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Review: MantelMount MM860 Pro Series Smart Mount

Award-winning, automated, smart home ready TV mount brings luxury to homeowners

MantelMount MM860 (image credit: MantelMount)

MantelMount’s line of innovative TV mounts has elegantly solved a specific problem for homeowners with television sets above their fireplaces since 2014. Rather than crane your neck at an uncomfortable angle to watch your favorite shows, or fight over the best chair with the perfect viewing angle, a MantelMount allows you to manually move your television set down–out and over your fireplace–and position it to eye-level, or another desired height, and swivel to the left or right for better viewing angles.

The award-winning MantelMount MM860 Pro Series Smart Mount takes the innovation of the original MantelMounts and adds a dash of luxury by introducing motorized, automated movement.

And it’s genius.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest problems MantelMount owners have expressed to AV installers we’ve spoken with has nothing to do with the mounts at all, they just hate getting up to adjust their TV after they’ve sat down. The struggle is real, folks! Not content to let things stand, or sit, how they were, MantelMount got to work developing the top-tier features and automation their customers wanted and needed.

Luxury-Level Features

The MM860 and uses a patented Multi-Axis hub (image credit: MantelMount)

Automated movement, temperature sensing and remote control are, in our opinion, the biggest improvements made with the MM860. The motorized lift system is the muscle of the MM860 and uses a patented Multi-Axis hub, proprietary software and precision electronic actuators to lower and swivel the TV in one quick fluid motion without much noise. The lift system’s recessible housing conceals the lifting arm and electronics in the raised position.

One feature of the lift system we particularly like is the Auto Lowering Power Sensor (ALPS) that automatically lowers the TV to the first preferred position when it powers on, and returns it flat to the wall shortly after it is turned off. Even better, ALPS still works if you don’t have a compatible home automation system, and it is incredibly convenient to just turn on the TV and get settled while the MM860 drops into the perfect position, then just switch off the TV and walk away, knowing the mount will take return the TV to the raised position for you. An excellent feature for when you’re ready to sleep after those late-night binge sessions!

Image credit: MantelMount

If you don’t like how the TV is sitting at the moment, the included 433 MHZ RF remote makes it simple to adjust the height or swivel angle to the perfect position. Because it is an RF remote, you don’t have to point it at the mount or have an unobstructed line of sight to adjust. Additionally, a small quality of life feature we think should be mentioned is the mount comes with a plastic plate with a magnet built-in that the remote “sticks” to. The plate can be mounted on a wall or other surface to conveniently store the remote when not in use.

The remote has two programmable buttons (M1, M2) you can assign your favorite mount positions to. This makes it easy to set an all purpose or custom position, then set the second preset to move into a different position at the single touch of a button. Personally, our M1 setting drops the mount straight down to eye-level with our main couch, and the M2 button is set for the perfect height and angle for our side couch– ideal for one person to lie down and game or watch without having to tilt their neck and head at an awkward angle.

While the non-motorized MantelMount TV mounts are innovative, their need to be physically adjusted can be a problem for anyone without the physical strength or capability to do so. An unspoken benefit we see with the remote control functions of the MantelMount MM860 is it makes viewing more comfortable and enjoyable for the elderly or those unable to physically pull and adjust a TV.

Some people worry about damaging or melting their TVs while they are using their MantelMount and fireplace at the same time. Fortunately, the MM860 has an integrated heat sensor that automatically raises the mount out of harm’s way when the temperature exceeds 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s features like this that really make the MM860 shine as an automated TV mount and give owners peace of mind.

(image credit: Future)

The mount has an off-the-wall distance of 20.5” to 24”, a vertical drop of up to 30” and a swivel capacity of 25 degrees to the left or right. To help protect the wall and mantel, there are vertical and horizontal travel limits that are configured through both software and hardware, and can be adjusted afterwards as well, such as when you upgrade to a different sized TV. While the 25-degree left/right swivel works great for most rooms in the average home, it would be nice to have a wider swivel angle range with future models, especially for homeowners who have rooms that are more open, with seating arrangements spread out.

The MM860 comes “smart home ready” and works with Control4, URC, RTI, Elan, Crestron, Savant and Logitech, with command sets for hard-coding additional systems. Unfortunately, there is no Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple Homekit support for those who haven’t upgraded to a high-end home automation system yet.

