[SWiG]

I am building a large entertainment area in my basement (all in one room). Is there a remote system that can handle controlling:

• 5 HD DirecTV boxes
• 4 Panasonic TC-P50X1 TV's
• Epson 8100 Projector
• Pioneer Elite sc-27 Receiver
• Pioneer Elite Blu Ray Player (Not sure which model yet)
• Preferrably RF as all of the hardware will be in a closet

Also, if this is possible, what cabling should I be running to each TV / Projector? I am planning Coax, HDMI, and Cat6(x2) for each TV, and Coax, HDMI, and Cat6(x4) to the projector.


I would prefer a DIY solution if there are lots to choose from.


Thanks for any help.

 

[Beemer533]

With regards to the cabling, the HDMI cable will carry your video and audio (at least to the TV if needed), CAT6 could be for future use or just in case. Do you have a specific reason for the coax?

 

[SWiG]

I am running the Coax for a possible infrared run (I think there are coax to infrared). Should I do this differently or am I going about it the wrong way?

 

[Beemer533]

There may be coax options out there, but most I've seen (and used) use CAT5e (STP or UTP). If you haven't decided on your hardware yet, as far as the IR extenders go, I would look around and see what might work for you.


I think you'll find that a CAT5e to each location for IR will be sufficient.

 

[SWiG]

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning on running 2 cat6 to each TV, I will probably just up that to 3 or 4 cat6 since I ordered 2000 feet of the stuff.

 

[Beemer533]

That should be more than enough. The nice thing about CAT5 these days is you can get a convertor/balun to put nearly any type of A/V signal over it.

 

[SWiG]

Any more suggestions for controlling a large amount of components (many of which are identical)?

 

[syner]

splitting emitter cables with cat5 is a good way to start like mentioned.


for identical components use hardware that has emitter ports. you can use dual head emitters on ports where you don't have the same exact devices for both emitters typically.


as one possible option you can check out the bitwise controls bc4/bcx-1 with our iphone/itouch app http://totalcontrolapp.com/index.php...=108&Itemid=92


the bitwise unit has 4 emitter ports + 1 blaster port. our app supports as many bitwise units as you want along with separate profiles for different users, different categories and subcategories so you can have different setups for different rooms, locations, etc. you can even lock down portions of the app so people cannot change them. see the link for more info.

 

[SWiG]

Excuse my ignorance, but how does the iPhone/iTouch app handle saving context? For example, let's say I switch on my TV, Blu Ray player, Receiver and then have the receiver switch modes to Blu Ray. After that, I take a call, browse the internet, or open some other program. If I open the app back up, does it still know that I am switched on in Blu Ray mode?


Do you guys have plans for an iPad app? If so, that may be my killer remote.