Customer Reviews

Dayton Audio HDMI-WP2 Dual HDMI Wall Plate

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

So you've decided you want to run HDMI through your wall to your HDTV, and all you have left is to ask "why this wall plate?" and why "two HDMI instead of one"?

Well there are 3 benefits with going with the Dayton HDMI wall plate (dual or single).
1) Dayton carries a whole line of wall plates so if you have to add others they will all match
2) These are rated for HDMI 1.3, so you are adding the option for supporting the next generation of HDMI when it becomes popular.
3) The HDMI connectors are top quality and bend so it is easy to run the HDMI cables (which just plug straight into them)

Why a dual HDMI plate instead of a single?
Well I figure that if I'm going to be going through all the trouble of installing the in-wall HDMI in the first place, and almost all HDTV's these days have 2 HDMI ports, it just made sense. I only really need one right now, but it never hurts to plan ahead.

Additional note: Since you only want to thread an HDMI cable through your wall once, don't go too cheap on the cables you will be using. It's personal preference as to how much you want to spend, but there are some great quality cables at reasonable prices if you shop around.

I installed 2 of these - one at each end of an in-wall connection - and they were simple to install and have worked well so far. The pigtails made the installation simpler.

On one occasion trying to run a DVD running over HDMI I got video but no sound, but a power off/on of the components fixed that. That has only happened once in the past few months and seems like an HDMI handshake issue, so I can't be sure if that was really due to the wallplate or not.

Rather annoyingly I ordered this specific one (from CE Compass at the time) at a higher price than another similar supplier on Amazon because it was different in the pictures. At the time I ordered, this item only showed the fully smooth wallplate with the white screws. Unfortunately what I actually received was a different version (which I could have ordered from the other supplier for less) which has a recessed "insert" with raised edge around it. This has the effect of making it look like I installed the insert back-to-front or like its a special kind of plate, and I believe most people would want it to just look as much like a standard wallplate as possible.

So, it works well, but be aware that you might get either one of the variants in the pictures (the weird version I got is now shown in the images so you can see the difference with the raised edge around the central "insert" on the front).

Update 9/17/09:
I haven't had any more lost video or audio signals beyond the one instance reported in the original review, so it definitely seems like that was a one-off HDMI handshake issue. I still recommend the unit.

I found the pigtail makes it nice to connect to the thick HDMI cables used for the long run inside the wall. Without the pigtail, making the turn inside the wall is much more difficult. The only only problem is that the cover plate screws are not the standard 6x32 screws used for electrical plates and are chrome rather then white. However, I used my trusty 6x32 tap on the plastic holes, then used standard screws to make a nicer looking installation. :-)

i think this is a pretty solid product. my advice to you is to not over-torque any of the screws since it is all plastic. i screwed everything in very gently and didn't have any trouble. i recommend hand-driving all the screws. fyi, you will need a very small Philips screwdriver (like for eyeglass repair) to connect the included HDMI cables to the plate. my only one complaint is that the product is not stark white. it's a little off-white or cream colored. it clashes a little bit with the stark-white electrical outlet right next to it on my ceiling (projector installation), and if you don't have to look at it (i.e. if it will be behind your A/V rack/stand) then that shouldn't factor in. installation was very easy. make sure you are working with a low voltage old work box for the install (i.e. open back single gang box). i think the guy that had trouble fitting the wires into the work box was using a closed-back box for higher voltage applications.

While this product is functional it has two design flaws that cause me to deduct two stars:
1. The cords that plug into the cable in the wall are much too long and stiff. I'm not sure this product is usable with a single gang box, and is barely usable with the quad-gang box I am using. Also, the cords are so stiff that I worry about breaking the decora insert while bending the cords to mount this unit.
2. Related to issue 1.(cords too stiff) The decora insert is connected to the cord/adapter by two tiny screws. A combination of soft plastic, tiny screws, and cords/adapters that are too long/stiff makes breaking the insert likely.

I bought four for my new house, but will likely need to return them as I don't think I can trust that they will survive installation.

If you look at the 5 pictures for this listing the first four show the product that I wanted to purchase and the last picture shows the recessed version that I actually received from smartdigital. This recessed version you can find for half the price anywhere else (9 bucks). After conversing with smartdigital I determined they didn't actually stock the product pictured in the first four pics I asked to be credited with a full refund. But what won't be refunded was the time and energy I spent ordering, waiting for and returning this item.

Nice device for a neat wall hung TV interface.
You need to use one of those open backed wall boxes to keep a decent radius on the little lead cables; or cut/drill the back back out of a standard Carlon box.

I purchased 4 of these HDMI wall plates. I've seen no signal degradation. Have Blue-ray players, xbox and HD cable box running through them with no problem at all. The extension on the back of the HDMI coupling definitely helps out. The fit was also tight so no need to worry about the connection letting go or getting loose. I plan on buying more when necessary.

I've been using this product for over two years and my experience has been flawless. It does what its supposed to, no complaints.

The back of the unit is too large and will not fit into a regular blue box. I was able to return the item but I had to pay for the shipping.