Noob new home multi room setup

[shanerocks]

Hi I am new to this forum and have been doing some reading and I would like some advice on the setup I would like to have.
For starters I would like to have 4 TVs throughout the house plus a hometheatre. I would like to have all the satellite receivers, bluray, ps3, in one location in the basement. And running to each room I would just like to run 2 cat6 and an IR to control them. Basically I want just the tv in the room and everything else hidden downstairs. How would the audio work as I would like to have incieling speakers on a mulitsystem rather then the tv speakers.
Could someone please point me in the right directions as to what products will do what I need.

Thanks

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

The system you’re proposing is very complicated and could easily cost many thousands of dollars in hardware, programmable remotes, labor and (lots of) wiring. What is your budget?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[markw]

What Wayne said.

What you would like to do and what's possible may be two different things. You might want to consider professional helpfor a system of that complexity, particularly since you've got low experience and high expectations.

 

[BMXTRIX]

For your setup I would run no less than 6 pieces of cat6 to every location. 4 to the TV for ethernet, HDMI, control, and one spare. 2 pieces to an aux. video location to connect a local Blu-ray disc player or game system.

You will need quality HDMI extenders such as the cat base HD extender from Monoprice which will carry HDMI over a single piece of cat-5/6 up to 100 meters (I've tested this).

For sound, you need speakers installed in the wall and wiring run to your head end with amplifiers down there and a pre-amp to handle volume control.

Typically, instead of IR repeaters, a RF remote is the better way to go with a centrally located antenna in your home.

Pricing for this typically runs about $10,000 (give or take) for the wiring if this is a retrofit plus cost of repairs, and then materials, installation, and programming will cost additional amounts depending on your equipment needs.

 

[shanerocks]

Thanks for the honest information. I think that plan is out of the question. So if i scrap the whole audio speaker thing and just do hdmi and use speakers on the tv. What would I need? Wile still having the satellite boxes downstairs? Then have a separate multi room audio system?

 

[PhiPsi32]

Shane, just to clarify, is this a retrofit of an existing home or is it a house under construction. I sense that this is a retrofit job, but I just want to be sure.

It sounds like you want to have all the hardware in the basement and just a TV and speaker system in each room. I don't know how that would work with a PS3. I think the game system needs to be localized with the TV mainly so that the control pads are in range. I also don't know how having a centralized blu-ray player helps unless you want to run to the basement every time you want to change discs. You would be better off buying a network storage drive and ripping your blu-ray discs to MKV which can be accessed via the network drive. Of course this means more money.

Dropping additional ethernet cables to your TVs can be easy or complicated. It depends on the layout of your house and the location of your broadband modem. If your house is one story or your modem is near an exterior wall, you may be able to run conduit up the exterior to the attic and then drop additional lines to each room. Something to think about.

You should also think about the type of control system you want to use. IR is good for line of sight. RF is a bit better. I am looking at Control4 right now. The advantage seems to be that Control4 works over your local network. So if you have a wireless router, you can use a remote control, computer, or smart phone app to access the control system. I haven't used it, and I can't tell you if this is a good solution.

Just something to think about.

 

[96cobra10101]

I would use RGB instead of HDMI over CAT6. I haven't seen one do 1080 anything yet. Plus it adds about 6 failure points.

For Direct we use the IR extender made by channel vision, $60

For Dish we use the IR to UHF kit, $30

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks for the honest information. I think that plan is out of the question. So if i scrap the whole audio speaker thing and just do hdmi and use speakers on the tv. What would I need? Wile still having the satellite boxes downstairs? Then have a separate multi room audio system?

You can't magically transport video around your home on thin air. While there are some wireless HDMI transmitters, there isn't a lot of feedback that I've read about their reliability or use for more than a few feet.

You need to provide more information before you get your hopes up or down. Wiring a home takes time. If this is new construction, you can get a lot of wiring done for about $5,000. If this is retrofit work, then it will double to triple the price and you will have drywall work to do.

The bottom line is that you aren't providing almost any information about what you have. You are saying what you want to do, but not what you have right now, so we can't get you from 'A' to 'B' when we don't have a clue what 'A' is.

The starting point matters a whole lot here because if you have some wiring in place it is possible that it may be able to be used. If you don't, then you absolutely must run new cabling, which will require holes to be cut and will take a significant amount of time.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I would use RGB instead of HDMI over CAT6. I haven't seen one do 1080 anything yet. Plus it adds about 6 failure points.

The cheap HDMI extenders from Monoprice:
For only $39.20 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI Extender using Cat5e/CAT6 cable extending upto 60 Meter, Supporting DDC & HDCP | Video Extenders

Will carry 1080i and 1080p pretty well, but have some issues with higher bandwidths with 1080p. They are extremely reliable with 1080i. I've run them over 200' reliably.

