NEW home being built = time for NEW home theater (1 Viewer)

[Bobbo330]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]So I am now in the process of having a new home built that is scheduled be complete in April 2011. Over the past couple of months I have been researching the equipment for my home theater system, to be installed by yours truly once the electrical has been completed in the house. After meeting with the builder earlier today it seems that day is coming sooner rather than later (January 7th to be exact). That leaves me with the weekend of the 8th to run all of the necessary wiring for this theater system. I have dabbled in home theaters before but only in the HTIB realm connected to a 50" Hitachi rear projection LCD. My budget for this project is ~$5K and here is the hardware I ended up ordering:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]TV:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] VIZIO XVT553SV (55 inch LED LCD). After a ton of research I decided to go this route due to the overall value of the TV and high ratings it has received. I opted to save some money here to allow me to spend more on the audio.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]Audio Receiver: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]Pioneer VSX-1020-K. This receiver seemed to get high reviews and is chock full of features. That combined with the reasonable price seemed like a no brainer to me.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]Speaker System: [/COLOR][COLOR= black]Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 800 system. I love the appeal of the relatively small system that packs some punch and again the reviews all seem to be positive. I am currently planning on only using the 5.1 system although the receiver handles 7.1. It is my understanding I should not have any issues here but can always pick up another pair of surround speakers if necessary.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]I also plan on connecting an Xbox and PS3 (mainly for the blu-ray) to the system for reference.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]My questions to you guys here revolve around the cable runs/wiring of this system along with any general pointers you may have. I ordered all of my cabling/mounts from monoprice and everything should be here in the coming days. The room that I am wiring up is roughly 30' x 13' with a 9' ceiling. I do not plan on using the entire 30' length of the room for the system though, probably more along the lines of 20-23'. I plan on having all of my components in the basement directly below the wall the TV is going to be mounted on. I will address the remote system another day (either RF remote or repeater). Below is what I have on order cable-wise thus far:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]- [/COLOR][COLOR= black]250ft 12AWG CL2 Rated 2-Speaker Cable to run all of the satellite speakers using banana clips on both ends.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]- 20ft 22AWG CL2 High Speed HDMI Cable to connect the receiver to the TV. I measured roughly 15 feet of cable needed to run down to the basement but figured I would play it safe with the extra 5' of play.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]- 8ft 28AWG High Speed HDMI Cable w/Ferrite Cores. This is for the subwoofer to sit on the floor to the right of the TV in the corner.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]Basically I plan on mounting a shelf or something equivalent to house the components in the basement where I will have my FiOS box, Xbox 360 and PS3 connected to the Pioneer receiver via short HDMI cables. From there I plan to run the above referenced 20 ft HDMI cable behind the walls to a wall plate behind the TV on the first floor. Am I incorrect in believing I only need the single HDMI from the receiver to the TV for all audio and video?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]Next comes the 5 surround speakers and subwoofer. I opted for the 12 gauge speaker wire after looking through some posts on here being as everything is going to be behind the sheetrock regardless. I will do separate runs for each speaker that will be independant of all prior electrical wire runs to avoid interference. Am I correct to assume that these speakers should be at ear level (or close to it)? Is any of my logic off? [/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]I am currently looking at a total of just under $4k spent so I am well under my budget (which is a pleasant surprise). Any of my choices seem off? Any additional information will be greatly appreciated. I will be sure to post pictures of the project as I progress. My apologies for the long post, thanks again fellas for any and all information![/COLOR][/SIZE]

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[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= black]-Bobbo[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[Robert_J]

For a first poster, you have done your homework. I'm not a fan of banana plugs because they are not necessary unless you are connecting and disconnecting your speakers regularly. Bare wire in a screw terminal works just fine.

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Next comes the 5 surround speakers and subwoofer. I opted for the 12 gauge speaker wire after looking through some posts on here being as everything is going to be behind the sheetrock regardless.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

What about your sub cable? How did you determine that was the appropriate spot for the sub? The Dolby Labs site has a great guide for the 5 or 7 speakers but the sub placement varies by the room.

 

[Bobbo330]

To be honest I did not give much thought to the placement of the sub but will definitely check out the Dolby Labs site to get more information. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bobbo330]

So I ran all of my cables today and other than a few bumps in the road everything seemed to go smoothly. I had a few questions that I wanted to bounce off you guys though:


- What is the best option to surge protect a wall mounted TV? Do they make outlets that are protected themselves?

- After receiving my wall mount from Monoprice I noticed that the mounting plate only has two relatively small holes from which to run power/AV cable through, am I missing something or did I just get the wrong mount for my application. I was anticipating having the TV plugged in to a standard two-plug outlet as well as an HDMI cable and ethernet cable run through a wall plate behind the mount. It seems as if I would have to build out the wall some with this mount in order for the mount itself to clear the outlet etc. Do I need to get a mount with more of an open plate? The TV is going to be tilted forward some so I think I should have enough clearance for the plug etc.


Lastly I recently purchased one addition to my setup, Hot Link Xl CAT-5 Ir Repeater System which will be mounting behind the TV and extended to my basement via CAT-5 which I have already run through the studs. After doing some research this seemed to be one of the better options out there. I already had a Logitech 880 from my previous setup so I can not maintain that continuity.


-Bobbo

 

[Robert_J]

Yes, there are surge protected outlets. Places like Parts Express carry them.


As someone who does not own a wall mounted TV, I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm guess a hole in the mounting plate isn't big enough? In cases like that, I grab the appropriate tool and open the hole as large as required.