[SmackDaddy]

For those of you that have installed Avatrix, how difficult/time consuming is it? I haven't ever crimped CAT5e before, but I'm sure that's the least of my worries after spending some time on it.


I already have 2 CAT 5e in each room coming to a central location, so I don't think it will be that difficult, but that's why I'm asking.


Thoughts?

 

[mrl8zyboy]

Not really difficult if you have the experience of installing A/V Systems. Connections are the most important especially cat5.

 

[Audio Authority]

SmackDaddy,


I would defintely wait for MurrayW and RxMan1 to post, along with any others who have installed the AVAtrix. They can probably provide some great insights.


My personal recommendation is that if you can never go wrong with a qualified systems integrator, like the folks at www.cedia.org . We do recommend professional installation of the AVAtrix, but some folks are able to do it on their own because they have the necessary knowledge and equipment to do so.


If you have no experience terminating Cat-5 cables to TIA-568A or B standards, don't own crimping/termination tools, and don't have a Cat-5e continuity and pairing tester, then you need to hire a professional. Improperly terminating cables can cause severe damage to an AVAtrix (just like hooking up an amplifier or other electronic device incorrectly).


You may also want to consider how you're going to control the system - integrators provide advice on IR products, remotes, automation systems, and can help make sure all those work correctly. Again, you may have this knowledge (like several on this forum have already demonstrated), but if not, I would highly recommend you seek the assistance of a quality installation professional.


Trent

 

[MurrayW]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio Authority /forum/post/0


SmackDaddy,


I would defintely wait for MurrayW and RxMan1 to post, along with any others who have installed the AVAtrix. They can probably provide some great insights.


My personal recommendation is that if you can never go wrong with a qualified systems integrator, like the folks at www.cedia.org . We do recommend professional installation of the AVAtrix, but some folks are able to do it on their own because they have the necessary knowledge and equipment to do so.


If you have no experience terminating Cat-5 cables to TIA-568A or B standards, don't own crimping/termination tools, and don't have a Cat-5e continuity and pairing tester, then you need to hire a professional. Improperly terminating cables can cause severe damage to an AVAtrix (just like hooking up an amplifier or other electronic device incorrectly).


You may also want to consider how you're going to control the system - integrators provide advice on IR products, remotes, automation systems, and can help make sure all those work correctly. Again, you may have this knowledge (like several on this forum have already demonstrated), but if not, I would highly recommend you seek the assistance of a quality installation professional.


Trent

I had professionals do all the cat5e wiring for me. I am somewhat mechanically-challenged and although I think I would have eventually been able to pull the wire, termintate it and test it, by the time I got finished with doing all that the system would probably be obosolete, not to say that my wife would not have been pleased with my tearing up the walls much more than they needed to be. I felt comfortable doing everything else, so the bottom-line is if you are comfortable doing the work that's great but if not, hire a professional.


Good luck.


Murray

 

[stickyfingers]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MurrayW /forum/post/0


...I felt comfortable doing everything else...

Murray...what else was left - plugging in the component cables..?

(kidding of course)


Cheers.

 

[SmackDaddy]

Thanks guys. I don't currently own any terminating or testing equipment but would obviously purchase if I did it myself.


I have CAT 5e cable run to the vast majority of the locations where I will install breakout boxes already - I might have to extend a few locations to mount flat panels on the wall, etc.


However, I have decided to hire a professional organization for 1) speed of install; 2) installation of an equipment rack in a closet and 3) programming of remotes.


I will let you all know how it goes.

 

[MurrayW]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stickyfingers /forum/post/0


Murray...what else was left - plugging in the component cables..?

(kidding of course)


Cheers.

It's much more than that! You have the IR receiver and digital or analog sound cables to plug in also! Fortunately all the jacks were different sizes so I was able to figure out where each cable went.


Actually the part I felt comfortable with was the control part of it using both IR remotes and serial control with a tablet PC using MainLobby and the programming that goes with it.


I also soldered wires for the first time in my life as a result of this. When I ordered my 2nd set of IR receivers, I stupidly didn't look carefully enough at them and got the bare wire terminaters instead of the stereo mini-plug. I went to Radio Shack and Home Depot and bought the appropriate connectors and a soldering iron and amazingly enough ,managed to modify all 4 of the IR receivers without screwing any of them up or burning myself with the soldering iron.


