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Reducing The Home Theater Clutter

MosBenMosBen Tacoma, WARegistered User regular
A friend of mine just moved into an old row home in Philadelphia. The cable jack is above a gas fireplace, and that's also the most natural place to arrange furniture for TV viewing. He's planning on mounting his TV there, but because of A) the heat of the fireplace, and B) the general lack of room on the mantle, he's hoping to reduce the number of components he needs physically close to the TV.

The cable comes into the house in the basement, and he evidently can fish wires through the wall behind the TV into the basement and is also able to get a strong wireless signal on the first floor from the basement. He would like to get a Comcast HD cable package hooked up to the TV. Though he doesn't own one at this point, he'd like to get a Blu Ray player. Ideally, the cable box will be not near the TV because those boxes are too deep to be mounted anywhere nearby.

What are the best options for him? I was thinking he could get some kind of HTPC with a Blu Ray drive and have everything go through that, but I gave up on cable a while ago, and I don't know if he can not only watch cable TV through a HTPC, but control the cable box through the machine as well if the box is in the basement. Is there a wireless option that will shoot the content from the basement to his TV via either his network or some other wireless signal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

MosBen on

Posts

  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    A cable card in a computer will negate the need to have a set top box, but he could always have the equipment elsewhere in the room. Long cables are cheap on www.monoprice.com. Throw the equipment in a cabinet, close the door, done! You can also get IR extenders to use a remote on hidden equipment.

    Improvolone on
    Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
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