How to Pick a Great Flat Screen TV, And Not Get Sucked In By Marketing Hype: Wall mounting your TV

Most flat panel televisions and monitors adhere to the VESA mounting standard, specifying a pattern of screw holes on the back so it can be attached to a VESA-compliant wall or desk bracket.

There are a handful of non-compliant televisions and monitors, especially from lesser known brands, so make sure you check the spec sheet carefully before before buying a television.

The original VESA MIS-D 100 standard - also known as VESA 100 - specified four screw holes in a 100x100mm square, each hole featuring an M4 thread 10mm deep. The standard has since been expanded to include MIS-D 75 for smaller displays as well as MIS-E (200×100mm) and MIS-F (ranging from 200x200mm to 800x400mm, with holes 10 or 15mm deep).

A VESA 200 mount [source: Wikipedia]

There are also weight guidelines for each VESA mounting standard, so it's worth doing your research before buying your television and mount. Just like putting up shelves, you need to take care when attaching the bracket to the wall.

It's best to screw the bracket into a wall stud, although it is possible to attach smaller brackets to plaster using high load plasterboard anchors.

If in doubt, consider spending extra to get the television professionally installed - to reduce the chances of your beautiful flat panel crashing to the ground and tearing you a new window.

Buying a flat screen TV? Have a question you'd like us to answer? Add your comments or questions about flat screen TV issues to the discussion below.

Also in this series, How to Pick a Great Flat Screen TV, And Not Get Sucked In By Marketing Hype:
Part 12: Hiding your television
Part 11: calibrating your television
Part 10: those pesky upscaling issues explained
Part 9: video inputs and future proofing
Part 8: Logitech Harmony vs AV Link remote controls
Part 7: Should you upgrade your TV for DLNA?
Part 6: TV tuners and "Digital Capable"
Part 5: HDMI and component ports
Part 4: LED and backlighting
Part 3: Screen size
Part 2: Refresh rates
Part 1: Brightness and contrast ratios

Also see our 5 tips for buying a digital TV set top box
And also see the lowdown on Freeview, and whether you should care
If you're new to Digital TV, or have yet to make the leap, start by reading Prepare yourself for Digital TV