Murray

 

[stickyfingers]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MurrayW /forum/post/0


It's much more than that! You have the IR receiver and digital or analog sound cables to plug in also! Fortunately all the jacks were different sizes so I was able to figure out where each cable went.


Actually the part I felt comfortable with was the control part of it using both IR remotes and serial control with a tablet PC using MainLobby and the programming that goes with it.


I also soldered wires for the first time in my life as a result of this. When I ordered my 2nd set of IR receivers, I stupidly didn't look carefully enough at them and got the bare wire terminaters instead of the stereo mini-plug. I went to Radio Shack and Home Depot and bought the appropriate connectors and a soldering iron and amazingly enough ,managed to modify all 4 of the IR receivers without screwing any of them up or burning myself with the soldering iron.

That all certainly deserves a tip of the hat...

Cheers Murray.

 

[RxMan1]

I didn't run any of the wire either. I just plugged in the box covers and went from there. I really like the AVAtrix ALOT. It does everything I want and does it in a simple way that the entire family can understand. I like the thing so much I'm considering adding more outputs to it. The only thing I need to get setup is a way to change inputs from one room while in another. I think this can be handled via serial and my htpc.


MurryW,

I have an usb-uirt on my htpc. Does this thing also emit ir signals or does it just receive them?

 

[MurrayW]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RxMan1 /forum/post/0


I didn't run any of the wire either. I just plugged in the box covers and went from there. I really like the AVAtrix ALOT. It does everything I want and does it in a simple way that the entire family can understand. I like the thing so much I'm considering adding more outputs to it. The only thing I need to get setup is a way to change inputs from one room while in another. I think this can be handled via serial and my htpc.


MurryW,

I have an usb-uirt on my htpc. Does this thing also emit ir signals or does it just receive them?

Rx, it does both. With the AVAtrix as part of my system, I will only be using it mostly for receiving -- all the IR re-transmitting from remote controls will be done by the AVAtrix. For the touchscreen tablets I have, I'll use the USB-UIRT to send IR where it needs to go. I have re-thought my original plan to use my standard DirecTiVo controllers and have the USB-UIRT receive the signals and transmit IR codes and will just go with a universal remote in each of the rooms that have the wall plates. I bought a couple of Logitech Harmony 670's to try out.


Murray

 

[RxMan1]

Yeah that 670 looks nice. I have ordered the 880 for my MAIN room, but may look at the 670 because it has a nice button layout.


Let's say my son is in room1 and I am in room2 and he wants to watch a dvd, but isn't on that source. I would like to be able to change the source in his room to dvd from my room. Could I accomplish that somehow with my htpc?

 

[MurrayW]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RxMan1 /forum/post/0


Yeah that 670 looks nice. I have ordered the 880 for my MAIN room, but may look at the 670 because it has a nice button layout.


Let's say my son is in room1 and I am in room2 and he wants to watch a dvd, but isn't on that source. I would like to be able to change the source in his room to dvd from my room. Could I accomplish that somehow with my htpc?

The 880 is on sale right now on Amazon for about what I paid for the 670 -- I almost ordered one, but I am not sure if I would like the unraised buttons. How easy is it to find the right buttons just by feel rather than looking at the remote?


As to your question about selecting a source from room 2 for room 1, you can accomplish that with your HTPC, USB-UIRT and the appropriate software installed -- I plan to use MainLobby since I am already using it, but if this is all you want to do now, girder would probably be a more cost efficient application. There may be other ways to do it, but this is what I was planning to do.

1. Attach a "Y" stereo mini-plug splitter to the IR output of the AVAtrix.
   1. The first leg would be connected to the IR input of the AA 1108 IR router.
   2. Leg 2 would connect to an IR emitter and the emitting end would be attached to the IR window of the USB-UIRT.
2. Attach a serial cable from your HTPC to the AVAtrix.
3. Learn the IR event in the USB-UIRT for selecting the DVD source for room 1. I don't really care about the actual IR code as long as it is not a code that would have any effect on any of the source 1-6 equipment.
4. Press the button that would send the IR signal for selecting the DVD source for Room 1 through Room 2's wall plate.
5. The IR signal from this button you pressed on the remote from Room 2 would travel from Room 2's wall plate to the AVAtrix then split the signal to the 1108 IR router to whatever source is selected for Room 2 (that's why it would be important to pick an IR code that would in itself not have any effect on any of the equipment hooked up to the IR emitters from the 1108 router. The other leg of this signal would go to the USB-UIRT's IR window and be detected by your HTPC. Then you would have an event setup so that when the your USB-UIRT software received this IR signal, it would send a RS-232 signal to the AVAtrix to switch Room 1 to the DVD source.

