Here's an idea:
Attach a piece of cloth, color to suit (black, maybe), to the back edge of each shelf. Each piece should be the width of either the shelf or 17 inches (average equipment width), or somewhere between, if you prefer. The length of each piece of cloth should be a couple of inches longer than the distance to the shelf below.
Now, picture this from the side: With the cables hanging off the back edge of each shelf, they will be behind the cloth behind the next space down.
The cloth flaps will look like slats, with the wire always behind them. One requirement is that the cables are
not custom-length, but are long enough to hang downward enough to not bunch up the cloth.
Of course, the cloth could be replaced with other materials, from colored paper or cardboard to pieces of plastic or even mirrored mylar. I guess you could use glass mirrors, but you'd need extra-strong tape (like good packing tape for glass shelves) or whatever you use.
Now that I think of it, if the appearance was okay, a slatted window shutter or louvered panel. Just make sure the slats are flexible enough to pass the plugs between them.
Keep the power cables to the sides, since almost all components have the power cables emerging from one end or the other. I use one power strip on each rear leg of my equipment rack, so the power cords don't have to cross the rack.
You can buy Velcro strips made for binding rolled-up cords and hoses. These will hold the power cords together and away from the signal cables, which could be similarly wrapped if they're stiff enough to not hang limply away from the power cords without them.
As for the cables running into and out of the walls, the quantity of cable should be the deciding factor.
Unless insisted upon by a customer, or the equipment rack really will be moved often, I prefer the direct, cable out-of-the-wall method. In my opinion, even though they look elegant and professional, plates with multitudes of jacks may actually affect signal quality, as they provide yet another point(s) where you may have a loose or poor connection. (Expensive, too)
You can use single- or double-gang low-voltage "boxes", which are backless boxes, so it's easier to route the wires into the wall without extra cable bending. They can be found with the pivoting 'ears'
which makes them "old-work boxes" or with nailing brackets for new work.
Again, depending on the size of the cable bundle, you can use a blank plate custom drilled with one or more holes, a plate made for single (not duplex) receptacles (they come in several different hole-sizes), or even a Decora-type plate.
Of course, the British hardware may be a bit different.
Larry
www.fineelectricco.com