But, their NEW ones are phenomenal:
For only $190.50 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI & Ethernet Extender Using Cat5e or CAT6 Cable - Extend Upto 328ft | Video Extenders

It is industry standard cat base HD which is a new standard which should be compatible with other cat base hd product, and potentially could be directly installed into televisions (no more HDMI!!!).

I've installed a few of these extenders and have had zero issues with resolution up to 1080p/3D/wHD audio @ 100 feet. I've tested at over 300' with 5 spliced cat-5 (not cat 6) cables.

When I say these extenders are impressive, I mean they are a good step up from anything else I've ever used and it would be good for you to try them.

 

[96cobra10101]

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umm, ban?!

 

[96cobra10101]

But, their NEW ones are phenomenal:
For only $190.50 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI & Ethernet Extender Using Cat5e or CAT6 Cable - Extend Upto 328ft | Video Extenders


When I say these extenders are impressive, I mean they are a good step up from anything else I've ever used and it would be good for you to try them.

I'm always skeptical of multi point of connectivity, especially in an instance where signal can be degraded from something as simple as just running the cable improperly in the first place. These newer HDMI over ethernet seem interesting, but I would wait to see the life expectancy of them. The reviews say they run very hot. We only install the RGB right now for our applications because we have had zero failures, where the HDMI to Cat? has failed us on several occasions, the converter always the culprit.

 

[shanerocks]

For those that are suggesting running RGB component video only what do you do with audio then?
I think I may just use HDMI extenders over cat 5, then have RG6 at each location from the satellite incase of failure. Then at least there is backup.

 

[adk highlander]

For those that are suggesting running RGB component video only what do you do with audio then?
I think I may just use HDMI extenders over cat 5, then have RG6 at each location from the satellite incase of failure. Then at least there is backup.

Many of the component Baluns also do digital (coax) audio as well through the same wire. I did these because they were much less expensive and I did not want to matrix my HDMI connections.

 

[shanerocks]

what all would i need to use these blauns and where could i buy them?

 

[adk highlander]

You would just need two of these: Link

One for each end with a Cat5 cable in between.

There are many companies that produce these types of products. I personally use CE-labs models which I can snag from epray for around $40 each.

Remember this is only one part of the picture as to how to setup this system and making the decision to use Component over HDMI is just one part. Also remember that Blu-Ray will NOT output 1080p over the component outputs even though the balun can transmit 1080p.

There is something called the analog sunset which will allow companies not not output HD through analog connections. I don't know if you PS3 effected with any future firmware updates.

 

[shanerocks]

You would just need two of these: Link

One for each end with a Cat5 cable in between.

There are many companies that produce these types of products. I personally use CE-labs models which I can snag from epray for around $40 each.

Remember this is only one part of the picture as to how to setup this system and making the decision to use Component over HDMI is just one part. Also remember that Blu-Ray will NOT output 1080p over the component outputs even though the balun can transmit 1080p.

There is something called the analog sunset which will allow companies not not output HD through analog connections. I don't know if you PS3 effected with any future firmware updates.

So these are great, but my issue is that they would hook to a satelitte reciever in the basement. So how would i change channels etc.?
Would I have to run a seperate IR wire and plate?

Or would this work For only $21.75 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI Over CAT5E / CAT6 Extender Wall Plate w/ LED Indicator, IR Cables (Pair) - Single Port (1P) - White | HDMI Wall Plates

 

[96cobra10101]

For those that are suggesting running RGB component video only what do you do with audio then?
I think I may just use HDMI extenders over cat 5, then have RG6 at each location from the satellite incase of failure. Then at least there is backup.

The RGB has 5 coax cables in it. 3 for Video (red, blue, green) 2 for Audio (yellow, white).

 

[BMXTRIX]

So these are great, but my issue is that they would hook to a satelitte reciever in the basement. So how would i change channels etc.?
Would I have to run a seperate IR wire and plate?

Or would this work For only $21.75 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI Over CAT5E / CAT6 Extender Wall Plate w/ LED Indicator, IR Cables (Pair) - Single Port (1P) - White | HDMI Wall Plates

As said in my original post, this all comes down to getting the wires in place for what you want to do, which still seems up in the air.

Running one piece of cat-5 or 3-5 pieces is going to take about the same amount of time. A bit more labor for the headache of the extra cables and expense, but not a lot more. So, if you are running ONE wire, then go ahead and run all the wires you need.

I would not go with cheap bottom of the line extenders, and I would strong recommend a RF remote control of some sort instead of a IR repeater system. For example, you may have issues distinguishing between two different cable boxes with only one IR repeater system.

Still not sure how you intend to cable for everything, what you want to do with your audio, or what your budget level is.