Mounting Dream TV Wall Mount, UL Listed Full Motion Mount Bracket for 42-84 Inch Flat Screen TVs, Swivel Articulating Dual Arms, Max VESA 600x400mm, 100 LBS Loading, Fits 16 Inches Wood Studs, MD2296

I found this unit on Amazon and ordered it for a new Samsung 55″ Curved 7200 UHD 4K TV from Costco (you can find the same unit on Amazon as a 7250 UHD 4K – Costco just asks Samsung for a different model number to avoid hassles with price matching).The MD2296 is an excellent articulated arm/mount, with a back wide enough for direct wall mounting if the studs are on 12″ or 16″ centers, mine were 16″ so very simple. 24″ centers would have required a pair of 2x4s to span between the studs, but that would cost like $2-3 at any local home improvement store, and none of the arm/mount units span 24″ center stud walls anyway.In the previous review, it says the X-plate can go up to VESA 300×300, this is not the case. The X-plate will handle 100×100, 100×200, or 200×200, that’s the max VESA span possible without adding the H-bracing onto the X-plate. My 55″ 7200 UHD 4K TV was 400×400, so I had to assemble the H-brace pieces – very simple, took me longer to read the instructions than to stick the two required screws into position and then tighten those two plus the two that already come pre-screwed-in. The vertical bars on the H-brace just slide onto it, no screws are used until you are actually mounting it to the back of your TV – the four last screws are the ones that lock down the positions of the two vertical bars once everything is installed on the TV. Note that the max possible VESA mount these arms can handle is 400×600, and the max weight was, I believe, 100 lbs. At 42 lbs (without the stand), my TV was well under all limits.For a 41 lb. TV like my 55″ unit, it is recommended that you use two people to “hang” the TV with the X-Plate and H-brace screwed onto it onto the pivot end of the articulated arm, and while that would have been nice, I didn’t have another person, and was OK with figuring out a way to do it myself. With the aid of a pair of handy bar stools @ 28″ height, I got the TV up very close to where it needed to be, and then just lifted it on the few inches up and over. I’d have used another person if it had been possible, and I don’t recommend impatience, I just suffer from it.Once the TV/Brace/Plate part is hanging from the arm end by the hook structure of the mounting system, there are two screws left to put in which lock the two together and which also lock the TV into a horizontal orientation. This means that you only have to mount the wall mount bracket onto the wall with it “pretty close” to level (the closer the better, of course, but perfection is not at all critical). The huge 1/4″ lag bolts that are provided for screwing into the wall studs make it virtually impossible to install the arm/mount perfectly level anyway, so just get as close as you can and don’t sweat it.A stupid little one-bubble “level” about 2″ long is provided, and I was initially kind of disgusted, because what was shown on the website was a nice little torpedo level as the included level… alas not the case. However, when I actually used the stupid little thing, it actually proved to be all I needed – I was surprised by how accurately I could judge the level of the TV with it, so I didn’t detract any for this, even though the picture shows a better level. It works, it was free, care-care.The point of all this is that you can “wobble” the TV on the arm up to 5 degrees either way, until you lock in the level with the final two screws. That is the only part where precise level of the TV is important. One point is that if there is a surrounding cabinet or structure, you may have to match to IT’S “level”, or if it’s not perfectly built to a true zero-bubble level, it will look funny with the TV appearing slightly “off level” even though the TV might be the ONLY thing that’s level. But, either way, you can adjust for it, tightening these two last screws up until the TV just barely moves, then making any final adjustments with someone standing 10-12 feet back to advise on matching other vertical/horizontal lines if needed, or the level thingy on your TV if that’s all you care about. Once those last two screws are tightened, you just grab the TV and manipulate it into place, the articulated movement of this mounting system is wonderful, smooth, and constant, no graduations or set angles or distances from the wall.Everything they say about this mounting arm is true, it will hold the TV up to 14″ out from the wall just fine, or collapse inward until the TV seems almost flush with the wall – about 4″ out is the minimum IF YOU HAVE TO USE THE H-BRACE. If you are at VESA 200.200 or less, it’s less than that by about 1″, or about 3″ out.A couple more points of interest:and1> For my curved TV, or any with an “irregular shaped back”, as the instructions call it, there are some spacers and longer screws of all sizes provided to allow the H-brace to stand out about an inch from the back of the TV, allowing for a curve or whatever. As it happened, my Samsung 55″ 7200 model’s VESA 400×400 mounting