[ggreenwald]

I'm finally getting to finishing my basement and things are progressing nicely. Framing and HVAC is complete and finalizing planning for electrical now - trying to be ready for drywall by March. I thought I'd be smart and rough in a LV and 120V outlet directly behind future TV locations (26" in exercise room and 58" in family room). I'd like to get the TVs as tight the walls as possible. However, I've run into a couple of challenges that I was hoping I could get some help on.


First, I was thinking that I'd ideally like to use a surge suppressor for the TV, but having a big bulky power strip behind the TV doesn't work so well for that plan. Also, one TV will be mounted on an outside wall, so I need to install a vapor tight box for all LV wiring (includes LV to my TV as well as my HT equipment cabinet). I was thinking of using conduit to run between the two locations, but the vapor tight thing makes this more difficult. It's especially troublesome on the HT equipment side because of the mass of wires that need to come in (D* coax, phone, inetrnet, 7.1 speaker wiring, HDMIs to TV, etc). Has anyone found a good solution to these questions?


I was thinking about these options:

For the TV rough in, put the outlets just below where I plan the top of the TV to be. This will allow the TV to be angled down slightly which gives more space for connections and the possible surge protector.


For the Vapor Tight boxes, I'd leaning toward a 4 gang electrical box to give plenty of space. Haven't decided on the conduit but thinking maybe a custom connection to a conduit could work to get a path between two boxes.


Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Oh - and does anyone have any opinions on if cheap 15' long HDMI cables that I find on the web are that much worse that what Best Buy carries to justify the outrageous price difference?


Grey

 

[jpdeuce]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ggreenwald /forum/post/18100896


Oh - and does anyone have any opinions on if cheap 15' long HDMI cables that I find on the web are that much worse that what Best Buy carries to justify the outrageous price difference?

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Get your HDMI cables at Monoprice.com If you buy them at Best Buy you are just wasting your money.

 

[Suntan]

If you are planning to hang TVs on the walls, might I suggest doubling up your studs in those areas.


For an extra $5 or $10, it makes hanging the VESA mount more forgiving to have 3 of stud width to hit than just 1.5.


-Suntan

 

[jpdeuce]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Suntan /forum/post/18101382


If you are planning to hang TVs on the walls, might I suggest doubling up your studs in those areas.


For an extra $5 or $10, it makes hanging the VESA mount more forgiving to have 3 of stud width to hit than just 1.5.


-Suntan

Or better yet, double up a big rectangle of OSB or something and have a huge rectangle you could hit, instead of just the thin side of a 2x4.

 

[ggreenwald]

Good suggestions. Thanks folks. Any ideas for the vapor tite boxes or surge protector?

 

[Lee L]

Well, you can always do a Powerbridge type solution, where you have a power inlet located with all your other equipment and then have it running over romex to the outlet behind the TV.


That way you can hook the TV to the same surge protector and circuit as the other equipment. You can check the thread in my past as in addition to the Keystone stuff, there is the power info also. I did it on a few sets here and it works great. Heck, you could even put it on a UPS if you wanted that way.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

These products may be of interest.

http://www.powerbridgesolution.com/avsspecialorder.html

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...09&cp_id=10425

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...AT&srchCat=883

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Just to round out my suggestions, they do make surge protected outlets, I do prefer the power-bridge approach or equivalent approach.

 

[cgull]

For mounting, here's a pic of what we are doing (sorry for the junk that's in the way

):

I still need to do a little research to find out if this is the best way to do it but at least it will show you an example. Also, depending on how high I decide to mount the flatscreen, additional blocking may be added.


For power, the builder wired the plug behind where the TV goes to a non-powered receptacle in the wiring room (directly under the stairs). For a point of reference, if you can make it out the opening for the rack leads into the wiring room in the pic above. I included a pic of the other end of the TV receptacle below...the other wire you see is for the projector. This is exactly like what the powerbridge is doing in that I can 'jumper' the TV directly to a wall outlet, a surge protector, or an UPS.

Hope that helps...

 

[ggreenwald]

Thanks guys. I really like the PowerBridge idea, and seeing an example of a DIY type solution seals the deal. It's simple and really makes sense. My only question in cgull's solution is how do you connect a UPS or Power Conditioner to the outlet? Do you custom make a power cord with a male plug on each end?

 

[BIGmouthinDC]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ggreenwald /forum/post/18105204


Do you custom make a power cord with a male plug on each end?

Think about that for a while, you will come to a shocking conclusion.


Just use a power inlet and regular power cord with a male and female end. A power inlet has the male part.


Make one with this part and a blank cover.

http://www.onestopbuy.com/leviton/5278-C-8140.asp

 

[BIGmouthinDC]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ggreenwald /forum/post/18105204


Do you custom make a power cord with a male plug on each end?

Think about that for awhile, you will come to a shocking conclusion.


Just use a power inlet and regular power cord with a male and female end. A power inlet has the male part.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...QDQR8MSK8VR5N5