HELP! I need advise on wireless TV.

[Memphis]

I need advise from someone with knowledge on electronics. I am out of ideas on what to do. The problem is I want to mount a nice 55 inch LED TV above my fireplace mantle in my living room. It is an outside wall of the brick house and is a TWO STORY wall. There is no room above the wall in the attic (roof angles right down and kills all the overhead room). I need coaxial cable down the wall of course but Comcast came out and basicaly chuckled and said they couldn't do it.
I have already bought the TV and really want to stick with that location to mount it. My question is..... Is there any product out there that is WIRELESS that I could buy and not have to find a way to tear up a wall to run the cable??? Keep in mind I don't want to compromise the quality of the HD TV. I am at the end of my rope on this and thought to myself, where can I go and who can I ask... The S&W gun forum by-gosh thats who!! If you solve this for me....I will dance at your next wedding.

Roger

[paplinker]

Is the fireplace used at all or ornamental? Is outside brick wall at fireplace hidden or in a area to see by all?
Rich

[JcMack]

Roger,

With all respect: A picture is worth a thousand words. A few pics would clear up this scenario, for me anyway. If it's a working fireplace it will most certainly screw up your TV.

Jim

[Memphis]

Rich, the fireplace is functional but is gas only. And it is ventless so the flu is always closed. The wall I'm wanting to use is basically the back of my house. I actually thought of running the coaxial out a vent at the top eave of my house and running it outside down to about where I want the TV and then drilling a small neat hole to run the cable back inside where the TV is. There is already a cable jack in the needed room but just on a wall about 20 feet away from where I need it. So, I can't believe with all the modern technical marvels that there isn't some wireless system where I could hook up the existing cable jack and transmit the signal about 20 feet in the air to the new TV. I have hardwood floors and there is no way to route a cable inside the room. I'm wide open for suggestions.

Roger

[Memphis]

Yep Jim I thought about that also. I've seen several TV's mounted above fireplaces though. We have only used that fireplace maybe 3 times in 10 years. I would probably abstain from using it at all if the TV thing works out. It is gas only and barely puts out any heat anyway but yes, I did wonder about that.

Roger

[dkizer22]

I would just drill a hole in the ceiling and leave cable exposed. But I am a redneck that does not care about how the cable looks. I am also sure that my wife would make me open up the wall, place cable in and repair it.

[m75rlg]

I've run surface wire over brick during some remodling jobs.

There are a number of reasonably decent looking covers/conduits to hide the wiring. (Check your local Lowes Building supply / Home Depot) Seems as if you could use that.

[JcMack]

I'd stick the TV up over the fireplace on a temp basis. Run a piece of coax to it an fire it up. Unless you plan on sitting 15' away your gonna get a crik in your neck looking at it that high on the wall.

[9c1 lover]

pics would help, but without a pic, a mess would be made with this idea.

grind out the mortar from the middle of the fireplace, across the face and around the corner (just one joint line, grind it out pretty deep). you can hold a shop vac next to the grinder to minimize mess. drill a hole out the house at this point. run your cable in the channel, fill the gap back in with mortar. like i said messy, but will work, if you have a setup like im picturing.

they can shoot your cable off satelites, and do wireless internet, but not wireless cable in your home. i do electric, and the other day we were talking about how stupid it is they dont have this technology yet. (we had to get cable to very impossible spot as well)

good luck, post a pic, it will help.

[Pop's2]

google wireless tv if you already have cable or satelite there are units that will do what you want

[Memphis]

Thanks Jc1, that idea may work. I had a local friend suggest a "5g HD AV Kit" but after googling I'm not finding too much info on that. Not sure if it's new technology or not but I'm still on that trail. There sure is a need for such a system though. And where there's a need, there is usually someone filling that niche in the market. This has become a challenge to me at this point. A quest if you will.

Roger

[RonJ]

I don't think this is your answer but it would solve your problem in a very basic manor. Biggest problem is no HD.
I use one to send a wireless signal from my satellite receiver to a 10" LCD TV in my bathroom, about 45 feet away. It works very well for that purpose.

