PREPAC Altus Wall Mounted Audio/Video Console

I think this shelf is awesome. In fact, I stood in awe looking at it when I finally got it up on my wall. Assembly was pretty simple and it actually took less time than I expected. I ran into one obstacle which caused me to have to go back three steps and start over. The piece on the back of the shelf that hooks into the wall had been put on backwards only because I was looking at the picture and not thinking. I was looking at where the cams were placed instead of just thinking about how the shelf was hung. Regardless, it was painless. I am not handy and had the shelf assembled in less than thirty minutes and on the wall in less than an hour. As everyone has mentioned, there are no screws to attach this to the wall or mounting hardware. I used wood deck screws 8x2. I used six screws, attaching three in two separate studs. The instructions suggest hitting three studs but that wasn't possible with the way I had it situated on my wall. It still feels solidly hung to my wall. The shelf has one downfall in that the wood (or particle board) is not colored on both sides. I hung my shelf about 30 inches of the floor and can see the undersides of the shelf which is annoying to me since it is just particleboard colored. Regardless this is an awesome self. Looks good, easy to assemble, easy to hang, and worth the money.

We liked this so much we got another one for the TV setup in the basement; both are fantastic (brown and black colors). The cabinet assembles easily (but I do these things a lot, might be a little trickier for someone who is not familiar with assembling furniture-in-a-box), and the mounting is easy for even just one person (although due to the wight, it's easier with 2 people). Everyone who has seen it has commented on how nice and clean it looks on the wall, and the cable management is really easy (although once you have a LOT of cables dropping through you'll need to fish new lines through with a thin stick). There is a lot of surface area where you can keep your consoles, DVR, stereo, DVDs and games, etc...plus plenty of decorations. If I had a 3rd TV, I'd get a 3rd one of these....

Putting the unit together was easy. Mounting it was not. Even with holes predrilled, the screws were very hard to get in. I was very worried that I'd strip out the Philips head slots. I wish the screws had bolt heads instead. Maybe I should have waxed the screws first.Also, the screws were so long, I had to go out to the store to get a longer 5/32 drill bit.On the plus side, I think it looks great, so I would say it was worth the struggle.Oh, and don't make the mistake I did at first of mounting it over a outlet plate. I had to take the whole thing down and remount it up by about 4 inches. It would be nice if it came with a template you could put on the wall first.

Very pleased with product. Well-made, the instructions were straight-forward, and we have some floor space back. One hint for installation: Don't tighten the screws on the board mount installed on your wall -- leave about 1/4" of space between the wall and the board -- this will facilitate mounting the console on the wall. Finish tightening the screws *after* the console is mounted.

Firstly, the item took 10 days to deliver which is really frustrating as a long time and loyal Prime member.But there are also several design flaws that made construction a bit aggravating and would make it nearly impossible for someone that doesn't have the right tools.There are no pilot holes for the sides of the back panel (C8 in the instructions). So, if you try to put in the confirmat screws without drilling those yourself first, you're almost certainly going to mess up the board or miss it entirely like I did (picture 1).Also, they didn't leave enough space to easily tighten the last couple of cams. You're going to need a really long screwdriver to get at those and make sure they're fully turned (picture 2).

Really nice, easy to install. I love the screws that hold all of the pieces together, they are really stout and look like they will hold well. The only thing I don't really like about it is the way it mounts to the wall. It is very suspect. Other units have a metal strip that mounts it to the wall, I think that would be better. The portion of the mounting system that actually holds the unit to the wall is a sliver of flaky particle wood. Once you hang it onto the mounting board, you place several screws into the two pieces to help hold it to the wall. This makes me a feel a little better, but I still worry about the longevity of this unit.

Recently I bought a 55" tv for my bedroom but it would not fit in my room at all unless I wall mounted it. Just so happens that the only wall big enough gives about 20 inches of clearance between it and the bed so I couldn't fit any sort of shelf underneath the tv for my sound bar, videogame, and other electronic goodies.Then I saw this product and bought it. The unit is very well made and easy to assemble. Only one problem, well two but only one real problem. No "proper" mounting hardware is included. They include extra wood screws, but don't be tempted. My advice is to go to your local hardware store and get some thicker lag bolts and washers. An easy solution for only a few bucks.The real problem, for me at least, was that the mounting rails came curved. This wouldn't be a problem normally, but these mounting rails are actually just more MDF board, not metal. Prepac offers free parts replacement so until I can get that fixed then I can't really attest to its stability. I figured they'd straighten out once mounted against the wall but I heard some discouraging cracks when tightening the bolts. The unit is mounted and holding but I'm not sure if I can load it up.The rest of the unit is very well made, even all the holes align perfectly, so I don't want to write it off just yet. Prepac offers free replacement parts so I will update once I contact them about the parts.Read more