How to hide wires (connect, system, outlet, security)
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JUST GOT A NEW 60" VIZIO SMART TV AND HUNG IT ABOVE MY FIREPLACE. WE LIVE IN A HOME BUILT IN THE 80'S SO THERE IS NO CABLE OR POWER OUTLET. I DRILLED AN INCH HOLE IN THE MANTEL AND HAVE THE POWER CORD AND HDMI line running down the side of some molding with two wire covers over them. Where they hit the floor they look pretty sloppy, so I want to get an electrician to come and put an outlet and cable connection behind the TV. Can hdmi lines be put in the walls and if so how much line before there would be a loss of signal strength. Would componet lines be better? We have the cable box about 6 feet away from the tv. Any suggestions?
You can run about 50' of high-grade HDMI cable before signal decay becomes an issue -- but since most people don't want to put premium HDMI cables in their walls, usually I don't go more than 25' without a repeater/amplifier (you can pick them up for about $35 online, and many don't require power). Most people who aren't running HDMI projectors or security systems won't have need of more than 20' of cable.
There are numerous options open to you (I'll provide item IDs for Lowes's website, since I am not able to post links on this board).
The easiest and cheapest solution would be to just fish an HDMI through the wall, with no wall boxes or panel covers - but even if you can hide it behind the TV and Media Center, there are now two large holes in your wall. This is ugly and may make renting or selling the property just a touch more difficult, should you decide to later on down the road.
Alternatively you have cheap little wall kits such as Item ID: 12862 -- the kit isn't complete through, so just know that you'll need some cheap little $3 Drywall Boxes (the kind with the little plastic wings so you don't have to stud mount them), as well as some short HDMI cables to actually go from your devices to the panels themselves (although with 12862, you'd only need one short HDMI, as the panel behind the TV is what I call a "Curtain Port" - meaning that instead of providing you a port to plug a new cable into, the cable running through the wall just sort of hangs out of that hole. STILL not the prettiest or most professional option, but a good one for the price).
If you REALLY wanted to go pro, you could get panels 332111 (for power and cabling behind your TV), 1620 (for providing coax to your receiver and HDMI to your TV -- this would sit behind your media center), and 332093 for connecting your media center your surround sound.
Obviously, there are many options, and a lot of ways to spend a LOT of money creating your perfect home theater experience - and I'm just showing you the ones at Lowe's. You could end up with Ethernet, audio switches (so you can send sound throughout the whole house or select rooms, back deck, etc -- great for entertaining), Multiple HDMIs, Coax Cables, Fiber Optics, the list goes on... 99% of people are happy with just an HDMI cord slung through the wall, but research your options, and decide just how important your TV setup is to you (are you, like most people, just bothered by visible cables, or are you wanting to create your own home theater?).
Sorry to flood you with options, but hopefully one of them will point you in the right direction. Should you find yourself with any technical questions, feel free to direct message me.
JUST GOT A NEW 60" VIZIO SMART TV AND HUNG IT ABOVE MY FIREPLACE. WE LIVE IN A HOME BUILT IN THE 80'S SO THERE IS NO CABLE OR POWER OUTLET. I DRILLED AN INCH HOLE IN THE MANTEL AND HAVE THE POWER CORD AND HDMI line running down the side of some molding with two wire covers over them. Where they hit the floor they look pretty sloppy, so I want to get an electrician to come and put an outlet and cable connection behind the TV. Can hdmi lines be put in the walls and if so how much line before there would be a loss of signal strength. Would componet lines be better? We have the cable box about 6 feet away from the tv. Any suggestions?
Make a L with two pieces of wood, put moulding on the front. Should take someone about 10 minutes with a table saw and finishing nail gun,then paint. Cut or drill a hole on top to let the wires in.
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