Home AV Installation and Data Cabling – Hiding your AV Equipment

When considering the audio visual equipment in your home there are many considerations when it comes to choice, technical specifications, cost and design looks. However the audio visual equipment also needs to be linked by many interconnecting data cabling links and powered locally by power sockets

Incorporating how these cables and powers sockets are pre-installed and therefore “Hidden” is as important as the aesthetics of the audio visual equipment itself

Residential Data Cabling

The majority of the audio equipment installed in your house will require a data connection of some sort whether that is a direct wired data cabling socket or the audio visual equipment is linked by full house coverage Wi-Fi.

The speeds achievable are higher and more consistent than Wi-Fi so it’s always recommended where possible to install direct link data cables

What are examples of Audio Visual?

Some examples of audio visual equipment that will require data cabling connections

·        Televisions

·        Wifi Boosters

·        Satelitte Boxes

·        Music servers / SONOS

·        Move / Media Players

·        PC’s and Phones

·        Printers

If you can include the desired equipment into the initial building or refurbishment designs you can then allow for all the data wiring and power requirements and avoid having to install cables over finished walls. It is also best to install the data wiring now for any expected equipment rather than having to install at a later date. For example include television wiring into all children’s bedrooms for use by grown up teenagers later on

Residential Audio Visual Installations

“To See or Not to See”

Once you have taken great care to hide the structured cabling and electrical installations there are also many clever and unique ways that you can “hide” your audio visual equipment to achieve a very sleek, modern and aesthetically pleasing home design

By installing cabling to the correct position in advance you will be able to install televisions, speakers, Wi-Fi units and all other equipment into areas and avoid messy locally linked cables

The pre design could allow for satellite boxes linked locally from a cupboard to the TV with remote red eye control links to avoid having a box and cables looking messy directly below the television

Is it a Mirror? Is it a TV? Is it Both?

 On every Residential AV Installation you have the decision to make of how much equipment do I have and where to have your equipment.

 Equipment such as Satellite Boxes, DVD Players, Speakers, Amplifiers, Music Servers, Movie Servers, and a whole lot more.

The standard method is a Television in each room with a Sky box and DVD linked directly to the television. On a stand this looks fine but with handing a flat screen TV do you still have an unsightly furniture piece under it and take away the effect of the flat screen. If there is to be no furniture where does all the equipment go? 

Then to the speakers, do you have visible round speakers in your ceiling messing with your lighting design, do you have speakers on your wall, do you like the sight of them visible or not?

 Some clever solutions we utilise to hide your AV equipment with great effect.

Picture Frame Televisions

Mirror TV installation – Is it a Television, a mirror, a family picture frame, an Aquarium? The choice is yours

The Samsung "Frame" TV is a great example of this

https://www.samsung.com/uk/lifestyle-tvs/the-frame/highlights/

Stealth Speakers

These speakers install flush with your walls. They are plastered over and then painted with the wall so they disappear into the overall wall design

Steal Acoustics https://www.stealthacoustics.com/invisible-speakers/ have a range of invisible speakers or art covered speakers to suit all different kinds of spaces

Central Control system

By designing and putting all your Sky boxes, DVD players, Music and Movie servers all in a central location and cable to each location. All your equipment fully hidden, useable by all locations and therefore becomes fully functional

Then onto control. Do you have a separate control for everything you own or do you combine, can you control your house from one place or must you have separate control for each area

There are many choices of control systems and APPs that will allow you to control all of your audio visual equipment from a single phone