My Project, step by step

prospect

Hello there to all interested parties.

I have just started ordering equipment for my new system. So, I am going to post the project, including pictures as I go along. (hopefully you guys will put me under enough pressure to get this done).

So to start.

I currently have a 32" Phillips CRT, a cheap black diamond DVD player, and Ancient VHS player, SKY, a Cambridge Audio Azur 540a amp and a pair of Gale floor standing speakers.

I have bought a Samsung 42" plasma. I am also getting a DVD recorder (to be decided), a logitech programmable remote.

I will post pictures of the 'before' set-up soon.

Total Cost to date:

Samsung TV - €1364
TV Delivery - €80
10m HDMI to HDMI cable - €60

Vexorg

Look forward to seeing that.

What model samsung and where did you buy?

Will you be wall mounting?

V.

MrJoeSoap

Nice idea, I had to subscribe. I'll be looking to do something similar once I get back from my travels in a couple of years.

brav

Also take pictures of the "before" setup, might as well do it properly!

MrJoeSoap

brav wrote:

Also take pictures of the "before" setup, might as well do it properly!

He said he was!

godtabh

Can you post where you got the stuff as well? Links etc

prospect

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.
I will post a full overview of all costs at the end of the project, including where I sourced the bits.

So here are some photos.


I am leaving the Sky box, the DVD Recorder and Amplifier in the corner where the wires & sockets are.
I am then running power and a HDMI cable around the skirting, behind the fire surround and up the chimney breast finishing behind the TV. The power and HDMI will be in seperate conjutes.

Also, there will be QED speaker cable running around the skirting too a speaker each side of the chimney breast.

Tonight I hope to finish the chasing, run the power and HDMI cable, and put the first fill into the channel chased on the wall.

So for the minute, it is all systems go..

prospect

Also,

here are the remotes I currently have,

I will have the same amount when I replace the equipment, but I have also ordered a Logitech Harmony universal remote, which should replace this lot...

godtabh

prospect wrote:

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.
I will post a full overview of all costs at the end of the project, including where I sourced the bits.

So here are some photos.


I am leaving the Sky box, the DVD Recorder and Amplifier in the corner where the wires & sockets are.
I am then running power and a HDMI cable around the skirting, behind the fire surround and up the chimney breast finishing behind the TV. The power and HDMI will be in seperate conjutes.

Also, there will be QED speaker cable running around the skirting too a speaker each side of the chimney breast.

Tonight I hope to finish the chasing, run the power and HDMI cable, and put the first fill into the channel chased on the wall.

So for the minute, it is all systems go..

I'd say the other half had a fit when she saw that mess!

Looks good so far. Keep it coming

prospect

kearnsr wrote:

I'd say the other half had a fit when she saw that mess!

You could say that....
Especially when you consider that I only told her it was all happening last week!!!

Sparky

lol.

/subscribed.

prospect

Ok,

Last night, I finished chasing the wall from the top of the fireplace to where the socket will be located.

I put two electrical conjutes in the wall to seperate the power cable from the HDMI and speaker cable, (I do not currently have surround sound, but I am going to leave a spare speaker cable behind the TV incase I want to install a centre speaker over it in the future).

I have the box for the Socket fixed to the wall, and put the first layer of plaster filler in the gaps.

This morning before I went to work, i put the second layer of filler on. (I have been told to build up deep holes with layers, allowing them to dry between aplications. Seemingly this reduces the chances of getting hairline cracks where the filling was done.

I have no piccys of this bit.

Tonight I will finish the runs of cables, and refit the fireplace surround. I also hope to get the skirting re-fitted. I am going to drill the walls and put rawlplugs in, and then I am going to screw the skirting on. This way I can access the cables in the future quite easily.

Also, My Samsung DVD Recorder and Logitech remote control arrived this morning, but I will give details of these in my final post when the job is complete.

P.

godtabh

prospect wrote:

You could say that....
Especially when you consider that I only told her it was all happening last week!!!

You better make sure you do a good job as you could be sleeping there for a while!

prospect

Me again,

My thought for today:

"It gets worse before it gets better"
Now always remember that pearl of wisdom, as it has got me out of a few holes in the past.

So, last night, I got the fireplace re-fitted. The plaster filling is almost complete. Then I ran into a minor issue.
I have 6 cables running behind the skirting between the sockets, and the left side of the chimney breast (3 x speaker, co-axial, power and HDMI).... So I didn't have enough space, so I spent a good while bursting out a chanel to run them through.

So, that is done.