RadioShack 5.8GHz Wireless Audio/Video Sender : Audio accessories | RadioShack.com

[mtgianni]

Your ventless gas fireplace will put over one gallon of water into the atmosphere for every 100,000 btu's burned. Ask your self if you want an expensive TV near that much moisture.

[JcMack]

Where will you put the picture of N.B. Forest that hangs over the fireplace now.

[Memphis]

I've pretty much decided the fireplace would not be used if the TV goes there. That's no biggie, it was mostly for looks anyway. Nathan Bedford would have to be promoted to the bedroom. I may try to get some pics up soon so ya'll can see what I'm dealing with a bit better. The wall in question is not brick inside, just outside.

Roger

[Maximumbob54]

Just some food for thought. In our old place we mounted our tv above our fireplace. Not much use for it since we live in Florida... I went to all the effort of mounting the bracket, hiding the wires, running conduit down to a shelf for the blu ray player, and then we sat down for the first show. It stayed like that for about a week. It was almost like sitting in the front row of the movie theater. You really do sit there with your neck bent back. You might try looking at that spot for a few minutes and see for yourself. It was a mess to undo everything to paint and patch. We bought a tv stand that had a bracket built into it and I haven't regretted it since.

[Memphis]

I may have just found what I need. Belkin's "ScreenCast AV4". In their words "is the perfect solution for both home theater buffs and interior design enthusiasts as it enables you to wall-mount your HDTV for ideal viewing without costly rewiring or drilling holes in your wall". They say excellent performance without compromising any of your 3D or HD features. $249.99 but not available until Oct/2011 (or 30 days from now as the crow flys). Jury still out on this but this may be my answer.
We've already checked and are satisfied why angle ect for viewing. The room is kinda large and fireplace mantle is only about 5' high.

Roger

[rond]

Where are you going to get power for your tv? I would try to run the cable with the power cord.

[Memphis]

rond, there is an electrical outlet on either side of the fireplace so power will not be a problem. Not sure though how I could get coaxial cable beside the electrical wiring.

Roger

[novalty]

Are the outlet boxes that you will be plugging the tv into single boxes or double. I would look into running the coax cable into that box then using a cable wrap to combine the power cord and coax cable to the tv.

[JcMack]

It looks like wireless, and Belkin is the answer. If you do decide to run coax, keep it away from AC.. Running AC parallel to data cables in close proximity is asking for trouble, even if grounds are good. Make sure you've got a good surge protector for your TV. Too much advice on info you already know?

[zoom6zoom]

Originally Posted by novalty

Are the outlet boxes that you will be plugging the tv into single boxes or double. I would look into running the coax cable into that box then using a cable wrap to combine the power cord and coax cable to the tv.

Running low voltage cable (the coax) and high voltage in the same box would be a code violation. You also want to maintain separation between coax and power to avoid interference.

Also consider, is the cable going to be your only video source? I would think you would need at least one HDMI cable going to the set for Blu Ray or whatever.

Mounting a TV over the fireplace looks good in those home beautiful magazines but it's not a great choice due to the environment and has been mentioned, it's above the normal axis of eye level.

[Maximumbob54]

1 - Every Belkin product I have ever owned has burned out within a year of buying it. I don't buy them anymore. If that is your only option you might see if it is offered with an extended coverage or something. Their router was the worst. When it went it started smoking. I saw the internet light blink and go out, then smelled it... No likey.

2 - You have to have high quality shielded coax or the power cable will likely cause issues rught next to it. You want the coax away from power cables.

[CAJUNLAWYER]

If you go wireless do you have to get a router for the tin foil and clothes hanger antenna ????

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I see new homes with TV hook-ups above the fireplace-- not the best location.

LCD/LED TVs deliver the best picture to your eyes when you are looking at them straight on. Depending on furniture and all...most folks eyes are around 40'' high +/- when sitting down.... and if you like to lay down on the couch while watching TV then your viewing is significantly lower. If you start out with your mantle at 60'' + a couple inches for mounting + about 16'' to the middle of a 55'' screen... you'll be close to 80in. I understand your not wanting to compromise the picture quality with wireless, but keep in mind that by mounting so high you're compromising the picture quality before you even turn it on.