Did I screw up? Pre wired for Sat/Cable/DVR

[dcanesdbs]

Guys,

Help me out here:( In the process of doing the basement. i had them pre wire for sat/cable and sat/dvr/hd for a few TV's... When they prewired, the 3 tv's I am going to hang on the wall, I had them do:

1) Gym: 2 lines, 1 for sat and 1 for cable on the wall toward the top where it will be hung.
2) Living Room: 3 lines, 2 for sat (for DVR, etc) and 1 for cable on the wall toward the top where it will be hung.
3) Bar area: 2 lines, 1 for sat and 1 for cable on the wall toward the top where it will be hung.

I have nothing towards the floor. Did I screw up????? Now that I look my currect , for example, DVR setup upstairs, I see 1 cable line going into the TV and 2into the DVR. AWWWWWWW! So technically, in the living room, the 1 line should be on the top of the wall and the other 2 near the bottom for the DVR???

Now they are still 'roughed in' but the walls are up but haven't been connnected.

If so, and I screwed up, what are my options? :(

Thanks!

[randyk47]

Having gone through this a couple of times over the past few years I'd have to say you probably aren't going to like what you did. Personally I would have brought the sat and cable lines to the base of the wall under or near the location for the wall mount. That way they could be connected to any receivers or other AV equipment. At the wall mount location I would have put power and an HDMI or component connection and run those cables inside the wall down to the same place I brought the sat and cable input. This would give you the longest term flexibility. You still might be able to do some line fishing and get this straightened out and maybe it's time to do that before the walls are totally finished. The look I'd be going for when I got done would be that the screen is just "floating" on the wall with no visible power or input cables showing.

[putty469]

I agree with randyk47. My dad just did his basement like yours, and is going to have to use some kind of set top box with his mounted TV. I think you'd want power and an HDMI outlet at the TV level, and possibly some extra pull strings in the wall for future-proofing. At the bottom, you'd have your RG-6 outlets and the other end of the HDMI connection for your set top box.

[mickcris]

Reminds me of that episode of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia where they got a new flat panel tv and couldn't figure out what to do with the blu ray player. You could do what they did.

http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc329/mickcris/tv.jpg

[dcanesdbs]

Having gone through this a couple of times over the past few years I'd have to say you probably aren't going to like what you did. Personally I would have brought the sat and cable lines to the base of the wall under or near the location for the wall mount. That way they could be connected to any receivers or other AV equipment. At the wall mount location I would have put power and an HDMI or component connection and run those cables inside the wall down to the same place I brought the sat and cable input. This would give you the longest term flexibility. You still might be able to do some line fishing and get this straightened out and maybe it's time to do that before the walls are totally finished. The look I'd be going for when I got done would be that the screen is just "floating" on the wall with no visible power or input cables showing.

i knew I screwed up! AWWWWWWWW

Well the walls are almost finished.. They are painted but the plates aren't on and the dropped ceiling is not in yet so I still have a shot...

So, can I bascially 'extend' those cable lines with a connector and connect add more cable to bring it down to the wall?

[randyk47]

Even being somewhat AR I'm really glad nobody can see the back of my AV stack in my theater. I have an HR20, BluRay, AV receiver, CD "jukebox" player, and a VCR. Add the surround sound speaker wires, Internet connections, Harmony RF remote, all the power lines/converters and I've got one mess of connections. Try as I might it never really looks totally neat but it's out of sight so I guess I shouldn't be bothered....but I am. Switching almost totally over to HDMI for most of the input devices has helped a lot but I'm still not quite there. (Really need to dump the VCR and CD player, neither get used much in the theater and don't have HDMI of course.) Externally nothing really shows or at least only a small piece of the cabling like the HDMI to the TV and a couple of speaker wire runs and I don't have a wall mount in that room. If I did I'd really be thinking of some serious wall fishing.

Dcanesdbs - You can extend those cable lines with connectors. Maybe not the best as more connectors just add potential for more problems but it is what it is. Don't forget to get power and some kind of HDMI line back up the inside of the wall to the mount.

[spartanstew]

Why are they all near the top anyway?

Do you not use furniture? Are you going to be watching all your displays while standing up?

I guess I can understand the gym and bar area, but in the living room you want the middle of the display at eye level. Eye level when seated is usually about 3'-4' high.

[randyk47]

Even at 3 to 4 feet off the floor he still needs to reverse the way he's wired the wall if he wants a transparent look to the mounting of the flat screen.

[dcanesdbs]

Even at 3 to 4 feet off the floor he still needs to reverse the way he's wired the wall if he wants a transparent look to the mounting of the flat screen.

Ok, the cable/power boxes are about 2 feet below the ceiling... i wanted to mount at least a 52inch LCD onthe wall... Was this too high for the power and obvious cable boxes.

I want to add a HDMI wall plate but I have a single gang empty box in the wall now where it was going. I was reading that an open J gang box/plate should've been there instead? Can I still get away with using the single gang box? Will it be to tight?

