Setting TV in my new house - all the needed wires

7 years ago

Hi,

I am trying to setup my TV in my new house. (Infact there'd be three, but the setup would be same). I am trying to put all the wires behind the wall and put all the devices (Apple TV, Cable Box, etc) in the basement cabinet. What I need help is that what kind of wires should I run beforehand so that all the needed wires behind the TV are pre-installed.

What I was thinking that in order to put in Apple TV, Chromecast, cable Box, Harmony behind the TV, should I pass/send HDMI separately in all of those controllers? Or should I have AV Receiver like this (Yamaha RX-V581) and pass just one HDMI to this AV Receiver and connect Apple TV, Chromecast, cable Box to the AV Receiver?

I also hope to have Sonos attached to my TV.

I am very confused so any help would be highly appreciated.

Featured Answer

Herbert Bee

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

It seems you want all three tvs to share the sources, e.g. one single Apple TV device can be watched in any of the tvs. For that you need a central location where all the source devices will be and then run an HDMI cable to each of the tvs. It makes sense to use a good quality HDMI especially if the distance is somewhat long, like 25'+. I like Blue Jeans Cables. They aren't cheap but you don't want to replace cables after the drywall is done.

The second thing you need to think about is how you are going to connect the sources to the tvs in a way that allows you to switch from one to another. One way would be an AV receiver although if you go that route you need one that has 3 HDMI outputs, which means not a basic one, for example a Denon AVR-X4300. Otherwise you will need an HDMI splitter to go on the output of the receiver.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to play different things on each of the TV at the same time. The Denon I mentioned has 3 outputs but only 2 zones, meaning 2 of the 3 tvs would have to be on the same source. Honestly if all you want to do is switch sources a receiver is not the right way to go.

A cheaper option would be to have just an HDMI switcher, which does just that, although the ones I've seen have a single output, meaning you can only watch one source at a time. Again, if the switcher only has one HDMI output you need a splitter to go to every TV.

Then there's the question of how you are going to bring the signal from the remote to the location where the sources are. Probably you want to have an IR sensor next to each TV wired to an IR repeater. That will get the signal from the rooms to the source devices and the source switcher.

The wiring you'd need for this basic setup would be just HDMI and IR, which is just a plain headphone cable. I'd add one or better two ethernet cables for future proofing and back up.

Another consideration is if you want to have a single receiver that would be use to amplify the drives speakers for each of the tvs...

I tried to explain it as simply as possible. There are other options but I covered the cheapest and most common ones. Hopefully it helps.

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Comments (11)

mtvhike
7 years ago
You say that you are going to have your sources (Apple TV, Cable Box, etc.) in the basement; are the TVs all on the first floor? Are you planning the remotes to reach to the basement? I think your AV receiver plan is a good one; where will that be?
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dchall_san_antonio
7 years ago
If you're still running wires, think about home theater wires to the back wall and ceiling of your TV rooms. I should have done that when we were installing recessed lighting in the room.
Oops
Original Author
7 years ago
@First Last, @mtvhike, @dchall,

Firstly, I am so grateful to you guys for taking out time to assist me.

My house is being built from grounds up, and currently all the wires and plumbing work is being done. There are no dry walls and I plan on only putting them up after all my wires are in.

Let me be more specific to what I am doing and what products I am going with.

TVs / Equipment / Setup
- There would be 3 TVs in my house
- I had no idea that I can share my Apple TV, cable, etc through an AV Receiver to multiple TVs, so thank you so much for that.
- I plan on using Yamaha Aventage (RX-A860) which has quite a few HDMI ports (see the back image here)
- I plan on using Fiber Optic HDMI cable (50 ft) ( this one from Celerity) to ensure that I have reliable long distance connection.
- I plan on using Harmony Elite for remote usage with their IR mini blaster.
- I am putting in Cat 6a cables behind every TV and sockets all over the house to ensure I have as many direct cable connections to my smart home equipments.
- I am hoping to put all my equipments (Apple TV, AV Receiver, Cable etc.) in a cabinet in basement and bring HDMI/Cat 6a wires from all over the house to these cabinets.
Questions
- Bless you for this suggestion, but you're saying that I can share my sources (Apple Tv, etc) with all my 3 TVs? That'd be amazing. So with my AV Receiver I can do it? I think RX-A860 has two zones, should I return it and get a one with three zones?
- Would AV Receiver be a better option than an HDMI switch / splitter?
- I am putting in ceiling speakers throughout my house and Im using Sonos Connect:Amp for multiple zones to control them. Would that be good option?
- What I am hoping to do is future proof my house and have all the cables installed in before any dry wall finalization so that all wires stay hidden.
- At the end, Each TV would have 2 HDMI (one for AV Receiver in the basement cabinet and one for just in case.) 2 Cat6a (One goes to Chromecast Ultra and one just in case).
- Please let me know if I should do anything else.
Again, thanks a lot.
Herbert Bee
7 years ago
Good to know you have the HDMI wiring and remote figured out.