There may be a way to do it with IR through the AVAtrix using the "Learn IR Code" setup screen that may be easier than what I outlined above, but from what I have read, I don't think that it is possible. Maybe Trent can chime in here.


I hope that made sense.


Murray

 

[charris]

Trend,


if I want to use a source that outputs only composite on the Avatrix will it work if i use just one of the three component RCAs e.g the red one? Will it work this way or will I have to buy a signal converter?

 

[Audio Authority]



Quote:
Originally Posted by charris /forum/post/0


Trend,


if I want to use a source that outputs only composite on the Avatrix will it work if i use just one of the three component RCAs e.g the red one? Will it work this way or will I have to buy a signal converter?

Hello,


You can, but I wouldn't - that's the short answer.


The long answer is that yes, you can use one of the component cable pathways as composite. The problem is that when you plug into the TV at the other end (at the wallplate receiver), you would have to plug that "red" or whichever pathway into the composite input. It's fine for that TV, but what happens when an HD set selects that source? The short answer is not much, since the composite signal will be flowing into the TV's component input, and won't be viewable.


The best solution is to upconvert the composite sources to component so any TV can view it without trouble. Our Model 1362 can do that for you.


Trent

 

[H(A&T)]

So If the Avatrix has 6 inputs how are you guys handling the cable boxes? I mean I have 7 Rooms which is HD from VerizonFios so thats boxes and that leaves me with no inputs for DVD and VCR and HTPC?


Thanks for the help.

 

[jkseger]

I plan to have 2 DirecTV HD DVR boxes, 2 DirecTV HD boxes, 1 HD-DVD player, and 1 media streamer connected to either a NAS or a HTPC.


The premise is that no more than 4 tv's would need to watch different shows. This should work fine for my needs.


John

 

[robertmee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by H(A&T) /forum/post/0


So If the Avatrix has 6 inputs how are you guys handling the cable boxes? I mean I have 7 Rooms which is HD from VerizonFios so thats boxes and that leaves me with no inputs for DVD and VCR and HTPC?


Thanks for the help.

The whole purpose of a system like the AVatrix is to dispense with some of those boxes....Do you really need the ability to watch 6 different TV programs in 6 different rooms simulatneously? Pare it down to two or three boxes and then you have plenty of room for your DVD, HTPC or whatever.

 

[H(A&T)]

^^ You are absolutely correct, I apologize, just trying to formulate all of this, I lost my basic sense of this being a matrix and I could have 2 or 3 boxes and watch them in any room, as I wouldnt need to watch more than 2 at once. Thanks, Ill come back with more questions

 

[jgs2n]

Can someone explain how you would distribute audio with avatrix to

1. Whole house

2. Zoned home theater 5.1 or 7.1 setup


Can you keep your ht reciever in a central home run location or do you need to have it locally connected to the wall plate. Is there a way to use your home theater speaker setup in the whole house audio setup?

 

[jkseger]

jgs2n,


I plan on having my AVAtrix source inputs in a central location on the main floor. I also will be using the local DVI/component out (7th output) to go to the 5.1 AVR that will also be housed in the media closet. The AVR will have a HDMI run to the plasma in the family room, also on the main floor.


I also plan on having 5.1 in the basement room. Here I would have a local AVR and just take the audio/video out from the AVAtrix wall plate and plug it into the receiver/television.


As far as whole house audio, I plan on using my AVR in the media closet for 3 zones. The 1st zone will be 5.1 to the family room. I plan to use the 2nd zone to power the speakers upstairs in the master bedroom and master bathroom. I plan to hook the preout of the 3rd zone to an additional amp to power speakers in the kitchen, living room, dining room, and patio.


As far as audio sources go, I plan on purchasing the Sonos system. I'll hook two ZP80's to the AVR in the media closet. That way two of the three zones could potentially listen to the same thing or something different. Another ZP80 will go into the basement AVR.


4 of my inputs into the AVAtrix will be directv HD boxes. So everywhere I have a wall plate, I could also get XM radio through the TV speakers.


I am thinking of getting a HD media streamer for my 6th AVAtrix input which I could also use to access music at any wall plate.


If amyone has any other suggestions for me, I'd really appreciate the feedback.


I hope this helps you, jgs2n.


John