Modern flat-screen TVs are more fragile than they look: the screen itself can crack under pressure that wouldn't damage the frame. Unlike the bulky, glass-tubed televisions of years past, today's panels (LED, LCD and especially OLED) are thin, largely unsupported across the middle, and designed to be held upright rather than laid flat. Getting a large TV through a move without the original box just takes the right materials and a methodical process. It's also a task our own crews handle on residential, corporate and retail moves alike, across both Sydney and Perth, so the steps below reflect what actually works on the day rather than just the theory.
What you'll need
- A TV-specific moving carton, or two to three moving blankets/furniture pads.
- Bubble wrap or foam sheeting (avoid using it directly against the screen face).
- A soft cloth, old sheet, or microfibre cover to go against the screen itself.
- Packing tape or stretch wrap: for securing padding, not sticking directly to the screen.
- Painter's tape or masking tape for a light "X" across the screen (optional but useful: it won't damage the display and helps contain any hairline cracks).
- Zip-lock bags and a marker for cables, remotes and any mounting hardware.
- A furniture dolly or trolley for anything over about 100cm, plus a second person.
Step by step
- Get a TV-specific carton if you can. Purpose-built TV boxes with foam corner inserts are the safest option and are sized for most common screen dimensions: check our Box Shop for availability. These boxes are adjustable at the sides, so they can be sized down to fit snugly rather than leaving the TV loose inside.
- Power down and disconnect everything first. Unplug the TV, remove all cables, and take it off any wall mount or stand before you start wrapping: trying to pack a TV that's still attached to a bracket or stand is how most accidental drops happen.
- Protect the screen face first, before anything else touches it. Lay a soft cloth or old sheet over the screen, then add a layer of bubble wrap over that with the bubbles facing outward, away from the glass: never place bubble wrap directly on the screen, since the raised bubbles can leave pressure-mark indentations or, on some panel types, contribute to scratching.
- Build padding around the whole unit. Once the screen face is covered, wrap the entire TV in a thicker moving blanket or furniture pad, paying particular attention to the corners and edges, which are the most likely impact points. Secure the blanket with tape or stretch wrap applied to the blanket itself, not directly on the screen underneath.
- Add a taped "X" across the screen as extra insurance. A strip of painter's or masking tape (not packing tape, which can leave residue) applied in a cross pattern over the front, on top of the soft layer, doesn't stop a crack but can help hold the screen together if one does occur, reducing further damage during transit.
- Always transport it upright, standing on its base or stand: never flat. Flat-packed TVs (laid screen-up or screen-down) are far more prone to internal panel damage from pressure, even without visible impact. This matters even more for OLED televisions: OLED panels have almost no rigid backing structure, and manufacturer guidance from both LG and Samsung explicitly warns against bending, flexing or applying uneven pressure to the panel, recommending the set be kept upright at all times during transport and moved by at least two people for larger sizes (33rd Square TV transport guide; Movers.com on transporting OLED TVs). Curved-screen models carry the same upright-only rule, plus one extra consideration: the curve means the panel makes contact with padding unevenly if laid down, so it's even more important to support the whole back of the screen rather than just the edges.
- Get a second person for anything 55 inches and up. One person lifting from the centre of the screen, rather than the edges, is one of the most common causes of accidental cracks on larger sets. Two people should lift together, each supporting a top and bottom corner on the same side, never gripping the screen area itself.
- Secure it so it can't tip or slide in the vehicle. In a vehicle or truck, the TV should be braced upright against a flat wall or between soft furniture, strapped if possible, with nothing resting against the screen. Load it after the larger furniture is in place so it has something stable to lean against, and load it toward the front of the load (near the cab) where there's typically less movement, rather than near the tailgate.
- Never stack anything on top of the TV, even lightweight boxes: the packaging isn't designed to bear weight from above, and this is one of the most common mistakes on moving day itself, especially when space in the truck is tight and it's tempting to use the top of a "wrapped, safe-looking" TV as extra surface area.
