Seriously stupid wall mounting question.

[Graemevw]

First off, let me say, ive never owned a flat tv

We will eventualy get a nice tv to wall mount in our living room.

Buying the TV is not high on our priority list though, we have the whole house to renovate.

I want to sort out the aerial and power sockets ready though, i want to run them in the wall so all connections are behind the TV.

Can i do this without having the tv or bracket?

Are the brackets pretty much universal? Do they always mount to the same area on the tv?

Is there any way to work out where i can put the sockets and know for sure they wont be seen, or in the way?

I guess i can get a bracket now if need be, but ive no idea what TV we will get.

Ill wait if i have to, but we've lots of sockets to cut in etc and i'd like to make a start on the living room if poss.

Thanks.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Zod's Law says that wherever you put the sockets they'll be in the way
[Zod to get around DIYNot's rather Draconian language censoring]

What I would suggest is that you do three things:

1) If you are confident and competent with electrics then dispense with the idea of having a 13amp wall socket. Go for an appliance connection plate instead.

13a DP switched connection unit

These are much lower profile. The mains cable from the TV attaches to the back of the plate. The only tricky bit is if the TV has a captive mains cable. Install and deinstall becomes a two person job.

2) Run large profile rectangular conduit or trunking in the wall for your aerial and AV/HDMI connections. Finish off with a back boxes and flat plates top and bottom until you are ready to install the cables. At that point run the cables up the trunking and replace the flat plates with brush plates. When you install the TV you'll be able to pull the cable to shorten the legs at the TV end. This will make the install look neater.

I have tried wall plates with AV sockets, but the plugs always stick out at 90 degrees. That's just too bulky now for modern ultra thin TVs. Plus, you never know when/if a cable might need to be added or changed.

3) Whatever the TV - plasma, LED or LCD - the dead centre of the back of the telly is usually a safe bet for your power and AV cable exits. When running cables parallel do try to keep power and AV cables separated though by at least 9" to avoid interference.

 

[Graemevw]

Good call on the connection plate, Ill do that.

Just need to know where to mount them now.

I guess the best place for the sockets would be above the bracket, less chance of seeing them.
If i at least work out what size TV i want and exactly where abouts on the wall, i can put the sockets a couple of inch down from where the top of the TV would be.

Wires will be run down from the ceiling.


What about the brackets, are they universal?
Or are there exeptions.

I assume there must be reasonably standard ways of doing this otherwise every time you get a new TV you would need a new bracket and the sockets moving.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Just do a Google image search. You see there's a bunch of different designs but they're all based on a pretty similar layout. There's a back plate and two vertical hanger rails.

As for the TVs, if it's LCD or LED then most have the mounting positions laid out in one of the preset positions called VESA

Plasmas have their mounting points set a little wider.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Before you pick up a single tool, draw out your wiring diagram so you know exactly what cables you'll have coming in and out. Most people put one or more receivers close to the TV and fail to consider how they will get signals to other rooms. Some signals (radio, UHF, satellite) can be combined into a single double-screened coaxial cable and decombined with a diplex or triplex plate. You can get low-profile versions:-

http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/wall_plates.htm#slim

 

[mattylad]

Consider all the cables/connections you will need now and in the future.

Dismissing a connection and not fitting a cable now will lead you to kicking yourself later on when you get a gadget or game station etc that needs it.

 

[Graemevw]

I think we may end up getting the TV first after all.

We have been offered a plasma, but with no internal tuner.
Thats fine as we have a freeview recorder.
That and DVD's are all we'll ever use.

No need for any extra cables, or future upgrade ability, i have 0 interest in TV and watch maybe 5 films a year.

There are no TV's anywhere else and never will be. We have no kids

Wife watches her soaps, thats about it. I have no games consoles and never will.
We just need a flat TV so we can wall mount out of the way.


Im a music man myself and luckily i have what should be the master bedroom as my own hi-fi room.



Thanks for all the help, may have more silly questions if and when the TV arrives.

 

[SimonH2]

Dismissing a connection and not fitting a cable now will lead you to kicking yourself later on when you get a gadget or game station etc that needs it.

Better still, follow ChrisFrost's advice above - install a decent sized rectangular trunking in the wall so you can pull in additional cables later if needed. Assuming you can get to the space above the ceiling that is.

 

[timtheenchanter]

whack some cat5 in whisle your at it, covers most things you might need to shove down it.