“HOMEGROWN” A/V Project

So what does a “cable guy” do when he’s not working, you ask?

My wife and I spent Friday night taking in Opening Day for San Jose State’s baseball team.  They ended up winning 15-1, GO SPARTANS!  Seems like yesterday that I was out there playing first base for Coah Piraro and the Spartans.   I did however, forget to buy a program to check on “my record.”  Let’s see how many of you “readers” out there know what “my record” is:

The rest of the weekend has been spent cleaning up from a recent project I did on the homefront.  After a year without one, we were given a flat screen TV for our home gym.  We still don’t have the all important satellite receiver necessary to watch shows on the TV, but it is definitely ready for it.

TV, Mount, Outlets/Faceplates

I did all the work myself, but I highly recommend hiring a qualified electrician to assist with any high voltage needs like adding electrical outlets.  The first picture shows the important materials (except for the cables) like the TV, TV mount and the new outlets.  These are recessed outlets and are designed for being installed behind TVs.  Missing from this picture is the 30 foot HDMI cable that will connect the TV to the satellite receiver and the 14/2 electrical wire for the new outlets.

Once the location for the TV was selected, it was time to start cutting and drilling holes.  Once the mount was installed, I cut the hole for the combination recessed power outlet and low voltage (audio/video) cables and started running my wires.

The interesting part of this install is the location of the satellite receiver…the closet.  That’s right, I didn’t want any excess furniture or shelves in the gym, so the satellite receiver will be located in the closet.  This means I had to install a new power outlet in the closet, and run my HDMI cable from the closet to the wall with the TV.  There was only one way to run the HDMI cable…through the attic.  

Outlet behind TV

Outlet in closet (power, HDMI, 2 Coax)

 

 

Once the cables were run and outlets installed, it was time to hang the TV and wait for the satellite receiver.  I suppose we can finish decorating the room as well.

Outlet and cables in closet

For those who are worried about having to open the closet door each time I want to watch TV, the newer satellite receivers can be controlled via IR, which means the door doesn’t have to be open.  For those interested in the outlets that were used, the one behind the TV is from DataComm Electronics, and the one in the closet is from Leviton.  As stated above, use a qualified electrician for all electrical work. 

Do you have audio/video questions, or a project you are working on, I would love to hear about it, just leave a comment below.  Check out www.dicarnetworks.com for other services we provide and can assist you with.

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Final Product - Clean install of TV without any visible wires