[journeyguy]


My house is getting ready to pre wire next week. Here is what I have finalized with my Control 4 installer. This will be a Control4 home, Audio / Video distribution set up with matrix switch , A/V closet will be in family ent room on second floors and all words will  terminate here.

 

House is a 2 story 5300 sqft first and second floor , unfinished basement.

 

First floor :

 

1) Great Room

5.2 HT in Great Room : 3 front LCR in wall speakers and 2 surround in ceiling speakers. TV will be on wall. 

Behind the TV - 1 Run of CAT 6 shielded , 2 Runs of CAT 6 unshielded , 1RG 6 quad , 1 - 50' binary B6 active series griptek high speed HDMI. ( Thinking of adding another local hdmi for gaming console )

1 RG6 quad for Subwoofer

14-2 speaker wires ( should I go 12-2  speaker wires. Room is 23 X 21 )

 

2) Guest bedroom :

 

14-2 speaker wires 

TV will be on wall : 1 RG6 quad, 1 CAT 6 shielded , 2 CAT 6 unshielded. 1 - 50' binary B6 active series griptek high speed HDMI

14-2 speaker wires ( thinking to remove it and put a sound bar )

 

3) Study :

 

No TV planned. 2 CAT 6 unshielded. One CAT6 will be used for cordless phone base station. 1 RG6 quad

14-2 speaker wires

 

4) Dinning :

 

14 -2 speaker wire ( Thinking to skip speakers in dinning as this room will not be used often . Not sure here....)

 

5 ) Kitchen / island : 

14-2 speaker wires

 

6 ) Sun room :

14-2 speaker wires

 

7) Garage 1 and Garge 2 ( 4 car ) 

 

2 set of 14-2 speaker wires ( thinking to skip this , not sure we really need speakers in the garage )

 

In addition adding 2 runs of CAT 6 for Control4 touch screen on first floor. Location TBD ( Thinking one in kitchen other near great room )

 

8) Covered patio

 

14-2 speaker wires

 

Second Floor :

 

Family ent room above great room : 23 X21

 

7.1 HT set up with Projector

12-2 speaker wires. 3 front Towers , 4 surround in ceiling speakers

For projector : 1 CAT 6 shielded , 2 CAT unshielded ( do I need 2 CAT 6 behind projector ? ) 1 - 50' binary B6 active series griptek high speed HDMI. 1 RG6 quad

1RG6 quad for subwoofer

 

Master bedroom :

 

14-2 speaker wires ( Thinking to remove it and just put a sound bar ?? )

Behind TV - 1 CAT 6 shielded , 2 CAT 6 unshielded. ( Should I take 1 CAT 6 on our headboard wall and hard wire if for internet ? ), 1 RG6 quad, 1 - 70' binary B6 active series griptek high speed HDMI

 

Bedroom 2, 3 and 4 ( kids bedrooms )

Behind TV ( TV not planned right now )  - 2 CAT 6 , 1 RG6 quad. ( should I use 1 CAT 6 hard wired for internet , then I am left with one CAT 6 behind TV or add another run of CAT 6 ? )

14-2 speaker wires ( Thinking to remove the speakers from here and add later )

 

Master bathroom :

14-2 speaker wires

 

In addition adding 2 runs of CAT 6 for Control4 touch screen on second floor. Location TBD ( Thinking one in master bedroom and one in the hallway )

 

1 - CAT 6 shielded from basement to Attic for network

2- extra runs of RG6 quad from basement to attic for adding more sat recovers in future

2 - extra runs of CAT 6 from basement to attic.

I am also running 2 " PVC conduit straight shot from basement to attic and caped. 2" flex conduit from all the TV's and projector locations to attic.

Motion sensors, glass break, door contacts ,sump pump sensor, 2 key pads , 5 CAT 6 for external cameras and 2 CAT 6 for internal cameras on first floor.

 

The reason I have all those long runs of HDMI is I want to avoid baluns and try out with HDMI. Do you think I should be ok with 50-70' hdmi runs over shielded CAT 6 / baluns ? This would be my first preference or you think I am just wasting money on HDMI's or vice versa on so many CAT6 and that has one shielded CAT 6 also ( I am paying a bomb on shielded CAT 6 ) ?

In order to save some upfront pre wiring cost the installer is saying delete all the HDMI cables as there are chances it might get damaged at the time of drywall and basically I could have a dead HDMI cable. But then that could happen to any of the CAT 6 etc ?? He is telling me since I have conduit he can pull in HDMI later on if really need to run TV's on HDMI instead of baluns. Is that a good idea ?

