You like to think of yourself as “handy” and pride yourself in handling projects around the house – changing an HVAC filter, fixing a leaky faucet, replacing a bad electrical outlet, etc.   That’s all well and good, but when it comes to technology, experts advise do-it-yourselfers to recognize their limitations and leave the task of home electronics to the pros.   Doing so will almost always save time, aggravation, and money – potentially LOTS of money.

When you get that new flat panel TV, you think to yourself, “I’ve got that wonderful TV, got myself a wall bracket.  What could possibly go wrong?”  A lot, actually.   We see people making several mistakes:  They attach the TV mount to the TV, and then attempt to attach it to the wall.   You can’t do it that way, because the TV gets in the way, and you don’t have room to properly anchor the mount. It you’re using a cantilever/swivel mount, the TV will smack you in the head!  Many people attempt to use molly bolts to secure the TV to the drywall.   The mount needs to anchored to a stud with sufficiently heavy bolts or screws, or it could rip itself out of the wall and crash to the floor.   This would most definitely destroy your new TV and most likely kill your cat.

Cheap online TV mounts can be very iffy at best.   We’ve been on jobs where the customer purchased that “bargain” mount online and wanted us to use it to mount the TV for them.   Many times, the package will contain the wrong screws (or no screws at all).   We’ve experienced mounts where the screws or the hole are defective/stripped, making it impossible to put together.   The vast majority of the time, the mounts are next to impossible to make level, causing the installation to take more time (and the customer labor bill to rise).  There are reasons certain things on the internet are not your best choice.   Everybody understands the term “cheap”, but that word has several meanings.

You don’t want cables showing, do you?   Running the cables through the attic and down inside walls requires special tools and knowledge.   Knowing which cables to use and how to run them is another trouble spot.    We’ve witnessed coax cable being run to the TV location in many instances.   “Whatcha gonna hook up there, a VCR?”   This is common on fireplaces, and it is just plain wrong.   The coax cable needs to be run where the equipment (cable/satellite box, blu ray, game console, etc.) are to be located.   Then a high quality HDMI cable(s) or CAT6 wire should be run to the TV location.

Another problem we’ve witnessed in the past is when cables have been run alongside electrical lines.   This is a common mistake that results in hums and buzzes, poor picture and sound quality, and a potential electrical disaster.

We recommend having it done correctly the first time, by using a high quality, experienced company like Great Choice audio/video.   Call us anytime!  509-6422

Do you have a huge TV, want better sound, but have no space? Have us install some KEF T Series flat panel speakers. They sound great!