Tips for a Clean HDTV Installation

[admin]

We have reached a marvelous time where HDTV is not only affordable, but also low profile enough to get the green light from our wives to hang on a wall in the comforts of our own bedrooms. This article provides useful tips on how to hide cabling connected to your HDTV to ensure the cleanest looking install possible. This is a quick and easy method for cleaning up that cable mess for a more aesthetically pleasing installation that will also improve the enjoyment you get out of your system.

Discuss "Tips for a Clean HDTV Installation" here. Read the article.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Something that is kind of handy are those 'clamshell' style grommets. I'm not sure if that is the technical name, but they are just like you used only the top has a shell over it so you can guide wires down, left, right, or whatever.

I go back and forth with the HDMI plates. I went with one on my rack-side in case I needed to move the rack, but on the projector side I just went direct in since it doesn't get moved often.

Another thing I do with cables a lot is loop them. So instead of going directly in, do one loop before the entrance to have some slack in case you pull or have to remove the TV/equipment.

Nice article.

 

[gene]

Another thing I do with cables a lot is loop them. So instead of going directly in, do one loop before the entrance to have some slack in case you pull or have to remove the TV/equipment.

Be careful doing this with video cables, especially HDMI as you can change the cables impedance/inductive properties as a result.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Be careful doing this with video cables, especially HDMI as you can change the cables impedance/inductive properties as a result.

I should have added the loop for a HDMI would be very wide. Although not because I knew what you just said, but rather because the cables are so stiff I couldn't do a typical loop anyways. To do a 90-deg turn with my Monoprice HDMI cables is like a foot at least. If anything, a bit of a downside. For HDMI it is always best to make sure they have no tension because the crappy pins always bend, and the heavier cables tend to pull under their own weight alone.

How do turns cause a drop in cable impedance/inductive properties?

 

[gene]

How do turns cause a drop in cable impedance/inductive properties?

Loops help to create a strong magnetic field inside the coil due to Faraday's Law of Induction. Thus when you loop a cable you increase inductance. The impedance of a coax for example is SQRT(L/C) where L will increase with looping and thus caused increased cable impedance.

 

[Audioholics]

In principle, Gene is absolutely right. But before anyone panics too much, I've seen HDMI clear full 3.4Gbps/channel resolution (and verified by a test rig) pass through 30 feet of completely coiled cable. I don't think putting a loop in your 3-6' cable will be an issue unless it's super crappy or at the end of a really long run.

 

[jinjuku]

For there to be any real measure of inductance, the loop/coil is going to have to be incredibly tight, that is going to effect what is transmitted.

Look up de-guassing coil to see what I mean. You have to pass 120v though it...

 

[gene]

For there to be any real measure of inductance, the loop/coil is going to have to be incredibly tight, that is going to effect what is transmitted.

Look up de-guassing coil to see what I mean. You have to pass 120v though it...

That's true, but I've taken component video cables and coiled them and watched the characteristic impedance change by a few ohms. In most cases it won't make a difference in real world scenarios but why risk it? Its good housekeeping not to coil your cables or run power parallel with line level cables.

I've been able to audibly hear crosstalk between speaker cables when I accidentally forgot to connect my bedroom speakers to my amp while my main theater was playing. I got a call from the wife saying she heard music coming from the center channel. Sure enough she was right and it was clearly audible.

 

[majorloser]

My only change would be to use these for the wall penetrations instead of the desk grommets.

Or you can use these with any decora wallplate. These are nice because they are reversible

Use these along with an "existing construction" low voltage bracket.

My new favorite for installation behind flat panel displays are these:

They give you the ability to power the display through a UPS or power conditioner. There are a bunch of companies making these type of combo plates now that also include the low voltage audio/video connections on the plates.

 

[ned]

Those wall outlet are not sealed for both sound and air. How will you address them?

 

[Matt34]

My only change would be to use these for the wall penetrations instead of the desk grommets.


Or you can use these with any decora wallplate. These are nice because they are reversible


Use these along with an "existing construction" low voltage bracket.

My new favorite for installation behind flat panel displays are these:

They give you the ability to power the display through a UPS or power conditioner. There are a bunch of companies making these type of combo plates now that also include the low voltage audio/video connections on the plates.

I may give those a try when my TV mount gets here. I was just going to use one of those exterior cable management raceways but those wallplates look really nice. I just dread fishing cable, even if it's only a few feet.

 

[Alex2507]

I just dread fishing cable, even if it's only a few feet.

Kick a hole in the wall and then patch it. What's the problem?

Actually I'm just bumping this thread even though I just subscribed to it. Those wall plates and wire solutions are gonna come in handy for me and I'm guessing more than a few others.

 

[bandphan]

I may give those a try when my TV mount gets here. I was just going to use one of those exterior cable management raceways but those wallplates look really nice. I just dread fishing cable, even if it's only a few feet.

GloSticks

 

[Matt34]

Kick a hole in the wall and then patch it. What's the problem?

The problem, well she's about 5'5", 120lbs and would wreck me.

That good enough?

 

[majorloser]

GloSticks

Labor Saving Devices

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