Hi all,

I am currently planning our home audio / video etc and need some help.

I have arranged with my builder to have my friend who is qualified to run CAT 6 throughout the home (About 42 cables) back to a central location where it will be patched into my 12 RU wall mount cabinet. This is the same location I am having the Telstra Phone and FTA antenna terminated.

For Data storage I am thinking of going for a QNAP solution:

http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=167

This will allow for redundancy and high speed data throughout our home network.

For Video where we want a Blu-ray player we are planning to go for the Popcorn hour C300 (With Blu-ray drive).

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/ ... nItemId=47

In rooms where Blu-ray is not required (Just mkv, avi etc) we will go for the A 200.

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/ ... nItemId=47

Both these devices will stream HD digital video from the NAS.

That leaves us with three things left that we would like to achieve. They are in order of priority:

1: Sound delivered to roof speakers throughout the house and backyard (Preferably digital audio, mp3 etc controlled by the IPAD)
2: Automated Curtains (at least 3 positions open, Half Open, Closed)
3: Automated lighting.

Any ideas especially around the Curtains would be great, We do not have a lot of budget to get these things done so a system like C-Bus is currently not an option.

Thank you.

Hi

In my last house I used this system http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3M-Motorized-Curtains-Electric-Curtain-Tracks-Timer-/180708324346?pt=AU_Curtains_Blinds_Windows&hash=item2a130e33fa (Not from that seller, but it looks identical to the one I had). It worked OK, but it was a bit tricky to get the tension right. You can stop it at any position, but only by pressing the stop button at the appropriate time - otherwise it will fully open or fully close.

What is the scope for lighting control - just your home theatre or the whole house? If it is just one room you might get away with some plug in modules for lamps; otherwise there isn't much of a 'cheap' option that I am aware of.

Paul

For sound we are using 7 sonos boxes which both independently and take sound from tv/boxee for putting tv sound through ceiling speakers

Lighting control- playing with zwave to see if it is worth implementing

Hope that helps

How are you finding the Z-Wave? I can't find any pricing online at Australian web sites, although I haven't looked thoroughly. US pricing for 240v modules seems to be about $100 per circuit.

I can see the attraction for wireless in a retro-fit environment, although the modules I have seen seem to be limited to one circuit per switch. I have seen modules that go in the ceiling, so this could avoid that limitation; however you are then $100 for the module and (say) $60 for the switch. This is about what I am paying for C-Bus, although I am saving a bit by running the low voltage cable and doing the programming myself.

Paul

Thanks for the responses, I will have to check them out. A friend of mine suggest Nuvo for the sound so i am also checking that out. Once i am more details i will post the results up here.

Thanks again.

I have the QNAP, but the 4 bay unit, and it's been good. Do get a UPS for it though.

Have you considered a Smart TV, that can stream from the Twonky Server built into the QNAP? That's what I'm thinking of doing, supplementing it with either a Dune (when they release the unit with the new Sigma chipset) or Popcorn Hour Blu-Ray player/streamer. I also have a PS3 which will also stream and do Blu-Ray for another TV.

I assume you also have a switch that will be able to do LACP, or the QNAP's dual Giga port will be wasted.

As someone else has said, you can use Z-Wave, which I'm also investigating; I have found several suppliers of Australian Z-Wave products, simply by using Google. Note the frequency for Z-Wave is different in different regions.

Like another poster, I'm using mainly the Sonos for streaming music around the house, into the outdoor area, and en suite, a combination of my old ZP80 and ZP100, as well as newer ZP120/Connect:Amp and S5. My Yamaha receiver/amp is also Ethernet connected, so can also stream music that way.

Curtains and blinds are currently a problem, as I haven't found a good integrated solution; we are looking at Luxaflex due to their duette blinds which has high insulation values, but don't think their controller connects to anything.

Main thing is to get the structured cabling right; I've been amazed at how many we needed (5 in the master bedroom alone, 8 in the home office excluding the server and data cabinet), even with wireless around the house, due to high bandwidth streaming and everything being ethernet connected. The beauty of the QNAP is you can set up a second one NAS as a mirror if bandwidth requirement of one is insufficient.

a wiki artical I wrote: http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Specifying_a_New_House_Build_Or_Retro_Fit_Network_Install

woot my Leet post...


Posts: 1337 = Leet aka elite hacker/ gamer talk.. (nerd)

I just bought a new TV with DLNA that streams video from the computer using only an ethernet cable. It really works unbelievably well however there a few problems. I have to run two different DLNA servers on the comp cause each has their quirks. The server are good however and convert on the fly so you dont have issues with incompatible file formats. They are also free.

I thought about using a NAS but went with a HTPC instead. Find it much more powerful and flexible. Also cheaper.

