Stud sensors do go along the lines of good - better - best, but it can be still very difficult to locate the studs due to the metal and mesh used in the walls. You best bet is to use a little better quality stud sensor, look down along the length of the wall for for slight variations where the studs might be, then tap around a little with a screwdriver handle, listening for slight differences in sound. When all three seem to come together, mark the suspected location with a piece of masking tape. Then use something like a 1/16th inch drill bit to drill into the area - do you feel a stud or nothing at all? Did you get a little, or a lot of wood on the bit? Home in on it by going side to side. The small holes can easily be filled with spackling compound afterward and are hardly noticeable - a little touch-up paint - invisible. Be careful though since older construction is not always on 16" centers and I have seen many older walls built with 2x3s. I'd stay away from single stud mounts and just use plastic molding to run the cables down along the surface of the wall.

Depending on the building construction you may not have studs. Plaster can be placed directly on a masonry wall. If the wall is an interior wall it is likely a stud wall with plaster. The baseboard nail locations are not a good indicator of studs in most plaster work. To create a level wall plaster Âgrounds are used around all openings and edges were plaster ends. These are typically 1 inch thick wood strips. At the baseboard they are often 2-3 inches wide (at windows 1-2 inches is common). The baseboard is attached to the plaster grounds and not directly to the studs. If the walls are smooth plaster repairs are pretty easy, so you can use a small (1/8 inch) masonry bit to go looking for the studs. The studs are typically on 16 inch centers in older work. Measure from the nearest corner and drill a test hole. For a heavy load you need to have the exact center of the stud, so count on drilling a few holes. If the mounting bracket is large enough, it will cover at least some of the errant holes. To mount into the studs you need to remember the plaster is at least ¾ of an inch thick and get screws with enough length to get well into the stud. If you are on a common wall it may be masonry and mounting gets a lot more complicated. A unit that hangs away from the wall produces a large tension (withdrawal load) on the fasteners and many masonry fasteners do not have good tension load characteristics. Drop in expanding steel anchors have good tension, but are larger and more difficult to install correctly. The strength is also very dependent on the exact material the anchor is driven into.

Thanks all for this input. Very helpful. Today I built a fake tv out of Fedex boxes I had at the office and placed it at various heights from 46-54 inches and sitting at the same height and distance as my living room would be. Personally, while my eye level was between 40-43” depending on the seat and my slouch position, I found my eye naturally resting at at between 46-50 inches. My couch, dining chairs and comfy sitting chairs all have a little natural recline to them. I decided to install my electrical outlets and wiring at a position that gives me a range to decide between 46-52 center once I’m ready to mount. This decision seems to vary for a lot of people so I’ll summary why I am doing a mount (even if it’s only a few inches above console) and why that height: I have a few different places to sit/see TV: comfy lounging chairs, my couch, dining table and my open kitchen. Mounting with an arm gives me an opportunity to adjust depending on what’s being used I am using a soundbar and want to make sure the sound field is adjusted as the tv moves so sound travels in the right direction based on which way tv is pointing. My placement allows me to upgrade tv to a bigger size while keeping center the same My soundbar adds an extra 3.5” to bottom of tv so I can mount a little higher if needed while preserving the right space between console and tv I have my eye on a 27” high console I really like. To do that, I need my center of tv to be at 47”ish so that the soundbar can clear the console and float Would like to get sound of the bar closer to ear level versus really low to the ground.

Can you post a photo? Your description sounds like your TV is mounted pretty high...? Center of it should be about 42" from the floor.