ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area adapters & connectors for stereo, TV, VCR, & DVD connections

The popularity of center wall mounted plasma televisions with remote located VCR, DVD, & stereo equipment means more work for electricians.

I'm currently in the rough-in stage of a residential addition. The owner wants a plasma TV mounted up high in the center of a wall. The stereo, VCR, and DVD equipment will be several feet to the left, and down low. I suggested permenantly installing cabling in the wall between the DVD/VCR location and the plasma TV location. All the owner needs to do is install the patch cords between the equipment and the wall jacks.

Can anybody recommend a manufacturer for these connectors/adapters? What type of coax will I need for the composite video (VCR - yellow connector) and the component video (DVD - red, green, and blue connectors) cabling? What type of coax for the audio (white & red connectors) cabling?

[This message has been edited by royta (edited 06-16-2005).]

royta:

Funny you should ask, I'm doing such an install right now...

Belden makes great cabling, as does Canare and Liberty wire

https://secure.libertycable.com/index.php

(Don't worry, you don't need to log in to browse cable specs, etc. Use the links on the left)

Generally speaking, you would use the following:

Composite vid: RG-59
Component vid: RG-59 (or RG-6, a lot thicker, only really necessary if the run is much over 60')

Very important: For the RGB (component) run, the cables must be carefully cut to within 1" of the same length!!! Any error beyond that can cause color shift and video distortion. I usually measure the run with my fish, then lay out and cut all three lines (marking them as I cut each) then bundle them together.

Fot the audio, don't use coax! you'll need either two runs of Belden 8451 (2 conductors with foil shield) or one run of Belden 8723 (electrically the same as 8451, but with two pairs, each foil shielded.) With the 8723, I split the pairs and use heat shrink, leaving the foil in place. Makes for a nice connection. (I'll try to get a pic to post here with the moderator's approval.)

And for the audio, no matter what cable you use, connect the foil shield/drain wire at one end only!! (The source device end, not the tv end.) All coax/video shields connect at both ends.

Most of the consumer-grade stuff uses RCA plugs/jacks. Use gold-plated plugs and jacks, especially on the video connections. If you have a local electronic supply house (NOT "Rat Shack") they should have RCA plugs made specifically for RG-59/6 coax. My local house has them in both solder-on and twist-on styles.

You may email me for more tips and/or questions.

(edited to fix link)

[This message has been edited by mxslick (edited 06-16-2005).]

Since the TV and components are so close I think it would be a waste of time to run wiring for this. Just run some large "smurf" tube between a couple of 2 gang plaster rings behind each location. Let the customer or his AV guy pull whatever they want, any time they want.

I wouldn't even get involved with providing wiring for this, once the wall is closed you are screwed if you did the wrong thing.

-Hal