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I have bought a two storey flat with a large double bedroom with an on-suite, and a small second bedroom/study, with a communal bathroom upstairs. Downstairs is a hall, large sitting room generous kitchen and toilet. There is natural light in every room, and access to the roof through skylights upstairs.


It is a georgian building in some disrepair, as such i will be renovating all the bathrooms and kitchen, sanding and making good the original floorboards, and general decorating.


Now this would seem to me to be the perfect time put in all the cables i need for future toys.


However i need some help; i am not completely useless, i am a mech eng, built a PC last weekend and took 6 floorboards to hide the s-vid cable/speaker wire as a temporary solution in the sitting room.


Maybe if i spell out what i would like to do i can be pointed in the right direction;


What i would like to do;


UPSTAIRS; have in ceiling speakers in all the rooms including bathrooms; with PPC control and Dimmer switches (for volume) on the walls. Have all the lighting(lamps aswell) and curtains controlled/automated via the PPC1.


I know how to do some of the stuff but not all, i would run a music/video server with xlobby/mainlobby and interface with a wireless lan. BUT i dont know how i would use the dimmer switches or the lighting or the wiring?


DOWNSTAIRS;


Have the Home cinema (amp, hcpc) stuff in the cupboard under the stairs controlled by the PPC2 (another instance of xlobby server, pulling from the file server upstairs), but have a dimmer in the kitchen to control the volume on the amp. I also wouldn't mind sending a stream of the SKy box to the second bedroom.


Have all the lighting(lamps aswell), curtains controlled by PPC2



I have SOME idea in theory how to do the Hifi stuff using file servers, xlobby, wireless networks etc (i imagine i can pay for mainlobby if xlobby is to buggy), but i am Totallly lost on the lighting, curtains, Dimmers and integrating the control with the PPC.


And i am totally lost with the wiring though.


I am thinking about going in and seeing a specialist dealer and having a chat with, but they are so expensive.


If you have a read this far, thank you! If anybody can point me in the right or give me any help, i would be very grateful.
 

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Don't have time to write a complete reply, but this should get you started- The "dimmers" you want to control the speakers are called volume controls. You will run 2 pairs of speaker cables from your amplifier to each of the volume control locations and then one pair to each of the in-ceiling speakers. The volume control will give you local control of the volume for each of the speakers. You will not be able to have full volume control of the speakers from the computer (though you may be able to control the volume if the volume control is turned up, you will not be able to hear any difference if the volume control is turned down all the way). The only way I know of that you can control the volume fully from the computer is to use a complete control system from a whole-house audio manufacturer such as Crestron, AMX, Elan, Russound, Xantech, Sonance, etc.


CJ
 
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