Hide TV Cords: 6 Simple Solutions That Quickly Cut Cord Clutter

Don’t let those ugly, twisted TV cables get in the way of yours the latest Netflix entertainment watch. The weather outside is scary and we spend a lot of time in front of the TV, which means it’s time to give your place a good cleaning. Yes, that includes that mess of tangled cables behind your TV.

Gathering strings behind you home theater system making it not only attractive to look at, but also easy to use and maintain. I have written about other ways you can do it upgrade your setup herebut collection cables can have a much greater impact. You don’t need to be a IT engineer to make your ropes look good, and you don’t need a big budget. All you need is a little time and a few inexpensive items. If you want to give your TV that showroom look you’ve been craving, here are six easy tips.

1. Bundle your cables with cable ties

Of all the solutions here, the cheapest and easiest way to fix your system is to use cable ties. They allow you to create order from the chaos behind there, and it’s easy to go back and change when you add new parts. There are several options regarding the tie that you can use. Forget single-use zip ties, they might tie up perps but they’re not good for cables. Go for reusable Velcro bands or cable ties.

When using cables together, try to keep the AV connectors and power cables separate. This prevents the voltage from affecting analog signals in particular, such as those traveling through speaker cables. Use ties to fix cables around the natural boundaries of AV furniture and walls.

2. Label your wires

If you want to take the planning a step further you can buy printable markers so you can identify which power cable is which, for example. This is especially useful if, like me, you are constantly connecting to a lot of new things. Some receivers, like those from Denon, come with stickers to help you sort out what’s what.

3. Buy new (shorter) cables.

Do you end up running your very long cables and running them under the unit or up behind the TV? Maybe you need to buy short runs. You can buy power cables, HDMI, RCA and speakers as short or as long as needed. If you are shopping for new HDMI cables, you may want to invest in ultra high speed (HDMI 2.1 certified) cables for future certification of similar standards 8Kbut they are not needed for most devices. You can also get white cords, which will be able to hide better from your white walls.

Read more: Best HDMI Cables

4. Hide those TV cables

If you decide to mount your TV on the wall, the hanging wires will be visible from the get-go. Another way to hide them is with a race track. A cable or cable raceway is basically a flat PVC tube that sticks to the wall and can be cut to length and painted to match your interior. The front of the “tube” clicks on and off, so it’s easy to add or move cables if you need to. All cable hiding kits are available in various colors.

If you’re lucky enough to own your home and have sheetrock walls, you can pay an electrician to install power sockets or HDMI ports for you in the wall. Yes, it is very expensive, and if you are mounting the TV on a brick or concrete wall, it may not be an option.

5. Hide the rotating speaker wires by skipping the floor molding or laying down a rug

While cable ties and raceways are great for keeping cables organized behind your TV, what happens if you have to run cables elsewhere in the room? Go around the speaker cables are probably the most common example.

In my system I use a Monster XP 16-gauge speaker cable connecting my surround speakers to my receiver. Monster often gets a bad rap for being overpriced, but I like the XP range as it’s economical, well built and available in white.

Regardless of the type of product you choose, you can use cables for skirting boards and door frames and attach them using inexpensive, nailed cable clips.

If you have a large, cathedral-like room it may not be possible to use rugs on the walls, so invest in beautiful rugs instead. While it’s not safe to run electrical cables under carpeting it’s fine to cover things like speaker cables or Ethernet, but try to run them in a less-sold area if you can. For maximum durability, you can run a single rubber race on the floor if necessary.

6. Unplug your power strip to get the wires out of the ground

For someone who works with technology all day, I was ridiculously excited to buy myself a supercharged power strip for my desktop. The main thing it does, and can do for your TV unit, is lift the connectors off the ground and out of sight. I Tripp Lite model I chose it only has six stores, but you will probably need more than that. For example, my (admittedly large) TV system uses eight power strips.

If you want a larger selection of outlets you can choose a clamp that will attach to your existing line, or you can go the whole hog and grab it part-level power conditioner.

Read more: Best Surge Protectors

For more, check out 7 quick TV tweaks that will improve your movie night, 9 TV picture settings that can change today again 3 ways to fix unclear dialogue. In addition, why should you buy the biggest TV you can afford again when to upgrade your HDMI cables.