In search for the perfect Entertainment Unit

As a true techie, I’ve always been fascinated by home entertainment equipment, so my living room is full of cramped cables, power extensions and an array of unmatched devices (neither shape or colour). This is not only dangerous (mopping + electricity = death), but also very very ugly, and since I have yet to figure out a way to have all the things I want connected with my TV on one device, I need to come up with a way to bring order into chaos. Thus the search for the perfect entertainment unit.

I have come the following list of issues and objectives that I need to face in order to achieve my goal:

Cramped Cables.

The entertainment unit must have a way to help me organize my cables. There are different types of cables from different sources, like CAT 6 cables that are connected to a switch, power cables that are connected to the power strips and so on. A possible solution is to organize the cables into canals or cable organizers by type (or source). The idea is to have a straight line of cables of the same type that can reach the device from one end to the other. Also a good idea, if possible, is to have the sources (power strip, switch) on the edge of entertainment unit, so that the cables have only one direction and are not tangled with other cable types.

Easy Access to Cables.

Even if the cables are perfectly organized it is difficult to access them when we want to add a new device or change a faulty cable etc. One solution is to have the base of the entertainment unit where the devices are on to slide out. It sounds simple but it needs some thinking depending on the weight of the devices and the length of the wooden base. Also since the distance from the cable canals mentioned earlier and the device is not constant we need to give some slag on the cables. The following image shows a good way to do that but takes up space and money.

Heat.

All the devices around the TV produce a lot heat and living in a place with temperatures that can reach 45 degrees Celsius makes it even more difficult to maintain the devices in workable conditions. All the standard solutions of TV furniture that have closed compartments that host these devices are out of the question. They have been tested over and over again, with open back furniture, holes on side, even custom solutions like low power fans. Installing an air condition inside the furniture is out of the question, so am left with keeping the devices exposed, allowing the hot air from the devices to escape and the lower temperature of the room to cool them down. This also solves the problem of passing IR signals to my devices from my remote controls. Simple enough, but this makes my life harder for my next objective since my devices were not picked for their beauty or having an overall interior design theme in mind, but rather for their functionality.