Help for new home HDMI hookup

greystorm

greystorm

Audiophyte
We just had a new home built. And we did our final walk though on Saturday.
Now I have to get to work.

Our TV 55" Samsung will go over the mantel. There is already an empty conduit run from behind the TV up over the ceiling and down an adjoining wall. The idea is to have the DVR, DVD, XBox, Apple TV, etc all on a stand on a side wall and the TV above the fireplace.

I ran a wire trace today and learned that the end to end length of the conduit is 26' (stupid length, why not standard 25).

Anyway, my TV has 3 HDMI ports and various others. but my DVR, DVD, Xbox and Apple TV box are all HDMI.

Now, how so I connect all this. I know I can technically pull 3-4 26' HDMI cable through this conduit, but I would need to special order them since I can find 25 and 33 and others.. but not 26.. go figure.

Also, the gang box for the wall plate is a single gang. So, short of getting cables a couple feel longer each end so I can hang the cords to the TV and the devices. whats the best way to have a nice and neat wall plate with minimum 3 HDMI ports on both end where I can just use short HDMI patch cables from wall to devices and wall to TV.

I have seen HDMI over cat 6, but it needs 2 cat6 lines pulled PER HDMI. And I can only find a wall plate for this that has only ONE HDMI port.

So, whats the best way to make this neat, and be able to hook up everything. I only have 3 HDMI ports on TV but 4 HDMI devices (I just unplug xbox and move cable to Apple TV when I need to and back).

Also, is the Optical Audio worth it? my current house I set up surround sound through my BlueRay DVD device. but new house, I will keep the DVD player, but not the speakers, my plan is to use a sound bar on the mantle with the TV.

Anyway, I have yet a lot to learn. Please any advice, or anything you suggest I read, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Gerry
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
You could feed all your sources to an AVR and then run a single HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV. That way, your receiver becomes the nexus for the system, not the TV.
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Like markw said you could plug all your sources on AVR and run one hdmi to your tv. This is how most people do it around here I believe.
 
delaneygottron

delaneygottron

Audioholic Intern
ok. What is an AVR?
Just head into a best buy or another similiar store. Ask their audio/video department about avrs and find one that fits your needs. With 4 hdmi inputs and one hdmi output.
 
greystorm

greystorm

Audiophyte
ok, I did some research. I understand what an AVR is. So, how about some recommendations? I have a Samsung 55" smart TV, I want to get a sound-bar for it, and I want to hook at least 4 HDMI devices to it.

If I get an AVR (recommendations? without going broke?). I can hook DVR, DVD, Apple TV and Xbox all to the AVR, run ONE HDMI cable to the TV, plug it into first HDMI port. How do I then connect the sound bar to the TV so it is used for anything I want to use? I don't want to have to deal with a lot of unconnects/reconnects, or a difficult remote to choose inputs. I have a 7 yr old that likes to swtich between TV, AppleTV and Xbox. He knows how to do it with the TV remote. I don't need surround sound, nor do I need a sub-woofer, since I also have a new born and it will be years before I can really use it. I have had it hard wired into my current house, but used it twice.. when I was home alone.. which NEVER happens.

So, I need some advice on good AVR & Soundbar, without breaking the bank.
 
greystorm

greystorm

Audiophyte
Just head into a best buy or another similiar store. Ask their audio/video department about avrs and find one that fits your needs. With 4 hdmi inputs and one hdmi output.

Best Buy... I find them not so helpful. I know more than most of them, and I know NOTHING!
 
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