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Bought New house and pre-wired need input to what A/V system will be a better fit

post #1 of 10
2/2/13 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
two months ago bought a brand spanking new home...So here is how pre wiring is like

top floor
-5 bedrooms
- near tv location
2-Cat5
2-coax
1-power source.
-near light switches of each room 1-Cat5 cable
-two ceiling speakers in each room

middle floor
Family/sitting room open to kitchen
-2 cat5
-2 coax
-2 cat5 near light switches (left and right slide of the room)
-4 ceiling room speakers (family room)
-4 ceiling speakers (kitchen)

Formal dinning and sitting area
-2 speakers each
-1 cat5 cable near light switches

Computer room
near tv loaction
-2 Cat5
-2 Coax
-2 ceiling speakers
-1 cat5 near electric switch

Basement

Two rooms similiar setup as bedrooms

Theatre room

Front of the theatre room
2-hdmi
2-cat5
2-coax
and then 8 speak wires going to the media closet next to it.

-Media closet is next to theatre room and in the basement...all the cables from the house run to this closet.

My wants.
-all equipment should be located in the closet
-where possible use one piece of equipmnet...one dvd player...or one media storage server.
-able to play audio and video and internet radios....i have verizon fios
-don't care for lights and thermostat automation at this point...if recommended package comes with it so be it.
-should I go with Control4, Nuvo kind of systems or build my own...don't care either way...but have to be decent.

Budget is little tight...since invested in this house....if possible start small and keep on adding. I have great deal of knowledge in wiring and configuring electronics...if manuals or instructions provided should be able to do myself...

Thanks you in advance and reading through all this...and providing recommendation...
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post #2 of 10
2/2/13 at 10:17am
You need to read a whole bunch of threads in this forum. Keyword search for "WHA / Whole house audio" and "Matrix switch". Designing a system from scratch is either a DIY learning exercise or a hire-a-pro situation.

What's a reasonable budget for you?
How many rooms for audio / video do you need initially?

Two things to get you started:
1) Once you cross more than 4 sources and/or 4 displays, the cost for an HDMI matrix switch will go up dramatically. Try to stick with 4 shared sources, even if you need to go to 8 displays.
2) Integrating the video distribution system with the whole house audio system is a big jump in cost, and mostly leaves the DIY realm for dealer-installed system (Control4, etc.). So if you're planning to design / install / maintain this stuff yourself, keep those two separate.

Jeff
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post #3 of 10
2/2/13 at 10:34am
Thread Starter 
I am looking at initially spending 5k and than add as time and funds permit....

Initially, would like to have family room area and 2 bedrooms and theatre room connected....with both audio and video...

Any recommendation for 4x4 matrix?

I will do more searches also.
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post #4 of 10
2/2/13 at 1:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandhuh View Post

I am looking at initially spending 5k and than add as time and funds permit....

Initially, would like to have family room area and 2 bedrooms and theatre room connected....with both audio and video...

So video from the FIOS box(es), anything else? How many simultaneous sources? You may not need a matrix to start.

Audio from what sources? Internet / Pandora / iTunes?
Quote:
Any recommendation for 4x4 matrix?

Since you have 2 cat5e cables to your display locations, you can use the less-expensive (currently) 2-cable solutions. Monoprice has a kit that's cheap. The differences in quality are in the ability to switch sources without interruption - the cheap switches will likely have all screens blanking for a second or so when other rooms turn on or change inputs.

If you're just looking to remote the FIOS boxes - you'll be better off just using HDMI extenders over cat5e and dedicate a box to each room. Or split the HDMI from a FIOS box to cover a few rooms.


Jeff
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post #5 of 10
2/2/13 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 
I am assuming that 3 fios boxes i have can be connected to one 4x4 monoprice matrix . I can use three different feeds in different room.

Also, is it possbile to use master bedroom TV and sitting room (next to bedroom) able to use same feed.

I have sirius radio and other stream from internet radios....
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post #6 of 10
2/2/13 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandhuh View Post

I am assuming that 3 fios boxes i have can be connected to one 4x4 monoprice matrix . I can use three different feeds in different room.

Does FIOS have a DVR-sharing feature? Unless you're sharing DVR content, or want to watch the same thing in multiple rooms, fully populating an HDMI matrix with set-top boxes probably isn't worth the hassle.
Quote:
Also, is it possbile to use master bedroom TV and sitting room (next to bedroom) able to use same feed.

You can split the output from a matrix, but it starts to become a hassle. But for two displays in the same room, it's not a bad answer.
Quote:
I have sirius radio and other stream from internet radios....

Look at Sonos and the new NuVo P100/P200/P3100 systems. A larger system, and you'll need the unit and the companion music server, which will consume your initial budget.

Jeff
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post #7 of 10
2/4/13 at 3:50pm
That's how it came? Like already done? A spec house? If that's the case, HOLY SH*T, that's awesome, you are golden to go. CAT-5 to light switches is useless, so ignore that. I'd say throw some Sonos amps on the in-wall speakers, and whatever Sonos gear you want in the rest of the house, and then you're all set with the RG-6 and CAT-5. You can just light up ethernet and RG-6 as needed with a switch and cable splitters/amps from the central wiring closet. I'd avoid doing a matrix'ed HDMI system, much easier, and MUCH cheaper to just do MCE and extenders... Ethernet is ideal for that. In reality, all you need is RG-6 to the FIOS router and to your MCE PC, and then Ethernet wherever you have extenders or PCs. That's the ultimate setup.
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post #8 of 10
2/4/13 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BiggAW View Post

That's how it came? Like already done? A spec house? If that's the case, HOLY SH*T, that's awesome, you are golden to go.

No kidding!
Quote:
CAT-5 to light switches is useless, so ignore that.

I assume those are keypad locations at "switch height".
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post #9 of 10
2/4/13 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jautor View Post

No kidding!
I assume those are keypad locations at "switch height".

Yeah, man, I would love to walk into a spec house and see that!!! Not sure why anyone would want keypads, but it's better to walk in and see extra wires and go WTF than to not have enough. It's the amount of pre-wiring Ethernet and RG-6 that I like!
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post #10 of 10
2/4/13 at 11:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BiggAW View Post

That's how it came? Like already done? A spec house? If that's the case, HOLY SH*T, that's awesome, you are golden to go. CAT-5 to light switches is useless, so ignore that. I'd say throw some Sonos amps on the in-wall speakers, and whatever Sonos gear you want in the rest of the house, and then you're all set with the RG-6 and CAT-5. You can just light up ethernet and RG-6 as needed with a switch and cable splitters/amps from the central wiring closet. I'd avoid doing a matrix'ed HDMI system, much easier, and MUCH cheaper to just do MCE and extenders... Ethernet is ideal for that. In reality, all you need is RG-6 to the FIOS router and to your MCE PC, and then Ethernet wherever you have extenders or PCs. That's the ultimate setup.

+1 spot on
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