Fasten your seatbelts A/V fans because what you're about to hear might surprise you: these days, the average custom home theater installation can sometimes break the bank. With many of us watching what we spend, it can be tough to justify such a hefty expenditure on high-end A/V equipment and interior design. But that's no reason to shelve your goal of having a luxury, top-notch home entertainment center.
Contrary to popular belief, it's possible to indulge in small luxuries, especially the home theater-related kind, even when you're short on disposable income. Just follow our tips for the ultimate home theater fake-out, and you'll soon be reveling in a prime A/V setup that will leave your friends and family wondering, “How can they afford this?” Living the home theater high life has never cost so little.
TAPERWIRE®
For years, A/V fans have labored under the belief that attaining a truly sharp home theater setup requires one to run in-wall cable, but we all know how expensive that can get. You either hire a professional to do the job for you or attempt it yourself and risk having to shell out for sheetrock repairs. What happens if you ever want to update it? Any way you slice it, in-wall cabling is going to cost you.
That's why we're so excited about the innovative Taperwire®. It gives your A/V setup the same polished, wire-free look as in-wall cable, but requires no messy cutting or expensive installations, since it is a flat, coaxial cable. It is also available in a Category 5 or “Cat5” data version. The Taperwire® secret is in its design, which is completely paper-thin. It simply attaches to your wall with an adhesive backing and can be installed under floors, in cracks and along walls. You can lightly cover it with compound and paint it to match your space. All you and your guests will see are smooth, uninterrupted, cable-free walls, with nothing to detract from your room décor or your home theater system.
WIRING SOLUTION™
You can't have a home theater system without cables, but for some reason when those straggly wires are visible, it's hard to achieve that luxury vibe you're going for. That's where the Wiring Solution™ can help. The Wiring Solution™ is a conduit-like cord concealer that's designed specifically for use with high-def TVs that are wall-mounted above entertainment consoles. It spans the gap between your TV screen and the entertainment center below, so that cables running between the two are rendered invisible, instead of distracting you from an otherwise perfect view.
The Wiring Solution™ is only one-inch thick, which gives the product a low-profile quality that helps it to disappear into its surroundings. Other features that enhance Wiring Solution™ and its camouflaging powers are two available finishes (smooth and textured), which let you match almost any wall surface. It can also be painted the same color as your walls.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC® ASR HOME THEATER RACKS
No matter how much or how little your A/V system cost, the sight of you struggling to reach behind it won't convince any visitor of its quality. Whether your home theater components are stashed away in an entertainment center or mounted on in-wall shelves, you can access them with far greater ease — and not to mention a good deal of finesse — by installing an affordable rotating home theater rack shelving system, like those in the ASR series by Middle Atlantic®.
The Middle Atlantic® ASR Rotating Slide-Out Shelving System gives you both in-wall and in-cabinet mounting options, so your home theater equipment can spend the majority of its time stowed neatly away. Whenever the need to plug in a cable or switch out a component arises, you can tend to things without working up a sweat or cursing up a storm, thanks to the fact the entire shelf system can be rolled out and swiveled for rear-access in one smooth motion.
HOME THEATER WIRE MANAGEMENT KIT
If you are looking for a product to round out your home theater system cable management, consider the home theater wire management kit. This is a special curated kit from CableOrganizer® that works for both small and complex home theater systems. The kit provides a cost savings over purchasing each item separately. The items within it protect expensive cables and include: a raceway cable management kit, two different sizes of Techflex® braided sleeving F6® split braid, 100-piece pack of black cable ties, a five pack of black VELCRO® ties, 10 pack of black cable clips, and DYMO® Organizer Xpress™ Label Maker.
Explore CableOrganizer® for more top-of-the-line audio/video and home theater system solutions for any budget.