MantelMount warrants its products to be free of defects in material and workmanship and offers a Lifetime Limited Warranty on all mechanical parts of the MM860, except for any gas springs or electronic parts, which carry a full five (5) year warranty.

Testing

(image credit: Future)

Our first opportunity to see the MM860 in action was at CES 2020–where it was named the Rack/Mount Product of the Year in the Top New Technology (TNT) category–and we watched in AV-geeky-awe as the mount moved on its own into preset positions and others with the touch of a remote. We were impressed with the smoothness the mount moved the TV with, the range of motion and–who are we kidding–how we wouldn’t ever have to get up from the couch to adjust the TV to the right angle or height ever again.

“Now that’s tech I’d love to test out for a week…or forever”, we half-jokingly said to our colleagues when we told them about the MM860 later that day. So you can imagine our quick response when the opportunity came up to test the MM860.

Our test unit was installed by two amazing AV professionals from AVWORX in Layton, Utah, and it took Eric and Jackson just under three hours to install the recessed mount and television. The MantelMount MM860 is a beast of a mount, and it supports televisions 55” to 100”, weighing up to 125 pounds. The MM860 can be installed recessed or as a surface mount. We opted for the recessed mount to help the television sit closer to the wall. A built-in soundbar bracket is included, removing the need for additional adapters as long as your soundbar has mounting screws located on the back of the speaker.

Professional installation of the MM860. AVWORX of Layton, Utah installed our test unit. (image credit: Future)

Wires are out of the way, with the TV plugging directly into the mount system, and cable tie anchors fit onto the center arm to keep things neat and tidy. AVWORX ran power for the mount directly from a nearby outlet. If your home doesn’t already have one, we recommend having your installers add in an AV J-box for extra cables for your game consoles, Blu Ray player or other devices connected to your TV when they install your MM860. If you don’t, be prepared to see cables running up your wall and to the TV inputs when you connect your devices back to your television.

Pro Tip – make sure your cables are long enough to stay connected with the mount fully extended so they don’t pull your devices over!

Not only is it convenient to watch shows and game at eye-level no matter what seat we’re in, we’ve discovered an unexpected, and most likely unintended, benefit of using a MantelMount TV mount. The MM860 has freed us to arrange our furniture to meet our needs and aesthetics, rather than be shackled to placing furniture only where we can see the TV. This opens up a new world of possibilities for homeowners wanting to rearrange the layout of their furniture. It may seem silly at first, but it is something we couldn’t have done without a MantelMount. That is precisely what MantelMount does–improves quality of life by solving the high-install problem.

Verdict

Image credit: MantelMount

With nearly a decade of expert consumer electronic, appliance and equipment testing and reviewing under our belts, we have to say testing this motorized TV mount has been one of the simplest we’ve ever done, and one of the most enjoyable. The MM860 is MantelMount’s response to customer feedback and fills a desire for convenience. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed testing the MantelMount MM860 Pro Series Smart Mount. It is an incredible quality of life upgrade to our home theater setup that we never knew we needed. Yes, you could install a less expensive mount that you have to manually move. But having experienced the luxury upgrade the MM860 brings, we can confidently respond, why would you?

We highly recommend the MantelMount MM860 for anyone with a high-install TV, mantel or not, and while the MSRP price tag can be a bit high for most folks at $1,999, it is worth every penny. The automated motorization is extremely convenient, and the safety features for temperature, home automation compatibility and remote movement control are the icing on the cake for an already innovative TV mount design.

The MM860 is only available through authorized MantelMount dealers, and a handy dealer locator is available on the MantelMount homepage.

MM860 Product Specs

  • Supports TVs from 30-125 pounds, 55-100 inches;
  • VESA mounting up to 200x200mm–600x600mm
  • Includes RF remote control with automation drivers for Crestron, Control4, RTI, Elan, Savant, and URC (IR codes available for Harmony)
  • Integrated power sensor can automatically lower to TV preset position when turned on and returns to retracted position when powered off
  • Heat sensor automatically raises TV when temperature exceeds 130-degrees F
  • Lowers TV up to 30 inches with 20.5 inches of extension from the wall; 25 degrees left and right swivel; holds TV 1.8 inches from wall in retracted state (when recessed mounted)
  • Includes hardware for mounting soundbar below TV

See also: Samsung’s Stunning Mini LED TVs To Challenge OLED — And They’re Coming Soon

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