Mounting plasma and driving cables behind the wall

ntg

ntg

ntg

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Hello,

I am going to have my plasma screen mounted (Samsung 59D6900) and get the cables behind the wall.

I wanted to double check how many cables will I need to put through as I may get a technician to put some sockets for me to make things easier.

So I got:
- power cable
- 1 hdmi to my sky box
- I'm planning to buy a Wii so I don't know how many cables that needs to connect to the TV and what type?
- anything else? How many cables will I need to plug in a sound system (when I buy one)? any ideas?

I won't have any bluray players or dvd players etc.

Anyone who has done this and has any advice/tips please share!
 
You will have to hack out a channel in the wall....

I would get an AV amp...That way you only need one HDMI cable to your TV in the wall.

You connect the other boxes to the AV amp.
 
I don't mind about the HOW it will be done, I just need to tell the builder chaps how many cables I want and they'll sort it out.

The AV amp sounds like a good idea but I don't think I can go down that route ATM as I'm pressed for time and haven't looked into them. Unless there is a good suggestion for something at around £300.

Also, what other benefits will an AV amp give me ?
If I buy one, will I need only 2 cables from the TV to go behind the wall then? (power + AV amp), nothing else for sky boxes and wii and sound systems etc?

excuse my blissful ignorance but I'm new to this stuff, had a big crt so far.

EDIT: changed the price for amp to £300, just realised £150 was too low. Is the Sony STR-DH820 the best in its class for up to £300?
 
Last edited:
kgi said:
I don't mind about the HOW it will be done, I just need to tell the builder chaps how many cables I want and they'll sort it out.

The AV amp sounds like a good idea but I don't think I can go down that route ATM as I'm pressed for time and haven't looked into them. Unless there is a good suggestion for something at around £300.

Also, what other benefits will an AV amp give me ?
If I buy one, will I need only 2 cables from the TV to go behind the wall then? (power + AV amp), nothing else for sky boxes and wii and sound systems etc?

excuse my blissful ignorance but I'm new to this stuff, had a big crt so far.

EDIT: changed the price for amp to £300, just realised £150 was too low. Is the Sony STR-DH820 the best in its class for up to £300?
Click to expand...

Yep,

Just one HDMI cable is needed and power for the TV

Everything else connectes driectly to the amp.

ONKYO TXNR509 @ £299 is a great amp to get you going. 4 x HDMI in
 
I do this kind of thing professionally as a job. So from experience I have found it's better to cut two channels rather than one. Running a power cable parallel with signal cables can cause interference. Separating them by 10" or so is usually enough to avoid any problems.

As for the number and type of cables to run, my view is that you should try to plan ahead. Today you might only need a couple of connections. But what about the future? If you've only buried the bare minimum then you'll be stuffed.

Also, what happens if/when you come to replace the TV. Will you be kicking yourself that you didn't include some network cable perhaps?

As a bare minimum I'd run the following:

1 x TV coax for Freeview + 1 spare as a backup or for Freesat
2 x HDMI​


The following are optional, but strongly recommended:

2 x network cables: Streaming features are becoming more common on TVs and this trend will only increase.

a SCART cable or some form of basic AV cable for any legacy devices - Wii consoles, DVD recorders, some Freeview PVRs, non-HD Sky boxes, camcorders, digital cameras

an optical cable - for TV audio out to a basic home cinema kit that doesn't support ARC via HDMI​

This isn't extensive or complete list of the possibilities. Much depends on the user and whether they're likely to just need basic connections or something more comprehensive. Also the type of mounting needs to be considered - i.e. if it's a super slim bracket then is there space for bulky connectors.

One good future-proofing tip is to run some conduit big enough that new cables can be pulled through as needed. Remember though that some cables use very bulky connectors: PC VGA and SCART are the obvious two. They'll be hard to feed through. I'd always install them in advance.

Do bare in mind though that the conduit idea only works well if the wall is deep enough to take it.
 
Thanks very much for the tips lucid, good info there and I'll try to get the most of it (if the builder's man can accommodate it).

On the Onkyo, are any of these models better than the 509:

tx-803b
tx-803s

these are available in the TV retailer for £300 so it might be easier to buy everything in one go instead of ordering them from elsewhere.
 
TX-803...b means black, s for silver

I'd be very careful. The information on the JLP page doesn't tally with the pictures. It talks about a THX amp with HDMI inputs, but the picture shows a stereo tuner-amp with no HDMIs. I think somewhere there's been a cockup.

Onkyo's home page shows a TX-8030. This matches the images on the JLP site.

Don't buy this until JLP have confirmed the model and spec. As it stands then what they show isn't better than a TX-NR509.
 
Ok I'll go for the 509 then, seems a safer bet.

Any suggestion on which speakers to get with it? I really have no clue so anything that will be better than the 59d6900's speakers within a reasonable budget would suffice.
 
kgi said:
Ok I'll go for the 509 then, seems a safer bet.

Any suggestion on which speakers to get with it? I really have no clue so anything that will be better than the 59d6900's speakers within a reasonable budget would suffice.
Click to expand...

Are you after small speakers or standard hi-fi speakers?
 
I made a channel with trunking so I could just add more cables if needed

Today I made a channel in the front wall for the HDMI,Coax and audio cables for the TV.

I have done it in such a way that I can freely change the cables without touching the walls again

Here are a few pics of the LED Lights in place and TV HDMI cable.

Everything is now ready for the plasterer

Of course the wires will not be on show :p

DSC_9595.jpg


DSC_9596.jpg


DSC_9598.jpg


Close up of LED wall light

DSC_9599.jpg


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Opening for AV cables

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Beam and ceiling finished with plasterboard

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I didn't go in to the wall, just got some trunking going from my tv to the skirting.

Lounge5.JPG


In that trunking I have:

Power cable
Aerial cable
HDMI to computer
HDMI to Xbox
 
Can i just add.......if your a techo and plan on a 3D telly or a smart tv then you would need to get a 1.4a HDMI.....so if you forget that you will be screwed if you plan to upgrade in the near future!
 
shanestatham said:
Can i just add.......if your a techo and plan on a 3D telly or a smart tv then you would need to get a 1.4a HDMI.....so if you forget that you will be screwed if you plan to upgrade in the near future!
Click to expand...

Cheers!

I'm trying to calculate how high I should mount it.

My eyeline level sitting on a sofa is about 115cm. So the bottom of the TV (83cm high) should be at about 88cm (given that my eyeline should be at 1/3rd of the TV height which is 28cm).

However, I don't know where exactly the mounting fixing on the back of the TV is located to calculate how high the bracket should be screwed on the wall. Any ideas???
 
When I got my plasma a few years ago, the Panasonic brochure had a cut out of the TV which I stuck on the wall for a few days until I settled on a good eye line position.

It worked a treat. You can use some newspaper to mock up the tv to reach a comfortable position. You don't want a sore neck so you need to take the time to position it right!
 
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