Sanus BLF328 Advanced Full-Motion TV wall mount review

There are many reasons for wall-mounting your TV. Doing so frees up space compared to using the TV’s stand. Wall mounting is a lot safer, especially when there are kids in the home. A wall mount can look a lot cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing. And, as I discovered with the Sanus BLF328, choosing a full motion wall mount offers all those benefits—plus the ability to easily adjust TV viewing angles to an impressive degree. If you find yourself constantly wishing you could tweak your TV’s position depending on where you sit the room (swivelling, tilting or even moving it closer), the Sanus BLF328 Advanced Full-Motion TV wall mount is the answer.

Unboxing: heavy, but with good reason

When the box containing the TV mount arrived, I was a little caught off guard by how heavy it was. I don’t have the exact weight but it had to be well over 50 pounds.

There’s a reason for the weight, though. Inside were the components of the most solid wall mount I’ve ever unboxed. Anything you would see has a nice satin finish, and edges are rounded. There are no thin, stamped pieces in here, just a whole lot of solid steel. Sanus also includes a generous selection of screws to accommodate various TV makes and sizes. As a result, the box is heavy—as it should be if this mount is going to be supporting a 125 pound TV.  

Installation is straightforward, but pay attention to instructions

I’m guilty of frequently skipping instructions when setting up new products, but I pay close attention with TV wall mounts. There’s a lot at stake there if you don’t do it right, ranging from your TV falling and smashing, to wall damage, or even someone being injured.

That’s not to scare you off of wall mounts, I just want to make the point that correct installation is really important. Because of the weight and stresses involved with the extending arm of the full-motion BLF328, Sanus has very specific requirements. Installation must be done on a wall framed with 2 x 4 wood studs, or one that’s solid concrete or concrete block. With wood framing, the minimum distance between bolts securing the wall plate is 16 inches (41 cm), so keep that in mind as well.

You will need some basic tools for installation, including a drill, screwdriver, socket wrench, level, tape measure, and (if installing on a wood framed wall) a stud finder.

Installation was actually pretty straightforward. Sanus provides a template, excellent written instructions and a detailed installation video on its website. That site also hosts a very useful tool that lets you plug in your TV model and desired viewing height to get the exact drilling height requirements.

The first step was to install the TV brackets. These are adjustable and handily marked with standard VESA settings. As mentioned, the company provides a veritable hardware store worth of screws to ensure a perfect match for your TV. There are also spacers, in case your TV requires additional clearance at the back for cables—mine did(you can see the problem areas circled on the photo below).

Next is the all-important step of securing the wall plate to the wall. Tape the template to the wall in the desired location and it shows you where to drill holes. Remove the template, then use four long lag nuts to secure it.

From there you hang the arm, which is easy since the arm slides over a top rail on the wall mount. Once secured, the final step is to attach the TV, which slides onto the arm and clicks when in place. There are removable covers on the arms that can be used to route cables to keep them out of sight. I had a little trouble with these. With a single cable it was fine, but with multiple cables, I wasn’t able to get the sliding lock covers fully engaged. 

Sanus says installation can be done in 30 minutes. I tend to take my time with these sort of projects (and I also had the existing TV stand to remove), so it was closer to two hours for me. If you don’t feel up to the project, no worries. Geek Squad would be happy to arrange a professional TV installation for you.

This wall mount means perfect viewing from wherever you sit

The end results are well worth the effort. 

I installed the Sanus BLF328 in our bedroom. The TV was on a dresser against a wall at the end of the bed, which was the best viewing position for watching video while in bed. But there is an armchair in the corner of the room and that’s where I like to sit while playing video games on the TV. The viewing angle from there is terrible, though …

With the TV mounted to the Sanus BLF328, it’s dead easy to swivel the TV so it’s perfectly angled for playing games from the corner chair, including the ability to tilt it slightly to adjust for difference between lying down and sitting up. I can also extend the arm to bring the screen several feet closer. When folded back, the TV is closer to the wall than it was when using the stand, and the space that stand took on the dresser is now freed up. Although it’s easy to move the TV around, once in a position it stays there.

A regular wall stand would have done nothing to address the viewing angle issues in this room, but the full-motion Sanus BLF328 makes viewing the TV a perfect experience, no matter where you are in the space.

Added bonus: easy access to the back of your TV

While I like TV wall mounts, most do mean you don’t have access to the back of your TV without removing the TV from the mount. That’s a hassle, so whenever I install a wall mount, I buy enough cables to populate every port on the TV, plug them all in and leave them hanging in case I want to connect a source later on. It’s easier than having to remove the TV.

However … The Sanus BLF328 extends over two feet from the wall. That leaves plenty of room not only for adding cables as needed, but also for dusting and vacuuming out air vents.

If you’re shopping TV wall mounts, take a good look at the Sanus BLF328  

The BLF328 is priced at a premium compared to basic TV wall mounts. However, it is capable of much more than a basic wall mount is. The degree of flexibility in TV positioning is remarkable and this mount is solid as a rock, even when fully extended. It’s also designed to be the mount you use for your next TV, with the ability to support those massive 90-inch TVs we’re all dreaming about.

You can find the Sanus BLF328 Advanced Full-Motion Mount along with a wide range of TV mounts from Sanus and other leading manufacturers in Best Buy Canada’s massive home theatre section, along with cables, surge protectors and any other accessories you might need.