How best to hide cables etc

[Bluebirdnick]

Hi all

We have surrendered 90% of the house to our kids, but are claiming the front room as a TV room. I want to put a telly on the chimney breast - the spaces either side are too narrow to accommodate a TV really. I set out my plan below, along with a few specific questions - any guidance (or even confirmation I'm planning it right) would be much appreciated.

Please see this really quite terrible sketch of how I imagine it being set up: some sort of mantelpiece (the brown thing); then the telly and soundbar as low as I can set them; and the subwoofer and TiVo box on/in some sort of unit (purple) in the bay to the right of teh telly, where the TV cable comes into the room.

Had we known that we would be using the room for TV, we would obviously have set it up better and had sockets etc on the chimney breast itself. But we didn't, and I don't want to cause more disruption now so I am going to try to do the best with what we have i.e. a double socket and the TV cable on the wall to the right of the chimney breast.

I'll get a multi socket extension lead or something, but the plan is to connect everyhing up in the purple unit and somehow run cables to the back of the telly.

Things that need to be plugged in are:
- TV (Samsung Q60T)
- Soundbar (Samsung HW-K 450)
- TiVo box
- Subwoofer

The broadband, phone etc are all in a different room.

Things that need to go to the back of the telly/soundbar (i.e. cables run from teh purple unit to the middle of the chimney breast are:
- Power for TV
- Power for soundbar
- HDMI from TiVo to TV

The soundbar and subwoofer are "wireless" and it is all Samsung so I don't think I actually need a cable to run from TV to soundbar- although if I did, that should be easy enough.

So I think I just need to get:

1) a really long power cable for the TV - it looks like this and I think it will be easy to find say a 3m long version:

2) a really long power cable for the soundbar - it looks like this, any idea what it is?

3) a really long HDMI cable- should be easy.

The obvious problem I have is - how to run the cables so it looks neat? The only thing I can think of is mini trunking, painted to match the wall. The TV will pretty much fill the chimney breast, there will be about 7cm either side. So was planning to run it horizontally, then around the external corner to the back wall, and down.

Are there any products better/flatter than mini trunking for this purpose? Or are there just better ways to do it? One thing I did think of: the mantel piece is likely to be timber so I could get the router out and cut a recess in the back and run the cables horizontally in that recess, but that only gets them to the edge of teh
chimney.

PArt of me wants to put the tivo box etc in the fireplace (there is nothing else in there, just a cheap electric plugin fire for now. But while that might make things easier for running cables etc, it might just look very odd.

Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[CJRatch]

Use D line trunking from the purple unit to behind the TV painted the same colour as the wall.

In the trunking I'd recommend a long 2-4 way extension and 2 HDMI cables incase you ever use more devices in the future.

Connect the TV and soundbar to the extension behind the TV. You'll also need to connect another HDMI lead from the soundbar HDMI out to the ARC HDMI 2 on your TV this will enable sound from any other HDMI device to play through the soundbar. For this run a little trunking between the TV and the soundbar to hide the power lead and HDMI.

You'll now have 2 HDMI leads at the purple unit ready for your TIVO and any other device. These along with the sub will be powered using the other socket you have free behind the purple unit.

I did something very similar I'll post couple pics.

 

[CJRatch]

 

[Tigercubrider]

Another option is to cover the chimney with a full sheet of mfd, using 2x1 battens and filling the seams.
Use the gap to hide cables.
Possibly drill/ chase a route from the side for cables

 

[winston1]

Getting cables to a TV on a chimney breast is always a problem. Up the side above the violet unit is about the best you can do.

I don't know what other choices you have but that TV is too high, you will get a crick in the neck. The other problem is heat rising from the fire will not do the TV any good. If you don't use the fire consider getting rid of it and putting the TV lower. That would also make running cables from the unit easier. Don't forget an aerial feed as well, you didn't mention it.

 

[CJRatch]

Depending how for your sitting away from the TV it shouldn't be to high. I had those concerns in the pictures above but it's never been a problem even coming from a TV fixed a fair amount lower previously.

It's all personal preference but take a look at recommended TV heights to seating distances they're higher than you think.

I'd never put a real fire under the TV but an electric downward firing fire or stove similar to mine won't be an issue.

 

[drpepe]

If that’s an unused chimney (looks like an electric fire in there?) then you could route the cabling from the right alcove to come out behind the tv, so no need for trunking.

