Re: Running Cables - Future Proofing

Jane T wrote:

The question is which type of cables do I run. Will each TV require
its own digibox.

Either that, or they will have the equivalent functionality integrated within. (New tv sets, that is.)

Separate box or not, digital broadcasts or not, the aerial signal has to come from somewhere.

I have heard of HDMI, should I run this type of cable throughout the house as well as coaxial.

HDMI (or an equivalent cable/connector) is likely to replace the Scart cable and Scart connectors in the future. But it doesn't work for very long cable runs, and there probably isn't much need to run it all over the house inside the walls. The only exception I can think of is a home theatre setup. If there's any chance that you - or someone else - would want to build a home theatre, you might want to prepare a suitable location for a video projector - including power and AV cabling. Or ducts for them, at least. (A suitable location could be e.g. in the ceiling, or a back wall of a room.) You might also want to think about the location and cabling needs of a (possible) AV amplifier, or a 5.1 or 6.1 multichannel speaker setup.

I have heard of sending TV through the network.

Yes, that's possible. Some related keywords and links:

Dreambox:
<http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/english/products_overview.php>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreambox>
<http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/DigiTV/dbox-howto.htm>
<http://www.net42.co.uk/dreambox-hints.shtml>

VLC / VideoLAN:
<http://www.videolan.org/vlc/streaming.html>

Mythtv:
<http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures>
<http://www.mythbox.co.uk/index.htm>

There's also Freevo, most of this stuff works on a modified Xbox (see <http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/info_screens.htm>, some manufacturers offer simple network-enabled video stream receivers, etc.

For example, you could have a media server (with DVB receiver cards, etc.) running silently in a closet, and various set-top-box style "client" devices located in different rooms, connected to the server via your home network.

Now I know I can send the signals wirelessly but would it make any sense to install cat5 or maybe cat6 cabling at the same time?

Yes, definitely. Wireless is nice for laptops and the like, but nothing beats cat6 Ethernet sockets in every room. Twisted-pair Ethernet cabling is probably always going to be more reliable (and significantly faster) than wireless solutions of any sort.

There are numerous tutorials on the web about installing Cat5 or Cat6 cabling. Here's little something for starters:

<http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx>
<http://www.lanshack.com/example_home_network.aspx>
<http://www-personal.umich.edu/~csev/hng/book/06wiring/>
<http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2003/06/30/building_a_home_networ
k_from_scratch_/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RJ-45>

Also would it make sense to run any speaker cables or will wireless speakers with built in amplifier be adequate within a few years.

I think the more people use wireless (especially the free-for-all frequencies which don't require any licence), the more likely it is that your neighbour's wireless equipment may start causing interference to yours. I'd run cables.

Do we expect that in a few years a media centre will do everything and send signals throughout the house where a receiver is required on each TV or do we still expect each room to have its own media centre but networked to allow access from other media centres.


If it is a single media centre with many receivers, where should I look to site the media centre.

A small "technical" room (or a standard 19" inch rack somewhere in the house) for patch panels, media server PC, ADSL modem, Ethernet switch, etc. could be in order. This location would also serve as the central hub for the network, aerial, and phone cabling. A boiler room is not necessarily the best choice since it might be too hot in there.

See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19-inch_rack>,
<http://images.google.com/images?q=19%22+rack+cabinet>,
and <http://images.tomshardware.com/2003/06/30/buildi
ng_a_home_network_from_scratch_/img_2054.jpg>

On the other hand, if you're too cheap for that, you can make do with less fancy solutions. This is mine:

<http://www.saunalahti.fi/znark/kotiverkko/>

The location is a clothes closet. I've replaced the 10 Mbps hub with a 100 Mbps switch after taking that picture. There's also a headless PC server in that closet, on a separate shelf, but it's not visible in those pictures. There are 8 Ethernet outlets in the house. (Or 16 connectors, since each outlet box has two of them.)

* * *

There are also complete systems based on "universal cabling", which is basically just CAT5 or CAT6 cable, but the manufacturer offers a range of components that allow it to be used for phone, video, audio, network, aerial, etc. - without having to run separate cables for these purposes:

See, for example, this:

<http://hiddenwires.co.uk/resourcesnews2004/news20040720-05.html>

and this:

<http://www.squared.co.uk/SquareD/English/squareD-website_1_3/websi
te/media/pdf/SQD5315%20Lexcom%20home%20prod%20cat%20inst%20guide.pdf>

Also I am a bit of a cheapskate and will not pay premium prices for
technology so presume I will only be in my current house for 10 years.

I'd say you can ask a better price for a house that has been future-proofed with proper CAT6 Ethernet cabling. (And appropriate ducts with no too tight bends, so you or the future owner can pull the cable out and replace it with something new and better if need be.)

--
znark

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cat 5e vs 6 and gigabit ethernet
    ... A customer called and wanted to know why he can't send his new GIG ... customer's cabling on an "it does not work" claim. ... there is only handful of PCs out on the market that can ... mentioning the Ethernet switches in between. ...
    (comp.dcom.cabling)
  • Re: Cat-7?
    ... for the incoming phone/data service, the network cabling, the DSL router ... and the switching would be ideal, especially with a Power over Ethernet ... cat5 cables to seperate sockets, or you need a dongle splitter at the ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: Broadband speeds
    ... that the ISP would have known before taking the contract which ironically I'd bought to upgrade my line from 2 Meg. Seems I've ... For BT etc, for every half mile or so you are away from the exchange this causes a drop of about 1 meg, so if you are 2 miles away this is about a 4 meg drop. ... You should get faster speeds at the junction box at the point the line comes into the house than if the ethernet cable is plugged into an extension. ... The condition of the cabling is a factor too. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Ethernet
    ... consultant, the one who actually cut those cat6 was perhaps an employee ... We were re-labelling cat6 cables.....so the labels on the cat6 had to ... Perhaps you should leave anything to do with other people's cabling to data cabling professionals and the sysadmins that own that particular machine. ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)
  • Re: Ethernet
    ... the one who actually cut those cat6 was perhaps an employee ... (of the client of my employer). ... We were re-labelling cat6 cables.....so the labels on the cat6 had to ... Perhaps you should leave anything to do with other people's cabling to data ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)