flat screen TV's on the wall....anyone done it?

[Duff beer]

Chaps,
thinking of putting a plasma tv on the wall above a small, modern fireplace.

My concern is what does one do with the 2 scart cables from the TV? I obviously dont want them hanging in clear view.
So does anyone know how this would be done?



Thanks for any replies.

DB

[G-AND-T]

You will either have to buy some Electircal Trunking from B&Q or similar or chase out the plaster in the wall and replaster over after embedding the wires.

Have a think about other cables you want to run at the same time, it may be prudent to run speaker cables, power cables etc at the same time.

[exeng]

Mine was close to a window.

Albeit I didn't have two scart cables, just a powersupply plus a standard aerial cable. I covered them in 'u' section conduit and then ran them around the window frame. As the wall was emulsion paint I just painted over the short section of conduit that was visble.

Not ideal the purist would I'm sure say, but to be honest to the casual observer it looks reasonably neat.


Regards
Exeng

[planecrazy.eu]

Well the proper way to do this is to channel one scart down the wall and have a pro grade distro box at floor level, or on a unit etc...

When i sold these things we sold a Pioneer that had the tuner seperate, so you only had to channel or have one wire running down the wall...

Its expensive though unless you can plaster and re-do the wall paper yourself, as a channel is calved out the wall for the wires and then its a pretty skilled job to get the wallpaper back intact so it looks perfect...

I have seen it do, cost them as much as the TV Set, as it was the Pioneer that sold at close to 3k...

I have seen people use wireless senders to hind the wires, this is not the best way to get the most out of your tv though =)

[Duff beer]

planecrazy what is a pro grade distro box?

DB

[Jimmy Macintosh]

It can depend on the age and building style of your house. Mine was mounted above the fireplace. They cut a hole the size of a double plug socket in the wall behind the TV and one on the side of the chimney brest. Plastic covers were then fixed in place, keeping the hole open but looking all tidy. The power cable and the one set of component were then ran from one hole to the other and into my amp.
If it's a solid brick wall then this won't work :O .

[Keef]

If you have a cavity wall, and it hasn't been filled with foam, then drill holes in the appropriate places and run the wires through the cavity. If you're really sneaky, you can make the "other end" next to a power socket.

Fishing for wire through a hole in a cavity wall is right up there with watching paint dry as a thrilling exercise. When you get it through, keep a spare string there for the next wire you want to pull through.

It beats chasing out the plaster, installing conduit, and making good.

[helimutt]

Don't have the fire on high if you're using the TV. The internals get hot on a Plasma. Some have cooling fans but most components don't like excessive heat. The Caps won't last, depending on whether they're 85degree or 105 degree quality.

[Hyph]

As others have said, you can either put a channel into the wall and replaster (looks very neat if done properly) or buy some trunking.

Standard electrical trunking will probably look naff in your living room.

I noticed recently that Maplins sell some curved, aesthetically pleasing(!) trunking, for exactly the purpose you have in mind, by the name of "drop down gorgeous". It is available in white, silver and magnolia - or you can paint it to suit your room.

[frostbite]

Isn't all this talk of trunking, hole drilling, etc., missing out the fact that scart cables usually come with lumpy plugs attached to both ends?

Or do more people than I would imagine happily unsolder/resolder the plugs?

Maybe it's just that I'm missing something.

[The Flying Pram]

frostbite, I was thinking much the same. It's sometimes possible to remove the pins from the plugs if you can prise in the locking tab with a tiny screwdriver, but then you would have to carefully mark all 21 of them so they went back in the same place! You also have to consider moulded-on mains plugs. New sets will need HDMI cables - it just gets worse...

If you can get through the wall cavity then a possibility would be to make a large enough slotted hole and fit something like a cooker outlet plate over it to make a neat cable entry/exit.

Or just hide all the cables with a large pot plant!

[PPRuNe Towers]

With slimline HDMI connectors and superb upscaling DVD players for £65 I'd never let a scart connector near a wall mount Frostbite.

If it was a particularly high quality bit of legacy gear like an AV receiver maybe you'd feel the struggle worthwhile but scart is surely defeating the purpose of going HD in the first place?

Regards
Rob

[Gonzo]

Just what I was going to say, PPTowers.....Why all this trouble for a SCART connection? Wait until you've got something that's worth the hassle....

[ORAC]

Isn't all this talk of trunking, hole drilling, etc., missing out the fact that scart cables usually come with lumpy plugs attached to both ends? Or do more people than I would imagine happily unsolder/resolder the plugs?
As has been said, you should use HDMI or component leads.

However, if you must use a scart socket or one or both ends, then you can use a lead with RCA/phono plugs on it to feed one at a time through a small hole, then plug them into an RCA-SCART adaptor (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=13372&doy=14m1).....

[BDiONU]

I put my flat screen on the wall in November using an articulated arm as its in the corner of the room. For the 3 cables power, scart and HDMI I have used a cable tidy (google it, although I got a silver 2 metre one from Wilkinsons for £4.99) which gives a single snake like and looking cord dangling. No need to unplug things etc as it comes with a little device which means it effectively zips around the cables.
These things are used in lots of offices etc.

BD