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(More customer reviews)Like most people, I was excited to buy a plasma TV just because it is wall mountable. But realistically, I didn't want to drill huge holes in my wall, nor pay $500 for it to be professionally installed. And I soon came to realize that even if I did mount the TV on the wall, I would still need to have a tacky looking AV stand for all of my other components. This stand solved all of my problems! It's sturdy, looks great, is reasonably priced, and it's easy to assemble.
When the package arrived, the box was trashed badly from shipping. I'm convinced that UPS was the one to re-tape the whole thing together because I found a box cutter inside the box. Though, to my surprise, because SANUS packaged the product so well (lots of styrofoam), nothing was damaged. Inside the package is the base, the shelves, hardware needed to mount the TV including allen wrenches (all you need to supply is a monkey wrench and a phillips screwdriver) and an extra set of black feet for the stand (the base comes with silver feet attached). The base is a glossy black, and the glass shelves are tinted.
Putting this stand together was easier than anything I've ever purchased from IKEA (takes no more than half an hour including unpacking the box). Every bolt and screw is labeled, and the manual is detailed. It looks intimidating at first, but you only end up using half of the supplied bolts/washers/etc. I recommend mounting the TV before screwing the glass shelves into the post and hooking up components for ease of mobility. An extra hand is helpful, but I was able to mount a 42" plasma by myself.
The mounting bracket and shelves are adjustable and can move vertically up and down the post, but must be done so by unscrewing the bolts that hold them in place. The TV can be tilted up and down, but not side to side (this can be done without unmounting the TV).
Just to give you an idea of how many components you can fit on the stand, I have a speaker on the top shelf, cable box and PS2 on the middle shelf, and receiver, TiVo, and DVD player on the base. I don't have room for any more though.
Considerations: There isn't much room inside the post to put all of your cables. And it's not the easiest task either - actually took me longer to thread the cables through than put the stand together. But realistically, the only cables that need to go inside are those that connect directly to your TV. The rest of your cables (ie. DVD to receiver etc.) will be hidden behind your components. Also, you should only have to do this once upon set up, so in the end it is well worth it.
Which brings me to my next topic - if you have a lot of components and a lot of wires, it becomes more difficult to hide them visibly because this is not an encased stand. It helps if you use HDMI to cut back on the number of cables you have, or if you have short cables and don't have a lot of bunched up excess wiring. Luckily, my solution was to put this stand in the corner of the room, so you can't really see anything from the side view.
All in all it was well worth every penny (and I was skeptic about spending $300+ on such a simple looking piece of furniture). The cheapest price by far was online through Amazon. I would by this stand again in a heartbeat. Amazingly, my TV looks bigger mounted on this stand than it did sitting on my old one. My only regret is that I didn't purchase this stand sooner!
EDIT: It is now nearing the end of 2008, almost 2 years later. I still use this stand and still think this stand is great. It even withstood a U-haul move. But, flat panel TV's are much more affordable and main stream than they were a few years ago. Having said that, when I was looking for a 'mountable' stand back then, I didn't have many options. Now, you can find a decent one at Walmart for $100 that even swivels. I do still think it's a great stand that looks much better than many I see today, but the steep price tag makes it less attractive now when there are cheaper alternatives.
But, you'll be glad to know I've also purchased a new TV since then, and this stand accommodated the larger size while still using the same brackets and screws from my last TV (both comply w/ VESA standards).
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SANUS SYSTEM Flat Panel TV Stand Furniture ( Platinum )Stylishly industrial, the Sanus Systems PFFP2B flat panel television stand securely holds your LCD or plasma television in place while also allowing it to tilt up and down for optimal viewing angles. It has a VESA compatible mounting bracket at the top that will accommodate the VESA 50, 75, 100, 200mm x 200mm and 200mm x 100mm mounting hole patterns. Once the TV is secured to the bracket, you can adjust the TV's angle by 12 degrees either up or down. The mounting bracket can hold TVs weighing up to 130 pounds (screens from 30 to 50 inches).
It features two adjustable, tempered glass shelves. With the TV bracket mounted in the highest position, you can move the adjustable shelves up and down within a range of approximately 2.5 feet. The top shelf measures 24.25 x 16.5 inches and the middle shelf measures 30.25 x 16.5 inches, and each can hold up to 50 pounds. The base shelf measures 43.25 x 23.5 inches for a steady footing. Audio/video cables can be concealed in the stand's pillar, so your setup has a clean, uncluttered look. Assembly required
What's in the Box Mounting bracket, base, pillar, two glass shelves, hardware
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