new set up help

[cdv1831]

Setting up a new system in a basement that just got framed and needed some advice from you all.

I bought a Pioneer 60 PRO150D, Sony BluRay, Pioneer Recv, Panamax Power Conditioner.
My TV will be wall mounted approx 15 feet away from the built in audio component rack.

My salesperson at Tweeter said I needed to pre-wire with HDMI from TV to reciever, which is logical, but also claims I needed to pre-wire CAT5 cable as well.
I have not found anyone else doing that and called a couple of home theater install shops and they dont know why I would need CAT5. All the other components are HDMI cables.

Can anyone else confirm that I just need to pre-wire HDMI from TV to audio rack? Normally Tweeter has treated me well, but I feel I just shelled out 400 bucks for wiring I don't need.

Thanks much for your replies.

 

[The Chukker]

Is your Pioneer HDMI compliant, if so what spec (1.1, 1.2, or 1.3). The CAT5 cable is an ethernet cable for internet connectivity that you would need to upgrade your firmware on any hardware that supported that feature, why you would need to prewire it into your setup is beyond me. Some hardware, like my tv, gets firmware upgrades via an external USB device rather than a direct connection to the internet.
If your receiver is HDMI compliant I would run HDMI out of the BD player to a HDMI input of your receiver, and then run another cable from the HDMI monitor out to the HDMI input on your television. This is the optimum set up if possible.

 

[MDS]

Like The Chukker said, having a CAT5 cable could be useful if your TV or other devices can use an internet connection to get firmware updates. It would also be useful for music streaming devices, like the Squeezebox, that will play music from a computer on the local network or Internet radio stations.

If you don't have a network in the house then it won''t do you much good but it is just wire and could be used for other things too like control pads, IR targets, really whatever future needs might dictate.