 

Any other wiring I need to consider or any room you think where I should add more CAT 6 etc ? Please advice.

 

Thanks !!

 

[kaadaq]

Just curious, why the mix of unshielded and shielded CAT6? The price difference between UTP and STP isn't really that great, and STP opens up a variety of current and future solutions (including HDMI distribution).


If you're running the attic chase, you might not need to run the cables too. Just use a large enough pipe. Also, consider using galvanized instead of PVC -- my builder called that "solar ready" as you could use it as conduit for power feeds from solar panels.


Consider passing your speaker wires through your Control4 control locations -- if you ever change to a different system that's amped in the keypads (assuming C4 isn't), you'll have good flexibility.


Enjoy!! I can vouch that good planning can lead to a system that gives you a lot of enjoyment!

 

[journeyguy]

Cat 6 stp only for Baluns incase my Long run of hdmi's have performance issues or don't work. Not sure which option is the best , hdmi's if they survive the drywall installation etc or Baluns

 

[kaadaq]

I went with baluns (Monoprice 8151) and STP, and I've had good success. I put plug ends on the in-wall cables, and used inline connectors to give a clean wallplate. My longest run is about 80'. No issues whatsoever (there is sometimes a small interruption in one display when another station turns on, but that's minor, at least to me). What I like is that I have a lot of flexibility of where to put my TV's (I have two STP + RG6 in each gang, with multiple gangs in each room...and since I used Smurf tube in the wall, I have access to add more cabling if necessary. I was even able to hook my PC to the unit, by using a USB balun with wireless kb/mouse.


I'd still encourage you to standardize on the STP -- again, it's not THAT much more expensive (If the builder is soaking you on the CAT6, offer to supply it. You can get it in pull boxes and buy multiple boxes to make it easy for the electricians). You don't know what the next technology will be that will benefit from it.

 

[joe277]

Shielded Cat cable is HIGHLY recommended when using HDMI Extenders. Less necessary when using HDBaseT, but still a plus.


Also, I would not recommend the Binary Active HDMI cable. I use Binary HDMI cable all the time, but have not heard great things about their Active cables. if you want to use Active cables I would use the Ethereal cables. They are DPL Laps ( www.DPLLABS.com ) tested and approved (some models up to 90ft!!!)


If you need to use HDMI Extenders (baluns are Analog devices, not digital like HDMI devices) I would highly recommend a Just Add Power system. It's very versatile and powerful. It's network dependent though. Binary and Atlona have great HDMI Extenders as well.



12-2 speaker wire is only necessary if the distance is farther than 50/60ft if using 8ohm speakers. Check out
http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/speaker-cable-gauge



Usually I run 2 Cat 6 (at least 1 shielded), 1 4wire 22awg Low Voltage wire (great for IR flashers/receivers if needed), and a RG6 to the TV. A second RG6 to the TV is most likely not usable, but an extra RG6 and extra Cat cable is always a good idea if you're willing to pay for it. I would definitely run the HDMI cable if not too far away. But if there's access to run it later that's always a good possibility, just more expensive afterwards.


Conduit from basement to attic should just be regular PVC, no need for flex tube in that situation. You could also put a junction box in a closet on the second floor for additional access. Also, just make sure if you use a pipe to run wire for the pre-wire you run a second one that's empty.


I like the idea of running 2 Cat cables to the touchscreen location(s). That's a good idea even if it's not required. And I would definitely have more than one touchscreen.... I guess it just depends on what you are using them for.


As per your other AVS post.... only use DVC speakers in areas like bathrooms. They will have less bass. If you are looking for better Bass and freq response larger 8" in-ceilings will help with that. Also, companies like Monitor Audio (my direct speaker line) have speakers with enclosed back boxes that help with bass issues. You can also buy back boxes for most speaker brands that will help with speaker performance.


I do not think you mentioned anything about running wire for Wireless Access Points. This is very important in a house that large. You'll need to decide between regular consumer grade or enterprise grade. I would also recommend an enterprise grade router. Cisco and Ubiquiti have $100-$150 enterprise routers.


Lastly, I am not a fan of Control4. It's not a horrible product, but since becoming a URC Total Control dealer I don't think I could ever recommend Control4. They have a couple features that Total Control lacks, but URC is catching up fast and it's much more customizable. URC's Total Control's 2 biggest pluses over Control4 are their Universal remotes and their Audio System.