Need help with in-wall wiring, plates, etc + HDMI

[wegster]

I've had a living room HT setup for a while now, but never quite got around to hiding all the cables. I've done home remodeling, electrical, plumbing etc, so am not too worried about the required skills, but...having a difficult time finding what I should use to run some cabling through the walls or ceiling.

Setup:
Sanyo PLV-Z4 projector, wall mounted, HDMI input
JVC 402B AV receiver, HDMI switching + component inputs
the usual cable box, component only
Oppo DVD player, earlier DVI version
PS3
Athena 5.1 setup B1 speakers front and rear, Athena Center channel

Most of the gear is on a single wall mounted AV rack, next to the screen. The PJ is obviously at the opposite end

The front speakers are on floor stands, and the screen pulls down over an archway, so while one of them isn't an issue with wiring, the one on the 'far side' is..but I can probably fish that one under the carpet.

The rear speakers are mounted around 6' high on the walls, and the projector at a similar height. I have attic access.

My real question here isn't so much in routing the cables themselves, but what to use where the cables come out of the walls, or ceilings?

I'm not sure I really want to cut in a gangbox 6' high, that has but a single piece of speaker wire coming out of it..but am open to suggestions.

Likewise, I'll have a fair bundle of wires coming out of the AV receiver- 5 pair of speaker wire, plus the HDMI cable.

It would be most convenient to drop the HDMI cable out of the ceiling, but as I'm unaware of any HDMI junction boxes/wall plates, what do I use for the hole in the ceiling to clean it up? Likewise, the bundle of speaker + HDMI that needs to get into the attic from the receiver itself?

I was initially thinking of something like the 'desk cable inserts' you see for cubicle style desks tu route computer cables through, but I've yet to find a source to buy anything that looks reasonable at all.

I may wind up selling the house at some point..if I do, the HT setup is coming with me, so non-obtrusive and clean is somewhat of a concern, although secondary.

Thoughts?

 

[MDS]

There are dozens of different style jacks and wall plates available and you can get anything you need to handle each of the different types of cables. If you have a need for a special combination of jacks in one wall plate then you buy the type of plate that takes inserts and you mix and match what you need.

For example, I have one double gang wall plate behind the AV stand that has 4 binding posts on one side and 1 single F connector on the other side (I use an F to RCA adapter to use that for the subwoofer). I also have other wall plates with just speaker binding posts for the surround and in-ceiling speakers. I'd suggest that you do use wall plates wherever possible for a clean look.

If you can't find or assemble yourself a wall plate with the combination of jacks you need, you could always use a pass thru plate which is really nothing more than a plate with a circular hole in the middle.

For the surrounds, I personally did not want to cut a square hole for a wall plate. For aesthetic reasons I don't think you'd want a wall plate next to the speaker and it would be difficult to place the speaker over the wall plate to hide it - unless you can find some plates that are recessed into the wall. I chose the simple way out - drilled a 1/4" round hole and then stuck a rubber grommet in the hole.

 

[wegster]

Thanks.

I did some more research. As it turns out, they DO now offer HDMI wall plates. I was still hoping for something easier/fewer cables, as now I'll have 3 HDMI cables in total for output - receiver to wall plate, inside wall plate up wall over ceiling, down wall to HDMI wall plate, then wall plate to PJ, but..I guess I can make do.

Picked up a 7.2 wall plate for behind the receiver, plus additional plates for the sub + speakers. Going to go ahead and cable for 7.2 even though I'm currently running a 5.1 setup (although I'm debating on converting to 6.1), as it can't hurt/better to do now all at once, and it may be a 'bonus' in the event I ever go to sell this place.

What heights have you guys been mounting your gang boxes for wall plates? Same height as outlets or switches, or right behind the devices?

 

[doncomm]

Impact Acoustics make great cables

Check out the Rapid Run products from impact acoustics This is an excellent way to run a feed up to your projector. With Rapid Run, you can quickly pull the cable into place and then connectorize the ends with plug-in terminations. They have HDMI wallplates and flying leads, active and passive. Great stuff!