bit-tech Shopping: South Shore 4257-1202 Charcoal and Honeydew Wood TV Stand

• Enclosed Shelves
• Glass Door
• Storage Shelves

Rating: 6

Time with product: 30 Days

Strengths: Affordable, esthetic, functional, spacious.

Weaknesses: No black or silver color schemes. Susceptible to dents and chips if not too careful. Average materials.

Summary: My South Shore City Life Contemporary Honeydew TV stand (4257601) was purchased for approx. $216 (including sales tax) from a local "discount" mart so shop around for the best price. The stand was shipped free from the warehouse for local pickup so there were some minor nicks, blemishes, and scratches. Luckily no visible defects from> 1 ft. away and the glass cabinet doors weren't broken. The main sections are made of "manufactured wood" with veneered light brown wood grain patterns. The top section holding the TV is supported by four metal legs and the cabinet door handles are also metal. Assembly was straightforward but I made sure every section was lined up properly and securely fastened. Lateral support is mainly provided by the nailed in rear cardboard (with cutouts for cables), and by the three horizontal inner shelves (each held up by 4 plastic pegs) so make sure everything is properly assembled before putting TV on the stand. Likes: Good price (most HDTV stands are> $350) for a sturdy, fairly esthetic, and spacious HDTV stand which can hold numerous dvd players, DVDs, A/V receivers, surround sound speaker, game console, etc. Satellite receiver fits nicely right under the top level. No fragile glass shelves/sections like most of the other stands. Obviously more secure than a wall-mount. Easily hides all cables and wires behind it. Minor Dislikes: Not available in silver or black to match HDTV and components. Typical veneered "pulp wood" at this price range. Frosted glass doors may block some IR remotes (I left them off for now). Plastic base knobs / no rollers for mobility. My Sony 52" LCD TV fits nicely on the top section but that means there's little room for shorter front surround sound speakers on the second level; now I just use the front tower speakers (see pic). Verdict: Spacious, nice looking, generic stand for the family room at a fair price. Long term surface and structural durability is questionable.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Days

Strengths: Good looking and strong; goes together easy,

Weaknesses: Directions were a little vague,

Summary: I bought this to hold my 40 inch Samsung.It came in a reasonable amount of time and assembled easly with household tools. For the price; the qualty was much better then I expected. I would recomend it.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 18 Days

Strengths: Plastic feet make it easy to move when loaded. Great deal for the size/capacity. Neutral colors go with anything.

Weaknesses: You have to put it together (if that really is a weakness).

Summary: While this product is advertised as only being able to a TV of 36" or less, I'd like to let you in on a secret: it looks great under my JVC 61" LCOS TV. Any TV with a pedestal not wider than the top shelf of this stand looks good on this perch, and it will easily hold any of the lighter big-screen TVs. We were looking for a taller stand, so that our growing kids wouldn't get in the way of watching the TV. This stand is a couple of inches taller than most of the ones we could find to compare with, cheaper than all but the shoddiest of them, and the silver accents look nice with our silver home theater components. There is plenty of space for a large variety of components and accessories, and the frosted glass on the doors pass IR signals just fine.