[archbid]

I have a new house that I am in the middle of wiring for whole house audio and Ethernet. I am perfectly comfortable with my current plan for both of these, including using Sonos in a whole-house wiring approach.


Where I am stuck is how to integrate the home theatre. I basically like the idea of keeping the systems distinct. Have the AV Receiver in the HT, wired to the surround sound speakers within the room. Connect a mac mini and a DVD/Blue Ray to the AV receiver and then send a HDMI line to the LCD.


I will be running CAT6 to the HT from the home run, but what else should I do to bridge? I am not looking to move my HT components downstairs - I like to see them and don't like IR repeater approaches.


Any ideas are most appreciated.

 

[chpwaman]

So, is your HT upstairs? You mention not wanting to move the components downstairs, but you also mention you want the components in the HT room.


When you ask how else you should bridge them...I guess it depends on what else do you want your HT components to be able to do in the rest of your house? You seem to know what you want to accomplish within the HT and you are going to run CAT wire to that HT...outside of distributing the video elsewhere in the house, I'm not sure there is much more you need to do (you have the audio portion taken care of with Sonos).

 

[jautor]

Having several cat5e/6 runs between the theater and the central 'home run' point will allow you to sync the theater with the rest of the house and vice versa. Send the pre-amp out from the theater to the whole house audio, and send a zone output to the theater. Video from the theater may also be useful - viewing whatever is being watched in the theater elsewhere in the house.


I did the same thing with my family room (and will with the theater as well). It works well for parties or other times where those normally independent systems want to be treated as one big "party mode" setup.


Jeff

 

[archbid]

My apologies.


The HT is on the ground floor, directly over the basement. There is a cabinet, but it is barely large enough to accommodate the AV receiver, much less the rest of a proper "home run".


The central wiring point is in the basement (not directly below the HT cabinet, but about 20' away).


I am not really considering using the HT components to drive video or audio in the rest of the house. I will run the RG6 to the other rooms, but there will only be one other TV in the kitchen/LR.


Can you have two video outs from an AV receiver? I am thinking one to the actual LCD panel and one to the home run.

 

[jautor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by archbid /forum/post/18256061


I am not really considering using the HT components to drive video or audio in the rest of the house. I will run the RG6 to the other rooms, but there will only be one other TV in the kitchen/LR.


Can you have two video outs from an AV receiver? I am thinking one to the actual LCD panel and one to the home run.

Yes, you can have two video outputs - all depends on the receiver, components and what you're going to do with it... You appear to be contradicting yourself, though, do you want to send video from the HT elsewhere? I would recommend that you wire for that capability (actually, both directions from your 'home run' location to/from the HT) regardless.


And by RG6, do you mean multiple runs for component video? A single/dual RG6 run is not the right solution for HD A/V distribution throughout the house. You either need more RG6, or 2-4x Cat5e/Cat6...


Jeff

 

[archbid]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jautor /forum/post/18256594


Yes, you can have two video outputs - all depends on the receiver, components and what you're going to do with it... You appear to be contradicting yourself, though, do you want to send video from the HT elsewhere? I would recommend that you wire for that capability (actually, both directions from your 'home run' location to/from the HT) regardless.


And by RG6, do you mean multiple runs for component video? A single/dual RG6 run is not the right solution for HD A/V distribution throughout the house. You either need more RG6, or 2-4x Cat5e/Cat6...


Jeff

You have my attention. For most of the rooms of the house, I am using standard structured cable (2 RG6, 2 Cat6). The real issue is between the HT and the wiring closet. How many RG6 do I need to a bedroom???

 

[jautor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by archbid /forum/post/18269571


You have my attention. For most of the rooms of the house, I am using standard structured cable (2 RG6, 2 Cat6). The real issue is between the HT and the wiring closet. How many RG6 do I need to a bedroom???

Depends, of course.

For component video-over-coax, you'd want a total of 5 (3 for video, 2 for audio), which is why you'll see folks gravitating towards the HD-over-cat5 balun products. For those, you'll consume two Cat5e/6 cables. If you go that route, I'd recommend you run four cat5e/6 cables to each location you plan to run HD: 2 for HD, 1 for Ethernet, and 1 for whatever else comes up.


Jeff