Numpty needs cabling advice

[JezHill]

Hi Folks

I am a complete numpty when it comes to anything technical with hifi etc and would really appreciate any advice.

I'm in the middle of building my own house which will include a 6m x 5m cinema room. Ceiling fixed projector, sound system, wall/floor mounted speakers - all connected to DVD/Blueray player and playstation/x-box. I would also like to be able to connect projector to TV aerial/freesat/sky and be able to connect playstation/xbox to the internet for on-line games.

I am managing the build to cut down costs. Should I enrol the help of a shop to help out with cabling advice and pay some sort of fee, or is it pretty much straight forward what cabling I need? If so, what is the best cables to go for as I would rather pay more for something I can't change later.

Budget for the hardware is subject to what budget is left at the end of the build - and what SWMBO spends on a bloody kitchen !

Thanks in advance

[KB_S1]

Best thing to do is make a table/spreadsheet of everything you wish to connect together.
Then add things you may want to patch into that setup temporarily or in the future.

Work through each thing and note what kind of connector it uses.

Start building up your spreadsheet and look at places like maplin or CPC to get cost ideas.

For cables, always add extra length as they are sometimes difficult to manage around corners and you may want to move things.

Do you need to buy completed cables with the connectors or can you do some soldering yourself?

For things like speaker cable, get something of reasonable thickness with a decent casing. Don't bother with expensive stuff that claims to work miracles. It really does get silly for no reason.