Mounted TV dileama

mikwillo · 29-12-2008, 9:32 PM

Im not sure if this is the correct forum so apologies if its not.

Im soon going to be replacing my 32" lcd tv with a 42" lcd or plasma tv and will be mounting it on the living room wall. The only other hardware I will have in my living room is standard sky box and dvd player, both with scart connections.

As the new tv will have hdmi connections I want to know the best way to connect my sky box and dvd player without having 2 visible scart leads running 5 metres to the tv. Im planning on keeping the sky and dvd boxes in the corner of the room away from the tv.

I cant afford sky +, sky HD or an av receiver at the moment so was thinking of a scart to hdmi converter. That way I will only have 1 lead going to the tv. Are these any good?

Do I have any other options?

I have an AV sender in my bedroom that I use with a mounted 26" lcd and freeview box but I dont really want to go down this route with an expensive new 42" tv.

Follow · 29-12-2008, 10:11 PM

There are SCART-HDMI converters out there, but they aren't particularly cheap and you wouldn't gain much/anything from using one. It would seem like a lot of messing around to save only one cable run.

Personally I'd just stick with the two SCART cables for now. You could easily hide them in a bit of trunking for a few quid. Have a look at D-Line as a starting point.

mikwillo · 29-12-2008, 11:09 PM

Would there be any loss in picture quality using 5 metre scart leads?

Sanders79 · 31-12-2008, 12:13 PM

Hello,

If you get some good quality scart leads that are well screened and put together, then I think you should be fine. Can get expensive though!

Are you planning on having the cables in the wall or on the surface in trunking?

Just thinking out loud here - is there anything out there that would let you use CAT5 cables instead? A few of those would be easier to run over 5 metres than two chunky scarts.

Cheers.

Jiff Lemon · 31-12-2008, 2:04 PM

What about something like this?

Thor HDC200 HDMI 1.3 & Scart Switch with Digital Audio Only £132.12 at TVCables

Not cheap mind you!

Edit: Actually, don't know whether that would allow scart input to be routed to the HDMI output.....

mikwillo · 31-12-2008, 3:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanders79

Hello,

Are you planning on having the cables in the wall or on the surface in trunking?

The 2 scaret leads will be hidden behind the skirting boards.

mikwillo · 31-12-2008, 3:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiff Lemon

What about something like this?

Thor HDC200 HDMI 1.3 & Scart Switch with Digital Audio Only £132.12 at TVCables

Not cheap mind you!

Edit: Actually, don't know whether that would allow scart input to be routed to the HDMI output.....

I would prefer to just spend a bit of cash on 5m scart leads. Failing that if the picture quality is bad I could go for one of these:

Scart to HDMI Converter - Upscale Sky, Wii, DVD to HDMI @ 720P

I'd also need a decent HDMI cable then.

Mounting this plasma is beginning to get expensive.

Sanders79 · 31-12-2008, 5:43 PM

Does the other equipment have to be miles away from the TV? If you have it just beneath then it would be relatively simple to run some trunking into the wall that you can pass scart leads or whatever else you might like through. You can also get scart wall plates - this means you have to chop out less plaster/brick. If that idea appeals you can get plates for all kinds of connections (scart, HDMI, component, VGA - you name it!). You need to be fairly competent at DIY and it can also work out expensive before you know it...

gregster10217 · 31-12-2008, 6:44 PM

It may not be something you've thought of, but what about a false wall type effort. It doesn't cost a lot, depending on what you want. I did mine and it cost about £100 but that included the remote socket set (£20) which you may not want to get initially. I will be putting up a 40" Sony LCD in the very near future.
Just thinking, you could run all the cable you want to, at least one HDMI, for the future (then look at getting an HDMI amp, when finances allow, to plug in all your HD equipment and just have the single HDMI cable to your TV) and you get the desired effect of hiding your cables and getting a great looking feature as well.
It may not be what you want, so sorry for posting if it's not, but just an idea.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...a-project.html

mikwillo · 01-01-2009, 11:28 AM

Sanders79 - Unfortunately, yes, the equipment has to stay in the corner as the tv is going to be above a fireplace. The fireplace is pretty new so the other half wants it to stay im afraid.

gregster10217 - Im also doing a floating wall effect. Ive already bought all the materials apart from the wall mount(I need to find a decent one). Im just waiting to get xmas out of the way before I start all the work. The cables will drop down behind the floating wall than will be hidden behind the skirting boards.

I think im just going to try gold plated individually screened oxygenated flat scart leads for now until Ive got some HDMI equipment.

mikwillo · 01-01-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikwillo

Scart to HDMI Converter - Upscale Sky, Wii, DVD to HDMI @ 720P

Has anyone heard anything about or tried one of these?

gregster10217 · 01-01-2009, 11:44 AM

I got my mount from ebay for about £20 incl delivery and am very happy with it, does the job well and is a tilting version.
I got my scart cables/HDMI cables from this place.
http://www.cabling4less.co.uk/Scart_...FYsh3god0nMyDQ
Found them very reasonable and delivery was very quick. From what I've read on here, unless you're minted and can really notice the difference, upto 5m cables don't need to cost the earth. Think I paid about £10 for the scart and £25 for the HDMI.
Good luck with your project, like to see pics as you go.
Are you doing rope lights/LEDs on the rear of your floating wall. TLC direct are the most competatively priced from virtually everything electrical.

Greg

mikwillo · 01-01-2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregster10217

I got my mount from ebay for about £20 incl delivery and am very happy with it, does the job well and is a tilting version.
I got my scart cables/HDMI cables from this place.
Scart cables and adaptors.
Found them very reasonable and delivery was very quick. From what I've read on here, unless you're minted and can really notice the difference, upto 5m cables don't need to cost the earth. Think I paid about £10 for the scart and £25 for the HDMI.
Good luck with your project, like to see pics as you go.
Are you doing rope lights/LEDs on the rear of your floating wall. TLC direct are the most competatively priced from virtually everything electrical.

Greg

Probably going to get 2 of these:

SCART lead 5m GOLD plated FLAT OFC cable 5 metre on eBay, also, SCART Cables, Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 28-Jan-09 21:50:48 GMT)

and some of this:

White Duralite Rope Light

alsina · 01-01-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikwillo

Has anyone heard anything about or tried one of these?

Not sure I understand what advantage this will give you?

mikwillo · 01-01-2009, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alsina

Not sure I understand what advantage this will give you?

It just means I would have an hdmi cable running 5m to my tv instead of 5m of scart cable. I thought there would be a loss in picture quality with 5m scart cable.

alsina · 01-01-2009, 1:51 PM

Oh I see. Just buy good quality screened scart cables and you will be fine. Converting scart to HDMI with one of those 'gadgets' is likely to degrade the picture quality more than a long scart cable.

mikwillo · 01-01-2009, 4:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alsina

Oh I see. Just buy good quality screened scart cables and you will be fine. Converting scart to HDMI with one of those 'gadgets' is likely to degrade the picture quality more than a long scart cable.

Ok. Thanks for the heads up.