Whilst floor stands are available for these new style flat screen TVs, many people prefer to choose the other option of using some type of wall mounting. There are plenty of reasons why this could be right for you too.

Mounting your TV onto a wall opens up the entire room as a potential setting for it, whereas the old larger TV cabinets were usually placed close to the aerial point and where the large piece of furniture would best fit within the room. This was not necessarily the best place for viewing the screen.

Although a basic TV mount will fix it flat against the wall like a picture or a mirror, there are also a large variety of mounts which allow you the freedom to tilt, swivel and adjust the positioning of the screen. This can be extremely helpful if you want to sit in another part of the room, or even in an adjoining room and still see the TV. Many modern mounts actually consist of an extending arm which can be folded neatly against the wall when not in use, but swing out and point in almost any direction for comfortable viewing when necessary. For the real gadget lovers these are also available with electronic remote control, so at the push of a button (or two) you can redirect the screen for the perfect viewing experience.

The unsightly mass of cables pushed behind the television can also be a think of the past. Many of these mounts allow cabling to be discreetly hidden out of sight for an orderly appearance. Although some of the mounts can be quite expensive (especially the remote control ones) there is such a wide range of types and prices that there is sure to be something which perfectly suits your style, your needs and your pocket. Just take a look at the many designs available and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the incredible choice on offer.

Wall mounting your TV does not have to be complicated or expensive. Whichever design of mount you choose you will be given full instructions for fitting and use. It is important to read these instructions carefully before deciding on exactly where you would like your TV to be mounted. Make sure that the mount is completely safe and secure, as it would be a real disaster for your lovely new flat screen TV to crash onto the floor.

Some of these wall mountings even incorporate shelving to house DVD players and the like, so it is easy to keep all your home entertainment equipment together and off the floor. Just think of what you can do with all that newly available floor space. Your room will certainly feel bigger, and the wall mounted TV will be a stylish and aesthetically pleasing addition to the furnishings. There is little wonder that so many people these days choose to wall mount their flat screen TVs.

The different sizes of speaker cables are measured in a unit known as a gauge. Basically, the smaller the gauge equates to the thicker the wire. Usually sizes are 12 AWG, 14 AWG, 16 AWG and 18 AWG.

There are generally two different styles of speaker cables to choose from, one which is rounded and one which is flat. The flat style is often chosen for speakers which are wall mounted, as they can fit flush against the wall and can be painted, thus they are virtually hidden without the need to bury them into the plaster.

There are different qualities of speaker cables and you need to choose very carefully for your system. It is no use paying a lot of money for a state of the art sound system, only to spoil it all by using the cheapest speaker cables you can find.  Bear in mind the length of speaker cable you require. The further the distance between the speaker and the receiver, the bigger part of the signal is lost, so if you need to have quite a long length of cable you are advised to use a larger gauge of speaker cable. Generally, you should not really use anything less than 16 AWG in order to get the best results.

Actually measuring the amount of speaker cable you are going to need is really pretty easy. All you have to do is run a piece of string along the route which the wire will take, and allow a little extra, (I always allow a little extra for everything! You can always take some out but it’s more difficult to add on, that’s what I always say). Carefully run the wire along the tops of door frames etc, and allow plenty of slack for corners and turns, as pulling the cable tight can damage the interior wires and consequently lose some of the performance.

Speaker cables consist of two leads, one for carrying the signal from your receiver’s output terminals, and one to the speakers input terminals. They will probably be covered in different coloured plastic, one may be marked positive (+) and the other one negative (-). It is important that you fit good solid connectors on the ends of the wires, instead of using the bare ends. This will help to make a good solid connection and also safeguard against possible short circuits, which is also a fire hazard.

It is a good idea to be advised by your salesperson when buying a new system with speakers which is the most suitable, but if not then there are plenty of places around which stock a good supply of quality speaker cables.  Remember, the sound can only be as good as the quality of the speaker cables.

Theoretically, because HDMI is digital, as long as there is a good connection you should not suffer any data loss or signal disruption, as long as you are using a cable which is compatible with your existing AV equipment. There are now different versions of HDMI cable available, due to the continuing development and improvements, so make sure that the cable you buy is compatible with your equipment before you buy to avoid any distortion resulting from having HDMI versions with slightly different formats.

It can work out a cheaper option to use a HDMI cable, as you only need to buy one cable instead of maybe two or three of the older style cable connectors. It also, as said above, makes installing connections much easier and tidier.

As HDMI becomes the standard for all manufacturers of home entertainment equipment, this therefore means that ultimately all equipment will be interchangeable and compatible with each other. Although other connections options will still be available for certainly the foreseeable future, ultimately it is expected that HDMI will become standard and replace all other types of connection for home theatre systems and entertainment equipment.

Unlike some other technology in which the development stops once it has reached the marketplace, HDMI is being constantly redeveloped and improved. This is extremely beneficial to consumers as it means that the same format will be used for many years to come, evolving to cope with new developments elsewhere in the industry and will not become outdated in the near future.

HDMI cabling really does offer the best solution for connecting your home entertainment equipment for many years to come. It’s by far easier than installing traditional one-way cables; it leaves a much neater and tidier appearance, and is likely to be around for many years, developing alongside the technology which it connects. Above all, the picture and audio quality possible when using HDMI cannot be replicated using other more traditional methods.

So if you haven’t already made the switch, it is certainly worth thinking about, and you should certainly not consider buying anything else when updating your home entertainment equipment.

