Today I wanted to share a little piece of technology that helped us tremendously when we were designing our TV media cabinet. Admittedly, this is more of a tech post, but trust me when I tell you that this relatively inexpensive piece of technology will help you turn ANY piece of furniture into a TV cabinet, allowing you to hide away the gazillion pieces of equipment that seem to accompany TVs nowadays! {Note, this is NOT a sponsored post, just sharing with you a product that proved helpful to me!}
First, let me provide a two key definitions for terms that will be used in this post:
- Components – equipment that we use in conjunction with TVs, like DVD players, satellite boxes, receivers, etc.
- Infrared – the most common way for remote controls to command appliances {the method by which a remote control communicates with a component}
In the past, the decision on how to store your components was limited by the need for the components to be “visible” to the remotes that controlled them. It used to be that you kept DVD players, satellite receivers, and the like on exposed shelves so that they could receive the infrared signals from remotes. Or perhaps you used glass-front cabinets so that the signal could pass through the glass. Or maybe you would just open your cabinet doors whenever you were watching TV so that the remotes would work. When we started thinking about the design for our built-in, none of these options really appealed to me and so I enlisted Hubby to do a bit of research such that we could hide away all of the components and still easily use our remote controls.
One company that Hubby contacted said that we needed a special remote that would work even when not in a direct line-of-sight, but with a $500 price tag, I didn’t really love that option. Another person told use that we simply needed to drill a small hole in one of our cabinet doors so that the signal from the remote could pass through. A hole in my brand new cabinet? No thank you! Yet another technician suggested that we buy an external infrared receiver that would sit on a shelf and receive the signals from our remotes. Isn’t that what I was trying to avoid in the first place?!
Instead, we ended up using an Infrared Remote Control Receiver Kit that we purchased from Amazon for $45 {affiliate link here}.
This device basically forwards the infrared signals that your remotes emit to your components, even if they are behind closed doors. Simple and effective! This particular one works with up to four components, so we have our satellite box, receiver, and DVD player hooked up to it. The device sits inside the cabinet with the other components and the little plugs {that look like earbuds in the photo above} stick to the inside of the cabinet door so EVERYTHING is hidden away.
{I’m pretty sure the above photo wins the award for Most Boring photo ever shared on a blog!!!}
So what does this mean for you? Well, if currently have to open cabinet doors so that your components will work with your remotes, this device means that you no longer have to do so! But it also means that you can use almost ANYTHING to store TV components now – a wet bar cabinet, an old armoire, a hutch, a dresser – and you’ll still be able to control them with your remote. Now your storage solutions can be beautiful while still being functional and really, isn’t that the goal of decorating?!
P.S. – One word of caution! If you choose to hide your components, be sure that there is proper ventilation. In enclosed spaces, the components can heat up and if there isn’t an opening that allows the heat to escape, you run the risk of overheating and destroying your equipment.
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I did not know they made these! Very nice to hear that companies are getting on board with design! I’ve had a little sensor about the size of a quarter that plugs into my cable box and I’ve just got a little 3M tape on the back so it can sit on the top of the cabinet, with a decorative object in front. No one ever knows it’s there and the cable guys are always impressed when they come to visit!
Oh gosh, thank you so much for this. I have been stressing out over components showing and almost went another direction. You should see my happy dance!!
Kim,
This is good news. I hate the fact that we have several different boxes all tied to the wonder of TV. We have Apple TV, Amazon TV in another room and those ugly DVD boxes. I’m always complaining that with all the technology out there, why can’t they devise a cordless method for operating them? This sounds like it would be just the ticket. I’m going to have Mr. B. read this and get on it. :-)
Karen
This is fantastic news! I’ve been dying to paint a great cabinet I have and use it for the TV but this was a road block for me. Thanks!
Don’t you just love technology?! What a cool invention. I’m old school and have to open my doors to work the DVD so this will really come in handy. Thanks for letting us know.
What a fabulous idea and this new remote receiver device is amazing. Thanks for the info.