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Descrambler: Calming the Cable Cacophony

Do you get the heebie-jeebies when you see all those inputs on the back of a home theater receiver, a TiVo, or your stereo equipment? We can help sort them out.

Michael Riggs

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How to Cure Cable Clutter

The cables that connect the parts of a typical home theater tend naturally to form rats' nests. The tangle not only is unsightly, it also can be maddening if you need to troubleshoot a connection or add or replace a component. It can even cause audio hum or video interference. Here are a few tips on keeping it neat.

1. Bundle signal cables that lead from one component to another. You can buy plastic tubing designed for this purpose, but cables cinched with hook-and-loop ties do the job quickly. Adhesive tape also works, though it's harder to remove when you want to make changes, but you can use it as cheap labels as well.

2. Keep power and signal cables separate. Running them parallel in close quarters encourages them to hum.

3. Label each end of every cable or cable bundle according to source, destination, and function to maintain sanity. You can buy premade labels for this purpose, though, again, adhesive tape is serviceable and easily customized.

4. Avoid using unnecessarily long cables. Some suppliers like Blue Jeans Cable will make cables to your specifications. Custom cables can cost more, but are worth it if you have unusually long runs.

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