Mounted my TV on a stand... what cables should I get?

[Azxster]

I just bought a $2000 TV and it should be a shame if it was on a stand. What is the best way to drop the cables from the middle of the wall to the floor? It is an exterior wall so there is insulation. I was thinking of cutting the drywall, put a conduit, patch it up, and put an "access panel" at the bottom which will be concealed by a small stand.

Does anyone have good ideas on how to mount a TV on the wall with concealed wires?

[ullyeus]

I've been researching that a lot lately and will likely do the same thing you are thinking.

avsforum has tonnes of good info and pictures.

[Green_Star]

could you please point me to the images link in avsforum?

[BuildingHomes]

Does anyone have good ideas on how to mount a TV on the wall with concealed wires?

Many.

Conduit is always a good idea and something I preach to everyone. However as you mentioned you will need to remove drywall in order to get it in there as well as cut a large enough hole in the sole-plate and subfloor.

If you are handy with drywall, go this route.

Where did you want the other end of the cables to come out?


Usually when people do this they have some sort of component table underneath the display so running a conduit isn't really required. Just a hole behind the display and a hole behind the table and drop the cables inside the wall.

Here's one a did a while ago that demonstrates that:
http://www.phand.ca/index.php?image=4


And this one I put all the components on the left side of the fireplace by dropping cabling into the basement, and then back up in the corner of the room:
http://www.phand.ca/index.php?image=3

[The_Professor]

I used BuildingHomes to mount my LCD not too long ago and would recommend going with him if you don't have the time or inclination to do it yourself.

[Pete_Coach]

Azxter, I have seen stands that have a bracket that you mount the TV on and it raises the TV off the stand the stand. Unless you hide the components for your TV, you will need some sort of stand anyway. Here is a site that has the most I have ever seen
http://www.tvstandshowcase.com/

Nice work buildinghomes.
Are you the same as the guy who installed a central vac for someone and the plug did not work? (in another thread) Did you fix it for your customer?

[chrome_boy]

It is an exterior wall so there is insulation. I was thinking of cutting the drywall, put a conduit, patch it up, and put an "access panel" at the bottom which will be concealed by a small stand.


I would actually recommend against you putting this up on your wall unless you're really committed. The insulation and vapour barrier makes it a real pain. I had to add outlets in my exterior wall in my kitchen to get it to code, and trust me, it wasn't fun.

[BuildingHomes]

Nice work buildinghomes.
Are you the same as the guy who installed a central vac for someone and the plug did not work? (in another thread) Did you fix it for your customer?

Thanks.

I installed the vac, the outlet did not work. It's a builder warranty issue and I am following up with the customer.

[Azxster]

I decided this was more cost and time effective...

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/pfiles/10065/IMG_3564.jpg

Sony KDL46W3000
Sony Playstaion 3
Coolsat 7000

I am ordering cables from MonoPrice? I am debating 6ft or 12ft... 6 is a tight squeeze and 12 is way too much. Is it better to have no error to spare or have a chunk of cable tucked away?

For PC to TV:
HDMI DVI cable (24AWG) w/net jacket-10ft (Gold Plated)
For PS3/BLURAY to TV:
HDMI 1.3a Category 2 Certified Cable 28AWG - 10ft w/Ferrite Cores
For SATELLITE to TV:
PREMIUM 6FT 3-RCA Component Video RG-6 18AWG 75Ohm CL2 Rated Cable

I'll stick with crappy left/white cables since I doubt it would make a difference.

What other cables should I consider? I know in the future I would need a Digital Coax (for Subwoofer), 2 Optical Cables (for PS3/SAT to Receiver), and Speaker Wires. Aside from that, am I missing anything important?

Is my choice of cables (quality, gauge) alright?

[BuildingHomes]

There is nothing digital about cable. Subwoofers can use RG6 cable. SPDIF coax can use the same RG6 cable. Component video can use the same RG6 cable.

The signal they conduct may be interpreted as digital or analogue, but the cable won't know the difference.

As for cables you might be missing, you will need something between your PC and audio output.

[Azxster]

Is it better to use DVI -> HDMI or VGA?

[stealth]

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/122868.html
google dvi vs. hdmi and read.

[Jay1234]

There is nothing digital about cable. Subwoofers can use RG6 cable. SPDIF coax can use the same RG6 cable. Component video can use the same RG6 cable.

The signal they conduct may be interpreted as digital or analogue, but the cable won't know the difference.

As for cables you might be missing, you will need something between your PC and audio output.

Some Video cards now have the audio transmitted across HDMI. The audio is encoded in HDCP stream on the HDMI.

If the OP receiver or TV supports this, he won't need audio pairs to the TV or Receiver.

However for this to work, the OP needs a native HDMI card, not a DVI-HDMI converter.

Jay

[Jay1234]

Is it better to use DVI -> HDMI or VGA?

Use HDMI if it supports it. DVI and HDMI are similiar, but if you have a newer card (like AMD/ATI Radeon HD series), it will transmit the audio over the HDMI link as well.

Jay

[Pete_Coach]

I had some problems with my cable box and went to this site http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/index.php
O that site (it seems to be Canadian) there is a lot of info on TV's, HDTV's, cable, digital etc.
What I did reasd there surprised me. The experts on that site were not fond of HDMI cables using the HDTV cable box. It seemed to cause a number of problems. They suggest to use RGB cables.
Anyway, check out that site to answer questions about TV, Cable and home theater.