Cable Management?

[grife]

So having all the devices on my open shelved TV stand, everything from a network switch to dvd player, at least 9 devices all having cables running everywhere is making me wonder if there is a better way to do this.

So who has done cable management right and what did it take to get there? My wife complains about the mess, and sadly i have to agree.

[Jon Liu]

I zip-tie things together. I organize things by like audio and video cables and then zip tie them respectively together. And power cords are separate, as well as speaker wiring.

It's not as much of an issue for me since my entertainment rack is pretty enclosed and doesn't expose much wiring but, I still do it just knowing whenever I need to back there I know where things are at.

[dmiller68]

Actually instead of zip ties... They make velcro ones that makes it super easy to add or remove new cables.

Rip-Tie Lite Cable Wraps

[CoryB23]

Originally Posted by grife

So who has done cable management right and what did it take to get there? My wife complains about the mess, and sadly i have to agree.

Shoot Big Brad a PM or hopefully he'll read this thread. He did a heck of a cable management job before moving from his last place. Very clean and manageable. Hopefully he still has those pictures.

[Serren]

My setup is the bomb. I put all my gear in the room behind where the TV is. In my current house, this happens to be a portion of my daughters closet. The only device in my living room is the 360, which lives on top of the TV.

Its a super clean look, as I have no entertainment center or rack in my living room, and thus no rats nest of cables! My Mitsubishi TV passes all the IR signals out to the other room, but you could also you an IR repeater.

Another bonus is that I put all my gear on this nice open rack, so no heat problems.

Of course you would have to have a room with space near your tv to pull this off...

[JohnW]

+1 on the zip ties.

Either take the excess and zip-tie it in a bundle behind the gear, or zip tie the excess somewhere where it doesn't show. Zip-ties don't come loose, they're simple to use, and they're cheap. I use them in all my installations.

Hell, I once snapped off a clutch lever about twenty miles from home in the Otay Moutain Wilderness area. About five zip ties were enough to hold it in place. Got me halfway home before a couple snapped off and I had to replace them.

[Jon Liu]

lol nice, John!! That's usin' yer noggin'!