Checking Power Supply

Although this should have been done in the design phase of setting up your home theater, you should verify that the outlet serving your home theater system provides power to just that outlet. Electronics will need consistent power and can draw a lot of electricity, so you'll want to be certain. Electronics are very delicate and having power surges and other fluctuations can ruin your home theater system. Of course, installing a power stabilizer or UPS unit can help to avoid these issues.

Finding Studs for Mounting Your Video Screen

To make sure your video monitor is secure, you'll need to make sure the mounting bracket is secured to studs in your wall. There are a number of ways to do this using stud finders, or you can tap the wall to find a stud. Using a stud finder is the easiest and most preferred method of finding studs in your wall.

Gathering Cable Management Supplies

Your efforts towards good cable management will be important to make your home theater installation look professional. Although we do recommend hiring a professional, many people have the skills do this. Let's get on with cable management for your home theater.

Designing Home Theater With Cable Management in Mind

Before hiding your first wire, you'll need to consider the layout of your home theater system. Whether you go through your walls or floors, you'll need to plan the cable "runs" carefully. Again, take your time and lay everything out carefully, and make sure you have all you need to make your cable management for your home theater a fruitful effort.

Hiding Your Wires for Cable Management

Hiding your wires as part of your cable management plan can be done by either running the wires through walls and floors (recommended for experts only) or installing "cable raceways" to cover and protect the wires. In this step you'll calculate the "runs" of raceways you'll need for the video wires and have them laid out near where they will be installed. This way, after you connect your wires it will be easy to cover and conceal the wires.

Attach the Wall Mount Bracket for Your Video Monitor

Place the wall plate portion of your wall bracket on the wall, with the top of the plate on the line created in the last step. Then using a level, make sure the mounting plate is level, and that the screw holes align with the studs located earlier. Now you can mount the mounting plate securely to the wall in the studs.

Attach Brackets to Back of TV Monitor

Most flat screen monitors have places to screw brackets securely to the screen. Find and attach the brackets to the back of your video monitor. Make sure they are secure, but be cautious of over-tightening the screws, as you could strip out the screws and be forced to send the monitor in for repairs.

Hang the Video Monitor on the Wall Mount

Now you can safely hang the video monitor on the wall plate using the brackets attached to the back. Your TV monitor will be secure, and you can have no worries about it falling off.

Connect the Cables to the TV Monitor and Video Component

Connect the cables to the back of the TV monitor, making sure they are either secured to the wall or that they pass through the wall as designed. At the other end of the cable, make sure the cable is labeled appropriately, and attach it to the video component (DVD player, BluRay player, gaming console or other device).

Cover or Conceal the Cables

Now that all components are installed and the cables are connected, you can cover or conceal the cables as you designed it. Be sure to have wires grouped together using wire ties or tape to keep errant wires from getting caught under your cable raceways. Attach the wire raceways to the wall and/or floor as necessary. To make the edge seamless, you might caulk the edges before painting.

Congratulations! You have just successfully installed your own home theater video monitor!