[mythtv-users] OT: Wiring a new construction home for A/V, Ethernet, etc

[Heath Roberts]

On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 12:32 PM, Matt S. <skd5aner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I will definitely make sure to run conduit with all the tips above.


Look at "ENT" (electrical nonmetallic tubing). Also called smurf-tube
(because the line-voltage version is blue). You probably want the
orange-colored stuff, so it's obvious to your inspector what he needs to
look at and what he doesn't. I'd use at least 1" (we put in 3/4", and it's
too small--I've ended up with four RG6's (two DirecTV, one CATV, and one OTA
antenna), four cat5e's (AppleTV, TiVo, DVD player, Wii), a couple of
mini-coax'es to feed audio back to the head-end, and one control cable,
going to each TV location. Not a bad idea to run two of three conduits in
parallel to the 'media room'.

You can either home-run the conduit, or just stub it into an open space
(like an attic or basement, or into the space above a suspended ceiling.


> - I will have a fairly large open "closet" area under the stairs in
> the basement, which is where I would plan on putting the servers,
> switches, routers, patch panels, etc.  It will be my "server closet".


You can generate a lot of heat in there... A utility room would probably be
better than trying to stick it under a closet. Either way, plan for some
ventilation.


> - I also want to have speakers in the ceilings, pretty much across the
> house, for zoned audio - including outside/garage/etc.  This is a
> foreign concept to me, I've never personally used or been exposed to a
> system like that other than maybe walking through a few houses in the
> past that had them - but not personal experience.


Run a pair of 14/2 speaker cables to each room, it's
much easier if you can actually buy locate the speakers during mechanical
rough-in, but you could also ty-rap a coil of wire
where you think you want the speakers. You'll probably need to decide what
kind of audio distribution system you're going to use, so you can figure out
where the wires need to go and how to wire for room controls. In addition to
the others mentioned, check out Crestron's Adagio system. Crestron used to
be really expensive, but the Adagio is much more affordable, and is probably
what I'd use if I were starting over.

- I'm considering external security cameras so I can play with
> zoneminder and/or misterhouse (home automation).  I don't know if I'll
> actually install them right away, but I want to have the wiring ready
> while it's "easy". I know several Home Automation things are going
> wireless now, but I'm guessing even with wireless cameras, I'd have to
> be concerned with power.


Security folks use a 'siamese' cable that includes a co-ax for the video,
and a power pair for power. If you use IP cameras, you can use PoE for
power. I'd run both (or, even better, an empty conduit). Talk to someone who
does surveillance video about camera locations before you build/wire it.


> - What else am I missing?  I'm sure there's other things audiophiles,
> videophiles, home automation enthusiasts, myth users, etc have come up
> with that are "must-haves", things they can't live without, or are
> just really really cool.
>

Unfortunately, a lot of "consumer" designs try really hard to make the sorts
of things you want to do fairly inconvenient.
Have someone wire for security--it's easy & cheap when the house is being
built and virtually impossible afterwards. We put in a security system just
for fire monitoring--we have smoke/heat sensors in and outside each room,
they're "supervised" (should tell us if there's a problem instead of failing
quietly), and there's only one battery.

If you think you want a satellite antenna on the roof, install a comm-deck
and appropriate wiring (typically 4x RG/6 and a ground wire).

There's nothing like a good wired connection for anything that sits still,
but think about where you might want to put a wireless access point or two,
and pull wire to those.


-- 
Heath Roberts
htroberts at gmail.com
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