A universal projector ceiling mount is a mount that fits into any sort of projector or at least the majority of them, allowing for easy installation. It also ensures that you don’t have to hunt for specific projector ceiling mounts for your specific brand of the projector when push comes to shove because there’s this product available that’s a universal fit for many if not all projectors for home cinema, office, school, or conference room usage.
So what’s the best universal projector ceiling mount out there? By our estimation, it’s the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount. It has everything we’re looking for in terms of universal ceiling mounts, which includes tough construction, flexibility, and ease of installation on top of having enough weight and support for a wide variety of projector types.
A Brief Projector Ceiling Mount Buying Guide
This article has done some extensive research regarding the top projector ceiling mounts currently available for 2020 that should perfectly work to your satisfaction and why VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount MOUNT-VP01W is the cream of the crop. First off, here are the things you should be on the lookout for when it comes to your projector ceiling mount.
- Construction: We chose the VIVO Universal Adjustable Ceiling Projector Mount as our universal projector ceiling mount of choice because it’s well-constructed. A lot of ceiling mounts are constructed from steel to ensure they’ll last long. The idea here is to ensure sturdiness and durability that can last you for years to come. However, make sure to look for one that has screws and brackets that fit tightly for a firm mount, which is what we found with VIVO. Additionally, all the pieces of hardware must be made excellently in order to fit together perfectly, which prevents wobbling when push comes to shove.
- Ease of Installation: The VIVO MOUNT-VP01W is easy to install. Just follow the directions and you’re good to go. Some mounts require outright professional help to install even if you’re well-versed with mount installation. It should not take more than 30 minutes to put together and have a user-friendly design that doesn’t easily break apart. It should come with instructions to get the right fix and precise balance in accordance to your screen placement. You need something that’s quick and simple to work with.
- Flexibility: The VIVO Universal Adjustable Ceiling Projector Mount is quite flexible in that you can easily adjust it relative to how far your projector is or how your screen is angled to avoid keystoning or having to use the keystone correction feature of the device itself. As much as possible, your ceiling projector mount should have tilting and rotation. There are projectors that can only tilt around 15 degrees while others are limited to 5 degrees. Still, others could rotate 360 degrees but others can only rotate 90 degrees. A good mount can help you achieve more rotation and tilting, especially if your projector has limited mobility.
- Support and Weight: The right balance of weight and support from the projector mount must be achieved in order to keep your projector safely nestled on the ceiling. Otherwise, it will fall because its weight can’t be supported by the mount. It’s that simple. On average, the projector can weight as much as 30 pounds, more or less. There are lightweight portable projectors that require their own size of mounts too. Look for a projector mount that perfectly supports your projector weight and size or get something adjustable to many sizes like the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount.
What VIVO Universal Adjustable Ceiling Projector Mount Brings to The Table
We’ve made the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount MOUNT-VP01W our universal ceiling mount of choice because it helps you to achieve maximum picture quality with minimal lens shift, zoom, and keystone correction adjustment in light of its flexibility, versatility, and ability to be adjusted in every which way. It’s also quite sturdy and strong enough to support the weight of 30 pounds of projector weight.
To wit, here’s what it brings to the table in terms of projector ceiling mount excellence. Take note that this is in comparison to loads of the most popular and best-selling 2020 projector ceiling mounts.
- Known to Last: According to user ratings and the fact that the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount has been around for quite a long time without any incidents from the Better Business Bureau, our mount of choice is one of the top 10 best projector mounts of the year because it can be used for many years to come. It rarely if ever fails at its task because it’s well-constructed and built with the finest materials possible. Its longevity also ensures that your portable or heavy projector weighing 30 pounds remains safe at its ceiling perch while also extending its own lifespan.
- Simple Installation: Another hallmark of a great ceiling projector that the VIVO MOUNT-VP01W epitomizes is a simple installation. Sure, you still need to properly calculate where to place your projector in light of its throw distance relative to the screen size you’ve availed of. However, aside from that, we went out of the way to cross out any projector in our research that’s too complicated to work with and install or are high-maintenance. The beauty of VIVO is that even though it’s adjustable, mobile, and flexible to allow for more tilting and rotation, its moving parts won’t overcomplicate matters during installation because they’re adjustable rather than loose and moveable.
