Lately 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 of the TV in the screen area directly under the speaker. Over time, the particle-board top of the TV is sagging under the weight, and the screen frame was bowing too, causing the screen to warp.

If you have a 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 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 guage metal to be used - talk to the person at the metal shop.
2. Have the plate slightly bent down on either side of the center speaker position on of this plate, so that the plate will 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 under 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.
4. Use velcro to connect the ends of the plate where they rest on the top corners of the TV to keep the plate stable.
5. Paint the plate black if desired.
6. 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 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.

Good viewing,
David Gibbons