Advice? -> Concealing cables after install

[dub2501]

First post, long time reader - so hopefully I'm close to being in the right forum to ask this, but I was looking for help/ideas on how to hide the coax cables in our living room after our HR20 install.

I got lucky and had a great installer, I was really worried out getting a "line of sight" as our yard is covered with big oak- like trees, however he found a spot right in the corner to mount on a pole which was brilliant - as cable providers don't have Setanta Sports available, a big must! Anyway, he was unable to run the cables under the floor in the crawl space as it's too narrow to access that side of the house, so we had to go thru the wall. The problem is that our living room is pretty small and there's only one way to set it up which means putting the TV on the far side of the room, meaning the cables are running across the floor and its doesn't look great.

I've searched google, amazon for cable concealers etc., but they all look too small to hide two coax cables, and then side by side they are fairly wide, so I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this, and what you ended up doing to help cover them up somewhat. Cheers for any help!

[DogLover]

I haven't tried this yet, but I have some cords that show in one corner of my room. I have light colored walls and carpet, and the cords are black on the floor. I thought about trying one of those chain covers that decorators use on a dining room chandelier. They are made of silk, satin, or some other francy fabric. Since they are wide enough to cover a chain, they should cover 2 coax cables.

[JLucPicard]

So are the cables running across the floor, or running along the baseboards around the outside of the room as much as possible. If I'm understanding your set up (which I might not be), I would have run the cable straight down from where it enters through the wall, then ran it around the floor against the walls to the point where the TV is set up. Is that not what was done? Aside from that, I don't have a suggestion - just trying to understand the set up.

[joe diamond]

dub,
Just consider this. The two coax cables do not have to follow the same route. They just end up in the same place; at your receiver. You may have to extend the cables with barrel fittings and additional cable.
But there is special "chair molding" and "routed baseboard" that will allow you to hide the cable.
If you have wall to wall carpet you can sometimes push a single cable under the baseboard but above the carpet.
And there are wireless transmitters for about seventy bucks up that will allow you to put the DTV receiver near where it comes into the room but eliminate wire to your TV.
You don't even want to consider removing a sheet rock band around the room & drilling each stud.
Just a few things to think about. . . does a rug over the cables look any better?

Joe

[dub2501]

Joe,

Wireless Transmitters?? What!! :) :) I didn't even know they existed - that would be brilliant if they work. The room is small - about 12 x 14 (I think) - the signal comes in about 6-7ft away from where the TV is, so wireless should work, right? Is there any downsides, signal quality is weaker etc? Wow, I'm going to try and find them via google etc., but any advice on them is much appreciated.

Thanks for the reminder that it's possible to split the two cables, that may help also. The cables are tacked to a fireplace along the floor, which is fine, my 'problem area' is - I need to cut a corner and cross the hardwood floors to reach the corner the TV is in. The trim is white, so it looks bad if it's tacked to the wall\ceiling - so that's what I'm trying to avoid. Wireless would be fantastic.

[Ken S]

You can have the receiver hidden away in one location and then use anyone of a number of wireless systems to transmit the signal to your TV. Be careful though...many of the wireless systems don't handle HD signals.
You may be interested in the slingbox receiver that should be coming out shortly or the products by Pure AV.

[69hokie]

One trick I have seen used that worked well was removal of the baseboard. Behind the baseboard, cut a channel just deep enough and just wide enough for your cables, not into the 2X4 studs of the wall, just a channel in the sheetrock. Run the wire around the wall in the channel and replace back the baseboard covering the wires. I saw this done when there was a block wall behind the sheetrock in the baseboard area and it worked very well. If done carefully (not nailing the baseboard back through the installed wires) it is a neat solution using the existing baseboard as the cover for the wires.

[Ken S]

Just a tip...if you go the concealed wires route...make sure and leave yourself enough slack on the TV side to move it if necessary. A couple of bigger loops banded together and tucked behind the set should work.

[joe diamond]

dub,
The wireless transmitters work sorta. As Ken pointed out there are a few problems. The HD issue is one. Another is interference. Cell phones nearby can dump the signal. Also they are highly directional and sometimes the location of the transmitter is just as inconvenient at the cable. If you have a clear line of sight across the top of the room it might work. I did a few as 69hokie mentioned but you have to remove all the baseboards and cut a 5/8 wide slot in all the plasterboard behind the baseboard.BE ez on the cutting because of electric lines that could be there. I once ripped a 45 degree edge on the baseboard and just trimmed the base of the plaster wall for a double cable.

It's only television,

Joe