# Wall mounted Flat Panel TV's - Directv Receivers: Where do you mount the box



## cpenfiel (Nov 11, 2006)

I have recently installed a flat panel HDTV in a workout area in a finished basement. I mounted it on a wall in front of a treadmill. The big issue; where do I put the DTV HD Receiver? There is no place for the DTV box when the TV is mounted on a wall. I ended up mounting the box on the ceiling. Not a great solution, but at least the box is out of the way. I'm trying to install another flat panel in the kitchen wall. Same issue; not real space for the DTV Receiver.

This got me thinking. Why couldn't you put all of your DTV receivers in a rack in a utility area and then connect to your TV's through the cables installed though the house. I realize a quality of HD picture needs an HDMI cable and there is also the issue of distance from the box and picture quality. In the long term, it would be nice if we didn't need to always have a DTV box in between the wall and the TV.


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## wmschultz (Jul 18, 2006)

Sounds like a planning issue.

I just assisted in redoing a family members basement. We put the Flat Panel on the wall
but we also put the HDMI cables and component cables through the walls. We built an in
wall cabinet also, and that is where the components will be. The upper part of the cabinet 
will house the D* receivers, DVD Player, and Receiver while leaving room for other knick 
knacks. The lower part of the cabinet will house the sub woofer with speaker material 
making up the inside part of the door.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

You can get HDMI cables up to 250 ft, so you should have some flexibility where you locate the box. My guess is that the room in which your water heater and furnace are located is unfinished, so you could put the box in that room (safely away from the furnace and water heaters), and run an HDMI cord through the wall.


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## thefoyboy (Apr 1, 2007)

cpenfiel said:


> I have recently installed a flat panel HDTV in a workout area in a finished basement. I mounted it on a wall in front of a treadmill. The big issue; where do I put the DTV HD Receiver? There is no place for the DTV box when the TV is mounted on a wall. I ended up mounting the box on the ceiling. Not a great solution, but at least the box is out of the way. I'm trying to install another flat panel in the kitchen wall. Same issue; not real space for the DTV Receiver.
> 
> This got me thinking. Why couldn't you put all of your DTV receivers in a rack in a utility area and then connect to your TV's through the cables installed though the house. I realize a quality of HD picture needs an HDMI cable and there is also the issue of distance from the box and picture quality. In the long term, it would be nice if we didn't need to always have a DTV box in between the wall and the TV.


The other two individuals made the right suggestion. Relocate the box to an out of sight location and use an IR kit or a wireless remote like a Harmony and a longer cable. If you do go over 50' on an HDMI, make sure it has an extender or repeater on it.


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

A lot of preplanning should be invested in mounting HDTV on the wall. HDMI cables are available in very long lengths but cost can be enormous, they are also fragile pulling through walls can easily damage that expensive cable. You also have to plan how you are going to change channels. Putting a TV in the kitchen is going to lead to grease and smoke accumulations on the screen.

Few HDTV receivers have coax outputs and none have HDTV on the coax output so that is out. You will need component or HDMI connections fed back to receiver location.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

I did something really basic in my family room and it looks fine to me, but if you want a finished "smooth" look, then my method will not work. I just put a nice rolling shelf unit (from Target) on the floor below the TV and collected all of the cables through a nice sheath .. All of my equipment is on the open-air shelf.


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## F1 Fan (Aug 28, 2007)

cables to go has a new digital solution which is perfect for this type of thing.

You run cables through the house and put them to wall plates. Then you can choose a connector (HDMI, Component) etc for each end you want.


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## joe diamond (Feb 28, 2007)

One of my favs is the TV installation in the wall under a staircase. All the component backs were accessible through the wall in a room under the steps, there was a light and a door to close and hide the wire etc. Cool!

The other one I liked was a rack on a floor track. All the components could be slid out to work on the back pannels. When done the whole rack slid into a component closet, the track could be picked up and the components could be hidden behind a speaker cloth panel. Also cool!

Finally there is the one with pictures of every baby and grandparent on top of the TV with little snow globes with ski scenes and Christmas settings perched on the VCR. The extra surface foil on the rabbit ear antenna was balanced against the roof antenna rotator control and the police scanner...Not as cool as the other two but in its' own way nice!

Joe


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

I have a standing "cabinet" in the corner of the living room...

Since I had the wall built with the Plasma in mind, I had a 2.5" PVC pipe run from behind the screen, to wear the equipment would be.


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## VeniceDre (Aug 16, 2006)

Simple solution is to run the wires in wall, hide the box in a cabinet etc. Using a model that has a RF remote, or using a universal RF remote helps also. If you run a HDMI cable in wall, especially one over 35 ft, be sure to test it before putting it in. I've heard a couple of horror stories of cables put into sealed walls that didn't work after install. If you can afford it run an additional set of backup cables just in case one fails.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

my setup: http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9052&d=1184452326


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

My house was built with an alcove for an entertainment center or bookcase in mind. The "rack" sits in it with the plasma on the wall next to it.


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## Chrisloker (Jun 16, 2007)

All my wires run from the flat panel through the wall to the opposite side of the wall in the other room. A components are in the other room and an IR transmitter in the main room sends the signal to all components. Actually the room behind the TV in my case is my stairwell going to basements. So I actually built a cabinet in the basement with components showing through into the stairwell. Cabinet in basement is actually access to all rear wiring. TV actually in wall on floor above.


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## Ext 721 (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm remided of the old stereo and TV equipment that masqueraded as "real furniture" from way back when.

That said, couldn't you make a frame for it to also wall-mount, and mount a mirror on the visible side of the frame...might look a tad bit "medicine cabinet" but I'm sure it could be pulled off nicely.


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## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

I always run the wires thru the wall/ceiling to a separate out of sight spot for the equipment. I have on HDMI run thats about 40' (had to use a 50' HDMI cable from MonoPrice for that one). MonoPrice suggested a repeater for such a long run, and since I needed a switch too, I bought their 5x1 powered switch with repeater. No HDMI issues whatsoever (but I did check the cable before, during, and after fishing it to the TV). Also ran a bunch of extra wires just in case the HDMI cable didnt work out (component, 2 sets of RCA audio, svideo and one CAT5 which could be used for audio if need be). Coupled all of this with a HomeTheaterPro+ remote, with RF base so I can be wherever I want and control the TV.

It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it, if not just for the "where is all your equipment?" from everyone that sees the TVs.

-Chris


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## Fish Man (Apr 22, 2002)

The HR20-100 in my bedroom is sitting on one of these, mounted just below the wall mounted LCD TV:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=185-532










The link above is one source. They sell these things at a lot of web retailers as well as B&M stores.


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## mceevans (Jul 16, 2007)

I ran the new Rapid Run cables from Cables to Go and used the Componet cable option. I ran 50ft from the basement to the living room and then used the Remote Extender that Weeknees.com sells. IT WORKS GREAT!


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