In today’s market most manufacturers supply Infrared remotes with their products these remotes are generally limited to line-of-sight operation and shorter ranges there are a few manufacturers that supply RF (radio frequency) remotes which are not limited by line of sight this allows you to move around in your home and still control your components.
It’s not surprising today that people want to conceal their components away from their new flat screen TV to save that clean uncluttered look of the decor of the room. There are few things to consider when picking an IR extender.
- How far are the components from the TV
- How big is the transmitting head that will be placed by the TV
- Does the transmitting head need to be plugged in to AC outlet
- Wired extenders or wireless extenders which to choose
#1
Let us explain why the distance between your TV and your components are important you must remember you will still have to run component cables as in an HDMI or other composite cables from your TV to your cable box or DVD . We have found out installations staying under 50 feet with HDMI cable allows you to avoid using a signal amplifier on the HDMI cable most manufacturers recommend over 50 feet to use the amplifier.Something to consider when you’re laying out the design of your insulation.
#2
In the past we have had customers supply us with the extender that is sold through Radio Shack this extender worked quite well but the transmitting head is a little bit on the large side we have mounted his head either below or on top of the TV which customers seemed to be pleased with. But with so many different products on the market today there are other IR extender that there transmitting heads are quite small. If your particular application only requires to extend for the cable box you may consider using a wired IR extender the length of these extenders are on the average between 9 and 12 feet but you may extend the wire with other cables to 25 which usually this will reach a closet or cabinet there the boxe is located . In this application you do not have to plug the wired extender into an AC outlet
#3
If you’re going with the wireless to control multiple components you have to take into consideration to have a second available AC outlet behind the TV to supply power to the transmitting head . In most of our installations we use a recessed AC outlet to reduce the plug from protruding out which can interfere with the unique slimline mounts that are on the market today. But we’ve had the experience with these recessed outlets it maybe a problem trying to plug the extender head into it. This is caused due to the fact that the IR extender plug in actuality is a transformer which reduces and converts the AC power to a low-voltage DC which the IR extender uses. Take a look at your mount and how much space you have between the wall and your TV before choosing the AC outlet that you’re going to install. We suggestion that you mount your TV and actually take a measurement between the TV plug and the wall. So you may determine witch outlet is required.
#4
In our opinion choosing a wired IR extender or a wireless IR extender should be determined on how many components you are trying to control. In the case of just the cable box a wired extender may be the way to go if the distance between the TV and the placement of the cable box is not so difficult to conceal the wire.
Any application of using multiple components a wireless extender would be the way you want to proceed. This would make for a much easier installation and a lot less wires
In our research recently we have found an IR extender with a different twist to it
This IR extender the transmitting head is actually a battery that you replace in your remotes it acts as a battery and also a transmitter which sends the signal to the receiver by your components this illuminating the transmitter head by television completely
Check it out here at this link Next Generation Remote Control Extender.
Next Generation Remote Control Extender
We have read overwhelming good reviews on this product one reviewer did mention
That it did not work with one or two of his components others reviewers did not seem to have this problem.
But in our conclusion this can save a considerable amount of labor of installing wired or wireless IR extender this as of this report we have not used this product ourselves but we are ordering a few for test purposes in the next few installations
If you have any questions or like to discuss your installation please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Long Island TV Installer .com
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