[randyk47]

It might be tight but since you're probably only running HDMI and power you shouldn't have a problem. If you're running sat and cable lines also then a larger box might be in order. As for is it too high at 2 feet below the ceiling? Hard to say not knowing how you wanted to mount but off the top of my head I'd say that sounds pretty high. I'm guessing a 52" LCD is roughly 32" or so inches high so that's going to put the mount and screen pretty high up the wall if you want to cover the boxes with the screen.

[kevinwmsn]

You might also want some Cat5(network) connections too for when MRV gets going. I think some Bluray players now have network ports on them for interative content.

[dcanesdbs]

You might also want some Cat5(network) connections too for when MRV gets going. I think some Bluray players now have network ports on them for interative content.

What is MRV?

[curt8403]

What is MRV?
Multiple Room Viewing

[dcanesdbs]

Multiple Room Viewing

ok, cool... I actually have a phone/Cat5 on the wall next so if I don;t put one there then I would have to run the cable(s) over to that outlet...

[dcanesdbs]

I wanted to revisit this since I haven't fixed this yet....

It looks like there is no more cable to fish through so it look like he will have to cut the wires above the ceiling tiles, use a connector for each, and then fish through... I am afraid by doing this, the signal is not going to be good. Will I have issues viewing? Are there any other options. Also, I have a single gang box where the TV will be mounted and then another below where the reviever is going to be... The problem, the walls are done and I see the HDMI plates don't look flexible. And it looks like it will be tough fishing an HDMI cable through the sing gang box. Are there any other options for this?

Thanks

[mobandit]

I wanted to revisit this since I haven't fixed this yet....

It looks like there is no more cable to fish through so it look like he will have to cut the wires above the ceiling tiles, use a connector for each, and then fish through... I am afraid by doing this, the signal is not going to be good. Will I have issues viewing? Are there any other options. Also, I have a single gang box where the TV will be mounted and then another below where the reviever is going to be... The problem, the walls are done and I see the HDMI plates don't look flexible. And it looks like it will be tough fishing an HDMI cable through the sing gang box. Are there any other options for this?

Thanks

The connectors to extend your coax won't be that big a deal...as long as the run from your multi-switch isn't excessively long...

[dcanesdbs]

The connectors to extend your coax won't be that big a deal...as long as the run from your multi-switch isn't excessively long...

Hmmm I would say about 20-25 feet....

[Reggie3]

I would put in a 1" metal conduit from the components area to the tV so you can run future technology items (fiber - who knows or new gen HDMI)

[WestDC]

I would put in a 1" metal conduit from the components area to the tV so you can run future technology items (fiber - who knows or new gen HDMI)


Good suggestion, However Plastic pipe would be much eaiser to work with low voltage wiring.

[dcanesdbs]

Ok, follow-up... I was able to move the 2 sat. connections to the bottom so we are good on that end..

I have another question though... Ok, the LCD 55 inch TV will be mounted, in the wall, with a tilt mount. My question is, where does the surge protector go:)... I just realized that since the tv will be mounted on the wall and the electrical outlet and cable connections are on the wall, where will the surge go for the TV?

[double]

do your self and your investment a favor and hire a pro!

[dcanesdbs]

do your self and your investment a favor and hire a pro!

ummmm ok... Well the Geek Squad from Best Buy is coming to mount the TV, etc... I am just asking what they would do with the surge protector?!

[BattleZone]

ummmm ok... Well the Geek Squad from Best Buy is coming to mount the TV, etc... I am just asking what they would do with the surge protector?!

Hate to say it, but the Geek Squad guys won't be "professionals" either. Much like satellite installers from the HSPs, the guys who do the Geek Squad, Firedog, or Magnolia work are hired by the dozen, underpaid, overworked, and have a high turnover rate. While they can mount the TV, they usually won't know how to do much custom work, nor will they be equipped to do so.

By "pro", we mean someone from a real home theater company. Someone who will be able to keep a lot more of the money you're paying, and who will book their own appointments and won't be rushed. They'll also have a lot more experience and will be able to offer you many more solutions than the Geek Squad. You may even end up saving money.

The Geek Squad is like Jiffy Lube. While you might take a Ford Focus there for a basic oil change (and overpay), you'd be a fool to take your Porsche or Ferarri there for a transmission service. The stuff you want is a little more advanced than a basic TV hang, so you'll do yourself a big favor by dealing with a real pro.

[genemc]

Ok, follow-up... I was able to move the 2 sat. connections to the bottom so we are good on that end..

I have another question though... Ok, the LCD 55 inch TV will be mounted, in the wall, with a tilt mount. My question is, where does the surge protector go:)... I just realized that since the tv will be mounted on the wall and the electrical outlet and cable connections are on the wall, where will the surge go for the TV?
There are surge protectors that are made to mount behind a flat panel TV. I think TrippLite makes one.