Routing cable through existing walls

Most likely 1 HDMI cable is all you'll need to run to the TV (plus power). Everything else would go to your A/V reciever.

Spy - welcome to AVS!

If you are thinking about the future, then HDMI is most likely going to be part of any new TV you buy. So the suggestion to just run one HDMI cable is based on that. The other piece that wasn't mentioned is that a lot of receivers (not all so check before buying) will accept all sorts of video inputs (S video, coax, component, RCA, HDMI, etc) and send that signal over an HDMI cable. So, you could have everything connected to the receiver, and then a single cable to the TV (HDMI) that carries video and audio.

I did this in my living room for the cable run to my projector - a single HDMI. I thought about running a bunch of other cables and decided not to due to the path through the wall and ceiling. Running power and an HDMI cable was enough work for me!

If I could do it again I would at least run component. This is mostly because HDMI brings with it HDCP for copy protection of content. Not all components (receivers, TVs, projectors, cable boxes, dvd players, etc.) implement HDCP the same which can result in problems. So I would suggest you run a component cable and digital audio as well as HDMI.

Speaker wire? Are you going to install speakers near the TV? Then yes, plan to run these too.

"Electrical boxes"? Yes, you need a "remodel" style gang box in addition to the faceplate. Make sure you plan out all the various connections.

S-video is very old these days, but you may have an old device that uses it. I would focus on getting a receiver that accepts S-video input and can send it over HDMI.

Good luck! Take pictures and post them when you are done...it may help someone else out down the road.

Sorry about the short answer...what is the make and model of the speaker system? Most likely its not S-Video plug since you have at least 10 pins.

What are you planning to do with this connection?

Small world! I checked out his build in person during the framing and wiring stage. I'm excited to see it finished. Did you see his lego lens slide in the 2.35 CIH forum?

Is your fireplace/TV niche just like the one in his living room?


Wow - no clue, never seen anything like that. Perhaps BigMouth will chime in...

Here is my suggestion. Get a half inch wood bit and drill the hole down through that horizontal stud. You are going to have to cut more sheet rock. So do the following first before you drill your stud. Check with your hand or a hanger to the left and make sure you can find the vertical stud. More than likely when you pass the horizontal stud you will be blocked from going left/right more than 16" due to a vertical stud. So make sure you are drilling down the "channel" you want your wiring to go in.

Second, make sure you cut a big enough piece of sheet rock that your drill can go in and you wont have to break any pieces to make the gun fit in the wall. Then, take a paint stick, the sheet rock and screw one side of the paint stick into your existing sheetrock, and the other side into the other side of the sheet rock, so you now have a horizontal paint stick in your sheet rock. You can now screw your piece you cut into the sheetrock, mud and tape. It's not a pro's way of doing it but I have been shown this trick a time or two by many different carpenters and it works great.

Good Luck!

Well, I bought two different "flex" drill bit extensions from Home Depot and they both broke. You are right about going through the tiered mantle. When I went through mine it had a horizontal plywood layer. I had to drill through 2 layers of plywood - one vertical, and one horizontal. I cut a 5" (round) hole in the drywall as close to the "offending" piece as possible. Since you will have to do repair work anyway (patch, tape, mud, sand, texture, paint, etc.) I would cut out a larger than you think you need.

There are lots of ways to repair the drywall - check out drywallschool.com. They have great instructional videos.

Question - Auxdixium

I have had trouble lately when I tried to use component output from my hd dvd player. Instead of sending the upconverted 1080i signal, I got the message that it had to scale back to 480i. Isn't this the primary reason that you might want to run hdmi instead of component? I agree that the image quality is about the same using the two methods.

Incidentally, I just went through this process to run speaker wires to my sidewalls. I found a firebreak in the studs four feet from the ground. I wound up having to cut a hole above the firebreak so that I could drill through and then I got to repair the drywall. Less than an hour total from finding the problem till I was ready to come back with finish drywall coats (and sanding and painting etc.). This hobby teaches you how to be self sufficient!

zductive - not sure about your problem with component out. I agree that HDMI and component look about the same (no difference to my eye). I was suckered into the "single cable" argument...

You might try posting your dvd issue in the player forums. Tons of really knowledgeable folks over there. Make sure you include your dvd model and display model, etc, etc

Component output is analog, so no copy protection can be acheived, therefore most dvd/hd dvd players will limit output to just 480i. dvi/hdmi is digital and can be protected, aka hdcp enabled. They just don't want you to upconvert the content, then be able to copy it.