ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Outlets & CATV for Wall Mount

I am still holding out on buying a big screen TV. But I think once football season rolls around I may consider the purchase.
It seems/looks as if they are usually mounted directly to the wall. The ad's and pictures only show the TV on the wall. No wires, nothing.
My question: Do I need to install a box or boxes for the power, satelite, DVD/VCR and sound system ect.. in the middle of the wall, behind where the TV goes? It would be alot of work.
But I don't see any other way, unless the TV comes with some type of kit for this purpose.
Are the contractors on this forum seeing increased business in this regard? They sure seem to be selling these TV's at record pace.
Also, wife has the uncontrollable urge to move furniture around......LOL
Thanks John

We put in plugs for flat screens every week. We have a major electronic retailer who recommends us.
They do install plugs and the coax behind the TV. Generally the TV's are on fold out/pivot arms for access behind them.
We also see a lot of small rooms behind or in the vicinity of the TV built especially for the electronic equipment.

You don't want to put the box in the center of the TV location, as the TV mounting plate is generally centered on a stud. Larger sets use a plate that spans across 2 studs.

I've put in a couple of outlets and CATV drops for these sets, and it goes a LOT smoother if the set is on-site when I arrive. Not only can I be sure of the locations of the power cord and signal connections, but I usually get the extra work of actually installing the mounting bracket and hanging the set.

JV, it is the preferred method to install real boxes in the wall, and fish wires to the boxes.

Moving furniture around is a non-issue, as these sets require a fairly substantial mount on the wall.

Generally, I place the receptacles behind the set, down low (so you can easily reach them) and off to one side (so the set doesn't block access. Power on the left, cable on the right. The poser gets a real, all steel 'cut in" box, while it's ok to use a "ring" for the cable. I happen to like the Panduit plates.

OK John,
One thing that you have to realise, once women are married, they will do this, things that were once in a place where you had them before are no longer there.
This is one of the reasons that my wife is banned from my garage.

Once again, Trumpy's hit the nail on the head.

Men look for "trophy wives" that are exactly what they want.
Women look for "project husbands" that can be made into something acceptable to them.

I usually answer the cries of "I want that moved over to the other corner" with "Go right ahead".

When you are married to a builder she doesn't move the furniture, she moves the wall.

Thanks for the info. I have not seen one of these big TV's out of the box. But I was certain I would need to locate the boxes somewhere they are not visible. You guys verified it.
The ad's for these new TV's don't want you to know what is required for installation. Which is a good thing for electricians.

JV,
I like the Sanus mounting brackets: http://www.sanus.com/us/en/ I have installed the big ones and little ones and as Reno said, it's better to fish the wires to a real box. We usually rough the wires in behind the drywall and fish them out after we have marked the location on the TV and the bracket. In my area, most people use a cable box so I rough the coax to the cable box location and then run coax and/or HDMI cable to the TV.