Techcraft HBL60 60-Inch Flat Panel Television Stand

Review by L. Lestha for Techcraft HBL60 60-Inch Flat Panel Television Stand
Rating:
I confess that this stand really doesn’t go with our home’s colonial styling but, then again, neither does our 52″ Sony Bravia XBR. The stand does however suit the flatscreen beautifully in style. I went oversize on the stand (60″ stand for a 52″ flatscreen) because I wanted a little ‘margin of error’ around the television so we’d be more likely to bump into the stand than the television and thus reduce the chance of knocking the television over.

The stand is pretty darn heavy. The frame isn’t at all heavy, it’s the three thick glass shelves (with the topmost shelf being especially thick) that add all the weight. I used the thin styrofoam type packing wrap to handle the shelves, which helped my grip as well as keep the glass fingerprint-free. Assembly might have been tedious but I worked while watching television so I didn’t notice the passing of time. Everything lined up nicely and went together without even a single muttered curse. Knowing my husband’s proclivity for spontaneously rearranging furniture, I stuck some heavy duty felt pads onto the bottom of the feet before I loaded the stand with the glass shelves. The 1″ felt pads fit nicely into the bottom of the feet and allowed me to shift the stand on the hardwood floor even after it was weighted down. (Obviously, only do small, careful ‘tweaks’ to the positioning of the stand while the television is on it, otherwise remove the television before moving the stand! I know that should be obvious but…)

As others have mentioned, the shelves are not actually anchored onto the stand but the little rubbery adhesive nubs included do add plenty of friction as well as protection and the weight of the glass, even unladen with equipment, keeps the shelves pretty firmly in place — unless perhaps you live in earthquake territory and, if you do, you probably should consider something that doesn’t contain huge glass shelves, even if the glass is tempered.

I have to disagree with other reviewers about the lack of doors. Doors would only slow the accumulation of dust, not stop it, and the doors would actually make it a harder to clean, harder to assemble, etc. The simplicity of style and smoothness of the glass makes it quite easy to clean. (Cord management by bundling, wrapping, etc. will go a long way to making things easier on the eye as well as contributing to the ease of cleaning.) For the ‘complaint’ about the lack of doors making the equipment too accessible to children, I’d have to point out that a low object with very large spans of glass supported by ‘I’ shape framework is probably not the best choice for households with children. I wouldn’t be worried about the tempered glass hurting the kids (unless they fell onto the edge because, even blunted, it’s still a hard, narrow edge) but I’d be concerned about a sharp, concentrated force shattering the glass and causing the television to fall — possibly on the rambunctious child.

I do love the smooth, sleek simplicity of this stand, even if it doesn’t fit the rest of our decor. All the equipment blends into the shelves nicely because everything is black… except my Wii, which sticks out like a pale sore thumb. lol So, excellent price, ease of assembly, and sleek styling make this stand an excellent choice if you don’t have rambunctious children or teens, or live in earthquake-prone areas. Also, if by circumstance or positioning you need to anchor your television, this probably isn’t the stand for you because there’s no practical way of anchoring the television to the stand. Other than that, this stand is easy on the eye as well as the wallet and does a great job of combining simplicity, style, and functionality in one affordable — though heavy — package.