Sanus Premium Heavy Duty Tilting Wall Mount VMPL3-B1

For years I have admired the look of wall mounted flat screens. A remodeled basement presented the option of setting the new TV on an entertainment stand like I’ve always done or pulling the trigger on a wall mount. The wall mount won out in no small part due to the fact I could now position a center channel speaker directly under the TV. That was another first.

This became a DIY project because I couldn’t justify several hundred dollars in labor for a couple of young fellows attaching something to the wall. I started by doing a lot of research on wall mounts and concluded that prices and product quality are all over the map. For me the Sanus VMPL3 emerged as the top choice because of so many favorable reviews and the obvious benefit of a hefty, well-engineered product. It looks like it will last decades and with all the included hardware will likely work with any TV I might buy later on. Amazon’s price is the best I found anywhere.

Installers who do this every day probably consider it a piece of cake. But this was my first attempt and I was a bit nervous, not wanting to make a dumb mistake. It helps to have some basic experience with things like making accurate measurements, using a level and drilling clean holes. But it’s not rocket science. The most challenging part for me was figuring out where to drill holes on the wall to achieve the height I needed for the TV. To get an idea of where those holes ought to be I installed the brackets on the back of the TV. Then, holding the wall mount with my hands I slid in the TV brackets to simulate how the set would hang on the wall. Then I measured the distance from the wall mount top holes to the bottom edge of the TV. I came up with 15 inches (Your number might be different because of differences in TV sets). After that, all I had to do was decide how high off the floor I wanted the bottom of the TV. For me it was 33 inches. I added the additional 15 inches for the wall bracket and knew to drill my holes 48 inches off the floor.

After doing all that I happened to visit the Sanus web site (This was really a case of Ready, Fire, Aim! Shame on me.) Wouldn’t you know they have a height calculator that lets you input the style of Sanus mount you’re using plus make and model of your TV plus how high you want your screen to be … and it gives you the top and bottom hole locations for your wall mount. The numbers it gave were an exact match for all the measuring I did manually. I think that’s a nice service the folks at Sanus provide and their database of TV sets is massive.

It’s at least a two person job moving the TV into position and getting the “claws” of the TV brackets to grab into the channel of the wall mount. I thought it might take some trial and error to get it right but it was easy and fast. At that moment the mount was handling all the weight. To get the TV centered it needed to be moved to the left a couple inches. No problem at all just pulling it to the left and the claws moved smoothly inside the channel.

There is a safety bolt on the two TV brackets that you tighten with a hex wrench. This firms up the fit and keeps the bracket solidly attached to the wall mount. I had a tough time reaching back behind the TV set to get to this bolt with the included hex wrench. Really needed a couple more inches of reach. So I used my own slightly longer hex wrench. It gave me the extra reach I needed and was able to tighten these bolts down just fine.

All in all it turned out to be a straightforward project with no nasty surprises. I am completely satisfied with the quality and price of the Sanus mount. Maybe it’s just me, but I get added satisfaction seeing my new 55 inch Sony floating on the wall and knowing it was a DIY job.

I hope you found this review helpful.

I was looking for a wide mount to mount my 65 inch Samsung Smart TV. My house has 16″ OC studs, and the issue I ran into while doing this with a regular mount was that there is a stud centered behind the TV in the wall where I had to mount the screen. Thus, I needed a wall plate that would span three 16″ studs – not many out there fitting the requirement. I have used Sanus mounts for other TVs in the house, and have always been pleased with the build quality. This was no exception; if anything, this is the Sanus mount of Sanus mounts! The mount itself weights about 30lbs, and is rated to hold 280 lbs once secured to wall studs. Both the wall plate and the TV brackets are expandable, and the construction is all heavy gauge, coated metal. It is a bit more expensive compared to other mounts, but you do get two types of TV brackets in the package – tilting brackets and a slimmer fixed mount. All other hardware you would require is also included. I have secured my wall plate using 6 lag bolts onto 3 studs, and I could not have asked for a more secure way to mount my TV to the wall. Through the expansion feature of the wall plate, you can guarantee you can center your plate behind your TV wherever you wish to mount it, and not have to have an off-center mount on which you slide your TV here and there to get the perfect position ending up with unequal weight distribution.

Quick note on the included M8 screws for securing the brackets to the screen – I have a Samsung UN65H6300 which requires M8 screws at the back, and uses adapters supplied by Samsung to secure brackets. Sanus supplies two lengths of this screw – and one is too short and the other is too long. The included spacers don’t help either. I had to get a length in between these two for my TV from the local Lowes store. In case you have this particular model of TV, that’s good to keep in mind.

We purchased an 85” television. When we purchased the television we purchased a mount at the store. It was a full motion and had good reviews. After installing it we were terrified the TV would fall, so my husband immediately went to Amazon and found this TV mount. I was worried because it was a limited motion wall mount and I always purchased full motion mounts. When the amount arrived I was pleasantly surprised by the sturdiness of it. What I liked the most was that you have the option to lock it into two or three studs. Once you have the base plate on the wall you can then easily attach the television and it then has the ability to move left or right for centering. Once it is locked in place and there is no fear of it moving or falling. I highly recommend that you hook all of your cords up in advance because it is extremely difficult to do so after. There is very little room for your hands once the TV is attached to the wall plate. This TV mount did exactly what we needed it to do it’s perfect for a larger television where you want stability and where you want to ensure the sturdiness for the TV. I have no fear of the mount bowing or giving out like the one I originally purchased. Buying this in the first place would’ve save me two days of frustration. Easy install, high quality and I have had my TV mounted on it for over a month now.

arrived earlier than expected and holds the weight of a large plasma very well. Excellent build quality. Very happy i went with Sanus!