DataComm Electronics 45-0051-WH Expandable Media Box with Duplex Receptacle, Low Profile Design for Wall-Mounted TV, Conceals Low Voltage Cables, Quick Installation, White

I bought two of the DataComm Electronics 45-0051-WH to use in my remodeled bedroom. Hiding the wires and adding an outlet behind the wall mounted tv was just as important as having the options to run data and video cables from below to behind said tv.Reading the description and studying the photos supplied I pulled the trigger and spend close to $60 bucks on two of them. One below and one above.They arrived in good order, packaged well and made of a sturdy plastic that felt good in the hand. The old work clips on the back for securing the box are fairly long and metal, nice touch since I am going through lath and plaster as well as a 3/8 inch wainscot.It came supplied with an outlet suitable for a 15 amp circuit only. The outlet did not have screw terminals but had push in type terminals sized for 14 gauge wire only.For the above I give the box 4 stars. I subtracted one for the quality of the outlet. Push in terminals are horrible for positive and stout electrical connections.Now the profound frustration starts when I start the installation.I intended to add speaker terminal to this box. This is when I discovered everything that has to do with this box is proprietary.What does this mean?well, nothing off the shelf will fit the cut outs in this box. The areas for cables, whether they be speaker wires, HDMI cables or optical cables all have to use the supplied cover. Nothing else will fit. So trying to use an off the shelf HDMI panel or speaker terminals (like I show in the photo) will only frustrate you when you try to place your connectors within the areas intended.The holes for mounting the plates are not the industry standard for anything made for standard boxes (low voltage boxes or outlet boxes)I cut out the back with an oscillating tool and mounted mine there.Next frustration is the supplied outlet and box.wow, what a cluster $%^&.The supplied box is mounted to the media box from the rear!First you run your electric wire through the back of the box, which by the way is a simple hole once you punch out the tab. No provision for a tension tab or clamp to hold the wire from falling back through and loosing it in the wall.Code says boxes like this are ok however the wire needs to be secured within 12 inches of the box or the box must have a means of holding the wire.Since this is an old work box, meaning a box intended to be used in a wall that already finished there should be provisions for securing the electrical wire.Now, once you run the wire through the box and wire your receptacle you then mount the receptacle to the box. Then screw the box to the media box from the rear with the supplied 4 screws.If at any time you want to access this receptacle in the future you have to remove the entire media box.Again, a proprietary system, no other way of doing it. Something happens there is no off the shelf solution.FYI: I did not use the supplied electrical outlet. I used a surge protected outlet. Luckily it was square so it fit - bonus.Next frustration.You have to use the supplied cable and keystone covers. Again, they are a propriety design.I intended on adding my speaker block in one of the openings but the industry standard block I had will not fit the openings.Another frustrationthe outlet will only mount on the left as shown in the pics. It's at a slight angle.The distance between the molded in trim and the outlet box is only about 1/2 to 5/8 inch.As I mentioned earlier I am going though lath and plaster as well as 3/8 inch wainscot. no way was this going to fit using the supplied template. My wall was simply to thick to fit between the face of the media box and the outlet box.I had to use my handy dandy oscillating tool to to carve out an extreme bevel inside my wall leaving only my wainscot as a mounting surface.The photo's in the description of this media panel show an HDMI cable attached to "something" on the right side. I included this photo in my review.I assumed... I know, I know...I assumed this "accessory" area could be used as a mounting point for a media panel for this such as HDMI, Optical connection, etc. After all, the photo shows "something" there. Misleading if you ask me.Nope. It's simply a large box. Much larger than the other openings so no dice.Frustration point.The supplied keystove cover, not only is it proprietary (no off the shelf keystone cover will fit) but it has six spaces for keystones. Great!What's frustrating is there is no supplied blank inserts in case you don't fill all six.ok, this is a small annoyance but it does compound the annoyed feeling I have already.Hints:Pay very close attention to the size of the completed box. You may not have enough room to install the large "accessory" box if your not careful.I recommend finding your studs and cutting an outlet size hole in the middle of the area where you intend on installing this. the measure to each stud and allow for enough room on either side for the protrusions.ie: the outlet box on the left and the "accessory" box on the right.Loose 2 stars for annoying and frustrating me.I despise propriety things.

