I wall mounted my TCL Q7C 75" TV and hid all the cables - These were my steps!
I love my new TCL 75 inch Q7C but hated the big black plastic stand that came with it as it clashes with my white gloss TV unit and the rest of the furniture. The stand also makes it sit 6 inches away from the wall which is a problem because my living room is already quite small so getting those 6 inches back would improve the viewing distance.
Here where the TV where the TV would be mounted and I wanted it to float a couple of inches above the TV unit. The number of visible cables running into it makes my OCD kick in so I decided to wall mount it on a drywall and hide all the cables too. I'm a DIY novice so I looked online for tips and decided to give it a go! I hit a few problems and found solutions so I hope this post helps anyone looking to do the same.
Below is the TV stand and the wall without the TV
My wall is drywall with studs. I read online that each stud can support 50lbs of weight. The TV itself weighs 55lbs without a stand and I would be using a wall mount that spans two studs so the weight distribution should be no problem
I borrowed a friends Franklin ProSensor M210. I think all of them a finicky but it seemed to registered 3 studs in the wall that were exactly 600mm apart which was a good sign. However I didn't entirely trust the device. I had so many missed readings and lots of inconsistency when I tried to find them at different heights. I added a post it note to the positions of where it said there was a stud. I found three placed 600mm apart and I was going to use two of them. I had to make sure the tv was centred to my sofa and at eye level.
I wanted to hit the centre of the stud, not the edge or miss it entirely. I just wasn't satisfied with the readings so i marked the studs on the wall and then I drilled an inch outside one of the markings. The idea was I should be able to push my finger through and touch the stud to be 100% sure it was there. So I ended up drilling a couple of test holes. I found one of the studs and realised that it was half an inch to the right of where my drawing on the wall had placed the stud using the stud finder. I drilled a hole on the other side of the stud to touch it with my finger and found that too had been half an inch off.
If I had used the original stud finder markings then I would either have hit the stud at the very edge or maybe even have just missed it. I then repeated the process for the other stud and again, found that the stud finder markings I had were off by half an inch from what I could feel. With the holes I was able to physically touch the edges of the two studs I was going to mount the wall bracket on
The next step was to decide where on the wall the TV was going to be mounted and to create the cabling holes.
The TV on the stand had the middle of the screen at eye height already so it was easy just to mark an outline of the TV on the wall and work with that. I could see where the TV section was and I knew the height of the TV unit and the gap in the middle was where all the cables would be hidden. I needed to create two holes between that section to create a cable free space on the wall. I drilled into the wall to create two holes 12 inches apart.
Cables!
I wanted to make this whole set up semi-permanent so I wanted to include all the cables I could possibly ever need. The TV has 4 HDMI ports, USB input, an ethernet and optical in port. I also needed to create support for future needs such as needing USB power.
I went on Amazon and bought the following cables, all two meters long so they were the same lengths.
3x HDMI 2.1 cables - I have 4 ports but I wanted to leave one port free for Chromecast
2x USB A male to female cables
2x USB-C to USB-C cables
1x 5 Meter 6500k LED light strip (12v DC)
1 x ethernet
1x Optical - that turned out to be pointless as I used eARC HDMI for my 5.1 Dolby Atmos.
*Tip* Test all the cables at this stage. I didn't do that until after I installed them. Luckily they all performed fine but it would have sucked if any of them had failed.
Those are a lot of cables so the hole had to be large enough to feed all of them. The stud position for the VESA mounts were found, I had filled in all the holes I made. The two cable holes were made. All I had to do now was feed the cables through.
When the cables arrived, I found the USB-C was stiff and skinny. I fed the cable up from the bottom hole to the top hole and out it emerged. I had to fight against all the resistance from the insulation but I was so relived when it emerged.
Now the controversial part because I know this is where I will get downvoted. I also wanted to push through the power cable. Its only through a 10 inch distance behind the dry wall but it is very chunky and not stiff at all. This was not going to go in easily. I also could only push from bottom up not top down because the power plug was even chunkier and that was not going to go though the wall under any circumstance.
*This is my top tip if you try this yourself*. I pulled the 2m USB-C cable back down so only the tip was exposed at the top side of the hole. I then used sticky tape the tape the chucky power lead head to the USB-C cable from below very securely. Then when I pulled the USB-C cable from the top, it pulled the power cord through with it. Then I found myself with the top and bottom ends of each cable coming out of the hole.
Then rather than do this one by one, I sticky tables all of the other cables to the original USB-C cable like a long snake and pulled them all through in a single go. Just make sure the connecting ends are behind each other to keep the whole unit slim while you feed it behind the wall. I decided to go downward to upwards. All the cables are symmetrical apart from the power cord with its big plug end. That *had* to go from the bottom hole up so I ran all the cables that way. My distance was short which made it doable. If you have a larger distance then you might need to go top to bottom *however* TVs should be eye level so I dont think anyone will really have a gap of more than a few inches between the holes. In fact the bigger your TV, the lower it should be so if you TV unit is below it then the gap should be even smaller than mine.
