MantelMount MM540

Works well, very sturdy, and very adjustable. Some of the bolt locations are truly terrible - you may have to jump around in the order of the instructions to make assembly easier

I researched a lot of over-the-fireplace mounts before buying this one. I also waited a very long time for this particular one to go on sale. I waited for my dad to come in town to install it because I read several places that said it was a two person install. They couldn't be more right about that. You cannot install this mount without a second person. We decided to tackle this mount right after completing a makeover for our living room.The measurement of the space above our fireplace is 34" and I bought a 55" Samsung TV. The TV's height is about 28" which left a total of 6" to play with to get the TV to fit and extend across the mantle. My mantle comes out just under 8" so the measurements were perfect. They have a guide in the instructions for how much room you need depending on how deep your mantle is. I will say we were not able to mount a soundbar under the TV due to not having enough clearance above the mantle. We probably needed another 5" or more to get a soundbar to mount under the TV. I say this as an FYI for anyone that has to have a soundbar mounted below and has limited space.The length of the install was pretty long. We got started early in the day and, overall, it probably took us 4-5 hours to get it all together. Some of this was trial and error on our measurements and where to put the wall bracket since we did not have any extra room above or below the TV. Also, getting the right pressure on the gas rod required some strength and was not all too easy. We did eventually get it perfectly balanced where the TV does not snap up or slowly go all the way down.The easy/workable parts of this mount are fantastic. Correcting for the side tilt is literally as easy as extending or retracting bolts on either side. The factory setting for the mount downward extension ended up being exactly perfect, so I can't speak to that part of the adjustment. The wall covers are a really fantastic addition to this mount. I did not think I would care that much about them, but you pull them out and they are that horrid yellowy/white plastic and absolutely have to be painted. We were already painting, so we just used a cabinet roller (you will need a smooth surface brush to paint these plastic covers so you won't have streaks and be pulling the paint off as you're putting it on). The plastic retained the paint and it dried the exact same color as our walls and masks the bracket incredibly well.Our studs above the fireplace were not centered (as I'm sure most aren't), so we put the covers up on each side as though they were, and tacked in the right side so it wouldn't sag down, and it looks perfectly symmetrical now (just an idea if you are installing similar to our's). All-in-all, I absolutely love this mount. It comes down very far and has an extremely clean presentation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this product again in the future.

