How to put home theater components in closet?

[gsgarcia]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to put all of my electronics in a closet and I wanted to get advice on the best way to do it.

I have an A/V receiver, cable box, PS3, Wii, and 360 that would be in the closet. The TV is mounted above the fireplace and I could run cables throught he wall into the closet.

My question is, what remote would work best for this? I'm assuming RF. But would i also need an RF extender, and do you need one for all components?

Also, is a heat an issue in such an enclosed area? Would building shelves in the closet be best or should I buy a rack?

And help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[j_garcia]

What do you mean by RF extender? I used the URC add-on one and it was able to go through 3 stories of the house. It does the IR conversion and it worked very well.

Whether you build shelves or buy a rack, just make sure there is adequate ventilation for each component, especially the PS3. Yes, heat is a potential issue.

 

[jinjuku]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to put all of my electronics in a closet and I wanted to get advice on the best way to do it.

I have an A/V receiver, cable box, PS3, Wii, and 360 that would be in the closet. The TV is mounted above the fireplace and I could run cables throught he wall into the closet.

My question is, what remote would work best for this? I'm assuming RF. But would i also need an RF extender, and do you need one for all components?

Also, is a heat an issue in such an enclosed area? Would building shelves in the closet be best or should I buy a rack?

And help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

You would want to at least vent the closet. RF would be the best since you don't need to be line of sight.

 

[BMXTRIX]

There are any number of remotes that transmit RF and then have RF receivers that convert the received RF signal back to IR.

Keep in mind, your components are all controlled via IR, not RF, so if you get an RF remote it still would need some way to control the gear via IR, and anything you buy which IS RF, would have that capability.

Check: www.universalremote.com - www.logitech.com/harmony

You can do whatever type of shelving you would like in the closet - I recommend wire racks because of their enhanced airflow.

Since heat is one of the TOP killers of electronics, you must properly vent the room. This may mean replacing the door with a vented door, or just adding a vent or two, or even adding fans. It really depends on how hot the space gets when you have all the gear on and running. But, you can't just put stuff in there and hope for the best - it will cost you.

 

[KASR]

The universal mx-810 is a solid remote and would work for what you are wanting to do. They also sell a RF receiver for distance. I think the numbe ron that is MRF-260. Might be worth a look!

 

[jostenmeat]

And help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I use this $85 dollar URC RF system.

I prefer it to every Logitech Harmony made, of which I've programmed a few.

And this modular $199 rack.

Prices include shipping and tax. The rack won't give you as much airflow as a wire rack obviously. There are many affordable fan solutions out there. I might recommend leaving the closet door open during usage.

I recommend Monoprice cables, for the money. I've bought 35 ft, 25 ft, 15 ft, and a host of shorter cables from them for fantastic pricing.

 

[lsiberian]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to put all of my electronics in a closet and I wanted to get advice on the best way to do it.

I have an A/V receiver, cable box, PS3, Wii, and 360 that would be in the closet. The TV is mounted above the fireplace and I could run cables throught he wall into the closet.

My question is, what remote would work best for this? I'm assuming RF. But would i also need an RF extender, and do you need one for all components?

Also, is a heat an issue in such an enclosed area? Would building shelves in the closet be best or should I buy a rack?

And help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

It's ok man we'll accept you. You can come out of the closet now.

 

[josko]

On a related note, I'm looking for a thermally-controlled quiet fan to use when the air temp in my A/V rack gets up there. Is there somethign on the market that would turn of a, say, 4" fan when the temp somewhere inside gets to 90-100F?

Failing that, I can find some 21 dBa fans at Radio Shack and was wondering if that's as quiet as they get and whether it makes sense to run one from a receiver 'switched' outlet.

 

[j_garcia]

Running a fan off the receiver's outlets would be a bad idea, since fans are inherently noisy electrically.

From what I've seen, it seems that just providing sufficient venting for the air to flow on its own is as good as fans and requires no wiring and no fan noise.

 

[debsterh]

I have something similar to what you see in this link that we vent our a/v cabinet with and it works well. You can't hear it.

MULTIFAN S5, Quiet USB Cooling Fan, Dual 80mm

Your source to create smart growing systems with components including advance grow tents, inline fans, clip-on fans, LED grow lights, and UIS™ controllers.

www.acinfinity.com

 

[panteragstk]

Found myself liking and agreeing with posts before realizing this is an 11 year old thread.