i need the help of someone with experience installing a home theater

ugafan

ugafan

Looking for a woman
i am going to have a television installed above my fireplace and i want it to connect to some home theater equipment hidden in the living room closet. what cables and hookups should i have installed in the closet?
 
Long ones? Come on Uga....more info needed. Obviously, the standard cables should be run: HDMI, audio (L/R/C), SDI/coax, CAT 5/6 and composite. This way you have what you need as an interconnect. Needing it and not having it sucks, having it and not needing it......not so bad. Oh, and a pull string. That way if you need to add something else........you just tie it on and yank away (LOL, get your mind out of the gutter).

What's the "cable" distance? Asked because, that distance may force you to relocate some gear, if it is over a certain distance (HDMI)
 
Last edited:
1 - imagine the tv exactly level, centered, and at the right distance to your sitting position. then buy a gift to your wife in advance and prepare for an argument about changing the decor.

2 - it's not a home theater without surround sound. and that means the speakers need to be in their optimum position.

3- i would consider adding usb 2/3 and ethernet/wifi after adding the usual suspects for tv and audio cables(you may need to add audio cables for the rest of the speakers - these are sometimes different, sometimes rca sometimes without connectors, some models are wireless(not sure about the audio quality of these)) and add an extra hdmi input cable in the tv for convenience. two extra sdi cables for the future and maybe a power cord extender.

4- surge protector plugs(you can get the ones without batteries, and the ones for cables)
 
A TV should be placed so that 2/3 of the image is above eyesight and 1/3 below. Above a fireplace is a bad place to put a TV because it will sit to high and you have other objects like the fireplace and stuff around it that disturbs the viewing experience. I would choose a clean wall and put it at the right height before considering anything else.
 
i would prefer eye level, but based on the layout of the room the only logical place is above the fireplace. 1 wall is actually an archway, one wall has windows that would be obstructed by the tv, one wall has the fireplace, and the other wall has the couch facing the fireplace.

the house is a new construction and they don't have any of the drywall up yet, so i would assume it can't be that hard to run these lines. i'm estimating the closet is about 15 feet away from the fireplace. then whatever distance to go up through the ceiling and back down the closet.
 
If there's not drywall up then running wire anywhere would be a piece of cake. I'd get a receiver with 5.1 and an hdmi switcher built in (I really like Onkyo receivers), then all you have to do is run one HDMI cable to your TV. Everything else connects to the receiver in the closet. And don't forget to get an IR remote control relay so you can control your components in the closet from your TV.
 
what's the audio quality like with a receiver? is it fm radio quality? does it introduce noise? latency? do you need to recharge batteries for the speakers often? it seems like a compromise for not having wires which almost defeats the home theater purchase.
 
Get a receiver with 7.1 and run the wires -- or at least just run the wires. You may not use it right away, but don't cheat yourself out of it while the drywall is down.
 
Amr Rahmy said:
what's the audio quality like with a receiver? is it fm radio quality? does it introduce noise? latency? do you need to recharge batteries for the speakers often? it seems like a compromise for not having wires which almost defeats the home theater purchase.
Click to expand...
I meant an amplifier, wired. We call them receivers here often. Sorry for the confusion. And yes 7.1 if you can afford it, although I've found the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 to be small.
 
the builder is going to install a tube that runs from above the fireplace to the closet. then i can feed any wires through i want. i've never done this before, do i need any special equipment or is it as simple as pushing a wire through the hole and it showing up at the other end?
 
Make it easy on yourself. Tell him to put a pull string in the conduit for you. Otherwise, you might need a fish-tape.
 
Make it easier, just wire it now. You already know where everything is going to go. At they very least run an HDMI cable and your speaker wires. As someone who is currently fishing wires and cutting holes in insulated walls for his own home theater, you don't need the aggravation. Oh, and put a power outlet where the TV is going to be hung.
 
Unfortunately, the builder may not be willing to do that (they weren't for me), but if they are, get it all in there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top