wiring questions

[RCBH928]

Hello

I am wondering how do you manage your wiring. I currently have:
1 pc-N64-X360-Wii-TV-VCR-Cable receiver-router
and most got composite cables

so its a huge mess to me, how do you manage all these wires.

Speaking of VCR, I want to ask that I found that I have 2 "IN" jacks, that I cant connect composite cables of N64 and wii and it would show up on TV. Question is, am I losing any picture quality doing this?

[lwcook]

I use a lot of zip ties. Gather up all the wires and just tie them in a bundle so nothing is lose or gets tangled. Works wonders.

[nickfil]

you also might want to pick up this guy:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=family

honestly- i love it. I have been plugging and unplugging stuff for a long while now. I don't know how i lived without it. Great for anything that can't put out an HD signal- which is pretty much everything except for your 360, PC and maybe cable box depending on the type of box. Plus it auto detects and switches.

maybe go with fewer inputs if you aren't expanding.

[Ziggy]

Yes, a switch box is a must. I only have a 4 switch composite box and its not even enough lol. Also, I use the composite input on my VCR as an additional one, and notice no quality loss. But, my VCR is hooked up using composite out, not cable. Maybe that has something to do with it?

[FreshChurros]

I use mostly RF (that was all our TV had back in the day), which allows pretty much everything to be plugged in at once. For the three or four systems that use composite cables, a switcher box is in place.

And once I have everything plugged in at once, I try not to venture behind the TV often.

[Flak Beard]

I second a switch box. My four port s-video (has composite too) switch from Radio Shack has served pretty well for the past six years.

The cable mess is inevitable. I just hide mine really well behind my TV stand.

[RCBH928]

i mean interior designers and other furniture guys must have figured a way to deal with wires

[MrPopo]

I ended up having to use two switch boxes (and managed to find ones that are controlled via remote, so I can use my Harmony for the whole setup), as I have five things coming on S-Video and two on composite, with only two ports for them on my TV.

As for organizing the wiring, right now it all hides behind my entertainment center. I'm thinking of doing some organization back there where I'd set up the switch boxes, use some zip ties to group things on a single switch together, and go from there. It'll require some reorganization of my systems, though, as ideally all the systems on a single switch should be close together.

[nickfil]

i mean interior designers and other furniture guys must have figured a way to deal with wires

you might be hard pressed to find interior designers here. I can't imagine a good way to deal with the wires that doesn't involve custom furniture. Most people might have one game machine and a dvd player these days. Not a whole lot is built with the retro enthusiast in mind.

[Niode]

i mean interior designers and other furniture guys must have figured a way to deal with wires

Here's what I did. Drilled a fucking huge hole in the back of my cabinet (which incidentally used to be a TV cabinet, but my current TV won't fit in it so I just built some shelves into it). Shoved the wires through there. So all wires are 'organised' at the back and all I see are the connectors to my switch box. When i'm finished gaming, I just unplug the controllers, stick em in the drawer below and close the doors. Ub3r tidy