Ok, finally! You guys are speaking my language! We're currently only knee deep in our build process, but we're set to have a number of our rooms networked with Cat6 cabling and will be part of a Telstra Velocity neighbourhood. I will be attempting to set up a NAS device to the house as we'll have at least three rooms with TV's and speakers throughout the house.

You've all given me heaps to think about - what devices to run etc. but I'll be paying close attention to this thread in the future. All the tips/feedback you've given thus far have been great. How about a few on how to get the missus to OK all future purchases!?

I'm picking up this little bad boy tomorrow... 4 bay NAS that will connect to my gigabit network. You can put different size hard drives in it and it will work out the raid format automatically.. instead of just raid 5 where it would only use the smallest drive amount from each disk if you have different sizes.

So I can start but just putting my old drives in it and then as I buy 2TB HDD I just replace one drive at a time and it rebuilds it.. it has redundancy so that if one drive fails you just put a new drive in and it rebuilds without losing any data. For $500 it is a good device for home use and has built in itunes server, bittorrent client etc.. I will also set up an iSCSI drive which will give pretty fast speeds over the network.

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This is pretty much what I have been planning to do in terms of cabling (including conduit, draw wire, blanking plates etc) although if everything is distributed over the Cat6, what do you need the RG6 for? My electrical prestart will be in the next week, so I need to nail down exactly what to get the builder to put in.

I also want to know how the cabling works back at the HT room where all the gear is. I currently have everything switched through my AVR, so where would the matrix switch fit into this equation? To be able to control each source I imagine they need to go directly into the matrix switch, so would I then take an output from the matrix to the AVR and just run the HT room as another zone?

The 'matrix switch' is to give you access to multiple sources in more than 2 rooms/zones (many AV Receivers give you the ability to hear and see and even control stuff in one other zone, but it is not the best way to do it especially regarding controlling it...).

If you want the HT to be one of the zones off your 'matrix switch', said switch would want to be able to distribute HD Video (HDMI or at least Component Video) and digital audio (coax, optical or HDMI) (possibly also HD), unless you don't mind your HT not being capable of HD picture or sound. Said switch (system) would have a hefty $$$ I'd reckon...

That's why I usually suggest the HT and Multi-room systems be separate from each other. It's definitely simpler (certainly for the HT) and usually cheaper anyway.

Yeah, mine will do 3 zones (zone 2 a/v, zone 3 audio only) but I will probably just run the alfresco speakers off that.
HD distribution is the aim - I don't see the point otherwise (I might as well just run sources at each location). I am getting the idea that it will be quite expensive. Those Elan things aren't exactly cheap themselves.
How would you do this then? Run multiple outputs from the sources? Or are you talking about having separate sources altogether?

westy,

I am about 5-6 weeks away from house completion. I have already cabled to each tv point 2 x cat 6 and 1 x rg6. Ill keep you updated as to how i go. My mate whom is a cabler and myself are going to build this and get it working .. but at the moment we are not too sure what we are going to use as a mux or what we are going to use for sender/receivers for the hdmi dist system

Sounds good tpin70, I'd bee keen to know how it all works out. I think I might just run 32mm conduit everywhere to give me time to work out what to do...

That's the issue, isn't it. If the sources had multiple outputs (and you could switch between them at your various endpoints), or if you ran each source into a distribution amplifier then you wouldn't need a matrix switch. However, I can tell you from experience that setups like this are quite complicated (almost confusing) to setup and nowhere near as user friendly to run/control as a proper multi-room system.

It boils down to this: There are systems that are designed to do this stuff and do it well, but this is more of a specialised area and therefore you have to pay a more specialised price. To do this stuff on the cheap means using combinations of less specific equipment and the result is almost always definitely a less user-friendly one. It all depends on how well you want this all to work.

You still get what you pay for....

Agree with above 100 percent. Ive been looking at a lot of matrix switches 8 x 8 hdmi. I will move toward one with rs-232 connectivitiy to allow for programing. We (my cabler and I) are going to try and develop a system that is as user friendly as possible (my place will be the test bed). Me working in IT opens up a whole different world of options with programable firmware matrix switches. I will keep this thread updated as we go. it is just a PITA waiting for the house to be finished as where I am is not condusive to play with tecnical equipment. It was hard enough explaining to the mrs why my computer is set up on the kitchen table because we have no room for it anywhere else

Hehe, I work in IT as well tpin70, so bring on the techno-babble...

The controlling of each device becomes another hurdle especially if you have a couple of devices from the same manufacturer, i.e. multiple AVR’s for multichannel audio.

I'm intrigued by what you’re planning for the matrix switches, and how you’re going to control the devices as well. I look forward to reading about the results. Good luck with it all.

devices will be controlled with a central IR setup thats the easy part and most decent hdmi sender/receiver pairs have the IR setup with them or I have the option of an aftermarket IR installation. the problem im having is trying to weed the crap out with HDMI Mux s. So many options out there that tout this and that but are unable to fit the build.

your on the ball tpin70 but kiwi056 raises an interesting point of controlling it.
You should probably run one more cat5/6 for DLNA as this will probably start to take off quite soon.

Jezza, I know from experience with my wife and a few visitors, the programmable all in one remotes can and do become an issue for them. For instance my wife only uses the remote to power cycle all the devices on/off via a script. Even though it has a graphical interface she still prefers to use the remote that comes with Foxtel.

Thats right universal remotes are often very cumbersome and difficult in terms of usability for females in general. So the question i put foward to you is whats the one device thats the most powerful computing tablet that has had the biggest uptaking by the women population? and if so could be put in ones hand to control all elements of the home.. lighting/security/entertainment!

yeah i was talking to my cabler about this the other day .. when the house was a frame we put 32mm conduit droppers down the walls to allow us to add cable if required

this is very interesting thread and i really enjoyed reading it.. keep us how you go with your setup tpin...

damn, should have put the 32mm conduit during the build..

forgot to mention, if you can put everything in a drawing/diagram, i am sure everyone will appreciate it..

ok .. just an update ... ive ordered my
4x4 hdmi mux 1.3 standard (with remote and rs232) - approx 350.00
4 x sets of hdmi extenders (with ir) - approx 500.00

all cabling in the house is now terminated, fitted off and awaiting the equipment. the mux will intergrate into the home network and from what I have read i should be able to control via wifi. this means I might even be able to get working via Iphone. Ill advise how it goes and post a network diagram when all together for those interested