# Custom Rack Shelf for Premiere Now Available



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

*Disclaimer:* This post is not sponsored in any way by any vendor. I have no financial interest in the vendors mentioned herein.

For several weeks, I have been checking the Middle Atlantic Web site for the availability of a custom rack shelf for the TiVo Premiere models. (I could send them mine for measurement, but I figured somebody else would beat me to it.) Today, I found it.

Go to Middle Atlantic's RSH Search Engine and enter TCD748000.

This, of course, will be of interest to those of you who are custom installers. And to those who, like me, compulsively rackmount _everything electronic_ in their own house.

I have found Performance Audio in Salt Lake City to be a reliable retailer of Middle Atlantic products. (Not to mention "pro audio" gear of all kinds.) The Performance Audio Web site is a bit of a monster, a bit tough to navigate unless you know _exactly_ what you are looking for ... but it is worth it. And they keep a browseable log of your past orders, which makes it easy to re-order items. Also, they "drop ship" from Middle Atlantic, and ground shipping is free on orders over $100.

*Note:* You _must_ be sure to specify the particular custom rack shelf that you want in the "comments" section before you finalize your order. Otherwise, they won't know what to order for you! The order code for a "RSH4A, 2-5 Spaces" is _entirely generic_. I just "cut and paste" the brand and model details from the results page in Middle Atlantic's RSH Search Engine.


----------



## robm15 (Feb 23, 2004)

When you receive your rack mount, would you please post a picture?


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

Note that the Premiere models are the first-ever TiVos that fit in a 2 rack unit shelf. All previous models, including those made by other vendors (such as Philips) required _three_ rack units. One consequence of this is a much smaller fan. Pretty quiet, too.

Also, the Premiere models are noticeably less deep than previous models. Personally, I appreciate smaller, space-saving units. (Of course, I had to make an exception for the 6-rack-unit, 20" deep Sony Blu-ray changer model BDP-CX7000ES.)


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

robm15 said:


> When you receive your rack mount, would you please post a picture?


Sure.


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

As requested, here is a photo of the TiVo Premiere mounted in a Middle Atlantic custom rack shelf:


----------



## robm15 (Feb 23, 2004)

I honestly didn't know what to expect. And I am very very impressed!!! Very nice!

Thank you for the picture.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Looks good. What did it run you?


----------



## sdzc (Sep 4, 2005)

How about a wider shot of how the rack fits into the wall space or room?


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

innocentfreak said:


> Looks good. What did it run you?


$101.42 per Middle Atlantic RSH4A (shelf with custom faceplate). Purchased from the dealer that I recommended (Performance Audio). No sales tax, free shipping.

Of course, you need a rack  and that varies widely in cost. I have seven of them; three racks in the home theater alone. The one in the picture was inexpensive; I installed a pair of Middle Atlantic "rack rails" in a custom cabinet. Around $30-$50 per pair, depending on length (and there is an additional "cutting charge" if you need a custom length). Of course, that does not count the cost of the cabinet, which was built 15 years before I modified it to accommodate the rack rails!

There are inexpensive knock-down "utility racks" that you assemble yourself, starting at about $100. At the high end, there are the Middle Atlantic AXS rack systems that slide out on rails (they are installed in "custom millwork"). I have one of those in my master bedroom. They start at about $600.


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

sdzc said:


> How about a wider shot of how the rack fits into the wall space or room?


Happy to oblige:


----------



## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

Are the additional fans loud?


----------



## Mike-Mike (Mar 2, 2010)

that looks pretty sweet


----------



## wmccain (Dec 16, 2002)

orangeboy said:


> Are the additional fans loud?


No. But it is not always necessary to add fans to an enclosed cabinet. With the right arrangement, convection cooling can do the job.

For instance, the left-hand cabinet (shown with closed doors in the above photo) has a 7-channel power amp at the very top, just under a set of VERY LARGE vent holes cut in the top of the cabinet (about 8 feet from the floor). There are no extra fans at all in that cabinet.

The Middle Atlantic rack shelves are perforated with holes for ventilation, the cabinets are open at the rear, and heavily ventilated at the top. Often that is enough. However, in the right-hand cabinet (shown with doors open), I _did_ have a problem with overheating before I remodeled the cabinet to become a "rack". At that time I had solid oak shelves (unventilated) and a "hot" component that was enclosed between two of those solid shelves (_i.e._ not the topmost component). Trapped heat ruined one of those components and I had to buy another (it was a big dish HDTV decoder, which is no longer present in the cabinet because it is now obsolete).

My solution to the overheating was to mount a row of 5 small (2.25") fans directly behind the "hot" decoder. The trick to minimizing fan noise is to use 12 volt DC fans but run them from a 6 volt "wall wart". At half speed, the fan noise is negligible  but two half-speed fans draw the same amount of air as one full-speed fan.

Those fans are still there, but they are probably unnecessary. The cabinet now has better ventilation, due to the use of perforated metal rack shelves. The fans now service a DirecTV HR20-700 DVR  which, unlike the TiVo Premiere unit just below it, has no internal fan of its own.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

You can always use Whisper quiet fans that are only around 8dB in loudness.


----------



## parkds (Mar 27, 2003)

Sorry to dig up an old thread. I have been watching the Middle Atlantic website for the past few months hoping someone would send in their Premiere Elite (Tcd758250) to have a custom faceplate measured. Nothing for the Elite has showed up on their website yet. Does anyone know if the regular Premiere faceplate (for model TCD746320 or TCD748000) will fit the Elite properly? I would take my into Middle Atlantic to be measured, but the last time I did that the front of my device got the very badly scratched.

Thanks!


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

All the S4 boxes should have the same dimensions.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Yes. The TiVo Website lists 
16.5" W x 9.7" D x 2.4" H with feet (2.1" H without feet &#8211; bezel height)
for the dimensions of all three S4 boxes.


----------