I keep hearing 5 data points in master bedroom. what is wrong with 2 data points and just adding a 5 port switch?

Bulk, flexibility, speed, power consumption and complication.

You have to hide the switch somewhere, it may be on the wrong wall (we have ours on 3 different walls, as where we use the computer/phone is different to where the AV equipment is, and the TV is mounted somewhere else again.

Also now you have to share that Gb connection, power yet another device (single 16 or 24 port switch more power efficient than a stack of switches), and if there is a connection problem, adds another device to trouble shoot, adds potential compatibility problems.

That's not many for the home office.

Phone and fax lines are 2, then printer and main PC are another 2. If more than one person in there, that's another 1. Add notebooks, that's 2 more. Plus at least one spare for testing. That assumes as in you wiki the server goes into the garage, otherwise there will be 2 each for the server and the mirror for the server, then add ADSL unfiltered connection plus the Ethernet on the other side. If separate AP, yet another! Phew! Or get a rack for the server, switch and ADSL.

802.11ac is already in draft and is capable of 500mbs-1gbs. just 2 years ago, 802.11n was still draft. now they r everywhere and u wouldn't think of going back to 802.11g. For most scenarios, 500mbs will suffice unless you are streaming HD.

It's only a guide...

Don't forget, WiFi bandwidth is shared, and often quoted for ideal situations. The NAS the OP mentioned can stream over 120MB/s with link aggregation, which most commercial switches will handle (and with the setup asked for, especially with 42 end points and 12 RU cabinet, I'd suggest that's the way the OP is going). You then have multiple HD streams (at least two from the OP, perhaps more), as well as music (although the Sonos, if the OP goes that way, have their own mesh network) and some distance from the AP... Don't forget, with overheads, even with 500Mb/s, you end up with 50MB/s in ideal situations. On top of that, by the time the new draft standards are in place, and devices are available, we will be streaming 4K or higher video. And the OP needs it now.

I "road tested" the Nuvo Essentia which a friend of mine has recently had installed and i loved it. I think this is going to be the way we go for the home audio. This allow for Six zones which meets our needs.

As for wireless i will be using wireless for the Portable devices eg: IPAD, IPhones, Laptops when outside etc but where possible i would rather have Cat 6, I have invested in a 48 port Cisco 3560 GB switch with will more than handle my home needs and as this is a layer 3 device will allow me to route traffic as i please... Guest Vlan etc. (Where Guests are plugged into the same physical network but have limited access based on their Device name (Mac address).

Still investigating what we are going to do for the Blinds and lighting atm, I have to check out the Z-wave and see if it suits.

Thanks for all the replies so far, Has been a great help.

All good until you put a bag of popcorn into the microwave and it kills your wifi signal. Wifi is great as a secondary connection for your mobile devices, for everything else there's ethercard^H^H^H^Hnet.

I have had pretty good success with zwave so far. The setup can be a little clunky at times- but thats my issue (and not unique to zwave or vera (the server I am using). The point is it works well from the users perspective.

At the moment I have a couple of light dimmers, some appliance controllers, a sensor unit (light, movement, temp etc), door sensor and a camera (really just for s#$ts and giggles). And it all works really nicely together. I have even got sonos to integrate with it so when a certain scene is activated sonos can play, pause, change inputs etc. For example the garage door going up triggers a coming home scene (if it is set to away) and turns on garage light, hallway lights and turns sonos on, the timer on the scene turns the garage light off after three minutes. Some might say lazy, I say handy!

I hope it scales well, as it has impressed me so far and I have been getting some decent prices on the modules.

As for person asking about switches I intend to get some of these for our new house with each button controlling a function. Of course there are one button versions too, but for the time being in that circumstance I would just use the existing switch with the zwave module.
http://www.diyhomeautomation.com.au/hom ... witch.html

The whole australian frequency thing is true, but in my opinion a farce- it just makes things more expensive given our small market.

One important point, which I believe is the case for all new houses anyway ?? is that the switches must be neutral wired, perhaps someone can clarify if this is indeed the case in all new homes?
Cheers
Dan

Hi

I have seen posts on another site that say that all switches always have a neutral and other posts that say they never have a neutral

There is no requirement in the wiring rules that the neutral be present at the switch, it really just seems to depend on the electrician. The electrician who is doing my house told me that he wires the neutral at the switch because he finds it easier that making connections while standing on a ladder or working in the ceiling. This technique does use a little more cable though because you need to loop down to the switch rather than simply in the ceiling.

My last house was built in the early 80s and before that I lived in an apartment built in the mid to late 90s. Neither had neutral at the switch.

Paul

So xxennon how are you intergrating sonos? have you written a java plugin or the like?

In the MIOS developers area (I think that is where it was can't quite remember and am at work so can't check) someone has written a connector- takes a bit of fiddling to get it working but it does work.