I have been planning a new home theater system/network and would like some advice. As I've spent time researching products and systems, its become clear that there are many different setups and at times I feel like I don't even know what I don't know. I don't plan on getting this all done in one fell swoop, as my monthly budget doesn't allow for a ton of discretionary spending...rather, it will be done in phases.
Here is what I envision the final product looking like and being able to perform.
A) Wired internet access to each room. I already have coaxial outlets in each room but not all are hot at the moment.
B) Sufficient Wifi Coverage for the house
C) A central storage system to hold my collection of TV shows, DVDs and BluRays, and music library.
D) The capability to stream the video and audio to various output devices throughout the house.
I currently have a very basic setup with Time Warner. Heres a rough diagram of my house with the wiring and the location of coaxial outlets.
Here is the list of rooms in the diagram, the devices I am using, and what I'd like to upgrade to:
Room 1)
current: coaxial hooked to wireless router, only ethernet plug-in.
future plan: wall mounted TV with cable access, desktop computer using TV as its monitor, stereo system. (primary location for playing music)
Room 2)
current: TV using time warner cable box
future plan: New TV/cable box, PS3, stereo system
Room 3)
current: desktop computer(needs upgraded), coax outlet.
future plan: new desktop, TV with cable access
Room 4)
current: TV with cable access (no cable box)
future plan: TV with cable access, device for streaming video from network.
Room 5)
same as above.
In order to keep this thread (as)simple(as possible), I'll focus on the first thing I would like to get planned and accomplished, the network. I have a basic idea of what I need to do, but like I said I have no experience doing this. If you see that I am attacking a problem from the wrong angle or missing something critical, please let me know.
The plan is to first redo the coaxial network, with the main cable line into the house going into my office (instead of the outdoor box). From that point, the cables would disperse to 5 outlets (eventually will add more). Here is what I was envisioning:
This location would also be where I attach the network hub, and run cat5 cables to each of the outlets around the house. Lastly, I would keep my wireless router in this room. Here is what I am imagining the network layout looking like:
Is this a good overall plan for laying down a functional network that will be able to handle the usage I am planning for the future?
Any tips and suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
Here is what I envision the final product looking like and being able to perform.
A) Wired internet access to each room. I already have coaxial outlets in each room but not all are hot at the moment.
B) Sufficient Wifi Coverage for the house
C) A central storage system to hold my collection of TV shows, DVDs and BluRays, and music library.
D) The capability to stream the video and audio to various output devices throughout the house.
I currently have a very basic setup with Time Warner. Heres a rough diagram of my house with the wiring and the location of coaxial outlets.
Here is the list of rooms in the diagram, the devices I am using, and what I'd like to upgrade to:
Room 1)
current: coaxial hooked to wireless router, only ethernet plug-in.
future plan: wall mounted TV with cable access, desktop computer using TV as its monitor, stereo system. (primary location for playing music)
Room 2)
current: TV using time warner cable box
future plan: New TV/cable box, PS3, stereo system
Room 3)
current: desktop computer(needs upgraded), coax outlet.
future plan: new desktop, TV with cable access
Room 4)
current: TV with cable access (no cable box)
future plan: TV with cable access, device for streaming video from network.
Room 5)
same as above.
In order to keep this thread (as)simple(as possible), I'll focus on the first thing I would like to get planned and accomplished, the network. I have a basic idea of what I need to do, but like I said I have no experience doing this. If you see that I am attacking a problem from the wrong angle or missing something critical, please let me know.
The plan is to first redo the coaxial network, with the main cable line into the house going into my office (instead of the outdoor box). From that point, the cables would disperse to 5 outlets (eventually will add more). Here is what I was envisioning:
This location would also be where I attach the network hub, and run cat5 cables to each of the outlets around the house. Lastly, I would keep my wireless router in this room. Here is what I am imagining the network layout looking like:
Is this a good overall plan for laying down a functional network that will be able to handle the usage I am planning for the future?
Any tips and suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
It can be a bit intimidating, but there were a lot of resources available online and in the forums, and now running cables is a breeze (mostly due to my ninja like reflexes when moving around in the attic!)
