Request For Advice - Wiring A New House

[Falcon05]

I am just beginning the construction of a new home with a full basement and one floor above (1500 sq.ft. on each floor). I am contracting it myself, so I am my own home network sub-contractor. I'll be wiring every room with at least one Cat5e cable and will have a dedicated space in the basement utility room where it will terminate. My intent is to have an ethernet switch and my DSL modem in the utility room with a wireless access point on each floor. There will be three HDTVs (basement home theater, upstairs family room, and master bedroom) with both Sat Receivers (if IKS still works) and IPTV boxes. I have two desktop PCs, a laptop, and a couple of tablets.

I'm thinking that with IPTV becoming a reality, the use of a switch instead of a router is the right way to go. This is my last home and I want to be sure that I have a decent shot at keeping it future safe. It may be a bit of overkill now, but it should give me plenty to build upon.

Your thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[BIO]

Wired is a fail safe but really an antique with modern networking. IMHOI still have my house wired even though most the house devices are wifi.I'm obtuse and resist change though.

Make sure to use gigabit switch to your wires is all I can suggest. An good ap on each floor will most likely serve everything in the future.

[Falcon05]

Thanks a bunch, BIO! I'm a retired network guy and still believe in wire, too. Yeah, I was planning on a gigabit switch. The home network switches aren't too bad for the money. Much cheaper than the ones I used to buy for my old employer.

[BIO]

Sounds like you're more than qualified
I switch my internet into three routers for access points.
Even use a few different ip ranges to isolate the traffic and monitor a little.

Will never realistically exceed my setup where I live.
Nice not having internet problems though- been over 10 years since wired.

[jjjackson]

Hi Falcon05

I used to design home theaters on the side. A couple of years ago I did a friends total remodel with 6 TVs and internet. Prewire is the only way to go. First I'd have at least 2 RG6 coax to every room that might need TV or anything else. When your considering Cat5, consider baluns for TV. Check out the cost of running Cat5 with baluns VS HDMI or other kinds of prewire. Take sometime to study MoCa and see how that works for your situation?

http://www.mocaisinyourhouse.com/moca-family-crib-video

Consider running pretty much everything to one central location and dispersing from there. I ran everything to a closet and put in a cabinet that was on a hinge, so I can pull it out to one side and do everything from behind.

Dont scrimp on quality for your home theater and remember, the sub woofer is the second most important speaker in the group. One question you need to ask yourself and family, is the HT just for TV or are you going to listen to music?

You must design for the least tech person in the house.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

[BIO]

Good points for sure jjj, I just wanted to add a little of my thoughts.

For wiring internet only through a house moca is slower than good lan wire. From the wiki ""MoCA 2.0 supports two performance modes, Basic and Enhanced, with 400 Mbit/s and 800 Mbit/s net throughputs (MAC), using 700 Mbit/s and 1.4 Gbit/s PHY rates, respectively. Turbo Mode yields 1Gbit/s net throughput. Operating frequency range is 500 to 1675 MHz. Packet error rate is 1 packet error in 100 million."

I also don't believe you can run moca through a sat wire, for cable tv is fine but sat uses different frequencies. May be wrong on that because my mind is mush but it sounds right? I think coax is going out anyways, with iptv and streaming coax starts looking antique in comparison.

Also, the price is far greater for moca bridges than a switch. I thought about suggesting moca but have even put mine on hold because almost all my tv toys are wireless.

Wiring sound is also a good idea but in reality wifi and bluetooth along with portable devices have obsoleted that IMHO too. I am guilty of playing music from my phone but can't remember the last time I had hifi on. The wife using an mp3 player through the kitchen radio now just out of convenience. One day I'll replace the radio for a dock and have done with the bulky system too.

Completely agree with the design being for the least technical. My surround sound is still working only because the tv volume operates it too. If the wife had to find another button on her remote I'd hear it every time she did. Hear enough from her because of the a/v switch

[jjjackson]

Nice to see you got my wife stuff.

The nice thing about Coax is that it can carry almost anything from antenna to, I believe MoCA or whatever is coming down the line. IMHO, wire will never go out, so I suggest you seriously consider wiring up good. The reason for asking about listening to music, is the difference in the kind of equipment and speakers you put in. If it's only HT then you can get away with cheaper stuff. One big difference is the kind of subwoofer you buy. A music sub generally costs more and has a softer blending sound. Strongly suggest a good programmable remote. If your retired as am I, then I like Universal Brand remotes. Great customer service and big buttons.

As far as the internet stuff, your probably much better at that then I.

Your remodel, so your decisions. Just sending some info. Enjoy!

[Falcon05]

Thanks guys for all the extra input. jjjackson, I'll definitely get in touch with you when I get the shell finished. The wiring will all run to the basement utility room. The HT room will be in the basement, but I do want to plan for audio on the first floor and the back deck for entertaining. I'm not an audiophile so I search for value (not cheap) equipment that can provide decent sounds. Currently using a Yamaha AV unit with Klipsch speakers. This setup will probably be installed in the first floor family room and I'll buy a bit better equipment for the HT room. I'll run some coax for satellite receivers but if we end up with just IPTV over the home LAN, I'll be looking to use the coax in other ways. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

[jjjackson]

One last comment please. When you do audio, you hear the cheapest worst part of the system, not the best. The trick is match everything at your price level. I don't mean price I mean the same level of sound quality.

[Ryu]

Just to add little with audio, make sure your speakers r 5 time greater than your amplifier, for example if amplifier is 20w your speaker should be 100w in order to get good sound hope this will help