How do you wire all of your stuff?

[camarotuner]

I'm running into a new problem, one of which many of (if not all of) us have run into before, how the hell do I wire and store all of this?

You've got 20+ systems, Coaxial, R/F, A/V, Component, and HDMI cables. Modern tv's don't accept R/F and some are now not working with Coaxial well either. Not to mention you've got 20+ sets of these things trying to be plugged in. Oh and you have that whole power supply issue. So, how do you all wire this? I'm trying to design and build my game room now. I diagram and plan out all builds and this will be no different. My only current theory is to design a "control board" consisting of a whole hell of alot of multi-switches mounted with the wiring hide largely underneath. But to make THAT work I'll have to run switch boxes into other switch boxes and make a switch on box A turn on box B and THEN pick the system I want to play on B using that box. That'll be a pain in the ass. On top of that, power supplies. Whatever evil bastard is responsible for making those huge cubes at the end of the power supplies must die. The person who makes aftermarket ones to get rid of the huge cubes is my hero. So I figure if I use one of the mamoth power supplies with the battery back-ups normally used for computers, use the plugs on that to attach multiple power strips, I can use the big one as a hub attached to the wall and then attach the systems to the various strips. Once again, serious pain in the ass.

Any ideas?

[walrusmonger]

the only thing you have to worry about is the hdmi switching, which is very expensive, but only two game consoles even have that as an option.

most tvs have at least 2 svideo , 2 composite, 2 component, 2 hdmi and 2 rf. You could buy a receiver and have most of the stuff plugged into that, not 20 items but 8 to 10. Then you could buy a switch box from a 3rd party game brand, since the av equipment brands are much more expensive. These have inputs for svideo,component,composite and rf. (Pelican system selector pro had 9 inputs). You could have half the stuff into the receiver and 1/2 the stuff into the switch box.

[erehwon]

Since I currently don't have a receiver, I'm using two switch boxes for my av stuff. I have a RCA Svideo switcher I got from blockbuster for $2, which manages my vcr and classic games. I also have a pelican system selector pro for my more modern systems.

The side with the more modern systems are connected to an apc game manager. The side with my vcr, dvd player, and classic systems are connected to beige switch box meant for a computer. It has switches for different components (computer, monitor, printer, etc) which I use for my classic stuff. It works pretty well and I like being able to keep the systems powered down unless I need them. If I remember right it only cost me $2 at a garage sale.

[Sosage]

On the power end: you may have to go for the slightly higher end power strips than the cheap-o 2 dollar deals, because those are the only ones I know of that have the power outlets turned sideways (making it easy to hook up those beasts that use the big block power cords...like the genny/32x/scd combo). If you have a Fry's near you, check them out. My local store had a pretty good selection of strips to choose from. I wound up with a 9 outlet version for about 25 bucks (seems kinda pricey at first, but at least I don't have to be creative with plugging stuff in).

[Gamereviewgod]

You've got the video/audio part down with the switchboxes.

For power, I had to have outlets installed, and I'm still running out of room. I had three sets of four plugs put in for about $150, which seemed more than fair. Go the extra step and make sure the plugs themselves have surge protection. That means I'm double up with the outlets and the separate surge protection. It barely cost anymore.

[Trebuken]

This has come up before and I'll give you some of what was brought up then that might help you.

You can get 3' extension chords for the 'bricks' so they do not cover up more than one outlet.

Not all powerstrips can be chained together well, you can buy extra long strips online with 24 or more outlets (4 feet long).

You can also find auto switching switchboxes (seem to be getting tougher to find).

Modding as many systems as possible to composite/s-video helps.

Have separate TV's for modern and retro gaming.

You can sometimes run RF through a VCR or demodulator to get a composite connection, eliminating the need for RF switchboxes.

Hope those ideas help...

[camarotuner]

"For power, I had to have outlets installed, and I'm still running out of room. I had three sets of four plugs put in for about $150, which seemed more than fair."

Wait, your friggin brilliant! 2-3 big brick surge protectors + 2-3 outlets built into the wall behind the giant entertainment center means no more wiring nightmare!

That's so simple it's brilliant! Plus I know how to wire outlets!

I'm gonna go do my happy dance now. But if anyone finds a way to get rid of the a/v r/f coaxial hdmi tangle of death, that'd be good.

Another silly question, how do you keep all that from being a big nasty web of mayhem? Zip ties kinda work but still look like ass. I want a nice clean back to this thing so that when crap stops working (oh and with 30 year old systems crap stops working) diag'ing the problem isn't such a problem. Ideas?

[bangtango]

I only have one system hooked up to a time, the one I am currently using, so I can't help you there. All of the others are kept on shelves, in their boxes or on a separate bureau until their services are required.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[RugalSizzler]

Tape Deck-_- One for Video and the other for Audio.

Right now however I have a TV that has three AV ports and they are great.

I also can hook threw my computer computer via tv tuner Card that passes for a 18-20 inch screen.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I currently only have my PS2 installed, but I have one of those RF Modulator thingies. It has four input ports, so I'll be able to hook up my DVD player, PS2 and Dreamcast whenever I can find a suitable power supply for it. :P

[Contrabassoon86]

Sounds like you really need a modern receiver. Most have at least 6-8 video inputs. Sound is very important in video gaming (especially modern systems like Gamecube and later). I am always looking to cheaply upgrade my sound system so Resident Evil 4 can scare me even more. Crappy TV speakers just don't cut it!

Pro Logic II rules!!!

Scott

[zdan80]

Ok. For all classic games, you do not even need a switch.

I currently have a 2600, NES, SNES, Genesis, Sega CD, PS2, XBOX, and DVD player hooked up to my 'gaming' tv.

The best way I have found, is to just buy an item from Radio Shack called an antenna Splitter/Combiner. This is meant to combine signals from different antennas receiving the same feed, but we can use it to our advantage.

The one that I have is a four way splitter (combiner). So, I have the 2600, NES, SNES, and Genny all hooked up to the four "output" coaxials. The "input" coaxial is actually going out to the TV. So, what this means is that as long as I only have one classic system turned on, that is the signal that gets sent to the TV. If multiple ones are turned on, you get static but, no harm done.

I believe you could just daisy chain these and have no need for RF switching at all. I haven't tried to daisy chain yet as I don't need to, but once I pick up a few more systems I can report back.

The more modern systems I just use a cheapo av selector. So basically, everything I have runs on either channel 3 with no input necessary or video one off of the av selector :)