We asked custom electronics (CE) pros about the blunders they encounter when DIYers or inexperienced pros can’t get their systems to work.
Here are some of the rookie mistakes you should avoid:
Buying the least expensive gear and finding out it doesn’t have the features you need, like discrete control codes (on and off, for example) or enough inputs and outputs.
Hooking up equipment using substandard cables, connectors and adapters, leading to poor performance and, eventually, no performance.
Underutilizing gear that you already have. For example, connecting the DVD player using composite cable when it has component or HDMI outputs, and not setting the TV to the maximum resolution.
Never realizing you could be watching HD channels you’re paying for: “You mean Channel 4 is standard but 404 is HD?! I never knew!”
Compromising setups that you learn to live with, like having to leave a cabinet door open, or moving cables from one device to another.
Forgetting to install Ethernet jacks at the A/V locations.
Skimping on power protection.
Mounting video devices in poor locations: displays too high and projectors not centered correctly when there’s no lens shift available.
Failing to wire distributed audio speaker locations for stereo.
Forgetting to put power where it’s needed: racks, TVs, projectors, powered seats.
Trying to use “rules of thumb” for speaker locations in unusual rooms, such as those with missing walls or angled seating.
Wiring low-voltage cabling parallel with the electrical, often done in retrofit situations when the installer or DIYer simply uses the same holes used by the electrical wires.
Inadequate ventilation for equipment, resulting in burned-out gear (and calls to the manufacturer for their “faulty” products).
For plenty more tips on potential pitfalls, check out the “What I’d Do Differently Thread” on the AVS Forum. Our custom installers also offer these stories from experience:
One DIYer mounted his old 42-inch plasma into a recessed niche. He then framed in the niche, drywalled and finished the wall, for that “built-in, framed-out look.”
The problem, of course, is that he walled up his TV. He said that he wanted to see only the picture and nothing else, completely ignoring the fact that the TV had no ventilation and no access for service/repairs.
He continued to show that his equipment— receiver, cable box and subwoofer— was also installed and placed behind the wall, explaining, “I’m using an RF remote, I don’t need to see my equipment.”
I could not believe what I was hearing and seeing! We ended up selling him a new and properly designed home theater, and sure enough, when we tore the wall apart, there was all of his equipment and subwoofer. —Matthew Menck, Superior Home TheaterI once had a client who used commercial audio (70-volt system) was used in a residential distributed audio system. The original homeowners took key equipment when they moved, and the new homeowner thought he could just put regular residential equipment in its place. —Rob Schultz, Inspired Electronics
Contributors: Morgan Harman, The Tech Source; Isaac Imig, Gorge Audio/Video; Rob Schultz, Inspired Electronics; Sam Johnson, Pro Home Systems; Raff Sanchez, B-Sun Media Systems LA
+1
These “professionals” seem to think that everybody has $100k to initially invest in a “good” home theater.
I have a 65” Sony TV, a PS3, a first-generation Toshiba HD-XA1, a 300 watt amp (cost $99), and a good set of Axiom speakers (5 total) and am quite happy.
I don’t feel a need to upgrade every 2 months to the “newest” and “latest.”
And finally, I am quite certain that even these “professionals” were DIYers at one point in their life. They seem to think that they “know it all,” which probably explains why their components seem to go bad a lot faster than usual. Most of my stuff is 3+ years old and it still works perfectly well.
Wireless? Why would you go wireless if you have the option/ability to run wire? I can understand using wireless if there is no other option but sure isn’t my 1st choice. With everything moving towards media streaming, good luck doing that on a wireless connection even if it is an 802.11N!
Some good advice. Some questionable advice. My question to you: what purpose do ethernet jacks serve? There is something called wireless… you may want to check it out. :)
several issues: for “least expensive gear”: sometimes it’s a good idea to go less expensive. for example, if you have a system with 4 hdmi sources, and a $200 receiver addresses every need you have except enough hdmi sources, doesn’t it make more sense to simply add in a $50 5-port HDMI switch with infared input - especially if you’re using a harmony remote anyway, so control of it would be seamless - than to pay the $600 or more it would take to get the equivelant receiver with enough hdmi inputs? The article presents it as if it were skimming, but there’s nothing wrong with choosing economically if your eyes are open.
Similarly, for “compromises”, that comes down to an economic evaluation. For example, if it’s worth it to you to switch cables rather than paying for the additional equipment, how is it a “mistake”? I’d never deal with it, but this article imposes its values on other people - a common mistake among industry “professionals” (a whole other article could be written about those!)
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I have heard that you can stream music to an xbox 360 by putting songs on a usb stick… 
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I’m not sure what all the smack talk is about. No one suggested that you buy the highest-performance gear that money can buy. These are just a few tips that unseasoned DIYers might heed.
Yes, defiance, another great tip would be: don’t overspend on features you don’t need, especially if products in your A/V rack already offer those features.
Sure enough, there are plenty of pros that make these and other silly mistakes.