holes, which required the biggest M8-sized screws, were also inset somewhat into the back of the TV, with the result that the provided M8 (x1.25 thread pitch, 2″ length) screws, once inserted into the provided spacers, were too short to get to the fixed threads in the back of the TV. What to do? I went to my local hardware store, M8 screw in hand and determined that standard 1/4″ flat washers were the perfect fit over the M8 screws. I bought a bag of 50 1/4″ standard washers for about $2.50, and built my own, slightly shorter, spacers using – as it turned out – 9 washers stacked on each of the M8 screws. When I used 8 washers, the screws hit the end of their travel in the threads on the back of the TV with the washers still slightly loose – I could turn them with my fingers if I tried hard. Adding one more washer to each stack let me tighten the M8 bolts on the washer spacers without hitting the limit of travel – all good. I did not deduct anything from the mounting arm rating because, geez, not their problem if Samsung insets their mounting holes and the threads deeply into the TV back. There are a bunch of different lengths and sizes of screws provided with the Mounting Dream arm, and most people should not have to go looking for a custom “stand-off” solution as I had to.2> I second the previous reviewer’s suggestion to Mounting Dream to add a paper “template” for the wall side of the mount, like most similar units provide. It is a simple matter to include this, and it makes it much easier to locate the positions of the holes over the wall studs. In the event, I didn’t have another person, nor time to grow a third arm, so I just flexed my massive muscles and held it to the wall in its flattest position long enough to mark the holes. Yeah, I’m a stud. Sure. But the template would be a good idea…3> After all is screwed in and locked down, there are velcro cable ties provided to help route the cables along one of the two articulated arms. You’ll want to do this, and do it with care and a bit of slack in the cables, because how they “sit” in their little velcro straps with the arm extended is NOT how they will happily sit with it retracted, since the two articulated arms both go from almost straight in line with each other at max extension to basically flat against each other retracted. So, route the cables along the bottoms of one of the two articulated arms, with some “give” to how you velcro them down. You’ll see what I mean, and you can make corrections as you go, and as the arms realign as they retract. Just something to be aware of.4> I found the instructions to be quite complete and very readable and simple to follow. Much better than some similar items from Chinese manufacturers that I’ve had to deal with in the past.5> There are two sizes of hex/Allan wrenches provided, and they would fit all the screws… except that for the larger/M8 screws that I had to use, they actually had a huge #3 Phillips “plus sign” type head, not the hex/Allan type screws. Now, I do happen to own a large #3 Phillips screwdriver and was bemused but unphased by the switcheroo they pulled on me, but not everybody is going to have the #3 Phillips screwdriver handy. A suitable wrench should have been provided but is not. I decided that this is also not a big enough deal to drop this excellent unit to 4 stars, you rate it as you see fit. I strongly recommend keeping the smaller wrench with the arm, since that wrench would be needed to either remove the TV, or to adjust the “rotation” (level) if it had to be readjusted for any reason. Losing this little Alan wrench would mean digging up a suitable replacement to do ANYthing like remove or adjust your TV. ‘Nuf said.One last thing – this Mounting Dream articulated arm worked so well that I bought a second one to mount the old TV that I pulled out of my living room onto a wall in my bedroom. If that gives you any indication of how pleased I was with this mounting system and its ease of installation, I am very pleased and I highly recommend this to others with similar needs.

Save your $$$$$, buy one of these rather than the brick and mortar options! This is a great quality, strong and able to easily hold the TV. Simple to mount — straight — and assemble. Love it!

This mount is sturdy and well made and is a fairly easy install for a Do It Yourselfer. I installed it myself but you may want an assistant to help lift/ set the tv on the bracket once the bracket is mounted. Just make sure you have the right alignment holes before you purchase so that everything matches up and you save yourself any troubles. It’s very strong and articulates in and out, sideways, and pivots up and down. Works great.

Well made, easy to assemble and install. Good range of motion for viewing. Excellent assembly instructions.

it comes with plenty of nuts and bolts to help mount. nice that it had a tool for some of the screws and the template guide. The only thing I haven’t discovered is how to adjust the orientations slightly to make it more level; however, I’m guessing it is somewhere and not a biggie. Good construction. I would buy it again if I need another one.