What's the right way to wire a wall-hung flatscreen TV?

I took advantage of the pre-Super Bowl sales and got a good deal on a 39" Sharp LED TV - and let me tell you, in combination with my decent stereo, it's quite a marked improvement over watching everything on a laptop.

It's time to hang this bad boy on the wall and get it off my turntable so I can play records again. I need to get power to it, power to the Roku Stick and Chromecast that will live in its HDMI ports, along with audio cables down the stereo, and HDMI down to the DVD player. Fortunately, on the wall where it will be mounted, there's already an electrical box, and that's also where the stereo lives, so the run will be pretty short - something like 4 feet.

I'd like to get all the components - 7 or 8 in total, accounting for the amp, tuner, and turntable - on a surge protector. And I want this install to be clean. Visible wiring running down the wall is not acceptable here. The TV needs to appear to be floating on the wall.

So what's the right way to wire this mess? Should I just piggyback another outlet off the existing outlet in the same wall, run a short bit of romex up the wall, install a new box/outlet, and mount a surge protector on the wall behind the TV? Obviously I'll need a separate run for the HDMI and audio cables, but that should just be a matter of dropping them down the wall...right?

Would it be OK to have visible wiring on the BACK side of the wall?

If not, you may be opening the wall and/ or running conduit.

Your surge protector will likely live easier at the bottom, behind the DVD player, etc. It is too big and has too many wires to easily conceal behind the TV.

This is an exterior wall - studs over masonry - so I'm planning on opening the wall. I'm hoping to luck out and be able to drop the wiring between the studs, and not run into any horizontal framing. Fingers crossed. But the existing outlet box is conveniently placed for where I'm planning to mount the TV.

Then, just run a conduit (or 2) from behind the TV to behind the DVD, and put your spaghetti mess down low behind the DVD.

If you are going to run conduit anyway, it is POSSIBLE to go through the brick and do a neat job on the outside. I would consider it because it would be faster, if I had to wait for drywall mud to dry.

I used one of these, purchased from HD.

I also have mine wired with an IR repeater that fits in a single gang box, so all devices are hidden away in the basement. Sounds like your signals are coming from the HDMI sticks, so the last part may be unnecessary.

I can't run the power cables from the TV and accessories in the wall though, can I? That wiring isn't rated for in-wall installation, right?

I just did a similar install.

I ran 3 separate 1 1/2" PVC conduits with a deep 4"x4" box on each end (total 6 boxes). That let me run the power in 1 conduit, the audio in another, and have a spare for future. It also gave me enough space in the conduit to pull audio plugs.

I also dropped conduits from the lower boxes to the crawlspace under the house, so I can pull additional stuff in the future.

alex wrote: I can't run the power cables from the TV and accessories in the wall though, can I? That wiring isn't rated for in-wall installation, right?

You can't make connections in the wall. That means you can't have a concealed plug, etc.

If your conduit is big enough, you can pull the plugs through the conduit (as long as the point they are plugging in is not concealed).

I saw this at Best Buy and I thought it was a good idea.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/wiremold-flat-panel-tv-cord-and-cable-power-kit/3600475.p?id=1218417733690&skuId=3600475&pid=1218417733690

I got a couple of cords like this:

http://www.cablestogo.com/product/29810

When I set up the tv in my previous place. One was a little short guy that I zip tied to the mount and plugged everything in to, then plugged it into an extension cords routed through a flexible conduit behind the wall into the void above the drop ceiling. I ran the extension cord, a cable tv wire and an HDMI cable across the room and into a closet without any junctions behind the panels.

I just did this. Amazon is your friend.

I used this bracket: Cheetah Bracket

This upper box: Upper box w/power

This lower box: Cable plate

And a couple of these: low voltage E-boxes

So I didn't have to get into active wiring and for ease of unplugging in the future I wired an older 3 prong wire onto the upper box power outlet. I ran the power cable inside the wall with the HDMI cable and out the lower plate behind my cabinet which houses the receiver. There is a 4 gang plug there so just plug and play from that point. It looks great on the wall and no wires!

Well if you can't hide the cables, then perhaps make them part of the interior design?

http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/15-creative-ideas-how-to-hide-the-cables-in-your-home/

I did the exterior cover and painted it the wall color to match. You can see it's there but it's not horrible. I'm looking for a cabinet now that I can put all of the A/V equipment in. to fill up the space and give me storage for all of the DVD and Xbox Games.

That's what I did too, not perfect but for 10 minutes, some paint, and like 10$ from monoprice it's good enough for now. Someday I want to cover that wall with some type of wood and hide everything but we'll see if that ever actually happens.

how about a whole house surge protector or surge protector breaker for the electronics circuit?

for the a/v cables conduit in wall to prevent mouse from eating them, in my opinion. and to keep cold air from passing through open holes to the block outside wall.

or, be like peaked in high school rob lowe and just throw some trophies in front of them.

patgizz wrote: or, be like peaked in high school rob lowe and just throw some trophies in front of them.

I was waiting for someone to mention that.