wiring inside house for "technology" - what wires to install.

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SilverSaloon

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Hi

as some of you know I am fully renovating my property at the moment.

We are getting the whole house re-wired for electrics by an electrician. however i plan on running wires myself for things like TV signals etc. Many of the walls are new stud-work and floors are all up so access is very good so this is my chance to try and "future proof" stuff a bit, atleast for the next few years. My kids are still quite young but I want to allow for near-future technology in the bedrooms. I know wifi is probably all you need for many applications nowadays however some of the walls are old thick stone walls so wifi may be restricted so I want to add in some wiring to assist decent performance of whatever is in use.

My question is what to install right now.

I thought:

- 3 cat5 cables running into each room coming from a main "hub" somewhere where the router will live. Someone told me 2 cat5 cables can take HDMI signals so this is worth doing to every room that may have a TV. and I thought a 3rd cable would be useful here.
- coax cabling for TV - for the Sky or freeview.
- trunking in some rooms from attic so new wires can be easily pushed down through the wall & studs to the socket in the future

is this a good/bad idea? anything else?

thanks in advance!

Derek
 
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I'd go for cat6 rather than cat5.

Edit: and yes 3 cables per room if thinking about HDMI - but probably 1 per room if not given taht you;'re planning the extra trunking.

You need to keep the distances short (30m?) for the HDMI to get 1080p.
 
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I'd also look at putting in some neat power adapter sockets with USB in various locations as well.
 
Cat5e for network, HDMI for AV signals, several lengths of string for pulling through future cables, big accessible conduits without sharp corners.
 
telephone and coax cable a waste of time in this day and age? our telephones are wireless so i see no point in anything other than a master telephone socket wherever the router is.....

i guess i still need the coax cable for freeview TV, which the kids will no doubt want if it still exists by the time we allow it in their rooms.
 
Perhaps more useful would be a large pipe to hold cables plus a length of string to pull future cables through, plan for replacement technology :D
 
We put in cat 5e to all rooms - 2 to bedrooms & kitchen, 4 to lounge & study with patch panel in hall cupboard.
Main incoming BT cable also to cupboard & BT helpfully supplied a broadband face plate to avoid the need for filters on other phone sockets. Extension socket in cupboard (Sky box), lounge for phone/answermachine and in study for fax.
2 x coax from roof to cupboard (TV & FM aerials)
8 x coax from Sky dish to cupboard
4 x coax to lounge
2 x coax to bedrooms, study & kitchen
Sky box located in cupboard with HDMI cable to 8 way HDMI splitter box
HDMI cable from cupboard to each room (found BlueRigger cables on amazon of various lengths & reasonable prices)
Each room has a Sky magic eye so can control Sky box. This uses one of the coax cables.
Amplifier/splitter on the tv aerial cable in cupboard uses the other coax cable for freeview.
Spare cables are a bit overkill but who knows - cable is fairly cheap if you are installing yourself
 
I tried to future proof my house but still had to add 3 extra cat5 cables just to where the telly is! sky box is now internet connected as is tv and freesat box, and I think todays games consoles need to be connected so if you can put some sort of conduit(with string) to places that might have a lot of "gear"
 
Telephone can be run over a cat 5e/6 cable with an adapter on the end. Get the BT socket put into your wiring cupboard and add router in there for best speed.
 
Re comment about wireless phones - always a good idea to have 1 "normal, old fashioned" phone for use in power cuts - wireless phones don't work when the electricity fails!! and before someone says "we have mobiles these days", they only work where you can get a signal. In our village, we're on O2 and cannot get a signal inside the house, only at a couple of places on the patio - wonderful when it's hissing down!!
 
I see no value in running HDMI cabling within the walls. I would run ethernet cable and a couple of CT100 or equivalent.

I have run Cat 6 around my place. And I have also run a couple of CT100 cables for satellite, just incase I choose to get it at some point, although I find it unlikely, it's better to have them there and not need them. I am more inclined to get an IPTV system over satellite. They are just getting to the point where they are comparable to satellite.

If I wish to send a signal from one room to the other I will send the signal over the network, rather than as a TV signal.

I tried to future proof my house but still had to add 3 extra cat5 cables just to where the telly is! sky box is now internet connected as is tv and freesat box, and I think todays games consoles need to be connected so if you can put some sort of conduit(with string) to places that might have a lot of "gear"


I would have installed a 4 port switch instead. It looks better than having 2 double patresses and 8 network ports behind your TV.
 
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I would have installed a 4 port switch instead. It looks better than having 2 double patresses and 8 network ports behind your TV.
how do you work out that there is 8 ports? I have three on a plate the size of a light switch 86x86mm
 
Shielded CAT6 if you are going to the trouble as this is better from the point of view of interference / crosstalk and future-proofs for 10Gb albeit we're a way of that becoming mainstream.

Ensure you buy one which isn't too thick for the standard 8 terminal connectors if you go for this option though...
 
Alarm cables? Yes you can do wireless, but like networking, cable is always better.
3 x cat6 is good, and if you need more Ethernet ports then pop a switched hub in the room.
 
how do you work out that there is 8 ports? I have three on a plate the size of a light switch 86x86mm


I wasn't referring to you. I was just addressing the need for a lot of network ports by a TV. I have 2 as I have a double patress that has modular parts. I chose 2 x RJ45 and 2 x F connectors. Although I could quite easily run 4 x RJ45 and leave the CT100 cable in place and change the front in future if required.

But... I'll probably just stick a cheap 1GB Netgear switch in.
 
thanks some great ideas there.

I'll deffo go for a usb charger in each room too, for phones, ipod charging etc.
 

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