Future proofing cables at home interiors stage

[shyamal]

Hi all
Am getting my home interiors done. I need to decide on the cabling for home theater system and other video and audio components. Have the following questions

1) For hts thinking of using DAC cables for all speakers except front L and R - is that a good idea?

2) For front L and R speakers (f/s polk tsi or wharfedale 9.5 or b&w) - what are the 2 best/vfm/appropriate cable brands/types to use
and indicative prices

3) For avr (denon 1909 or yamaha 663) to tv (samsung 5 series 46") and dvd player (not yet decided) to avr - what are the 2 best/vfm/appropriate cable brands/types to use - and indicative prices

4) From view point of future proofing - given that iptv may be a possibility 3-5 yrs down the line in future - also one may want to have an internet connection near the tv to watch streaming video or download blueray movies and songs into boxes (such as dvico) - does it make sense to have a cable laid down till the tv for carrying broadband signals - if so what cables can be used.

Cheers

 

[skumar]

As long as you have quality pipes laid in the walls along with the junction boxes and circular bends (not L bends) as required, the wiring could be done at any time later. Why worry now? Just plan for the current setup and lay an extra pipe or two to terminate near your TV or AVR location.

 

[anm]

you may also like to plan for a projector.
UPS/line conditioner connectivity in such a way that you can place them outside the main listening area.

 

[shyamal]

due to rcc structures, putting hard circular pipes is not feasible at my place..thats the reason for the question. Also, any views on the the other cables will be apprecaited.
Thx

 

[gobble]

As for broadband iptv, speeds will be much less than 100mbits/sec ethernet. So a Cat6E cable and rj45 outlets for a tiny 4 port gigabit switch/pc will do just fine. But you will most likely end up using 802.11n wireless router for hd multimedia which will become quite popular in a few years.

Take care not to run A/V cables parallel to power cables. they need to cross perpendicular to each other at intersections.

Regards

 

[marsilians]

I would say to run the following through pipes, otherwise, just dont bother doing it in wall.

1. setup a dedicated circuit that can give you 2 outlets - 1 for 20 amp and 15 amps if you plan to use components from US.
2. run power cable as though you would attach a projector about 2/3rds the way on the ceiling.
3. To the above, run 2 HDMI, RJ 45, component & digital coax and toslink cables.
4. do the same as steps 2&4 to the wall of your room in case you setup a component rack
5. wire for 7.1 speaker setup with 16 or 14 AWG speaker cable

run subwoofer to the opposite as well as side walls (its the best location if you can afford it.

remember that power cable should always be enclosed with the aluminum jacket as otherwise it is a fire hazard. so an electrician is a must.

 

[spirovious]

14awg wires for surround from DAC, Bluejeans can be good.
For fronts & centre,can try Chord,Supra 16 awg.

 

[sarge_in]

The more cables you can put now, the better. Marsilians provided good info already.

1) Run as many as 4 Cat6 cables to the TV (or component rack) location from router location. These can be gobbled easily by networked devices these days, esp if you do any kind of HD streaming (e.g. from a NAS to media streamer). Wireless is nowhere close to providing a good experience for HD streaming yet. They can also be used for HDMI baluns (which is why having 1 Cat6+switch may not be future-proof enough).
2) Run 2-3 coax for TV. E.g. the US settop boxes have the functionality to send signals back FROM settop box TO a central distribution point so that you can use 1 box to see different programming in different rooms. Don't know if current boxes in India have this functionality now, or will in future..
3) Consider if you would like to wire for whole house audio. If yes that has a separate set of recommended cables (speaker, Cat5, volume control etc).
4) If you are laying wiring in whole house, I will also route 2-3 Cat6 + 2-3 coax + speaker cables in each room. Cat6 for each possible computer location as well.

You cannot ever have enough cables! Make sure you are using cables rated for in-wall use (called CL2, at least in US).

 

[baijuxavior]

These days people are busy posting suggestions and recommendations to very old requests.

 

[hitman]

These days people are busy posting suggestions and recommendations to very old requests.

It's worth it because I have the same question. So I would definitely be interested in the newest/latest posts.