How to Mount a Sky Box or Freeview Recorder Behind the TV

Wall-mount the TV and you're left with a Sky box or a Freeview recorder sitting on a unit under it, with an HDMI cable trailing up the wall. The obvious fix is to put the box on the wall too, behind or beside the TV. It works well, provided you check one thing first: whether your remote can still talk to the box once you can't see it.

The short version

  • Check your remote first. A Sky Q remote works over Bluetooth once it's paired, so the box can be out of sight. Most Freeview boxes use an infrared remote, which needs to see the box.
  • Keep it ventilated. Recorders have a hard drive and get warm, and so does the back of a TV.
  • Measure the thickness. A Sky Q 2TB box is 35mm or 43mm depending on the version, and a Humax FVP-5000T Freeview Play recorder is 48mm. Both fit our 17–54mm adjustable brackets.

Short on time? Measure how thick your box is, rubber feet included, and pick the set:

Adjustable wall brackets for boxes 17 to 54mm thick

Adjustable brackets, 17–54mm

View the 17–54mm set
Large adjustable wall brackets for boxes 22 to 87mm thick

Large adjustable brackets, 22–87mm

View the 22–87mm set

Will the remote still work?

This is the part people find out the hard way.

  • Sky Q: the voice and touch remotes talk to the box over Bluetooth once paired. Bluetooth doesn't need a line of sight, so the box can sit behind the TV. You will need a clear view of the box to pair a new remote, so do any pairing before you mount it.
  • Freeview, Freesat and most other boxes: usually infrared, so the remote has to see the front of the box. Behind the TV, it can't.

If your remote is infrared, you have three options:

  1. Mount the box beside the TV, not behind it, with the front facing into the room. Wall-mounting still gets it off the unit.
  2. Try HDMI-CEC. Many TVs can control a connected box through the HDMI cable using the TV's own remote. It's called something different by every TV brand, and how much it controls varies by box, so try it before you rely on it.
  3. Use an IR repeater. A small receiver sits in view and passes the signal to an emitter stuck on the box. It's cheap and it works, but it's one more cable to hide.

Heat

A recording box has a hard drive and runs for hours at a time. The back of a TV is warm too. Leave a gap between the box and the TV panel, keep the box's vents clear, and don't cram it into a hollow behind the screen with no way for air to move.

Mounted on the wall beside the TV, with air around it, the box is often cooler than it was shut in a TV unit cupboard.

Fitting it

  1. Plan the cables first. HDMI, power, aerial or satellite, and network. Make sure every one reaches the new position with a little slack.
  2. Measure the box thickness with its feet on. For anything up to 54mm, the standard set fits. For deeper boxes, the large set goes to 87mm.
  3. Fit two brackets under the bottom edge and one over the top. If the box goes behind a wall-mounted TV, make sure it clears the TV bracket and the TV's own vents.
  4. Tighten the thumbscrews by hand until the box is held flat against the wall.
  5. Test everything: remote, recordings and Wi-Fi or network, before you tidy the cables.
Set of three adjustable 3D-printed plastic wall brackets with spacers, screws and wall plugs, holding a CCTV recorder

Mars Outpost · 3 identical brackets

Adjustable Wall Brackets – 17–54mm

For boxes 17 to 54mm thick: most 1U CCTV recorders, routers, switches, mini PCs and set-top boxes. 3D-printed PETG plastic, with spacers, screws and wall plugs in the set.

View the 17–54mm set
Set of three large adjustable 3D-printed plastic wall brackets holding a deep CCTV recorder

Mars Outpost · 3 identical brackets

Large Adjustable Wall Brackets – 22–87mm

For deeper boxes, 22 to 87mm thick: multi-drive NVRs, chunkier routers and anything the standard set can't reach around. Same PETG plastic, same complete fixing kit.

View the 22–87mm set

Frequently asked questions

Does it fit a Sky Q box?

Yes. A Sky Q 2TB box is 35mm (earlier version) or 43mm (later version), well inside the 17–54mm range of the standard set. Measure yours to be sure which one you have.

Does it fit a Humax or other Freeview recorder?

A Humax FVP-5000T is 48mm, so it fits either set. Most Freeview boxes are thinner than that, but check yours.

Will the box get too hot behind the TV?

It can, if it's packed tight against the TV with nowhere for air to go. Leave a gap, keep the vents clear, or mount it beside the TV instead.

Do I have to drill the box?

No. The brackets clamp around the outside. That's useful when the box belongs to your provider.

Are the brackets metal?

No, they're 3D-printed PETG plastic. They're rigid once fitted, and we'd rather you knew that before ordering.

Related guides

Both bracket sets are in For Security & Data Systems. UK orders are 3D-printed and dispatched from our family workshop in Bristol.

Sky, Sky Q, Freeview, Freesat and Humax are trademarks of their respective owners. Mars Outpost is not affiliated with any of them.

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