Obviously a bit of drilling involved.

 

[Bluebirdnick]

Thanks all.those pics are great- essentially show exactly what I had in mind. We will likely put shelving in the "bay" where the violet unit sits too which will further mask the trunking.

As regards height: it's about 10cm higher than it should be, per the seating height/distance. Not ideal, but We might try to use the chimney in the next few years (wife wants a wood burner and someone came around to check the chimney was ok) so don't want to drill right through it. But if we have a wood burner, having a telly on the chimney is a bit daft... Who knows.

 

[Bluebirdnick]

Actually j measured it wrong the TV is going to be high. Right. It might be better to find some other form of heat for that room (it needs it, the radiator doesn't do the trick on really cold days); cover up the fireplace and put a unit in front of it. Easier to run the cables- I could do it abound the base of the skirting board.

The trick will be finding a heat source that isn't a fire

 

[Sureitsoff?]

how wide is the soundbar? could it fit in the fireplace gap below the lintel thereby allowing the tv to be lowered? i would drill a 50 mm hole from low enough to be below any shelving on the right up at angle into the fireplace to be above lintel height and feed the cables that way and have similiar hole above the lintel into the fireplace for thd cables to the tv. this assumes you wont be using the fireplace for a fire of course

 

[denso13]

Getting cables to a TV on a chimney breast is always a problem.

Not "always" at all, especially on blocked up or unused chimneys. Mine was quite simple actually.

 

[CJRatch]

Thanks all.those pics are great- essentially show exactly what I had in mind. We will likely put shelving in the "bay" where the violet unit sits too which will further mask the trunking.

As regards height: it's about 10cm higher than it should be, per the seating height/distance. Not ideal, but We might try to use the chimney in the next few years (wife wants a wood burner and someone came around to check the chimney was ok) so don't want to drill right through it. But if we have a wood burner, having a telly on the chimney is a bit daft... Who knows.

Yeah your never going to get away with a proper wood burning stove beneath a TV.

The one I fitted is electric but with a real flame effect called Dimplex Opti Myst. It's real good works on water vapour. The heat is pumped out via the bottom so has dispersed by the time it hits the soundbar/TV.

Worth considering.

 

[winston1]

Yeah your never going to get away with a proper wood burning stove beneath a TV.

The one I fitted is electric but with a real flame effect called Dimplex Opti Myst. It's real good works on water vapour. The heat is pumped out via the bottom so has dispersed by the time it hits the soundbar/TV.

Worth considering.

View attachment 249059

Worth reading the long thread on the Opti Mist fire in the electrics UK forum before making a decision.

 

[cwhaley]

When we bought our place the TV was above the fireplace and it was horrible. I know I sound like I'm being a n*b but all you saw when you walked into the room was a huge black rectangle on the fireplace -- your eyes were automatically drawn to it. It was also a poor viewing position.

I moved it to the alcove, put it on a movable bracket and built a cabinet around it. It probably cost me about £180, but I did go rookie and go to Travis Perkins and not the timber yard. All the wires for the router (on top of the cabinet), the lamp and the TV go in the paneling on the sides where the wire is ran in conduit (pic taken before completion).

I would - having experience of the same - do something like this. Even if it's just stuck on a bracket with a shelf or cabinet below it'll be much better.

 

[Bluebirdnick]

Thanks. I get the issue with the big black rectangle. What i really need is one of those Samsung "the Frame" tellys that look like artwork most of the time. Not only would it look appropriate at this height, but it's fed by that clever little box that you plug all your soundbar, Sky/virgin box etc into so you can hide all of that stuff away, and then there is a single cable from teh box to teh telly. And in reality I may well get one: I can then move this TV into the kids room; and their TV into the spare room to replace the telly in there that just broke... let's see what Black Friday throws up.

AS regards alcove: that is absolutely my preference and where I really wanted to put it. Your unit looks great. But in this room the alcoves would only accommodate a 42 inch TV. And the whole point of the room is to watch telly - its not our main living room, we'd only ever sit in it once the kids are in bed!

I've put it on the wall and copied CJRatch's setup for now. I do think it will be a bit high for us and if it is, I'll have to reconsider. The sofas arrive next week so I'll soon find out! Thanks for the help everyone.