There are four basic designs of TV mount; let’s look at them all individually.

The Fixed Mount

These mounts are simply a means of fixing your TV against the wall, and it will fit flush in the same way as you would hang maybe a picture or a mirror. Whilst they are generally the cheapest and easiest method of mounting your TV screen, you do need to be sure that you have chosen exactly the right position for your TV, as you will not be able to tilt or adjust its position later and may find that you cannot see the screen properly when sitting in a comfortable position. You don’t want to have to strain your neck in order to see your new TV screen now do you?

The Tilt Mount

These mounts give you the added flexibility of tilting (as the name suggests) the screen once it is mounted on the wall. This can be extremely useful, especially if there is a glare on the screen at certain times of the day from a nearby window, you can simply tilt the screen when necessary in order to avoid the glare and see the screen more clearly. These may cost a little more than the fixed mounts above, but for many people are well worth paying that little bit more for.

The Tilt and Swivel Mount

These mounts also do exactly as they say, and you are able to tilt your TV screen either up or down, and also swivel it around horizontally. These are especially useful if you like to watch TV from different positions in the room, and also allow you the flexibility of rearranging your furniture without having to re-mount the TV or lose ease of viewing.

TV Arm Mounts

These are usually the most expensive, but for many the only way in which to effectively mount your TV onto the wall. The arms can fold away so that the TV can be pushed against the wall when not being used, and pulled away from the wall and positioned in any way to get the best viewing angle.  These are particularly useful if you want to say, occasionally watch the TV from an adjoining room in the house or while you are busy at the other side of the room. Remote control arms are also available, and whilst these are again more expensive can be invaluable for gadget lovers and people who like to be able to do things ‘at the push of a button’.

Before choosing your new TV make sure that it is suitable for mounting with your chosen method, as not all TVs are compatible with all mounting systems.

So what can you do if your HDMI cable needs to be longer than the optimum 15 feet? Well, fortunately there are other means to boost the signal strength and retain picture and audio quality. These vary quite a bit in both cost and suitability, so it is important to find the best option for your particular circumstances before forking out lots of cash for something which will make little or no difference.

Signal Boosters

These do exactly as you would expect, boost the signal. They are designed to boost the signal strength so that it can remain stronger over longer distances, you can then attach a number of short cables together and maintain picture quality, this can often work out cheaper than buying one completely line of cable.

Signal Restorers

This is a small separate device which can be attached to the end of the HDMI cable and enable the signal to travel over a much greater distance, even over 100 feet in some cases. The weak signal is, in effect re-synchronized back to the full quality you would expect to receive from your HDMI cable.

Signal Extenders

These work in a similar way to the signal boosters above, and mean that you can attach multiple shorter HDMI cables together and effectively extend the distance that the signal is able to travel.

Fibre Optic Cable

If your HDMI signal needs to travel over very long distances then you will need to invest in fibre optic cable.  This makes transmission possible of over 1500 feet, but is the most expensive option available. If you need your signal to travel this sort of distance though, you will need to invest in fibre optic cable.

So you see, there are options available to you if you need to make your HDMI cable work effectively over greater distances. Maybe with future developments some of these options won’t be necessary, but until then you really need to discuss your requirements with an experienced home entertainment specialist who can advise you on your best and most cost effective option. There have been remarkable innovations over the last few years and new techniques are still arriving constantly onto the marketplace. If you are in the market for a new method of connecting of home entertainment equipment, then HDMI cables are still typically the most cost effective, easy and efficient method of connecting your equipment. When used correctly the picture and audio quality is much higher than with many other methods.

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Toslink was originally created by Toshiba as a means to connect their CD players with their receivers, but the technology was soon adopted by most of the major manufacturers of CD players. The name, however, is a registered trademark to Toshiba, originally being taken from TOShiba-LINK.

The quality used for an optical Toslink cable can vary widely, ranging from 1mm plastic optical fibre to high quality multistrand plastic or even quartz glass optical fibres. The quality really depends on the desired bandwidth and also the application. They are usually around 5 meters long, but technically the maximum which can provide reliable transmission without needing the addition of a signal booster is 10 meters. This is very often extended to over 30 meters for new satellite receivers and computers which have optical outputs, even when using the lower end of the price bracket for Toslink cables.

Fibre optic cables have many uses, and one of them is within the home entertainment systems which are present in many modern homes. For example, the innovative HDMI cables which allow both the audio and video signals to travel along the same cable have been a real breakthrough in recent home entertainment technology, but these can only maintain the excellent quality of picture and sound over relatively short distances. If you need to use a HDMI cable of over 50 feet you need to also use a signal booster or restorer, but if you need the signal to travel over a significantly longer distance, i.e. around 1500 feet, then a fibre optic cable can be used. These can be sometimes a little more expensive than you might expect to pay, but the increased quality is, for many, well worth the extra money spent.

The majority of goods which are manufactured these days for the home entertainment market can be connected via these optical Toslink cables. This can include the television, DVD players, and games consoles, surround sound systems and many more of the wonderful gadgets which people are increasingly buying for their home cinema experiences.

The introduction of High Definition TV has really made a big impact on our expectations from watching TV at home. Whereas fifty or so years ago we were happy to watch a monochrome box with a permanent ‘fuzzy’ snowstorm and crackling noise, and now we expect nothing but the very best in clarity of picture and sound. Very often the images are so clear that it’s like looking through a window to real life, and you have to remind yourself that it’s a digitally enhanced experience which isn’t really happening right now at all.