unhandledexception.net I ordered the mount from Monoprice, since they are much cheaper than the ones you see in stores. The reviews for Monoprice mounts are good, except for the lag bolts that apparently tend to strip when torqued, but those things are only 50 cents at hardware stores, so that’s not really an issue. The one thing is you gotta be really careful when choosing the mount as to its size. They advertise them by TV size and weight; size being a good indication but not guaranteed to fit, and weight not being an issue most of the time unless you have a gargantuant heavy plasma. What really matters is the VESA specification, which is the distance in millimeters (yay! metric!) between the mount holes on the TV. I’d advise choosing a mount that’s slightly bigger, just in case. For instance, my TV (52″ LG Scarlet LCD) spec is 800×400, meaning that the holes are spaced 800 mm apart horizontally and 400 mm apart vertically. The mount I got is 850×450, but really you’d be pushing it if you needed it 850 mm apart, as in you’d have to screw in the bottom rail lock from inside with a spacious 3″ clearance between the TV and the wall.
After opening it up, I went to ACE to get some lag bolts, spacers, a pilot hole drill bit, and spacers. The lag bolts are to replace the ones supplied because as I said earlier there are lots of reports of people stripping bolt heads. So, I went with ones similar to the ones provided, that is, 5/16″ thick by 3.5″ long. I also got some washers to match, since they’re so cheap. To drill the pilot holes, some online research shows that the recommended size of a pilot hole on soft wood is 3/4 of the bolt’s diameter. So that makes it 15/64″. I got plastic spacers because the ones supplied with the mount were a bit big and the bolt wouldn’t go in deep enough for comfort, and you want things to be tight, otherwise you can damage the threads. I also got rubber flanges to protect the swanky red finish on the back of the TV.
The next part is finding the studs, and yes, you absolutely have to mount it on studs. Drywall is extremely brittle and won’t hold a TV. For that you’ll need a stud finder and a laser level. So, locate and mark the center and edges of studs on the wall with the stud finder. Normally they’re 16″ on center apart, but don’t count on that, some contractors like to improvise. Now comes time to decide where you want the TV, both vertically or horizontally. For that I placed the bracket on the TV and took a few measurements to find out where the TV would end up based on the pilot holes. Horizontally the leeway you have is the holes on the wall plate. You do want the TV to be more or less centered on the mount. Vertically, although aesthetically it might look better on the center of the wall or on top of a fireplace, it’s recommended to have the center of the TV at eye level when sitting down, which is roughly 40-45 inches off the ground. And I would avoid putting it above a fireplace, as it can get quite hot up there, and sooty if it’s a wood-burning fireplace. Find a nice painting to decorate the mantle instead of putting at TV!
So, once you figure out where the mount should be, go ahead and mark the location of the lag bolts using the mount. As an extra check, I drove a small nail horizontally at 1/4 intervals to figure out where the edges of the studs were, just to be sure, as hitting the edge of a stud will cause it to crack. After that, I screwed in the mount on the wall with drywall screws, to make things a bit easier. I also marked the opening I’d poke to pass the wiring through the wall. Next I took out the mount to cut out a rectangle with an exacto knife (use a drywall saw if you have one). I made another such opening on the botton, where the wires would come out. I then installed a low voltage flange you can find at a hardware store and a nose plate which you can find at Monoprice or Fry’s.
Next I passed the wires. I decided to get wires for all the ports my TV has, with the exception of the side ports and optical audio out. So that makes for a VGA+audio cable, coax, digital audio out, 3x HDMI and 2x component. Get lengths of at least 12ft, otherwise they may be too short.
Once that’s done, it’s time to have a good friend help you out to take out the TV pedestal, scew in the mounting brackets and ceremoniously hook the TV on the wall.
And for the final touch, I’ve added some low voltage LED bars from Ikea 
