Thank you all for you input, my Mother has taken it all under advisement. Today was our last full day here helping and at some point it became obvious that she wasn't going to get it done while we were here to help. On top of the mounting challenge, the inputs are a generation newer than all her A/V stuff. I think she can get going with the regular coax cable to start, but she will need the upgraded Dish box and what ever else she has. TV was $500-ish so $350 to mount it seems excessive. But by the time we buy a regular mount and have the guy come to do something safe, we might get to that $350 anyway. I'm pretty sure she's not ready to gut the existing cabinets and build out the wall. It's not exactly a sleek minimalist kind of place so cords and AV stuff in sight is fairly normal. But we'll see what they come up with. She wanted to get it while we were here to help, but there were just too many other things to do at the same time, and we didn't really have a plan before getting it ... obviously. Thanks again. We'll keep you posted...
Wendy, we all should be flattered that you had enough confidence in our collective expertise to seek our counsel. On balance, we didn't disappoint. Tom's engineering input, complete with drawings, trumped Terry's and George's smart aleck comments from the peanut gallery. :lol: Your mom will get a setup that works well for her and provides you with peace of mind that she is happy with it. A win-win.
I ran the idea of a wall mount by my wife on several occasions, no dice. We bought a 52" HD and a $2,200 entertainment center to hold it. I held out for awhile because I thought it was excessive. However while shopping for the entertainment center she was willing to settle for a cheaper one but I saw the one we ended up buying and suggested it. After picking her up off the floor from her fainting we bought it and now have the tv in a huge entertainment center. I know this has nothing to do with Wendy's problem but I do sympathize.
We compromised. We have a TV "stand" that has a rotating base with two glass shelves for audio/video components. It has a vertical backboard to which a wall mount is bolted. That wall mount secures the TV to the rotating base. I can't find it online but did find one similar to it except this one appears to be stationary with no swivel base.
Sid (and everyone), It's amazing what one can learn from the people here - perspectives from many walks of life. And everyone is happy to give advice (maybe less willing to take it, but that's a different topic). I knew Ralph got that giant TV not long ago, though it was probably so smart that it installed itself. But it started a round of people mentioning their TV's and since I know we aren't the first ones to face getting a new flat rectangle in an old square box, I thought it would be a good sample to poll. And being out of town, I couldn't do the quick 'ask around the office' thing. And you are right, the group didn't disappoint. Even the comments from the peanut gallery were helpful. If my idea that I thought was do-able was really that laughable, maybe we needed to step back and re-think it. Then Tom taking the time to draw out his suggestion to make it work was above & beyond - my Mother & sister were amazed a 'stranger' would do that. That's when their cursory acknowledgement that I was asking anonymous online people turned to "now who are these people again?". Their concerns that I had a secret life with random people from the internet were alleviated when I told them it was the board where I play the pick'em contests. So thank you all again for your input, even the comic relief!
You just don't know how strange I can ge.... What?? Wrong context??? she meant what???? oh... Never mind. :wink:
I'm sorry I was AWOL during all this engineering but greater minds than mine prevailed...And just so everyone understands I purchased a smart tv in hope that some of the "smart" would rub off on me but it hasn't happened yet...