- Pack cables, remotes and mounting brackets separately, labelled. A zip-lock bag taped to the back of the TV (over the padding, not the screen) or kept with your essentials box saves real frustration on setup day in the new home.
- Go easy on the road. If you're driving the vehicle yourself, take corners and speed bumps slowly: vibration and sudden jolts are a real contributor to screen damage over a longer trip, even when the TV is well padded and upright.
- Consider your insurance before moving day, not after. If your TV is high-value, it's worth confirming what's covered under your move: see our insurance information page for what's included.
Loading into the truck or vehicle
How a TV is positioned inside the vehicle matters almost as much as how it's wrapped.
- Load position matters. Position the TV upright against the flattest, most stable surface available: usually the front bulkhead of the truck or the back of the cab: rather than against a lumpy stack of boxes that could shift underneath it.
- Brace it from both sides. Wedge soft furniture, mattresses or well-packed boxes on either side of the TV so it's held firmly upright without being able to lean or tip, and use a strap across the load if the vehicle has anchor points.
- Keep it away from the tailgate. The rear of a truck or trailer experiences the most bounce and vibration over uneven roads: positioning the TV further forward, closer to the cab, reduces the cumulative jolting it experiences over a longer trip.
- Never lay other items against the screen face, even lightly: anything resting on the front of the TV, however soft, can transfer pressure over a long drive in a way that a single bump wouldn't.
- Load last, unload first. Because the TV should never bear weight from other items, it makes sense as one of the last things loaded and the first thing taken off, so it's never sitting underneath anything else even briefly during transit.
- In a car rather than a truck, an upright position behind the front seats, secured with a seatbelt if it fits, works better than the boot in most sedans: the boot floor tends to transmit more road vibration than the cabin.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Laying the TV flat "just for the trip": even a short drive involves bumps and braking that a flat-laid, unsupported panel isn't built to handle.
- Using bubble wrap directly against the screen instead of a soft cloth barrier first.
- Lifting a large TV solo, especially by gripping the middle of the screen rather than the frame edges.
- Leaving the TV loose in the back of a vehicle without bracing or strapping, assuming padding alone will stop it moving.
- Packing the TV first and burying it under other items: it should go in toward the end of loading and come out first, so it's never load-bearing for anything else.
- Forgetting to photograph cable and port setups before disconnecting a home theatre or soundbar system, which makes reassembly slower and more error-prone.
- Turning the TV on immediately after a cold move without letting it reach room temperature first, particularly in a Sydney or Perth winter move where the truck may have been noticeably colder than the house: sudden temperature changes are a more common cause of internal condensation issues than most people realise.
- Reusing a generic box that's noticeably larger or smaller than the TV, rather than a properly sized TV carton or snugly padded wrap: too much internal space defeats the purpose of the padding.
A note on OLED and curved-screen TVs
OLED panels are built differently to standard LED/LCD screens: there's very little rigid backing behind the display, which is part of why they're so thin. Manufacturer guidance from LG explicitly warns that the panel is glass-based and susceptible to cracking under pressure or impact, and instructs users not to apply uneven pressure to it, while Samsung's guidance similarly warns against bending or twisting the screen during handling (33rd Square: OLED TV transport guide). In practice, that means treating the upright-only rule as non-negotiable for OLED sets, taking extra care not to grip or press on the centre of the panel at any point, and, for screens 55 inches and larger, always moving the TV with two people supporting it along the top and bottom edges rather than one person carrying it alone. If you still have the original box, it's worth the extra effort to reassemble and use it for an OLED specifically, since the manufacturer's foam is shaped to avoid any contact with the panel's most delicate points.
Curved-screen TVs (common in some older Samsung ranges) don't change the core rule, upright, never flat, but they do change how padding should sit against the panel. Because the screen curves rather than lying flat, padding needs to follow the curve rather than being pressed flat against it, which is another reason a properly fitted TV carton (built with this shape in mind) outperforms an improvised wrap-and-blanket approach for curved models specifically.
For the same principles applied to glassware, art and other fragile items, see our full fragile-packing guide, and check our packing services if you'd rather have trained movers handle electronics on the day.