Home entertainment/cinema set up for a new-build numpty
Discussion
Any regulars on the homes/gardens/DIY thread may know that I am currently building a house from scratch...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
...and as the brick/blockwork is starting to go up, I need to start thinking about considerations for home entertainment. I don't want to get the place plastered and painted, and then have to start ripping it all down to fit stuff!
Now, I'll make this very clear that I am not in any way an "enthusiast" on any kind of entertainment tech. I don't have a games console, our Sony Bravia LCD TV is at least 5 years old, and when working from home I spend most of my time listening to a mono DAB radio from Aldi! However, I do have some ideas on the kind of stuff I might one day like. Also, it's going to cripple us financially just to build it and get curtains up and flooring down, so AV toys will have to wait, however I do want to "future proof" the place now so any toys later can just be plugged in without trashing the place. Infrastructure wise we will probably be on BT or Sky broadband (no Virgin unfortunately)
So, the wish list:
TVs...might want to wall mount this in the lounge (but not above the fire) and will need the wiring chasing in. Surround speakers would be a bonus. A swing bracket for mounting the TV will probably be best as it will probably go in one of the alcoves either side of the fireplace. I want another one in the bedroom, and a small one in the kitchen. Be good to be able to get satellite channels or freeview and watch different channels per room.
Dining room...really fancy a drop down screen and projector for showing TV/films, and so I can hook it up to a PC for gaming/flight sims etc. Again, surround sound would be good.
PC...Would like this networked in some way, so for example it lives in my office upstairs, but with a wireless keyboard/mouse I can use it from the dining room. Is there such a thing as a wireless joystick interface?
Music...Would like some way of being able to push tunes out to various speaker locations, inside and perhaps the patio. Be good if they had some kind of zone control in volume, and ideally an iPhone app or controller so I could control it (eg late night tinkering in the garage listening to music but not disturbing anywhere else)
Other considerations...networked HDD for storing media/tunes etc. Wireless printing (I have a printer). Wireless network repeater to the garage (I'm guessing a 240v wireline job will be fine, altough in theory I could even pull a cat6 cable through). Cat6 throughout the house? Where do I put my broadband router?
Is there anything else I need to consider? I just want a setup that is cost effective and functional, but if anyone can give me some pointers or "dont forget" items, that would be great.
Thanks!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
...and as the brick/blockwork is starting to go up, I need to start thinking about considerations for home entertainment. I don't want to get the place plastered and painted, and then have to start ripping it all down to fit stuff!
Now, I'll make this very clear that I am not in any way an "enthusiast" on any kind of entertainment tech. I don't have a games console, our Sony Bravia LCD TV is at least 5 years old, and when working from home I spend most of my time listening to a mono DAB radio from Aldi! However, I do have some ideas on the kind of stuff I might one day like. Also, it's going to cripple us financially just to build it and get curtains up and flooring down, so AV toys will have to wait, however I do want to "future proof" the place now so any toys later can just be plugged in without trashing the place. Infrastructure wise we will probably be on BT or Sky broadband (no Virgin unfortunately)
So, the wish list:
TVs...might want to wall mount this in the lounge (but not above the fire) and will need the wiring chasing in. Surround speakers would be a bonus. A swing bracket for mounting the TV will probably be best as it will probably go in one of the alcoves either side of the fireplace. I want another one in the bedroom, and a small one in the kitchen. Be good to be able to get satellite channels or freeview and watch different channels per room.
Dining room...really fancy a drop down screen and projector for showing TV/films, and so I can hook it up to a PC for gaming/flight sims etc. Again, surround sound would be good.
PC...Would like this networked in some way, so for example it lives in my office upstairs, but with a wireless keyboard/mouse I can use it from the dining room. Is there such a thing as a wireless joystick interface?
Music...Would like some way of being able to push tunes out to various speaker locations, inside and perhaps the patio. Be good if they had some kind of zone control in volume, and ideally an iPhone app or controller so I could control it (eg late night tinkering in the garage listening to music but not disturbing anywhere else)
Other considerations...networked HDD for storing media/tunes etc. Wireless printing (I have a printer). Wireless network repeater to the garage (I'm guessing a 240v wireline job will be fine, altough in theory I could even pull a cat6 cable through). Cat6 throughout the house? Where do I put my broadband router?
Is there anything else I need to consider? I just want a setup that is cost effective and functional, but if anyone can give me some pointers or "dont forget" items, that would be great.
Thanks!
I have three led tvs and there all wall mounted,icut out the plaster board and then the block work behind it to run a piece of waste pipe complete with 90s on each end. I then butcher to single gang back boxes and sunk that in to the wall,then made good the walls and put brush plates on, now all cables go down the wall hidden.
I have three led tvs and there all wall mounted,icut out the plaster board and then the block work behind it to run a piece of waste pipe complete with 90s on each end. I then butcher to single gang back boxes and sunk that in to the wall,then made good the walls and put brush plates on, now all cables go down the wall hidden.
Whilst you may not be an 'enthusiast' your requirements raise questions of video distribution, control, audio/video integration, networking, external services, mechanical requirements, power etc. The list is a long one and whilst there are ways of keeping the budget under control you really need the input of someone who does this every day. I could go into a whole list of recommendations but really you need to employ a CI to design and project manage this for you, simply too many variables to discuss on a forum and it would be too easy for you to miss something critical that may cause problems further down the line.
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