I'm a dinosaur who has never mounted a TV on the wall, but that's about to change with some remodeling that starts next week. But I have two questions for the board:

• Does it really matter what mount I buy if it is rated properly for my TV and has the range of motion that I want? Do they really differ much based on price?
• Any opinions on IR extenders so that I can hide my components in the closet? Do they work? Any recommendations? I'm not satisfied with the reviews I've found thus far.

Monoprice used to be the site for mounts. Not sure anymore. The post above is spot on.

NastyNate said:

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Doesn't matter what you buy if it's rated for the weight. The are all universal unless you have a really old tv. Even then, you should be fine. Don't buy it from the store or at least make sure you price match with Amazon. Stores like Best Buy almost always have those marked up like crazy. That's where their margin is. Sometimes you find a sale or get lucky though.

One thing to be careful of is where your ports are located on the back of your tv and if the mount you use will block some of them. No use in mounting a tv if it blocks your HDMI Port. Another headache is if the ports are facing backwards instead of down or to the side. Mostly an issue with older wall mounted TVs though. Before you drill into the wall and mount the plate, check the things above first. Also, and this probably goes without saying, always always always mount into the studs. No matter what the anchor looks like, don't do it!

In regards to an IR repeater, I haven't had much luck. It was about 4-5 years ago when I tried it out and admittedly I bought a cheap one and gave up quick. Certainly worth a shot but try them out before committing to building out cabinet storage.

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Great info! Thanks! What alternatives are there to an IR repeater? Keeping my components in the open isn't really a great option aesthetically.

NastyNate said:

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Another headache is if the ports are facing backwards instead of down or to the side. Mostly an issue with older wall mounted TVs though. Before you drill into the wall and mount the plate, check the things above first.

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If I understand what you are saying, adapters like these work great. I have my TV in my bedroom mounted on the wall and I use a Roku Stick. I had to buy an adapter like this to make it work:

https://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Veins-Cables-Degree-Adapters/dp/B014I5CXQQ/ref=asc_df_B014I5CXQQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=228860412633&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11534356061235214526&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026832&hvtargid=pla-381521766908&psc=1#ace-2342880709

Not really sure what other options there are to an IR repeater. I'd give it a shot and see if it works before trying something else. You never know. I tried a cheap one and wasn't all that invested in making something work. If you ran your cables through the wall they wouldn't be seen but you would still have your components below. Doesn't solve your problem but it helps. I used Echogear Cable hider kit In a couple locations and I like it. It's on amazon and at lowes. In my living room downstairs the builder ran 2 cat5e cables through the wall and ceiling and down to a corner location behind where the couches are. There is an adapter in each end that the cables plug in to and then a short hdmi from the adapter to the tv. A power outlet is also behind the tv. It's great for having absolutely no cables or boxes because it's above a fireplace but annoying as hell when I have to point the remote into a rear corner of the room and not directly at the tv. Hence the reason for trying an IR repeater so It wouldn't be so awkward when trying to change the channel. When it didn't work I said screw it and Haven't gotten around to trying anything else. If you have the ability to run something like that, you could try it but unless you are going over a really long distance, just spring for a long hdmi. The adapters can be a little touchy sometimes.

The other poster mentioned monoprice. That's where I have bought all my cables and accessories. Good quality and low prices.

I use those exact 90 degree angle adapters on my oldest tv that has the ports sticking straight out the back. They have always worked well but mine have always been a bit loose and not sure if they degrade the quality of the picture at all.

I had good with a Logitech IR remote running my components cabinet door closed. But get them to program it for you

jaborch99 said:

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NastyNate said:

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Doesn't matter what you buy if it's rated for the weight. The are all universal unless you have a really old tv. Even then, you should be fine. Don't buy it from the store or at least make sure you price match with Amazon. Stores like Best Buy almost always have those marked up like crazy. That's where their margin is. Sometimes you find a sale or get lucky though.

One thing to be careful of is where your ports are located on the back of your tv and if the mount you use will block some of them. No use in mounting a tv if it blocks your HDMI Port. Another headache is if the ports are facing backwards instead of down or to the side. Mostly an issue with older wall mounted TVs though. Before you drill into the wall and mount the plate, check the things above first. Also, and this probably goes without saying, always always always mount into the studs. No matter what the anchor looks like, don't do it!

In regards to an IR repeater, I haven't had much luck. It was about 4-5 years ago when I tried it out and admittedly I bought a cheap one and gave up quick. Certainly worth a shot but try them out before committing to building out cabinet storage.

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Great info! Thanks! What alternatives are there to an IR repeater? Keeping my components in the open isn't really a great option aesthetically.

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The higher end logitech harmony hub based remotes have a hub you can put in the closet or cabinet and an it blaster on the remote itself to control the tv. They're kind of expensive but they work well in my experience.

I recently did my first wall mount for our bedroom tv. I used 3m strips hide the directv receiver behind the tv.

Cramp00 said:

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I recently did my first wall mount for our bedroom tv. I used 3m strips hide the directv receiver behind the tv.

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This. Each of my wall mounted TV's have DirecTV and a Roku and they are both RF, so I had no need for a IR Repeater. I just stuck the boxes behind the TV so they would disappear. Works great.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Monoprice used to be the site for mounts. Not sure anymore. The post above is spot on.

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Monoprice has gone to **** after they got bought out by a Taiwan company. No customer service any more. Charge credit card for products that never arrive. Used to be my go to place for everything electronics but not anymore.

ive had good luck with the TV mounts from Harbor Freight

As far as IR repeaters go, I've been using this one for a little over two years and it's worked great.

BAFX Products (Infrared) IR Remote Control Extender or IR Repeater Kit - Control 1 to 8 Devices (Expandable to 12!) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZGK6QS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YO-vFbRBRQSK9

I have the "receiver" node attached to the bottom center of my tv, and then the cord runs back to my media closet via some smurf tubing, where the other nodes are attached to my receiver and Blu-Ray player. A lot of devices like Apple TV and the last Suddenlink cable box I had are moving towards Bluetooth remotes, so they don't need the IR repeaters to work through cabinets/walls.