PUT A WING ON YOUR RPTV!
Addressing screen problems caused by heavy center speakers

by David Gibbons
Revised April 2007

Introduction

Author's note, April, 2007 - The venerable CRT-based RPTV with its generously-proportioned top is fast disappearing. You may well have to devise another way to support your big center speaker above your modern RPTV. (Wall-mounted brackets can work well.)

Owners of older Rear-Projection TV's (RPTV) rest their center speakers on top of their TV's. So did I.

Then I noticed that the 20 Lb center speaker sitting on top of my Toshiba 50HDX82 was beginning to cause a slight warping in the screen area directly under the speaker. Over time, the particle-board top of the TV was sagging under the weight, and the screen frame was bowing too, causing the screen to warp. A warped screen will cause a degraded picture.

If you have a heavy speaker resting on the flat top on your RPTV, here's one way to address this problem:

  1. Go to your local custom sheet metal shop, and have them cut a rectangular 3/8 inch thick aluminum plate to the width and depth of the top of your TV.
    Lighter sizes might work, but you pay for all of the metal the shop cuts! A wire or strap tying the ends of the plate together so they won't spread out under load might allow lighter gauge metal to be used - talk to the person at the metal shop. If the top of your TV is narrow, the plate might have be designed differently also.
  2. Have the plate slightly bent down on either side of what will be the center speaker's position on the plate.
    These bends will make the plate support the whole weight of the speaker on the ends of the plate. Slight bends are all that should be necessary. Bring the speaker or something of matching size and weight to the metal shop to be sure the plate will not touch in the middle while supporting the weight of the speaker.
  3. Have the leading edges of the plate cut back on a bevel on either side of the center speaker position so that the ends of the plate will rest only on the vertical sides of the cabinet, with NO contact with the screen frame/bezel.
    Here's what the plate should look like:

Speaker Support - Top View
  • Use Velcro to secure the ends of the plate where they rest on the top corners of the TV to keep the plate stable.
  • Paint the plate if desired.
  • Put the plate in position on the TV, plunk your speaker on the plate, and off you go.

    Such a "load spreader" plate will NOT be necessary if you have a little bitty center speaker, but if you have a 10 Lb or more speaker resting on top of your RPTV, look at the top of the screen from a very shallow side angle. If the screen is warped in the area just below where the speaker sits, you might consider using such a plate. The whole idea of this project is to transfer the speaker weight to the vertical side members of the TV, which are much stronger than the top of the TV, particularly over time.


    Speaker Support--Side View

    Good Viewing,
    David Gibbons

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