- Quick-Release Hooks: Other projector mounts on the ceiling are pretty rigid in their design. You can only place it in one way and you can’t move the projector at all. You’ll also have to figure out cable placement by yourself, with cable holders in your ceiling or crawlspace to ensure that rats won’t gnaw the cables off to uselessness. With the VIVO Universal Ceiling Projector Mount, your installation woes are partially alleviated thanks to quick-release hooks that attach or detach by loosening or tightening the mounting bolts. The necessary hardware and instructions are included with the mount inside the box for good measure to ensure straightforward assembly.
- Designer Colors: Although we’re discussing the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount, it’s also available as the VIVO Universal Adjustable Black Ceiling Projector Mount for the same affordable price of 15 bucks (give or take a buck depending on what discounts you can get for it). This allows you to find analogous colors with a dark or bright version of the mount. Mix and match depending on your needs or your personal preferences. Sure, people won’t notice the projector up the ceiling even while it’s turned on, but it is worth it to find a mount that matches the color of your projector in question, whether to compliment or contrast it.
- Universal and Adjustable: Universal means universal. The vast majority of projectors out there, from BenQ to Epson and beyond, all fit perfectly with this affordable yet too-high-quality-to-be-called-genetic ceiling projector mount. The VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount only requires you to ensure that the distance between mounting holes on the part of your ceiling that you wish to put it on should be 12.5 inches or less. Also, make sure that it’s attached to ceiling beams and the ceiling itself is sturdy enough to take the weight of both the mount and the potentially 30-pound projector it’s supposed to support. Otherwise, the ceiling could collapse and drop your expensive projector on the ground.
- Strong Support Structure: The VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount also offers a strong support structure that can support 30 pounds. That means if your projector weighs more than 30 pounds—like for example, we’ve seen a 44-pound monster of a projector before—then maybe you need a specific heavy-duty projector ceiling mount for that one instead of depending on a universal mount like VIVO. Otherwise, the MOUNT-VP01W is sturdy enough to support 30 pounds of weight through its high-grade steel construction. It can keep your expensive display safe from falls or breakage as long as you make sure that the portion of your ceiling that you place it on is pretty strong itself, like on a particularly thick support beam.
- Fully Adjustable: You can nestle quite a lot of shapes and sizes right on it safely, the VIVO Universal Ceiling Projector Mount lives up to its universal name. However, the true secret behind its “universal” success among projector owners of different brands and models is through its fully adjustable head that could be titled and swiveled 15 degrees as well as rotated at 360 degrees. In other words, it’s capable of hitting all the viewing angles and screen placements your home cinema setup requires for your own convenience and for the benefit of the rest of your guests or audience.
- Low Profile Look That Blends In: Who knew that the “low profile” of VIVO Universal Ceiling Projector Mount could be considered a benefit instead of a detriment? The fact of the matter is that the mount holds the projector just 6 inches from the ceiling surface. Meaning, it blends with the environment of your conference room, meeting room, classroom, bedroom, or home cinema room with ease and won’t stick out like a sore thumb. It’s developed to look like it came with the room it’s installed in with its powder-coated white finish. It’s also available in black in case you want it to match with most projectors.
- Gives You All The Right Angles: Because it can swivel by 15 degrees, tilt by 15 degrees, and rotate by 360 degrees, you’re given the range of motion and angles reminiscent of a security camera. You can hit all the right viewing angles with the mount itself long before you need to adjust the projector through keystone correction, lens shift, and zoom. All you need to do in order to move the fixed mount by the correct swivel, tilt, and rotation is to loosen or tighten certain bolts. You also need a hex tool to do this, which is included in the box. This allows your projector superior flexible movement to secure the right position every time.
- Ideal for Home and Office Use: The MOUNT-VP01W is ideal for home or office use because it’s a heavy-duty solid projector mount that can be used for presentations or home cinema purposes. It can serve as your permanent HDTV alternative that broadcasts cable or satellite TV in high definition or play various DVD/BD sets of TV shows or movie franchises like Harry Potter or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its arms are also adjustable to fit most projector brands whether they’re business projectors, home cinema projectors, or school projectors as well as LCoS, DLP, and LCD projector variants.
