I recently bought a new construction house. I don't think the builder was that experienced with structured wiring, but then again I'm not either, so maybe I'm just missing the genius of his wiring plan. Either way, I was hoping someone could help explain to me why he may have wired the house the way he did and also answer a few questions about the best way to fix (what I believe) are some wiring errors.
Wiring Summary
- The vast majority of the wiring terminates in the utility room (UR) where the cabling from outside enters the house.
- In the family room, there is a wiring box (FAM1) above the fireplace that appears to have been wired for a wall-mounted TV and in-wall speakers. Speaker wires run from FAM1 back to UR suggesting to me that the plan was for the AVR driving the family room speakers to be located in UR.
- Coax cables (x2) run from a second wiring box (FAM2) near the floor next to the fireplace back to UR. This suggests to me that the plan was for the DTV/cable set-top box (STB) to be located next to the fireplace (i.e., not in UR with the AVR).
- There are also coax cables (x3) connecting FAM2 (where STB will be located) to FAM1 (where the TV will be mounted). My only guess is that these are for component video from STB to TV. Unfortunately, no HDMI cable between FAM2 and FAM1 (or between UR and FAM1).
In summary, the wiring is:
UR --COAX(x2)--> FAM2/STB --COAX(x3)--> FAM1/TV; and
UR --speaker wires--> FAM1/speakers.
So, it looks like the wiring was designed for the AVR to sit in a different room from the STB, meaning I'd have to either (1) route audio from the STB at FAM2 back to UR then out to the speakers at FAM1, or (2) use 2 STBs for the one TV, one for video in FAM and one for audio in UR. Both seem ridiculous to me, and I think the builder made a huge wiring mistake.
Does this configuration seem normal/correct or is this clearly a screw-up?
Either way, what would be the best way to proceed?
FYI - it's a big room and I think I need something more than the TV's speakers to make TV audible. However, I don't need surround sound in this room. We just want to be able to hear dialog clearly. Also, if useful, there is a CAT5e line running from the UR to FAM2 and another from FAM2 to FAM1.
So, which of these options (or any write-in candidates) would be best:
1. Use the in-wall speakers for WHA only and use an AVR co-located with the STB to power 2 or 3 external speakers mounted near the TV.
2. Same as #1, but use the local AVR to feed R/L line level outputs to the TV speakers as well as to drive an external center channel speaker (is this possible with most AVRsoutputting line-out L/R signals and a center-channel speaker signal simultaneously?)
3. I do have a spare STB, so as ridiculous as it sounds I could use two STBs for the TV, one in UR for audio, another at FAM2 for video. I'd always have to change channels/programs on them both in unison, which seems like a major pain.
4. Use an HDMI extender to tx HDMI signals from UR to fireplace (~ 40 ft) and place STB and AVR both in UR. This would mean I'd have to tackle all the issues that come with HDMI extenders.
5. Write off the in-wall wiring and just use a wireless HDMI solution set up in the UR with both the AVR and STB.
I'd appreciate any input, even if it's just to tell me they screwed up. Thanks in advance.
Wiring Summary
- The vast majority of the wiring terminates in the utility room (UR) where the cabling from outside enters the house.
- In the family room, there is a wiring box (FAM1) above the fireplace that appears to have been wired for a wall-mounted TV and in-wall speakers. Speaker wires run from FAM1 back to UR suggesting to me that the plan was for the AVR driving the family room speakers to be located in UR.
- Coax cables (x2) run from a second wiring box (FAM2) near the floor next to the fireplace back to UR. This suggests to me that the plan was for the DTV/cable set-top box (STB) to be located next to the fireplace (i.e., not in UR with the AVR).
- There are also coax cables (x3) connecting FAM2 (where STB will be located) to FAM1 (where the TV will be mounted). My only guess is that these are for component video from STB to TV. Unfortunately, no HDMI cable between FAM2 and FAM1 (or between UR and FAM1).
In summary, the wiring is:
UR --COAX(x2)--> FAM2/STB --COAX(x3)--> FAM1/TV; and
UR --speaker wires--> FAM1/speakers.
So, it looks like the wiring was designed for the AVR to sit in a different room from the STB, meaning I'd have to either (1) route audio from the STB at FAM2 back to UR then out to the speakers at FAM1, or (2) use 2 STBs for the one TV, one for video in FAM and one for audio in UR. Both seem ridiculous to me, and I think the builder made a huge wiring mistake.
Does this configuration seem normal/correct or is this clearly a screw-up?
Either way, what would be the best way to proceed?
FYI - it's a big room and I think I need something more than the TV's speakers to make TV audible. However, I don't need surround sound in this room. We just want to be able to hear dialog clearly. Also, if useful, there is a CAT5e line running from the UR to FAM2 and another from FAM2 to FAM1.
So, which of these options (or any write-in candidates) would be best:
1. Use the in-wall speakers for WHA only and use an AVR co-located with the STB to power 2 or 3 external speakers mounted near the TV.
2. Same as #1, but use the local AVR to feed R/L line level outputs to the TV speakers as well as to drive an external center channel speaker (is this possible with most AVRsoutputting line-out L/R signals and a center-channel speaker signal simultaneously?)
3. I do have a spare STB, so as ridiculous as it sounds I could use two STBs for the TV, one in UR for audio, another at FAM2 for video. I'd always have to change channels/programs on them both in unison, which seems like a major pain.
4. Use an HDMI extender to tx HDMI signals from UR to fireplace (~ 40 ft) and place STB and AVR both in UR. This would mean I'd have to tackle all the issues that come with HDMI extenders.
5. Write off the in-wall wiring and just use a wireless HDMI solution set up in the UR with both the AVR and STB.
I'd appreciate any input, even if it's just to tell me they screwed up. Thanks in advance.
Since this is the daily TV, I'd like a stable solution. I've read through the CAT5-extender sticky-thread and have seen how hit-or-miss CAT5 solutions can be. I've tried some of the cheaper Amazon solutions myself on other TVs in the house with very limited success. I know the HDBaseT solutions are supposed to be more stable but, at $200 per TV, I was hoping to use the pre-wired component video solution for this TV if possible. I have a number of TVs in the house that I will definitely have to use CAT5 extenders on, and the $200 per TV will really start to add up.
