Stacking Electronics And Wire Clutter

[Mikaila31]

I think our home entertainment center needs some help . I'm thinking it is not suggested to stack electronics on top of each other, right? Well this is our main entertainment center. The box's names starting from the bottom right and going up are: Master Volume, a 5 disc CD player, and I have no clue about that silver one on the top. Then the bottom left going up are: Dish Network box/DVR, VCR/ DVD combo, and a VCR(I don't know why there are two). It was setup like this by my dad about 5 years ago. When playing a DVD in the combo player it starts to skip after 2 hours. I'm guessing it is the heat that is causing this, cuz it seems to work long if you pin open the VCR flap . Can anyone suggest some type of shelving that is made for this purpose?

The 5 disc CD player was in a similar setup 10 years ago, where it go so hot the plastic display cover slid out of place .

This was the best I could do downstairs, to help release the heat and protect my DVD recorder .

Also can some one suggest a good way to organize all the wires. This is our downstairs setup (I don't want to see what the upstairs one looks like). You have the TV, the Dish Network box/DVR, my DVD recorder, the cablehuh, a jack for my brother's archos, and possibly some other things. I actually pulled a extension cord out of the mess that was neatly wound in a bundle and not plugged into anything. Again my dad set this up.

Also could anyone tell me why a phone line is going into the Dish box? It wasn't there a few months ago and normally I can figure these things out. I would ask my dad, but he probably won't give me a decent answer.

many Thanks,
Mikaila31

 

[chamberpot]

Wow that's a lot of kit!! Do you need it all?

You are right, it's not a good idea to stack so many things on top of each other, and yes it's probably the heat build up causing the problems you are having. Especially from your cable/satellite dish box, as they run very hot.

BTW the phone line is most probably for pay per view or so the cable company know that the box is where it should be.
We have sky tv in the UK, and if I want to pay for a movie etc. the transaction is carried out via the phone line.
When I disconnect the phone line for a few days I always get a letter telling me to reconnect it or I'll be in breach of contract.

In the UK there are lots of companies that make dedicated shelving systems to properly support and ventilate your equipment.
I recommend Apollo or Target. Most of these purpose built racks/tables come with a cable tidy clip at the back nowadays.
Not sure what's available in the US, but there's bound to be something similar.

In the short term why don't you get your dad to drill a lot of ventilation holes in the back of that cabinet and pull it away from the wall a bit. You could even take some of the equipment out of the cabinet to make some space and stack the stuff you remove on a paving slab or something flat and sturdy. The other thing to consider is vibration and the effect it will have on the performance of your stuff. Isolating your main sources, eg, DVD/CD players will greatly improve sound and picture quality.

Hope that helps for starters, good luck. Don