Should I hire a professional installer? (1 Viewer)

[SanDiegoCoastal]

Hi folks,
So glad to find this site. A greeting hello and also an apology in advance if these questions seem a bit silly.

It pertains to whether you all think I need to hire a professional home theater installer for what I want to do??

For a larger residential (both indoor and adjoining outside) living space with multiple seating areas, I plan to build a rolling TV cart system that we can move to various seating areas. On an Onkron rolling cart (55"-80" capability), I will mount a Samsung 65" QLED, a Yamaha soundbar with a universal tv bracket with keyhole adapter, an Apple TV -- all plugged into a 600V UPS (I got the battery backup surge protector so when I change outlets, the devices wont need to reset) Originally, I was going to include a DirecTV wireless genie but thanks to good internet service, I plan to cut the cord ( and likely use the Apple Tv even though the Samsung is a smart tv with similar apps--using a media streamer is still recommended even with smart tv ,right?)

Anyway, I'm moderately handy and the thought of putting this system together seems fun. My concern is that when I read individual reviews of the components-- for example the TV cart, there's a guy (who said he had to get longer bolts to make his TV work on the stand).. or for a guy reviewing my soundbar, he mentioned that to make Netflix and some other apps be heard from the soundbar, it required a configuration of the optical cable.. etc..

Bottom line, I could assemble this myself but do you all think I should get a pro just for the unanticipated problems?? Part of me hates for an hourly charge to be ticking while the TV and components update firmware and software but don't know if its better to just pay a pro to optimize the system right out of the box?? Thoughts please??
Thanks!

 

[Sam Posten]

Hi and welcome to HTF. You are definitely out in the outfield on a build like this, so I'd treat it like a personal project you have full hands on control over. Good luck!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Interesting project!

I think this should be pretty easy. The soundbar issue can probably be avoided by plugging the Apple TV (or whatever) directly into the TV and not the soundbar. Use the TV’s audio output for the soundbar. Just make sure that the TV’s audio output is compatible with the soundbar’s audio input. And yes, I expect a stand-alone media streamer to be better than a TV’s app, although it doesn’t cost anything to see of you like the TV’s capabilities.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[DaveF]

Yep. The hardest part sounds like getting a good cart and assembling it. The electronics are nothing fancy, just connecting typical living room consumer gear with hdmi cables. If they need updates, they’ll ask and you’ll click the OK button.

But without knowing your situation: do you want a normal household TV and electronics gear for outdoor use? Are they ok with ambient temperatures, humidity, precipitation? What if a storm rolls in while using this outside?

For these reasons, for outdoor deck and patio use, there are outdoor TVs (basically not all TVs in protective housings).

 

[SanDiegoCoastal]

Interesting project!

I think this should be pretty easy. The soundbar issue can probably be avoided by plugging the Apple TV (or whatever) directly into the TV and not the soundbar. Use the TV’s audio output for the soundbar. Just make sure that the TV’s audio output is compatible with the soundbar’s audio input. And yes, I expect a stand-alone media streamer to be better than a TV’s app, although it doesn’t cost anything to see of you like the TV’s capabilities.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Good stuff, thanks so much Wayne

 

[SanDiegoCoastal]

Yep. The hardest part sounds like getting a good cart and assembling it. The electronics are nothing fancy, just connecting typical living room consumer gear with hdmi cables. If they need updates, they’ll ask and you’ll click the OK button.

But without knowing your situation: do you want a normal household TV and electronics gear for outdoor use? Are they ok with ambient temperatures, humidity, precipitation? What if a storm rolls in while using this outside?

For these reasons, for outdoor deck and patio use, there are outdoor TVs (basically not all TVs in protective housings).

Thanks Dave,
We should be okay with the elements. In addition to living in Southern California, this equipment will be on a rolling cart that will moved to an outdoor simply for watching temporarily-- before returning to the inside. Thanks for the info