Flatwire

by Adrian How

Everybody’s often faced with the same conundrum when it comes to finding neat cabling solutions. More and more households are now hanging their TV sets against the walls of their homes because they can – with flat screen TVs.

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A very common method for concealing your AV cabling these days is to build wall panels for your TV area. These wall panels are usually made from wood and have a small gap between the wall and the paneling to house the cables, hiding them from plain view. The TV and peripheral speakers can then be mounted against the panel. Whilst this is a rather costly design option, it has a long lasting aesthetic value to the overall look of a living room. For an affordable and more instant alternative, IKEA offers the BENNO TV bench with panel for RM699.00. With the BENNO, a flat screen TV can be hung on the reinforced back panel with the wires running behind the panel. The one good thing about the BENNO is that unlike a custom installed wall panel, it is mobile, not fixed.

Some homeowners go to the extent running cables within a wall, which requires some hacking and patch work to be carried out – this is also permanent and is a nightmare for cable maintenance. The cheapest current alternative is to use PVC cable housing which you can then paint over. However, this crude alternative is a slight eyesore because of its pronounced protrusion.

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The latest technology to grace the cabling organization field is Flatwire – paper thin wire for audio/video applications that can be installed on the surface your walls and be painted, skimmed, wallpapered over to completely hide them from the naked eye. These cables are thin because they utilize lean copper conductors and are highly flexible and can bend to suit the surface or shape of any wall. I doubt many AV purists would trade their Monster cables for Flatwire but I’m certain this is a product that will catch on with many other homeowners due to its practical application.

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Unfortunately, Flatwire ships only within the US now but it won’t be long before this technology reaches our shores. For those who can’t wait, there are always local online courier services such as vshub.com to complete your US purchases for a small additional fee. I’m not sure about you, but I sure am tempted to solve my cabling woes once and for all!