I took off the sticky tape off the cables. I made sure they were the same length. The *worst* think about the TCL Q7C is that the power connector and HDMI connectors are on the opposite side of a very wide TV. That meant all the HDMI and USB connectors nicely lined up but I had to re-direct the short power cable apart to the other side. I had considered buying a longer power cable but I could see it was exactly the minimum lenth I needed for my set up so I just used it anyway.
Before you do this yourselves please seriously consider the length and location of the cables, port and the position of the TV. Planning all of that will save you a lot of trouble later.
I went back to the wall where the stud marking were and installed a flat wall mount. Mine were just over 600mm wide so I managed to hit both the studs, bang in the centre.
Measure the position of the VESA mounts on your TV against the wall. I did not do this. I *assumed* the VESA position on the TV would be at the centre so I ended up installing the wall mount too high. Luckily, I was able to adjust the TV on the mount itself so it is now at the optimal height but its on its furthest setting so I have no flexibility there which isnt ideal. I got lucky with this mistake. I didnt want to remove the wall mount as it was so securely in place.
The wall mount was on and the cables were fed but I realised I had forgotten to add the brush wall mounts to the bottom hole. That meant I had to unfeed all the cables and start that part again! Luckily the sticky tape method worked great so it was quick and easy. I secure the base plate but not the top plates
The wall bracket was in place, the cables were all fed and the wall brush base plates were on. I realised I hadn't actually tested the cables! So I hooked up all the cables to the TV and tested them all out on my xbox to make sure they were working and feeding the right signal. I needed to make sure the HDMI 2.1 ports were all able to run 4K at 120hz and the USB cables were transferring power. I just had to plug my phone in to see if it was charging on all of them and they were.
I just had to plug my phone in to see if all the USB ports were transferring power and they were. Then I put the LED backlight on the TV. A 5 meter cable was just the right length. Make sure you keep the strip 2-3 inches away from the edge and avoid the vents
So all the connectors were plugged in
Connections:
3 x HDMI 2.1 - rated for 8K
1 x Ethernet
1 x Optical out
1 x Chromecast plugged in powered by one of the USB-C connectors.
1 x USB drive plugged in with media
The LED light strip is powered by a 12v DC connector. I found at max it was too bright but it came with a dimmer. You might want to use a standard USB powered one and use one of the USB cables to power it.
The TV and connectors all tested fine so the final step was to remove the stand and mount it. You can see here on the power strip how a single USB plug will power all four ports, I have another port free to power a console. My TV unit has two sides so if I wanted to house another large device like a PS5 or Xbox I can use the other side of the unit as the 2 meter HDMI ports have plenty of length for that.
When it comes to connectors, consider what you need and might need. The four USB power points I included might seem like overkill but if you use a Chromecast/Firestick, an USB powered LED light strip, USB powered TV Aerial and a USB powered hard drive which needs your TVs USB input for data, that would mean *all five of your USB ports are already taken up*. I used a single power plug to connect all of the USBs and they're on a power strip with a switch.
I would recommend at least 2 meter cables even for a short distance like my set up. Apparently HDMI 2.1 signals are not so strong after 3m plus but you can look into that if that applies to your set up. I used some adhesive cable clips to secure the four extra USB power points to the TV so they can be kept neat until needed.
I then mounted the TV onto the wall. I highly recommend if you're mounting a TV that is 75 inches or above, do it with some help. I did it on my own but with great difficulty. Once the TV was on the wall I realised that despite using a spirit meter the walls/floor wasn't entirely straight so I needed to adjust the bracket on the TV. So the I had to take it back down and do some adjustments. I used painters take on the TV to indicate where the bracket hooks were. You do not want to be playing trial and error holding a 75 inch TV blindly trying to find them. I used painters tape to mark on the wall and on the TV the exact point where the hooks and bracket were. I then rested the TV on some chairs temporarily so when it came to lifting it onto the actual bracket, I only had to lift it a couple of inches and not all the way down from the floor.
I managed to hook the right side of the TV perfectly while resting the left side on the chair. Then I lifted the left side on to the bracket and voila, its was on! Then I had to use a screw driver to screen in the lockings screws. However they were *deep* in the centre and my regular screw driver couldnt reach. I then had to order a 30cm long Philips screw driver to actually lock them in. That meant taking the TV back down, putting it back on the regular stand so I could wait for the screw driver to arrive the next day and do this again!
*Tip* Make sure you have the right length screw driver before you start! Its one of those things you never think about until you hit that problem. Just make sure before you mount it, how high up the bracket locking screws will be. If you have a 75 inch TV or bigger it will need a LONG screw driver.
