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Where do you put the cable box for the TV in the kitchen?

14 years ago

We have wired for a tv to sit on the counter in the corner. Was thinking of getting the 19 inch Sharp aquos, but a little stumped what to do with the cable box. I know some tv's can use a cable card, but I can't seem to find a small one for the counter. Don't really want the cable boc to show. Has anyone put the box in a cabinet and used an Rf extender with it? I think it's like a little eye that can get the signal from the box.

If not what did you use?

Thanks!!

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Comments (7)

momj47
14 years ago
I have the TV on the counter and run the cable to a connection in the wall. I recently had a
on the counter, for digital TV, and am returning it. It's too big and was in the way. I couldn't put the TV on it, it hit the bottom of the upper cabinets, so it just sat and got in the way. I have a digital DVR in the family room, and I've decided one is enough. I don't need a box to get plenty of cable channels on the kitchen TV.
weissman
14 years ago
I have an old small TV with a built-in antenna in my kitchen. Just bought a digital converter box and it's small and just sits on top of the TV - but you probably couldn't do that with a newer flat screen TV.

If you can live without the premium channels in your kitchen, you MIGHT be able to feed the cable directly into your TV without the cable box and use the tuner on the TV to select channels. But that would really depend on both the particular cable company and your TV - these days not all cable companies still provide an analog feed and newer TVs don't have an analog tuner.
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If you do put the equipment in a cabinet or closet you will need a way of controlling them. Furnlite makes an infared repeater that controls six pieces of equipment. The infared eye is very small. Only requires a 1/2" hole. I don't think they show on their website yet. Sligh Furniture, http://www.sligh.com/sligh.php, uses them on their entertainment pieces. Here is a link that might be useful: FurnLite
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I'm not aware of any TVs that small that use a CC. In general, the cable companies were not supportive of CC and their use has suffered because of it. You can use an IR repeater to put a box in a cabinet away from the TV and still use a IR remote. You can also use a box that has a radio wave remote, direct line of sight not needed, if you cable co offers it. We made our kitchen TV a slave to the main TV in the ajoining room, so the kitchen TV shows the same thing as the main TV. We didn't want competing TVs.
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This should go in the electronics forum, but I'll answer anyway. It sounds like you are still getting an analog signal from the cable company. As long as you make sure to get a TV with a built-in tuner, you should be all set. No box required, you're lucky. The thing is though, it sounds like you aren't getting an HD signal. The standard definition picture that looked fine on your older TV may not look as good on your flatscreen, since it was designed for a much higher resolution. But frankly, I'm amazed your current setup even works still. In my area, they ENCRYPTED the basic cable signals, so even if you had a newer flatscreen TV with digital tuner, you had to get a converter box for every TV in your house. And to top it off, these cheapo "converter boxes" weren't even compatible with HD, so if you wanted to get your HD signal back like you had before the box, you had to upgrade to a higher tier of cable. What a racket. practigal: Netflix is great, I love it, but you can't just order movies from it. There is a subscription fee. Though there are other services like iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, and Vudu where you can just pay per movie or TV show. I actually tried to cancel my basic cable a few years ago for the same reason (internet streaming) and they threatened to jack up the cost of my internet higher than the basic cable fee! So I just kept it.
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Many use remote installed equipment connected with HDMI cables. As mentioned above, you can also mount the equipment to the back of the TV. It is also possible to create a niche behind the TV, depending on the condition of the wall. Once you've solved the location of the equipment, you will likely need a good remote with ir and rf functions. (https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-elite?crid=60) Good luck to you.
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growlery
14 years ago
I used to do that, route my cable through my vcr or tivo. Until I got digital. Now I don't think it's an option.

Some cable companies have started using small cable boxes. They don't tell you they're available, but if you go into one of the shopfronts and ask if they're available, they may let you trade in one of your boxes.

Cablecards are also worth a shot. But, given my Tivo experience, with Cox anyway, I don't know if a lot of technicians know how to use them. They acted like they didn't, and acted as though every card were "their last one".
Cheryl
14 years ago
I have a (small) wall mounted flat screen on my backsplash area. DH attached the cable box under the top cupboard next to the tv using some plastic brackets. It is visible, but it has to be to work with the remote control. I'm happy it is off the counter.
ziggysun
14 years ago
We ran the cable in the wall and through a cabinet when we were renovating and the box is in the corner cabinet on the bottom shelf which has a glass door and luckily the remote works through it. The TV is in the corner right under that cabinet.
tklahr
14 years ago
We have a flat planel TV mounted to the wall, and all cables go into the wall behind the TV and come back out above the adjacent cabinet. A Directv box and DVD/VHS player sit on top of the cabinet. They don't seem to be too much of an eyesore, probably because we have a number of decorative items on top of the other wall cabinets. The wall with the TV is not as prominant as the other 3 kitchen walls.
rebeccainchicago
14 years ago
Almost like ziggysun, I'm planning on having the contractor run the cable in the wall and through a cabinet. The only difference is, my cabinet will be lattice fronted. I'm hoping I'll be able to line up the "eye" on the cable box with one of the lattice holes, allowing me to use the remote without opening the door. If this doesn't work, I'll go low tech and open the door when changing channels! At least I won't have ugly cable box hogging precious counter space.

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