Wall mounting Plasma / AKL installer?

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grayskull

109 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

# 49087 17-Nov-2009 18:00

Hey guys,

I'm looking at mounting my Panasonic 50" plasma on the wall and had a couple questions.

First off - wall bracket recommendations?
ideally I'd love enough depth in the bracket to ensure that I can put the power plug and socket behind the TV and out of sight.

I'm looking at getting 4 of the following plates;

Cable Access Single Gang Feed Thu Wall Plate

http://www.rapalloav.co.nz/product/1208/Wall-Plates/FEED-THRU-WALL-PLATES/

one set of 2 will do the HDMI and TV aerial cable from up high for the TV to down low and out the wall behind (ie I'm going to put all my AV equipment in the room behind this wall - out of sight)

The other 2 will act as a pass through the wall for misc cables like PS3 USB cable, wireless USB sensor for HTPC Logitech keyboard and mouse (are these IR or RF? IR i think?), and HTPC remote, and possibly speaker cables, but probably go under the floor to either corner for the front speakers.

Next I'd like to get someone in to do the cabling (including rear ceiling speakers for surround sound) and the main reason - set up my Denon AVR3808 properly to do surround sound, setup Zones 2 & 3, etc, etc as its all just a little bit too hard to figure out how to set it up properly. Can anyone recommend someone in the Mt. Eden, AUckland area? Also do misc other things such as wiring up front speakers, moving the Sky cables, possibly installing an in wall front centre speaker?
If the person also had experience correctly configuring my HTPC using Media Portal then they would be a god send. But not essential.

I'm also thinking about my future involving a hot all-in-one RF remote such as a Marantz or ??? One that does multiple actions to one button click.

ie Watch HTPC turns on the TV on HDMI2, turns AMP to HTPC, etc, etc.

Any and all suggestions very warmly welcomed, as always.

Cheers guys.

ps I'm willing to do things such as cuting the rear wall open, putting in nogs and mounting the TV bracket. Oh yeah, what is the optimal height for the plasma?

richms

22750 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 274015 17-Nov-2009 19:49

Optimal height is with the 1/3rd or 1/4 way down the screen (depending who you beleive) lining up to eye height when seated so you are eye-to-eye with the characters on a properly framed shot on tv.

That will also put the speakers near ear level which is what you want. But really you shouldnt be using the inbuilt speakers anyway ;)

A solution I saw at a firends clients place for the power to the screen was a slightly recessed socket behind it. it was called a clock outlet of all things, and the plug was slim and ended up all in the wall virtually.

The price on those feedthru plates is insane IMO Get a blank one and cut it in half and put holes on the cut line for the cables - can be a pain to line up but a lot better than $25 at each end for something that is wide open to the wall.

Richard rich.ms

smac

267 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 274134 18-Nov-2009 09:21

Dammit...I submitted a big-ass answer to this last night.....seems to have been eaten??

The summary is:

Unless you're mounting the TV into an alcove get the the simplest/flattest bracket there is. If the power cable is a problem then recess that rather than mounting the TV further out.

I disagree with the usual height recommendations. Eye level always feels low to me, I'd rather have it more like being at the movies. Ours is high because of a fireplace and I love it.

There's some Trademe sellers that import brackets. Literally 1/3 the price you'd pay at Noel Leeming etc and quality is great. I'm sure there's some crap out there too though....