- Best Used on Flat Ceilings: Because it’s a universal ceiling mount rather than a specialty one, the VIVO MOUNT-VP01W Universal Ceiling Projector Mount works best on flat ceilings. This is because it sits at 6 inches from the ceiling itself to maintain a low profile. This means if you have recessed or fancy ceilings with valleys and peaks for chandelier and light fixture placement, you’ll have to adjust the MOUNT-VP01W a bit more with its maximum tilt, swivel, and rotation options to be able to land your viewing angle correctly. With normal flat ceilings, setup is more of a breeze but the fancier your ceiling gets the more adjustments you’ll have to make to keep things like keystoning and ambient light from ruining your viewing experience.
- No Need for Reinstallation When You Make Mistake: Let’s say your throw distance calculations using the screen size and throw ratio of your projector is a bit off, leading to a projector that sits a bit askew or with a rather smallish projection that doesn’t quite fill in the screen. Or, what’s worse, the wall is at an angle, thus necessitating keystone correction that’s known to mess with the resolution and clarity of whatever you’re watching. No need to fret with the VIVO Universal Ceiling Projector Mount. Before you even need to touch the controls of your projector, you can instead tighten and loosen hex joints to adjust the tilt, swivel, and rotation of the mount, thus minimizing any need for you to use digital correction means.
- Fluid and Stationary at The Same Time: The VIVO MOUNT-VP01W Universal Ceiling Projector Mount offers the best of both worlds in terms of stability and fluidity. Because of the way it was designed using tough hex bolts you can’t easily unbolt with anything other than a hex screwdriver, the mount can be as rigid as the most simple of mounts that cage the projector into a single viewing angle. However, it can also be adjusted by loosening specific hex screws to move the projector using 360-degree rotation, 15-degree swivel, and 15-degree tilt so that you won’t have to mess with that zoom, lens shift, and keystone correction yourself. Sometimes, you can have your cake and eat it too.
- Maximum Reach of 12.5 Inches: Although the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount scores well on all fronts, it does have certain limitations you should take note of. First off, this quick assembly projector with all its mounting hardware and instructions included in the box features mounting arms with a maximum of 12.5 inches of reach. That’s plenty enough reach for the needs of the majority of projectors out there for sure. However, before buying this unit, make sure to find mounting holes atop your projector and measure the distance between them. If the diagonals measure 12.5 inches or less, then the mount will work for it. If it measures more than 12.5 inches, get a bigger mount.
- An Overall Dependable Mount: The all-steel, durable, flexible, adjustable, and all-around universal ceiling mount for projectors by VIVO is a jack of all trades. Some might claim it’s a “master” of “none”, but its high stats in terms of durability and flexibility balanced together with dependable support ensures that it’s actually a “master” of “all”. It’s solidly constructed with high-grade steel supports that can carry up to 30 pounds of projector weight. On top of all that, its flexibility doesn’t compromise longevity because it’s based on adjusting the mount at certain tilts and angles rather than constant movement. Once you hit the desired moving angle, you can tighten the hex screws to firmly secure the projector.
The Bottom Line
You need amount on the ceiling in order to keep your projector from being blocked or entangled by cables. While placed above you instead of behind you or in front of you, you’re able to see whatever you’re watching unimpeded. You won’t accidentally cast shadows over the screen or something. Regardless, the VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector Mount simply ticks up all the checkmarks regarding quality mounts for ceiling projectors.
It supports the average weight of most projectors, it’s flexible enough to move the projector around beyond its tilting and rotation limits, it’s easy to install, and it’s durable in construction to boot. Just remember that you should first know how much your projector weighs then from there you should get a mount designed to support it. It’s also important to remember that “ease” is relevant. If you don’t know how to work a drill to your ceiling, it doesn’t matter how easy it is, you’re simply unqualified to install the mount by yourself in a DIY manner.
References:
- “VIVO Universal Adjustable White Ceiling Projector“, Amazon.com, Retrieved March 20, 2020.
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