*Tip* use an adjustable bracket if possible. You may find you have taken all the right measurements and it ends up looking crooked. Horizontal lines not being parallel are very noticeable to human eyes. Mine was hooked up perfectly but then I noticed that the floor/ceiling wasnt entirely level so it made the TV look 0.7 degrees off. That non-parallelness is amplified massively on a 75 inch screen. One side was 2 cm higher than the other. This happens all the time. Sometimes the wall and floor are not straight. There could be flaws on the TV or the bracket. All of these come together and can leave it looking a little crooked. With a tiltable bracket you can at least set it to how you like it.
Finally the TV is wall mounted and the final wall brush plates are installed. I plugged the TV and light strip to the power point along with all the TV cables. I'm pretty much all set now. The wrapper is still on the TV until everything is done. There was still a lot of drill dust and dust in general from behind the TV unit which I have had for a while. I needed to take out the shelves and give it a real good clean and make sure everything is 100%
I ended up raising the TV on the right side using furniture floor pads by about 2cm at the back right and 1cm on the front right. You absolutely cannot tell that they are there and now the TV looks straight against the TV unit which itself looks flat on the floor as you can see above. You can only notice it by the slightly deeper shadow on the right side in the image above but in person I absolutely cannot notice it.
I just tried to take a shot of the 'gap'. I suppose it seems like a lot of work for so little but think it just makes the set up look cleaner. When the LED lights are on, I think it will look great!
The centre of the TV is at eye level and so for a 75 inch TV, that means it actually has to be quite close to the ground. The TV unit is about 45cm high so that meant the gap itself isnt huge but I will like it. The old stand was big black and ugly. It also kept the TV several inches away from the wall. Wall mounting it got rid of the stand, gave me back those several inches and kept the TV unit free of any items. The Xbox/console can be hidden in the drawers. The central speaker of my 5.1 system is showing.
*Tip* Make sure the ports are reachable. The bracket I had was super slim and the TV is as close to the wall as it possibly can be. Luckily the ports are still just about reachable. However I was planning to use the same bracket to install my Hisense bedroom TV and when I looked at the ports, I could see that they would be impossible to reach. Even the power port was so deep that even without trying to hide all the cables, if any of them failed or fell out you would have to take down the entire TV.
You can see how close to the wall the TV is and how port access is super limited. I have three out of the 4 HDMI ports with cables in leaving one free for a chromecast/external device like a laptop but port access is hard. As a result I've ordered a 12cm HDMI extension cable which I'll leave plugged it but when I do need to use it then it should be easier to connect. I also have a USB stick with videos plugged it. Luckily the port access is just about OK but its fiddly. I might just install an external SSD there. The TV build in USB port can carry the data/video signal and the SSD itself will need to be powered by USB A or USB C but I have those there already. It would just make it easier to add and remove. If you end up using an adjustable bracket or a fixed one that is not so close to the wall then you might find it easier. Every TV has a different port arrangement so your milage might vary but you absolutely must decide on cable management and port access before you start a project like this
My TV unit is a couple of years old. I plan to change it in the future to a lower profile one that can also be wall mounted to it floats
I hope my project has given some of you inspiration and lessons from my mistakes!
I've included a couple of clean Amazon UK inks below with prices to the items I used. You'll be able to easily find the equivalents on the US store. There was some debate about whether using full fat or skinny cables was the better option. In my experience here, I struggled to get all the cables I wanted through the brush wall plate even with the skinny ones. Have a think about which cables you need to put through that hole and how that is going to work. I had nearly 10 cables plus the power cord so it was tight.
Lastly, I know the power cord going behind the dry wall is going to raise some eye brows. I decided to take that risk myself. Its only running a couple of inches behind it. I also power off the ensure set up when I am not using it so there is now power running through any of the cables when I am not there.
I suppose I could get an electrician to move one of the power points behind the TV. That will be costly and goes beyond the scope of a DIY project which is what I wanted to do. I could probably do that in the future if I decided to.
Annoyingly the LED light strip broke during my installation (it was my fault) so I had to order a new one. It should be easy enough to tape a back since its just centimetres from the edge. Since its 12v dc powered and I already have the power cable running through the wall, it just made sense to buy the same unit again so I can just swap out the LEDs without having to do anything else. Below is a picture I took of the LEDs being tested when the TV was still on a stand. I highly recommend biased lights. The TCL is super bright so it can be quite hard to watch TV in pitch black I find but this light makes it easy.
I'm a total novice to DIY. I don't like it at all but when I *have* to fix a problem but when you own a place and small things go wrong there is no other choice but to watch some Youtube videos and give it a go yourself.
This project however was fun. It was challenging and I came across a lot of issues but Im very happy with the end result. I learnt a lot from my mistakes hence the reason why Im making this post so others who want to try this would be able to avoid them.
There were a couple of other minor items I bought but nothing you can't easily find yourself. Good luck if you try this project yourself!
Posted Mar 8, 2026, 1:24 PM UTC