wiring a wall mounted plasma tv

doug lang

I will soon be purchasing this tv. A Panasonic 58 plasma. My question is i don't want to see any wires. My Sunfire does not have a hdmi hook up so there still will be a gangle of wires to the tv. I have heard you run the wires down inside the wall to the floor. From there i plan to make some sort of base board cover so you can't see the wires to the rack. I am sure some of you have done this, please could you give me some direction regarding this.
Thanks as always for your input, Doug

BaggedLancer

my recommendation for this is to run a wire for each and every port that is available on your TV. Better safe than sorry.

My first suggestion is to figure out exactly where you are going to place your wall bracket. After that run your electrical outlet up near the bracket to power your tv. Next make a hole up near the bracket and a hole down near the floor. Fish away with your wires

Every install is a little different due to what is behind the wall you want to mount your TV to. Make sure 100% you land your bracket into studs, you don't want your TV falling off the wall. If your walls are hollow, the wires should run easy. If they have insulation, it will be a littler harder. If they are filled with a spray insulation, it will be even harder.

Just remember, use common sense when drilling holes in your wall(i.e. don't use a bit too long and drill through the other side, etc.)

Good luck.

okiepolkie

My suggestions:

Use an in-wall surge protector behind the television, so the power cord isn't showing. Panamax, Furman, and several other manufacturers make these. If you just get the outlet version, it will cost you approximately $45. If you want one that runs through a separate line conditioner/surge protector, you will looking at $150-$200. I have one of these running from my lcd to the Shunyata Guardian 4.

How far away is the equipment? The baseboard covering will work fine if you don't mind the looks of it. Another option would be to run all of the wires into the ceiling, and then back down in the wall where the equipment is. This might take a little more cable/wire, but it can be easier to add more later.

There is a wall plate available to manage the wires on both ends, so you don't have to cut the ends of the cable. It looks like a nose that sticks a little out of the wall, and allows the full cable end to pass through the nostril. I'll try to come up with a picture, as it is one of the best designs I've seen so far. I saw this one at the CEDIA expo last fall.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm or email.

phileth

If you have insulation in your walls, it may be very difficult to fish the wires. It might be easier to just cut out a big section of drywall between two studs from the tv to the floor, run your wires, then patch it. It isn't that hard to patch drywall. You could probably get a scrap piece from a builder somewhere, buy some joint compound, some drywall tape, taping knives and patch away. You just have to make sure that the new patch is supported all around by studs. You might have to put a cross 2x4 between the studs to support it at the top.

disneyjoe7

Insulation in wall just brings back nightmares, just yesterday I run a 3 pair line down a wall for my porch rework. I'm adding a pay phone because I think it's cool looking. Fished a line of the inside of an outside wall 1"+ stucco on the other of wall is a shower and tiled wall. Fish line got stuck worked for 2+ hours on this finial got the fish line attached to wire THANK GOD alone with some paper backing of insulation. It's done but it was WORK.

McLoki

A buddy of mine installed his plasma above his fireplace (fireplace was already finished) so we could not run through the wall. He ended up ripping a piece of PVC in half. (longways) and painting it his wall color. He then ran the wires in the PVC and screwed the PVC to the wall. (he cut the PVC at a 45 to go around the corner and then again to drop down the wall.)

It looks really good and you really don't notice it. It worked out well for him and total cost was under $10.00.

Just a thought.

Michael

Edit - Here is a pic of how it turned out....

MillerLiteScott

An easy way to patch drywall is to NOT cut all the way to each stud. Leave about 3" inside of each stud and mark the entire length of where you want to put the cables. Using a straight edge and square to make your opening straight and level, neatly cut out your drywall. Once all of your cables are in place cut some 1X4 or 6 a half inch or so shorter than the distance between the studs and with drywall screws, screw through the drywall on the wall into the 1x on both sides and then screw the piece of drywall that you cut out into the 1X between the drywall on the wall and finish with tape and mud.

It is easier to make one continuous patch look good than two small patches.

mantis

Do yourself a huge favor and call Sound Advise. They will Install Your plasma correctly with the correct wiring. They also Warrant there work so if something should happen, your covered. Worth every penny.

Why mess with such a nice Investment. The 58 Panasonic is a beautiful tv and needs also to be properly calibrated. Why spend all that money and not get exaclty what you paid for??

Dan

doug lang

All great solutions for my plasma. To tell you the truth cutting a hole and patching i have done a handful of times. I think that is a piece of cake. Hiding all the wires on the ground will be a chore. Right now they are hidden behind the rack. You no i bought this plastic wire covering from lowes it is about the size of baseboard molding. I ran the speakers wires in it. You fasten it to your molding and it snaps together. Again this was only for speakers. My wife constantly complained about that. This was required for me to purchase the plasma. Well thanks for all your time, I will give it all some thought. Doug

McLoki

Rather than down - you could always run up - put crown moulding in the room run it through that, and then run it down from the crown moulding to behind your equipment rack.

You would have to patch a little more drywall that way - but you seem to have the knack for working with it.

Michael

Rivrrat

I have a cabinet under my plasma that holds all our eq. I cut round 2" holes in the sheetrock behind the plasma and behind the cabinet, finished them off with computer desk grommets, and as I pull new cable for whatever I want, I pull a new pull string with the new cable, insuring I always have an extra pull string or two. If you have a bit of extra cable you could always hide it in wall, unless you're of the opinion that the magnetic influence of all those cables will interfere with the signal, and at that point, you'll probably think all those cables in the wall are too close anyway.

It's clean and pretty, and it makes the wife happy.

doug lang

Yea great idea. I will not have a cabinet under the plasma.
My rack will be off to the side. Still thinking of something along the baseboard to hide wire. I may make something that resembles baseboard heating. Of course this will be made of wood. Still playing with that idea. Thanks for the reply, Doug

Rivrrat

If your baseboard is wide enough you can build a wiring channel along the lines of your idea with the matching baseboard, othewise, I'd still try to use a tall baseboard for the front, just for the decorative value.

DarqueKnight

doug lang wrote:

I have heard you run the wires down inside the wall to the floor.

One thing you want to be mindful of is firebreaks. These are studs running horizontally between the vertical studs at about 4 to 5 feet from the floor. The ones in my house are 4 feet 10 inches from the floor. They made wall fishing wire a lot of "fun" because I had to get a custom installer to go up in my attic with an extremely long drill bit extension to cut through the firebreak at my installation points.

If you know who built your home, you can just ask the builder if he used firebreaks and their general location. A studfinder is a very useful tool for finding their exact location.