Tonight, I hope to get all the cables run, and to re fit the skirting boards. Also, I have to do some fine sanding done on the plaster filling. Then a big clean up operation.

Tomorrow night, I will re-paint the chimney breast. And move the furniture back in. Then the last job is to mount the TV and bracket. But that cannot be done until it arrives and I can measure it up and decide its position.

See attached photos.

P

Sparky

Oh yes! Making good progress indeed.

prospect

So last night didn't go well. The baby was not in good form, so I had to finish up early.

But, I did get the plaster filling sanded and ready for painting. Also, I bought a lenght of box trunking and ran the power cable through it, then sat the remaining speaker, hdmi and co-axial cables on it. Some of the skirting boards have been drilled and screwed to the wall, for easy access at a later date, (*cough* surround sound *cough*).

Pic 1 shows the skirting where the HDMI cable is hidden and it goes in behind the fire surround. Also, there is a speaker cable for my right side speaker.

** Don't forget to label your speaker cables as you run them **

Pic 2 shows the wall that I had to burst up a bit yesterday. the skirting has been re-fitted, and the cables come out at one point. I also broung up the power cable to the socket in a trunking. I figured it looks neater/salfer this way, but it will be hidden by the unit (to be purchased) which will hold the DVD, AMP and SKY boxes.

P

prospect

Hallo again,

Well I got the job finished, I am just awaiting delivery of the TV. I cannot fit the wall bracket until I get the TV, as I want to put it up to the wall and see what height I am happy with first.

Anyway, you can see from the pics, I repainted the chimney breast and installed the speakers. Also, I picked up a small corner unit to house my SKY box, DVD Recorder, Amp and a gimmicky record player. Also, when I figure out how to hook up my MacBook to the system, It can sit up there beside the record player.

I am happy enough twith the mix of old style & new technology (new to me anyway).

My next post will hopefully show the procedure for mounting the TV, and the finished job. Also, I will list all the costs and various suppliers.

P

prospect

Hi,

I spoke with the courier this morning, the TV is to be delivered tomorrow, yippeee.....

So, hopefully I will have the project finished by tomorrow evening....

The last thing I need to buy is two cables that will send the audio from my MacBook to my amp, and the video to my DVD recorder. I am just not exactly sure which cables I need.

P.

Vexorg

prospect wrote:

The last thing I need to buy is two cables that will send the audio from my MacBook to my amp, and the video to my DVD recorder. I am just not exactly sure which cables I need.

It depends on what audio and video "out" ports you have on the mac and audio and video "in" on the amp and DVD recorder.

Audio - simple solution, using the headphone out - get a 3.5mm jack to phono Lead somthing like this

If you digital out on the mac and digital in on the amp you could get a digital coax or toslink cable depending on the output and inputs on the mac and amp.

Digital coax

Digital Toslink

If your Mac has DVI out, you could consider using a DVI to HDMI adapter and playing DVD from the mac, if you can match the resolution to the screen, eg screen = 1280*720 and you can output this res from the video out port on the mac, this should be about the best image possible.

If you can advise on the video out options on the mac, I could link to some cables & adapters to give you some ideas.

prospect

Thanks for the reply.

The mac has firewire, usb and MINI-DVI out.


The DVD recorder only has HDMI OUT, and it will be used to send the signal to the TV.

The full list of ports on the DVD are:
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.LINK) - front
1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - front
1 x HDMI output - rear
1 x SPDIF output ( RCA phono ) - rear
1 x SPDIF output ( TOS Link ) - rear
1 x component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear
1 x composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear
1 x audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - rear
1 x S-Video output ( 4 PIN mini-DIN ) - rear
1 x RF input - rear
1 x RF output - rear
2 x SCART - rear


Cheers...

prospect

Wayyy Hayyy

TV Just arrived......

Sparky

Recorder seems to only have scart in does it? I'm not sure about even a DVI to scart adaptor, as DVI is digital and scart is analogue.

I'll have to google.

prospect

Horray.

I got it installed last night, with some help from my dad and brother.

So, a quick re-cap:

We started off with:


Then the dirty bit:


And



So, we are now finished


And



Taa Daa.

I will compile costs and suppliers...

MrJoeSoap

Congrats, looks great.

Sparky

Now that is nice. Christmas in the prospect house is going to be a fun one this year!

Oh.. and congratulations on taking the award for first DIY install thread under the new HE categories.

Villain

How is the pitcure with the 10m HDMI Cable, I was led to believe that once you went past 5m you need to boost the signal?

Congrats by the way, nice job

prospect

Thanks guys.

