How do you organize your Directv setup?

[MikeR]

Well, after reading all of the posts where people are attempting to troubleshoot by moving various receivers to other locations...my thought was...

How does one keep their receiver cables/wires/etc organized where this is actually a reasonable task? I've always been impressed with the work done by some electricians where I work, that organize all wires, clearly identified, and doesn't look like a rat's nest. Just never seem to be able to pull it off.:(

My two home theater setups have a significant amount of cabling and wires. One location is above a fireplace (~44"x36"x46")...(ie have you seen a special ops MH-60K helicopter?) . Just enough room to fit a 40-42" LCD, without sidemount speakers). The problem is all of the equipment is behind the TV, and access is difficult. I have (1) HR20, (1) Receiver (surround wiring as well), (1) DVD Recorder, (1) DVD Player, (1) Ethernet Converter located here, and frankly, it looks completely unorganized, which my wife can attest to. I am considering moving the receiver, HR20, and ethernet convert over to one of the built in bookshelves.

So...where do you begin to organize your system, how do you plan ahead when setting it up, and most importantly, what is the ideal solution to make the wife happy with the entertainment center appearance:D ?

[pigskins]

Yea, good post. Add pics if you can!!

[Doug Brott]

For me, the hard part is the wiring closet as it is literally in my Bedroom closet. I just bought a nice looking enclosure and put everything in there. The cables do come up along the face of the closet, but you have to walk into the closet (not a walk-in) and turn around to see it. If it were a walk-in I would cover the cable bundle so that it doesn't look as bad.

At each television, it's not nearly as bad. I just keep everything up behind the shelf and equipment. For me, the living room is the worst and I have a rolling 2-shelf stand for all of my gear. the cables (4 COAX, 1 phone, 1 network) come out of the wall in one big bundle with a face plate and a wide hole pointing downward. I use a length of wire covering to hide all of the wires and then lay that along the floor to the stand. A few wire ties to hold everything together and I'm good.

The wires coming out of the wall are about 5 feet long and the stand rolls, so it's easy for me to get behind the equipment if necessary.

[cwdonahue]

I hide everything in cabinets that I can. I have two items that sit on open shelves in my cabinetry next to my HDTV: My pre/pro and my DVD changer. My amplifier and HR20 are inside the cabinet. I have lots of space inside the cabinet to move things around and air for them to breathe. The other benefit of hiding those boxes in the cabinet is that I can by extra long cables, so when I need to work on something, I can pull the unit out so I can see it, and then put it back. You don't need to label things if you can see them. I just keep the cables spooled up as neatly as possible in the cabinet. I have drilled multiple holes between the cabinets on the insides so I'm not putting power cables next to video cables and audio cables. I use an IR repeater to pass signals to the HR20, so only a small IR unit sits next to the TV. So, wife acceptance factor is very high when you hide your mess behind cabinet doors!

FYI...my system in the basement is for me, so everything sits on a Salamander 5 shelf rack that is adjustable and open on all sides. I don't mind looking at cables!