Kanto R500 Recessed In-Wall Full Motion Articulating TV Mount for 46-inch to 80-inch TVs | Ultra Low Profile | Swivel and Tilt Capable | Cable Management for Clean Setup

I wanted to be able to mount the TV as flush to the wall as possible while retaining all of the adjustability of a traditional full motion tv mount. This was the perfect solution. The unit itself seems very well built, the steel used is nice and thick. the install was a breeze, especially with the nice template for cutting into dry walls and the very detailed instructional video on youtube. The only complication I ran into was the fire block happen to be right where I wanted the unit placed so i had to remove it. The unit itself is mounted in between two studs and is bolted in place with 4 pretty beefy bolts so it provides a very secure mount for your TV.Some install tips:1) I mounted this above an existing outlet then installed a recessed media plate next to the outlet. This wall all my cables were hidden inside the wall and only the ends plugged into the outlet were visible. (https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-35M1W-SP-L-1-Gang-Recessed-Multimedia/dp/B004NPMXLW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1513707211&sr=8-7&keywords=recessed+media+plate)2) Since the vertical cuts needs to be flush against the studs. I cut a smaller hole inside the marked template area to take a peek inside my wall and make sure that there wasn't any wiring that was attached to the studs before I made the vertical cuts. The last thing you want to do is cut into a live wire with your drywall jab saw. On mine, there was wiring attached to the left stud so I removed the stables attaching the wire, move the wire out of the way, made my cut and then restapled the wire back on the stud.Read more

First of all, I decided to take a chance and purchase a "Used - Very Good" condition mount that Amazon was selling under their "Amazon Warehouse" program because it was $50 cheaper than the "New" condition version and I'm happy I did. The packaging was a little beat up, which I was expecting based on the description of the condition. The only issue with the mount itself was one of the corners of the mount was slightly bent. That was no big deal since the entire mount is made of fairly heavy gage steel and it took me about 30 seconds of squeezing the bent corner in a vice and it looks like new again as the pictures show.INSTALLATION:As long as you have wood studs that are 16" on-center this is a great option for you and the installation is pretty simple. However, keep in mind that you are somewhat limited on how you can position the mount on a wall due to the fact that it has to fit in the cavity between two studs. For example, if you want to perfectly center the mount on a wall you might get lucky and find the studs are in the right location, but most of the time your probably not go to get that lucky and may have to settle with the mount being a few inches off center one way or the other. Fortunately, there is a little wiggle room with how you position the TV on the mounting bracket (depending on the size of TV) and, at least in my case, I can compensate for the mount being a couple inches off center by mounting the TV a little to one side on the bracket so everything looks perfectly centered when it's all done.As a couple other reviewers suggested, I took a few extra minutes to mask off the hole in the drywall and spray paint the sides of the wood studs matte black. Not totally necessary, but if your a little OCD and want everything to look as clean as possible it's worth it. If you opt out of painting the studs you will be able to see the wood around the bolt hole tabs on the right side of the mount and through the cable cutouts in the top-left and bottom-left corners. That being said, you won't see those areas at all once the TV is mounted if you keep it flush against the wall, it would only be visible if you pull it out away from the wall, and even then it may not be very noticeable.I also got a black colored power outlet, wall plate, and low voltage passthrough so everything is black and it looks great.My ONLY Complaint...The 1-gang knockouts along the top and bottom edges of the mount make it really easy to install a power outlet or cleanly route cables but they appear to be slightly smaller than a 1-gang opening required by some "old work" boxes. I purchased several different "old work" 1-gang boxes for installing a power outlet and the only one that fit perfectly was what Home Depot calls their standard box. Neither the extra deep or the premium 1-gang boxes fit in the knockouts, they were slightly too big.Also, for the low voltage cables (Cat6a Ethernet, and HDMI) I used a one piece low voltage pass through box because it was the only one in black that Home Depot had. As you can see in one of the photos, it was slightly larger than the knockout so it doesn't mount perfectly flush along the top edge, but it does work.With a little grinding it would be easy to make the knockout a little larger or the box a little smaller but it wasn't necessary in my case.Overall, this is a very solidly built mount and it works perfectly for me. I will definitely purchase again if the need arises.Read more

