Shoppers looking for a TV wall mount often encounter VESA numbers without a clear explanation of what they mean. The term refers to a standardized system that describes the spacing between the mounting holes on the back of a television.
VESA stands for Video Electronics Standards Association. As Engadget reported, a VESA size describes the distance between the threaded mounting holes on the back of a TV or display, measured in millimeters. The first number is the horizontal distance between holes, and the second is the vertical distance. A TV with a 400 by 200 pattern has holes spaced 400 millimeters apart from left to right and 200 millimeters apart from top to bottom.
A VESA mount is not one specific type of bracket. It is any bracket that supports one or more of those standardized hole patterns. Many brackets support multiple patterns, so buyers do not necessarily need a mount labeled for their exact size. The TV's pattern just needs to appear on the mount's list of supported patterns.
Larger televisions tend to use larger mounting patterns, but screen size alone does not reliably indicate which pattern a specific model uses. The most accurate method is to look up the exact TV model in the product manual or on the manufacturer's support page and find the wall-mount specifications listed in millimeters.
If the specification is not available in the manual, the pattern can be measured directly. Measuring from the center of one mounting hole to the center of the corresponding hole horizontally, and then repeating vertically, gives the VESA pattern. The result should be written as horizontal by vertical in millimeters.
Finding a matching VESA pattern is only part of the process. A bracket that lines up with a TV's mounting holes may still be unsuitable if it cannot support the television's weight. The mount's maximum load rating should be compared against the weight of the TV before purchase.
Hardware requirements are also separate from VESA compatibility. The pattern determines whether the bracket aligns with the TV. How the bracket attaches to the wall, and what hardware is required, depends on additional specifications that go beyond the VESA number alone.
