Center stands are becoming a thing of the past – annoying consumers.

Wondering why don’t TVs have center stands anymore? Oh boy, you are not alone. Anyone I talk to who is in the market for a new TV to replace their one that is four or more years old has the same complaint – “I can’t find a TV with a center stand.”

Let’s look at why this annoys so many people and what has replaced the center stand…

What Is A Center Stand TV?

A TV with a center stand is a television that has a single stand supporting its weight. This stand is found under the direct center of the TV and extends out some ways towards the edges of the TV. The stand’s base is both wide and deep.

The center stand allows the TV to stand on a single leg and also enables the owner to place the TV on a table or shelf that may be much shorter than the television itself. For example, if you have a 55-inch TV with a center stand, you don’t need a 55-inch table or shelf to set the TV on – you could get by with setting it on a table or shelf that, say, is only 30-inches wide.

This is because the table or shelf only has to be as wide as the TV’s center stand, and not as wide as the TV’s screen itself.

What Are Center Stands Being Replaced With?

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Unfortunately, center stands are being replaced with feet on the bottom of the TV. These feet come in pairs – there’s one near the edges of both ends of the TV.

While the duo feet take up less of a footprint than a center stand (the feet are often very thin relative to a center stand’s base), the duo feet need a much broader table or shelf to set on. For example, if you have a 55-inch TV with duo feet instead of a center stand, that TV may need a 50-inch or even 53-inch wide table or shelf to stand on.

Unlike with a center stand, which has one pint of contact with the table or shelf the TV rests on, the wide spacing of the duo feet means that there are two points of contact needed for level and secure spacing.

What this means for people buying new TVs is that they may find their shelf or table they set their center stand TV on will no longer work with their new duo feet television.

Why Don’t TVs Have Center Stands Anymore?

So why are television manufacturers doing away with center stands in favor of duo feet? It comes down to physics, shipping, and cost savings.

TVs are getting larger all that time. This means they require a stand that can support their weight and increased size. Center stands could still do this, but it would require that center stands be much heavier in order to counteract the expanded width and weight of the larger screens and balance such forces accordingly.

Making center stands larger and heavier adds plenty of manufacturing and, more importantly, shipping costs to televisions. A pair of duo feet solves these problems. Duo feet can be very light because there is a foot on each side of the TV, which helps distribute the TV’s weight without needing the feet themselves to be heavy.

TV Manufacturers Need To Be More Transparent About Feet Width

If TV manufactures are intent on all TVs going forward to have duo-feet stands, they need to provide information on what size of shelf/table the TV requires. This spacing information is oddly left off the listing on most televisions, leaving consumers to guess what size table/shelf they will need.

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Michael Grothaus

Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.