Reading the reviews of verified buyers is an important factor for me in choosing a product and this mount hit all the check marks for me....or so I thought. This mount was to hold my new Sony XBR75X900F which weighs in at 97 lbs. with a 75" diag. screen. The installation went smoothly and it quickly became obvious the company did not want any sag when fully extended holding a screen as large as mine. It is heavy, beefy and well made but with a glaring achilles heel if your needs do not call for it to be tilted. In my case full tilt was the only choice--the exact opposite of my wishes. After hanging the set onto the face plate, centered, fully vertical and the bolts that are designed to keep the TV from sagging tightened to the point I thought any more pressure on the allen wrench might snap it, I stepped back to admire my work. Within seconds the TV went from fully upright to the maximum tilt--a very disheartening sight to see. With the help of my wife I loosened the three nuts and while she held the TV against the vertical stop I re-tightened to Hercules level. This time the tilt dive was delayed by 15 more seconds than the first...a complete fail. In desperation I grabbed my drill, tightening it one more time to the point the flimsy plastic washer--the only thing between nut and bracket was crushed to destruction. Same result. Droop City.The next morning I called Kanto but they obviously are located on the West Coast since they were still closed so I left a detailed voice mail asking for a call back and fearing I was going to soon have a gigantic hole in my Family Room wall. Despite its impressive build quality and design this mount holds little value to me in its current state. Even though I am certain I followed the directions carefully my hope was that I did something wrong or that this particular piece was defective. I wasn't going to find out that day.When nobody from Kanto returned my call I waited a few hours after their opening the next morning before calling them again and before launching into my tale of woe told the gal at the other end that I had left a message that wasn't returned. She said their VM system had a glitch that caused the voice mails that day to be garbled. As in unintelligible. Hmmm. After describing my issue she exclaimed that it was the first she'd ever heard of the problem which tells me they didn't bother to test an increasingly popular size from one of the world's most recognizable TV makers. About a minute later she tells me that Sony TV's are known to be top heavy. Hmmm. Now that tells me they did test the Sony, discovered the problem yet provided no fix for it , no warning to potential customers and went ahead and wrote specs that allowed sets such as mine to be mated to the R500 mount, walls to be left gaping open and angry customers left in the lurch. Or maybe I just got a bad part, that they left the lock washer out or something that would counteract the inexorable demonstration of gravity at work. She offered no solution other than to send me a new face plate so soon, I hope, I will know whether this company has made an enormous gaff or the promised replacement will save the day. I am not holding my breath.In the meantime I have partially solved the problem by blocking the swivel channels with a couple of the unused bolts from the packaging It is of course Klugy and an unacceptable solution to a problem that should have been avoided, by more truthful and accurate specs so I could have bypassed this brand (135 lb. weight limit on the TV?? Irrational exuberance I say about the spec writers). It has been 4 days so if/when I do receive the new part I will come back and edit this review. And not have to follow it by seeking an RMA.UPDATE: The replacement part, that piece that connects to the TV brackets and allows the swivel action arrived and at first glance was identical to the original. I was skeptical that it would prevent the problem but after swapping the parts I am hopeful. Hopeful because when I first mounted then tightened the bolts down strongly, the inexorable tilt began. I then tightened it with more force which of course given the flimsy plastic washers were crushed by the super forceful squeeze put on them. That convinced me the company some how came to the conclusion that plastic crushable washers and metal parts could produce a product different than another.Whatever their logic, this time --and three days later -- it seems to have held in place, although I still have a bolt jammed into the space that tilts. Thus I am hopeful.My suggestion to anyone thinking of buying this product and has a TV whose size and weight is near the top end of Kanto's spec to reconsider or at least do more research as to whether it will give them a problem that much lighter sizes do not. Good luck all!Read more