The more I read - the more confused I get....We are building and now sorting out the cabling required...
Split level house - garage, media room, gym/bed 4 downstairs. 3 beds, study,lounge,kit,family etc upstairs.
We want to future proof - but only to a budget..there are only 2 of us in the house.
What we think we want is:
central point in lounge cupboard with video/audio, data and telephone.
alarm panel in master bedroom.
DVR system to record CCTV.

5 to 1 audio in lounge and media room, all other rooms will have - A bus
a distribution amp in lounge cupboard which will send cd, ipod, or other music source to any room via A bus. (we may put a couple of local sources for ipod in some rooms).
video/dvd/austar(satelite) - running coax rg6 to all rooms where there may be a tv.
Using a MATV as distribution for tv and telephone/data.
2 x cat 5 runs to all wallplates where there is a coax plus a few other cat 5 runs.
Patch bay in garage to use for data/telephone/adsl etc. to use with MATV
bosch 16+ alarm system
seperate cctv camera system.

Do we need cat 6 - what is the difference between that and cat 5?
I read somewhere that we may need certain cabling to handle HD tv,
and another run of RG6 for recording the tv ?
what about the new national broadband network - do we need to wire for that?

Can anyone see anything missing in our list, or any problems or suggestions.....

find a local cabler and talk to them....

I will do that, but I also want other peoples opinions, suggestions etc.....what have they done, what did they forget etc etc...
not all cablers here have the best interests of the clients at heart....
I dont want to be sold anything I dont need.....and I would like to be more informed before I talk to the cablers.

My 2 cents is simple. and i love the statement "I dont want to be sold anything I dont need."

Just about everything that you have listed except the data network/tv (which you cant really get wrong) is things that you dont need.

A-Bus audio distribution, bosch security system, seperate CCTV system, smart wiring ect ect.

What you'll get at end point is a number of different systems that will never connect, never provide you with the functionality that you desire, and more importantly will never prepare you for the future.

Dont get me wrong this is not a criticism of you, rather this is a criticism of the way this industry works and how it is still stuck in the analog mentality and way of doing things. Unfortunately theres not enough people out there around Australia that can deliver a proper digital solution thats going to provide you with a system that will make your home fun and exciting to live in and easy to manage.

You want a hint.. Dont smart cable your home because thats just a con, what is it? what products are you cabling for? how are they going to future proof you?

What you should be doing is trying to identify a digital solution with digital products that is flexible and modular so when it suits, you can upgrade parts of the system for the life of the home. So what i would be doing is planning and specing my home for those products and running the cabling for those products.

What you should be doing is trying to identify a digital solution with digital products that is flexible and modular so when it suits, you can upgrade parts of the system for the life of the home. So what i would be doing is planning and specing my home for those products and running the cabling for those products.[/quote]


so which products would do this and are affordable..???

I've just gone through this. I've installed 4 cat6 and 2 RG6 cables per TV point. Two cat6 cables per data point. And dedicated speaker cables for each speaker point.

the actual hardware requirements I'll nut out in a few months - but initial research is leading me to Nuovo for audio streaming. 4x8 video matrix ( HDMI over cat6) and I'll have a simple automation system to control this - likely to be PUSH controls

Smart cabling/ wiring is the marketing term for structured cabling which is the process of having a cabling system that is a Non application specific and usable for all types of data and signal transmission with in a house/ business. Not only can you put IP traffic of a Cat6 cable but Audio and video signals.

so it becomes a true back bone of any system and with the aid of baluns you can then do HDMI over cat6 and or audio over cat6

the only time I install cat6 for a specifice task it isn't connected to the main patch system thus being able to be customized.



General Tips: How many and where…

Pick a space for your equipment to end up. Suggested places: Garage, study/ home office and or under the stairs if you have them. The place will need good ventilation and or good in rack cooling.

This a rough guide/ Bare minimum on how many and in what rooms/ areas you may want to consider getting your Cabler to run stuff.

