How do I run cable through my ceiling?

While this can be done with some long flexible drill bits, fish tape, and rods, it will be difficult to go this exact route. You will likely need at least one or two cuts, and as the previous poster mentioned, your ceiling would be hard to patch.

You might be able to run it in the ductwork but this is often frowned upon. If you do make sure to use plenum-rated cable so that it will not burn and spread fire.

It looks like you want to put the TV on an exterior wall. If that is the case, my recommendation would be to run the cable on the exterior of the house and just punch through the siding where you want to terminate the cable. You should place a low-voltage rework box at the location of the recepticle. Make sure to use cable clips to keep the wire against the wall.

I think I'd look for the outside spliter and run the cable around the outside of the house under the edge of the siding and try to enter as close as possible through the wall behind the TV. If the spliter is indoors, run a line back outdoors and around. BMitch is correct, you will never be able to fish that distance without opening the ceiling, and cutting into the drywall at the top corner. There will be a lot of drywall repair needed, and be very hard to match that textured ceiling, not to mention the mudding and painting in the top corner.

Well, here I go potentially disagreeing with some more experienced folks. Assuming you have clearance over the ceiling all the way to the back wall, this is doable with fish tape and a hole in the wall with the tv on it. Get some small conduit (even thin pvc pipe will do), and put a 90 degree angle in the end. In the case of metal conduit you would bend it with some pliers. In the case of PVC pipe you would get threaded parts and screw it together. Run it along the joist. Assuming you have some clearance between the joist and the ceiling you should be able to hit the wall behind the wall with the tv. Now all you need to do is pull the cable down and plug it in.

Options to make the pulling process easier;

1) Best - Take some tape (duct tape is good) and tape a piece of twine or fishing line about 2 ft long to the end of the cable. Once it hits the end of the conduit just grab the twine and give it a good yank. Avid tying a knot - it's possible (although difficult) to damage cable that way.

2) Not best (having serious trouble, even after the above? go this route) chop off the connector and replace it after you pull it through. To do this you need a) an understanding of the way cables work (conductors, insulation, etc) and b) a crimp tool and connectors (available in radioshack). Crimping instructions are found on the tool packaging. Don't know how to use a multimeter? Think twice.

What about running it along the underside of that shelf that runs around the perimeter of the room?

Just drill through the wall underneath the shelf and between some studs, and run the wire tucked under the shelf all the way back against the wall. You won't be able to see it unless you're sitting on the floor.

If there is baseboard molding around the bottom edge of the wall.

• Remove the molding.
• Lay the cable in the gap between the floor and the wall covering (drywall, plaster, etc).
• Fish the cable up the wall to where you need it.
• reinstall the molding (be careful not to nail through the cable when you install the molding).

You may need a right angle connector, where you come through the wall behind the molding (Coaxial Cable does not make tight 90 turns).

You can buy a product called "Corner Duct 1075 series." It looks vaguely like crown molding, except it is made of plastic and has a removable cap.
Alternatively, you could just run the cable along the ceiling/wall joint and lay crown molding over it. Sometimes a straight line is not the best answer.

Also before ever tapping into a ceiling look at what direction your vents are sitting. This will tell you which way your floor joist are running.

Eight years ago, these were great answers. Since 2016-ish, the solution is EOP -- Ethernet over Power. Since 2018-ish, you can get EOP units that handle 1Gb speeds (within your house, not necessarily out to the external Internet 'cause that's a slightly different story).