I have a 36 inch sony wega tv and an audio rack with sony 5.1 stereo, dvd, xbox, vhs. At my current apartment I have them setup next to the tv. I dont like the lights from these components on while trying to watch the tv in the dark. So do any of you have a setup that puts these out of line of sight of the tv? I will have a new room setup 13'8 X 12'8. It is a closed in room with 2 windows on the left side and 2 doors on the right. The other 2 walls are just that and will be where the couch will go and tv on the other. I have 4 tower speakers which I think would go in the corners and a Center that goes on top of tv. Any help with this would be appreciated.
Does the new room setup mean that the room is being built or it is new as unused or it just has the new car smell? Either way, you could place the equipment behind you either directly or indirectly. Run a CAT5 from the front wall that the TV is against to whichever area you choose to have your equipment for an IR repeater. Run 3 RG6 quad shield cables from the rear TV area to the new equipment location these will be used to send a component video signal. You may also use CAT5 wire in conjunction with some knoll components to give you a CAT5 Balun. The Balun approach is typically used if it is a long cable run.
Thank you for your reply. It is a new town house and I am going to use the master bedroom as my media room. One door is the entrance the other goes to the hollywood bathroom. This is all new construction. I have a cat5a outlet being put in which will be on the side of the tv. I am not familiar with or have not researched an IR repeater. That sounds interesting. As for the rg6 or Balun approach I need help also. I guess I am more of a noob then I thought.
Roger, I sell all the products if you are interested. There are however many products available on the web. I have found through my experience that the knoll products are easiest to use and install. Beginning with the IR receiver. This is a device made up of three components. An IR receiver (When you push a button on your cable box remote it receives the signal.), A Connection module and IR emitter (this plugs into the connection module outputs the IR signal to the cable box.). A basic IR repeater package contains a "peephole" receiver with a white rim. This looks like a door peephole and is available in black, white, silver or brass. The colored peepholes are less expensive than the brass or silver. Also included is the connection module, this connects up to 4 IR emitters and includes a power cable. And the basic setup includes 4 IR emitters. The emitter plugs into the connection module with a mini plug (like headphones) and are available with a single emitter (which will stick onto the front of your equipment where the IR sensor is) or a dual emitter which costs a little more. The entire package is $200.00. I can supply the CAT5 cable but it is just as easy to purchase at a computer or hardware store by the foot. Based on the size of your room and cost, I would take the RG6 approach as opposed to the Balun. This RG6 approach is based on the fact that you have components and receiver with component video out (Red Green Blue). This can be done a few ways. The following explanations will include the word "terminate" which means you need to strip the wire and apply a F-connector or a screw on cable RG6 connection. The first an lowest cost approach is to mount a single gang box (blue box where cable will be ran to.) on a vertical beam near the base of where the TV will be and mount a single or double gang if you are pre wiring speaker wires at the area where your equipment will be. Next run 3 RG6 quad shield cables from TV are to Equipment area making sure you leave room to plug the cable into your TV on one end and into your receiver on the other end. After sheetrock has been installed, take a wall plate and drill a hole for the wires to come out of. All six wires will be terminated with RG6 ends. You will need 6 f-connector adapters that screw into the cable end and give you a composite male plug on all ends. On your equipment end, plug the three RGB plugs into the receiver monitor output and on the other end plug the RGB into the TV video1 input. The second way of doing this involves using a special plate that has the RGB connectors on the outside and the RG6 wires and adapters are on the inside of the wall which basically equals out to a cleaner looking installation. I sell all the plates and adapters if you are interested. Please feel free to send me a private email if you have any other questions.
If you want to get a little fancier, you could try a programmable remote like a Phillips Pronto and have all of the components hidden in a closet somewhere controlled by radio frequency. Very cool and oh so easy to control.
Thanks for the post Joeseph. I do not have a closet that I can put the rack in. I have entry door and a door to the master bath. I guess my options if not next to the tv is to the side or behind couch. The problem I have is thats alot of cable running. I am not familiar with this ir concept and sounds interesting.
Just to respond to you Feot the sheetrock is already installed and the room is plastered. On the tv side I have a jack for cat5a and one for cable so runing wires in the wall is out. I guess id have to run along walls.
Yes and then place your equipment to the right or left of the couch, hiding your wires. All the other alternatives we discussed earlier require running at least a CAT5 wire from the TV area to your equipment area (the Balun approach) in order to send the picture from your components to the TV. Without running any wires through your walls, you're stuck with having your equipment on the same wall as the TV or running wires across the floor.