Main Bed room: 4 x Data + 2 x TV

Minor Bed rooms: 2 x Data + 1 x TV

Study/ Home Office: 2 x Data + 1 TV on one wall, and 2 x Data on another wall

Home Theatre: 4 x Data + 2 x TV

Garage: 2 x Data + 1 x TV

For Two story Houses.

1 x Data in a high place for a WAP (Wireless Access Point)

Cabling in place for IP Security Cameras

Cabling in Place for front Door Intercom.

Areas that you may think are a waste:
1 x Data Behind the fridge, 2 x Data in the laundry and any area (single story only) where you may add a back to base security system. If you are building a 2 story house you will need to get all you’re cabling in place before the gyprock goes up. You may also need in wall conduits

will cat5e work instead of cat6?

not that much difference inthe price...

won't be suitable for any future equipment when 10GIGe becomes the norm.

plus the added twist rate addes better noise screenign for video related transmissions

This is exactly what a HAI system integrator person told me at a large electrical store in Melbourne.

now thats a good idea - sadly too late for me

Pugs,

Thats correct it is the 'marketing' term for stuctured wiring but the problem with this is that terminology has lost all creditability due to the fact that all the turkey's out there do whats called 'smart wiring' that at the end of the day don't deliver the functionality that the custormer expects it too. Thus giving your terminology simply a bad name. And when their delivering these smart cabling packages for rough in (which is common) of 10k im not suprised thats the result.

You branding yourself with other data cablers and smart cablers is your loss because your far from stupid as most of them.

so which products would do this and are affordable..???[/quote]

https://www.ness.com.au/Index.asp - Ness M1

http://www.homeauto.com/main.asp - HAI omni

I also read somewhere that if you have satelitte tv and want to record on a pvr then you need 2 feeds of rg6. Is that correct?

Hi

If you want to use the Foxtel or Austar PVRs (IQ or MyStar) then you need two feeds from your satellite dish plus one from your FTA antenna, for a total of 3.

If you are on Foxtel cable then you only need a single RG6 (plus a separate FTA antenna feed if you want to be able to watch FTA without using the box.)

Paul

Excellent advice !

As everyone has said, go Cat 6; the price of the install makes the small additional cost of Cat 6 insignificant. It can be used for voice or data.

Personally for music, I've the Sonos. Digital media is stored on the NAS, which streams to the Sonos via one wired point, the the rest wirelessly, as well as video to the PS3 with Twonky and in future another media streamer.

I didn't go Cat 6 in every room as I have 2 APs with dual band, but did wire up the media area and master bedroom for Cat 6 for streaming.

Have a 24 port Krone patch, which does the phones as well, with a 16 port rack mount switch which supports port trunking to the NAS.

FWIW, with a NAS, get yourself a UPS.

What is your aim for the system to be able to do, what equipment do you have and will be getting.

Just want to put some future proofing in...not so much for us as for sale ability in the future. There are only 2 of us in the house... Half the house is a cathedral ceiling, so all cabling needs to go in before the gyprock..... We want music in most rooms, but background not kicking except the media room and lounge which will have proper systems in. Alarm and security is important, so we were looking at the bosch 16+ alarm system, plus some cameras with a hard disc recorder. Tv - austar ( we already have the dish on the shed on the block)and digital, although our current picture on the block with digital and analogue is not good at all. we have just got adsl on the block - so we will run cabling ( 3 phase, telephone and some cat 5/6 through from the shed to the house....) we dont have any equipment yet except austar dish and the 5 to 1 surround system for the lounge and media room....

I think what you are looking to do is a bit over kill if it is just for future sale, very few people will pay extra or even know what to do with it.

Rodda suggests a product from I think Elan that can do the music and video distribution

Wire points were you want you cameras put and any where that you will want internet and especially near TV points, Pugs suggests 4 points however I have only done 2 points because if you run out of points you can just but a small switch.

You are probably better off just getting the Austar dish moved to the house.

I suggest you look at getting a small media server, you can than put all DVDs on it a stream them to any data point using a WDlive box, xbox360 or any number of bluray players or TVs that have DNLA.