This product is designed for 1/2” thick walls. This should be front and center. If you have thicker walls (e.g. wall plus shiplap, planks, stone, etc.) fitting it will be a challenge. The adjustable screws will handle the depth but you can’t actually fit the unit in the opening with the outlet attached if it’s more than 1/2” wall. Also, the snap-in box that holds a media player fits tight inside the wall, so if it’s more than 1/2” thick you can’t fit that attachment into the unit either.I eyed this up for a long time and thought it was brilliant with the cavity to store a media player. I didn’t realize the wall thing until I was committed (giant 7” square hole cut) so I had to break off the inner drywall until I could fit it all in. If I’d known this I would have selected a different option.In lieu of using the keystone plate that has 6 openings and having to buy blank covers separately I opted to use the cable hole which was a nice option to have and gives you the benefit of being able to push slack back into the wall.The electrical stuff (box and outlet) are proprietary so you have to use them. It’s stab-in only. The quality could be better, but it will work.I can fit a current model Apple TV in the box which is nice. There is also enough room in the unit itself to coil excess cable length and hide it in there.The tolerance isn’t square, you’ll have more lip to hide mess ups in one direction than the other. I’d suggest starting with a little smaller opening and increasing as you need to so it’s all hidden. I didn’t think the stud tolerance was too tight, I had no problem fitting it between two standard 16” studs.Overall this unit is OK if you have 1/2” wall. It will do the job fine.

Be careful it will fit between 16 inch space with ease but plan accordingly with cut out. Too far left or right and wont fit with hidden box when installed. Only issue is I thought it would work by putting new fios one minis but they dont fit so i tucked some cable and the mini power supply in there. Wish the hidden box was bigger. It may fit apple tv? But dk for sure.

I have mixed feelings about this product.On one hand it is well designed and well built, resembling the recessed boxes they use for clothes washer outlets. The extension shown on the right in the product photo is convenient for storing loose things that you want to keep with the TV and connections, provided that there is space in the wall to place the extension. The electrical box conforms to industry standards and performs its task well.And then we come to the disappointment: the cover plates for signal cables, one of which you select for the holes in the top or bottom of the box, use a different standard. That is, the spacing between centers for the fastening screws is different from electrical boxes'. If you want your cables to come directly out of the wall and plug into the TV, then there is no problem - you select one of the three cover plates provided. In that case, you could rate this box 5 stars.If, however, like me, you want to use one of the other plates that Amazon sells (RiteAV - 4 x HDMI and 1 x Ethernet Cat5e and 1 x Coax Cable TV F Type Port Wall Plate White, for example), you will find the screw holes do not match. I wanted to plug my cables into the back of the plate and have a clean-looking install. I could then run small patch cables from the front of the plate to the TV connectors. The product description doesn't mention that only their three plates will fit. Without some kind of adapter or jury-rigged fitting, that is impossible.So, to be fair, other than that complaint, I find the darn thing a pretty good product and made of sturdy plastic. For that reason, I gave it three stars.

Buena calidad de materiales, trae todo lo que muestra la imagen, es muy funcional, el único detalle por el cual le doy 4 estrellas es que las tapas o cubiertas no las he visto en venta por separado y deben ser para este modelo en particular, no se puede utilizar tapas de otros fabricantes estándar, si se daña alguna pieza posiblemente tenga que volver a adquirir todo el producto, otro detalle las conexiones para el contacto eléctrico son algo extrañas optare por instalar mi propio contacto doble leviton

Good solution but bad design. Doesn’t fit a standard 2 by 4 studded wall. Waste of money unless you’re installing into 2 by 6’s.Don’t assume you can install into a standard wall.

Producto muy completo. No he terminado de instalarlo por qué pra el grueso de mi muro de Tablaroca necesita más espacio de fondo. Considera las medidas de fondo antes de comprarlo. El material se siente bastante resistente y se ve que quedará muy estético.

I thought the exorbitant price took into account r&d of this product. WrongHad to cut the drywall to get the unit in. The unit would fit the template if you didn’t install the receptacle but then what’s the point of this. Obviously the designer never tried this in an actual wall.