Whats the prize spanky-s ?


The picture seems perfect. Although, I need to locate the proper settings, the factory standard setting has the contrast at 100%...?

P

Sparky

I'll get back to you on that prize!



/runs

HungryJoey

Don't mind me asking but does the heat output of the fireplace not have an effect on the TV above it ? Something I have wondered about the placement of an LCD above a fireplace ?

Hj

The Ritz

Prospect,


Very neat install, super work.

How do you find having the screen high up on the wall, compared to the position of your tv in the "before" pictures ?

Ritz.

KeRbDoG

prospect wrote:

...
I have bought a Samsung 42" plasma. I am also getting a DVD recorder (to be decided), a logitech programmable remote.
...

Don't get a Logitech Harmony remote, had one, it was one of the most useless universal remotes I have ever used.

cabla

Nicw work man, good effort, and it payed off greatly.

prospect

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments.

To answer the queries:
Spanky-S - I will find you. You can run, but....

HungryJoey - I had checked that at the beginning of the whole process. It is a gas fire, so the heat output is pretty low. Most modern gas fires are designed to throw the heat outwards, and the area where the screen is only heats up as much as the rest of the room. I am not sure if I would mount over a roaring 'open' fire.

The Ritz - I tried to keep it as low as possible. However, so far we are both very comfortable with its position. We sit at least 12 or 14 feet away, so it only requires a slight 'head tilt' to see the screen properly.

Kerbdog - thanks for your comment, however I have already bought it. I will let you know how I get on with it.


I promise I'll have the costs done up soon. Incidentally, Currys sold the TV (same model) for €1250 on St.Stephens day. That is an amazing price (I payed €1364 online). My Dad got one, the jammy fekker.

Also,
I got my macbook connected. I bought a cable that connects the headphones jack to the phonos on my amp. Sounds quite good.
Also, I got a converter that converts the MiniDVI port to S-Video. So I need to get an S-Video to Scart lead to have the laptop video on the TV.

buzzard

Prospect,

While you have the skirting off the wall, why don't you put in the surround sound cable. Do the job once not twice !!!
Also for the coax cable you should have used mini coax. This is much more flexible than normal coax and depending on brand it is better quality

have a look at my installation. This runs a 7.1 amp, DVD-RW, DVD, 2 Sky boxes and a freeview box.

The first pircture shows the surround sound cable ( 6.1 ) running from amp to wall which distributes around the room also seen is the sat cable ( 2 sky & freeview ) and connection to 37in Plasma. Hidden behind is HDMI cable for future upgrades.

2nd picture show connection from wall to TV

The whole system comprises of 6.1 AMP, DVD-RW, DVD, 2 sky boxes and 1 freeview box.

Attachment not found.

Attachment not found.

prospect

Hi Buzzard,

Nice tips. I didn't know mini coaxial existed, and If I had known, I certainly would have used it.
I made a decision not to run the cables for the surround sound, as it would mean that I would have had to leave loops of it hanging from the skirtings where is terminated.

I like your cable management boxes, they look neat. However, I prefer to have a single unbroken run of cable from speaker to amp.

prospect

Oki Doki.

Item: Samsung 42" Plasma - PS42C7H
Supplier: www.technikdirekt.de
Cost: €1364
Shipping: €80

Item: Samsung DVD 160Gb HDD Recorder, with HDMI out
Supplier: www.komplett.ie
Cost: €399
Shipping: €12

Item: Logitech Harmony 525 Universal Remote Control
Supplier: www.komplett.ie
Cost: €65
Shipping: n/a - Shipped With DVD Recorder

Item: 10m HDMI to HDMI Cable
Supplier: Peats Ballyfermot
Cost: €60
Shipping: n/a

Item: Misc - Polyfiller, Sandpaper, Cable Conjute
Supplier: Woodies DIY
Cost: €16 approx
Shipping: n/a

Item: 100m Speaker Cable (had to buy in rolls)
Supplier: Peats Ballyfermot
Cost: €40 (I cant find the flipping docket for this, but I tink it was €40)
Shipping: n/a

So, total cost for my 'upgrade' - €2036, my budget was €2200.
I am pretty happy with that.

viking

Hi,

Nice job there!

Quick general question about running power cables in parallel to component, hdmi, speaker cables etc. (ie. like behind skirting as in prospect's project) and whether this causes EM/RF interference to picture/audio quality?

I thought unshielded cables should be run at right angles to power cables

Have people come across this issue before or is it even an issue with your setup Prospect?

EDIT: 1000th post, me officially has no life...