are located on 16 inch centers, meaning the centerline of each stud should be 16 inches apart. Ceiling joists should be on 24 inch centers
• A drill and set of drill bits (the size of the drill bit is dependent upon the size of lag bolts and machine screws that should be supplied with the mound / bracket)
• A Phillips screwdriver as well as a standard blade screwdriver
• Pliers and an electrical kit to run wire and connect for the antennae or cable lead

That sums up the process for selecting, acquiring and installing a flat screen wall mount. So, collect the data for your TV (outlined, above) and start researching to see what is available. Shop online for the best available products. Then, select your television wall mount and get going!