The question you need to ask yourself is if you want to be
able to watch different sources at the same time.

If not the solution is simple. Get an HDMI splitter on the
output of your receiver and you are good to go. All TVs will show whatever
source you have selected from your receiver.

If you are okay having just two video zones (i.e. TV1 can watch any source, TV2 and TV3 have to be on the same source) you can use the zone feature of your receiver. You would connect TV1 to the HDMI output 1 of the receiver and then a splitter from HDMI output 2 to TV2 and TV3.

If you want to be able to have different sources simultaneously to each TV (say Apple TV on TV1, cable on TV2 and a disc on TV3) you need a way to assign
any source to any of the TVs. For example, something like this 4x4 switcher (4
sources to 4 different displays): https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=101&cp_id=10113&cs_id=1011310&p_id=5704
However I’ve never used one of these devices and from what I read they all have
their quirks and incompatibilities.
Oops thanked Herbert Bee
PRO
Chique Spaces
7 years ago
Thanks a lot. Understood.

If I have two zones, same sources would show different content on both the TVs?

Is there any preference or usage of connecting sources (Apple TV, Cable, etc) to AV Reciever than connecting directly to TV?

I do know that having an external audio resource do make it mandatory but if audio is being used of the TV, would AV Receiver still be useful/needed?

Thanks a lot.
Herbert Bee
7 years ago
If I have two zones, same sources would show different content on both the TVs?

Two zones means you can watch a different source on each of the zones. You can be watching cable on zone 1 and the Apple TV on zone 2.

Is there any preference or usage of connecting sources (Apple TV, Cable, etc) to AV Reciever than connecting directly to TV?

The main advantage of having the sources on a switching device is that you only need a single set of sources that can be watched on any TV around the house. Otherwise if you have 3 TVs you need to have 3 Apple TVs, 3 cable boxes, etc.

I do know that having an external audio resource do make it mandatory but if audio is being used of the TV, would AV Receiver still be useful/needed?

Correct, the main purpose of an AV receiver is to power external speakers. If you are going to play audio through your TV speakers there's little reason for one, although the latest AV receivers can also act as a source, working similarly to an Apple TV, Chromecast or similar.
Oops thanked Herbert Bee
PRO
Chique Spaces
7 years ago
Thanks a lot for your assistance.

Ok, that makes a lot of sense.

So if I have 3 TVs around the house, should I get an AV Receiver with 3-4 zones. But those are kinda expensive. But if I am using the internal speakers of each TV, should I be using AVReceiver?

Is there any other thing that I can use instead of receiver to have 3 zones and ease of use, if yes, Hallelujah! if not, then I guess AVReceiver with 3 to 4 zones is the way to go!
mtvhike
7 years ago
I find the internal speakers in all TVs terrible, so I would always use external ones, preferably with their own amps (such as an AV receiver). I currently have an AV receiver (Yamaha RX A1010) with two zones and the system works, although it has bugs/inconveniences. I have looked for AV receivers with more than two zones and found some in the Yamaha Aventage line, but at prices well over $1000. Also, I was a little confused about whether the extra zones were audio, video, or both (one referred to HDMI audio).

Do you want the TVs to be able to display different television/cable signals? Then you will have to have separate signal sources (multiple cable boxes?). Of course, if you plan to stream your TV programs and you have smart TVs, you could bypass the AV receiver. You would have to have a way to send the sound sent from the TV back to the AV receiver to get the superior sound, and that would be one TV only.

My main TV has an antenna also and, when I use that, I direct the audio out signal to the receiver for the reasons mentioned above. I use the Toslink interface for that.
Oops thanked mtvhike
PRO
Chique Spaces
7 years ago
Thanks mtvhike,

I previously planned on using A860 but seeing that it won't support two zones, I am planning on going for Aventage RX-A1060, which supports two zones.

Now, on the flipside, I don't think I'd be putting cable in my house as I never see it. Most of my TV viewing would be streaming shows, channel subscriptions or movies.

Seeing your comments, I'd go for external audio in my living room TV. Other place where I'd have external audio would be my Cinema Room. My Cinema room (projector) would only play movies or other streaming content. (Any other TV in my house would have their own Apple TV and no external audio).

If I share this TV and Projector on my AV Receiver, to have external audio and only streaming content, would going for an AVReceiver makes sense?

I asked this question as this receiver would cost me $1000 and I just want to make sure that I only get it if I need it.

Any suggestion or alternative would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.
mtvhike
7 years ago
So if you're using your Apple TV with no external audio, are you using the TV's internal speakers? Do you like their sound? One inexpensive way to improve the sound is get a sound bar (~$100) and plug its input into either the audio output of the Apple TV or the TV receiver itself, if it has one. Not real high fidelity, but better than the TV speakers.

Setting TV in my new house - all the needed wires

Herbert Bee

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Setting TV in my new house - all the needed wires

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