TLDR version:I'm very happy with this mount, especially the compatibility with a wide range of TV sizes for future-proofing, and the functionality of being able to choose between 60° swivel one-way, or 30° swivel L/R. I don't think the specifications/instructions are clear enough about the actual maximum lowering distance, so please see my notes about that below if interested. Overall the materials seem good-quality, and I'm really glad I chose this mount!Full review:Price - For me it was a relatively big financial commitment that I'd been thinking about buying for a while, but it's still in a similar price range compared to other mounts that offer some degree of both lowering and swivelling; however, in my opinion MantelMount seemed to offer the higher-quality product and with clearer specifications regarding TV size & weight limitations, as well as mount functionality.Versatility - It is also compatible with a wide range of TV weights (9-40kg/20-90lbs) and screen sizes (44"-80") compared to alternative mounts that I found, so because my current TV is 49" and I'm likely to upgrade to a bigger size in the future, I wanted a mount that would be compatible with both my current and future needs.Usage - I wanted a MantelMount not because I actually have a mantel, but because I have an electric piano underneath and I wanted to create a more multi-functional space, which doesn't give so much importance to the TV when it's not actually in use. This way I can:- have artwork displayed where normally it would be hidden by a TV- watch the TV from the sofa when it's down- game from my armchair to one side when the TV is down and swivelled up to 30°- use the piano when the TV is upWhy MM540? - I decided to buy the MM540 specifically because I wanted to have the option of 60° swivel one-way, or 30° swivel both left & right. I initially set it up in the 60° configuration because I wanted 0° for TV viewing from the sofa, and 50°-60° for gaming from my armchair. I soon decided that based on the location of my sofa, 30° L/R provides better flexibility for serving both needs and so I switched it back to 30° L/R.In hindsight I therefore maybe would've preferred the MAX1's capabilities of 40° swivel L/R (with no option for 60° one-way), but from what I've seen the MAX1 is at least double the price, and I couldn't even find a way of ordering it to the UK, so I'm still pleased with my MM540 choice.Shipping - I couldn't find anything quite as good on the UK market so I had to somehow order from elsewhere, and MantelMount don't sell directly to the UK, so I had to go via Amazon IT, however I really hope in the future MantelMount will consider selling directly to the UK market. At least in my case ordering from Amazon, any import/VAT/customs fees were included in the price because I didn't have to pay extra upon receipt of the item (although this wasn't 100% clear when ordering, so I had prepared in case I had to pay fees)Some extra things to be aware of:- TV size - Regarding TV size limitations of 44-80", I contacted MantelMount in advance and if it's not important for you that the TV covers/obstructs the entire mount from being seen for aesthetic reasons, you can totally go for a TV even smaller than 44" BUT the important part is the weight, as it must be between 9-40kg for the mount lowering & raising to function correctly. So for example, you could probably use a 40" TV from 10 years ago because they were generally heavier than they are today.- Maximum Lowering Distance - The Bottom Stop Screws are 'only' able to stop the TV between 18-22" so in reality the TV has to drop at least 18" before a stopping position can be achieved, and if you want it to go lower than 22" then you have to remove the Bottom Stop Screws altogether.Please note that according to the instructions the maximum lowering distance is 27", however as far as I can tell, this is only possible with the Bottom Stop Screws removed entirely. Without removing the Bottom Stop Screws, its maximum lowering distance is 22" instead. This isn't explicitly stated in the instructions, but checking the troubleshooting section under "TV is not lowering the full vertical travel listed in the specifications" it advises:"if you can comfortably pull down and lift the TV but would like for it to drop below the lowest Bottom Stop Position, remove the Bottom Stop Screws on each side [...] the TV will travel even lower"... 'even lower' meaning it can achieve the full advertised 27" of drop, but then there's a risk you can't set a stop position that avoids hitting your mantel- Fixing to a wall - Because it's an American product, there's a strong focus on fixing to wooden studs, but being in the UK myself, masonry walls are quite common. In my specific case I realised it was probably a dot & dab wall (plasterboard with a small cavity and then masonry behind it) so to be cautious, I decided I couldn't use the masonry fixings provided in the MantelMount kit, and instead I had to buy the Corefix 100 fixing kit. If in doubt when fixing to some sort of masonry, I would say that the Corefix 100 should have you covered, but of course do your own research depending on your individual circumstances.- Installation - There are inevitably many other reviews talking about the pain of installation because the instructions try to cover many different situations and use-cases. Yes it did take me a while, but in my case in the days and weeks leading up to receiving the MM540, I read through the instructions, watched the video tutorial and figured out which parts applied to my specific setup. Some parts of the installation were easier to follow from the video tutorial, whereas for other parts the instructions were clearer for my specific installation, so I would just advise to take the time to make sure you have a reasonable understanding of the installation process from beginning to end, before you actually attempt it.Anyway, hopefully this review is useful to someone out there, good luck with your installations!

What can I say? Definitely a high end TV mount. I haven't installed it yet but I assembled it and it feels very sturdy and worth the money.

6/12/2023This is exactly what I was looking for to go above my in wall fireplace. There is an 8" deep metal mantel that is directly above the fireplace and the mantel mount clears it w/ no issues. Installation was a bit cumbersome. I installed the mount alone, but needed another pair of hands to hang the TV.I'm hoping to add some info for others that are looking into hanging this TV.- I wanted this mostly as an art piece when not watching TV.- Everything is mounted behind the TV on the mount bars- I have a Bluetooth speaker system (soundbar and subwoofer) soundbar was a bit difficult installing as my specific one is preferred to mount the bottom rather than the back. So I needed to buy the extended soundbar bracket.- The TV was mounted on the lowest level, so I saw a picture of someone buying an additional metal bracket to extend the length of the soundbar bracket. Cost $3 at Lowes. Easy fix, just make sure you try to do this ahead of time.- Items mounted behind the TV: Samsung frame video box using the Mount Plus MP-06-02 Cable Box Mount and a flat HD digital antenna.- I completely skipped the instructions that asked you to do math. You can eye the mount for the most part and see where the TV will end up, you can always take the TV off and adjust the mounts higher or lower if need be.- The pictures show TV in the resting position and in its casual TV watching position.- So many compliments on the mount and the TV. People think it's real art just sitting on the wall.- FYI the Samsung Frame is meant to be flush on the wall. This mount will make it stick out almost 10" from the wall. It is still extremely beautiful when the art is cycling through and you really can't tell it's not flush on the wall.- The mount is solid and it is held in place, from any position you stop it in. For me it's usually all the way up or all the way down but it would hold its place in the middle with no stress on the frame.I hope this helps. I will add more pics in the future.