So... here's the plan (home a/v setup)
Discussion
We're building our house at the moment, and as we go through first fix, I'm working out our A/V setup. Here's the plan - what do you think?
The plan is for maximum bang for the buck, and something that can grow over time as existing kit gets replaced. As far as possible, the aim is to avoid building in stuff that cannot be upgraded or replaced later - so no proprietary kit or over complicated hard wired tech. Similarly, I'm not a believer in all singing all dancing toys. There's no point in installing stuff that is endlessly reconfigurable when you only use it a couple of different ways in real life.
We're flood wiring the house with cat 5e, with two cables to each access point, which should allow for video, audio, telephone and internet where we want it. At the hub, there will be the usual network distribution, NAS box (1.3 TB Synology DS209 Disk station), Router and Wireless network point. In future we'll distribute audio with Sonos boxes - very cost effective and easy to extend around a home.
Video will be handled by a Marantz SR6003 AV Reciever (review here). It has 3 HDMI in and 2 out on a matrix switch, 7.1 audio and sounds like a good bit of kit. We'll have a quad LNB sat dish so we can run Sky, and a twin tuner freesat hd pvr (yet to be chosen). Basically here the idea is to avoid paying too much Sky tax. The third hdmi input will probably end up with a Wii on it for now... oh the shame. In future we should be able to plug in a good blu ray player. At the moment we have a reliable DVD/HD recorder which does the job.
All of the kit will be hidden out of the way under the stairs next to the living room, with a door through the wall to get to the controls and load discs. Everything can then be kept out of the way (no big installation to dominate the room). Minimalism is king. A wireless remote will control it all.
The living room is about 19 foot by 14 with french doors at one end. We'll bung a 32" lcd in one corner by the doors with a hdmi feed, coax and a sat link (just in case). In front of the french doors we'll bung a motorised 16:9 projector screen ( this one), and a projector in a lift ( like this) will go in front of it, fed by the other hdmi output from the A/V amp.
We'll scatter speaker sockets around the rooms for the speakers. We'll have two pairs either side of the french doors to do front left/right, centre and sub. Three quarters of the way along the room, more or less level with the seats will be two more pairs of speaker sockets for surround left and right and rear left and right. With all that, I think bob will then be your uncle.
All the sockets will be Click Definity, which includes a range of media modules so we can put hdmi, video and speaker sockets into neat wall boxes. That should leave the walls fairly clean and the TV working without the apparent use of any video equipment to feed it.
So... what do you think?
The plan is for maximum bang for the buck, and something that can grow over time as existing kit gets replaced. As far as possible, the aim is to avoid building in stuff that cannot be upgraded or replaced later - so no proprietary kit or over complicated hard wired tech. Similarly, I'm not a believer in all singing all dancing toys. There's no point in installing stuff that is endlessly reconfigurable when you only use it a couple of different ways in real life.
We're flood wiring the house with cat 5e, with two cables to each access point, which should allow for video, audio, telephone and internet where we want it. At the hub, there will be the usual network distribution, NAS box (1.3 TB Synology DS209 Disk station), Router and Wireless network point. In future we'll distribute audio with Sonos boxes - very cost effective and easy to extend around a home.
Video will be handled by a Marantz SR6003 AV Reciever (review here). It has 3 HDMI in and 2 out on a matrix switch, 7.1 audio and sounds like a good bit of kit. We'll have a quad LNB sat dish so we can run Sky, and a twin tuner freesat hd pvr (yet to be chosen). Basically here the idea is to avoid paying too much Sky tax. The third hdmi input will probably end up with a Wii on it for now... oh the shame. In future we should be able to plug in a good blu ray player. At the moment we have a reliable DVD/HD recorder which does the job.
All of the kit will be hidden out of the way under the stairs next to the living room, with a door through the wall to get to the controls and load discs. Everything can then be kept out of the way (no big installation to dominate the room). Minimalism is king. A wireless remote will control it all.
The living room is about 19 foot by 14 with french doors at one end. We'll bung a 32" lcd in one corner by the doors with a hdmi feed, coax and a sat link (just in case). In front of the french doors we'll bung a motorised 16:9 projector screen ( this one), and a projector in a lift ( like this) will go in front of it, fed by the other hdmi output from the A/V amp.
We'll scatter speaker sockets around the rooms for the speakers. We'll have two pairs either side of the french doors to do front left/right, centre and sub. Three quarters of the way along the room, more or less level with the seats will be two more pairs of speaker sockets for surround left and right and rear left and right. With all that, I think bob will then be your uncle.
All the sockets will be Click Definity, which includes a range of media modules so we can put hdmi, video and speaker sockets into neat wall boxes. That should leave the walls fairly clean and the TV working without the apparent use of any video equipment to feed it.
So... what do you think?
Edited by Tuna on Monday 12th October 21:53
Tuna said:
So... what do you think?
Sounds brilliant!I installed cat5 a while ago and its only now, a few years later, its really comming into its own as we have more pc's, servers and ethernet enabled devices on the market.
With regard to the cable, i'd recommend to get the same for the complete setup. It can make quite a difference, and you can hide it under the floor etc if you need to because you wont need to rip it out and "upgrade" it.
Driller said:
If you're doing a new build why not plan for in-wall or in -ceiling speakers?
because a) Both will eventually need replacing after hanging around at the end of their lives looking tired and knackered. By which point replacements will need completely different cut outs and cavities.
b) The sound from in-ceiling speakers is only good for dentist's waiting rooms (personal prejudice)
c) We have absolutely no room in our walls for speakers (unless they're 25mm thick).
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Go on Tell the truth ..... how much of the We is actually I
and OH really couldn't care so long as Corrie can be watched by using a single Remote control
OH supports decent A/V - we enjoy our films. Tech details are up to me though and OH really couldn't care so long as Corrie can be watched by using a single Remote control
. The same goes for heating and lighting. We both want a comfortable house, but I'm the geek when it comes to researching how we get there.
Tuna said:
Driller said:
If you're doing a new build why not plan for in-wall or in -ceiling speakers?
because a) Both will eventually need replacing after hanging around at the end of their lives looking tired and knackered. By which point replacements will need completely different cut outs and cavities.
b) The sound from in-ceiling speakers is only good for dentist's waiting rooms (personal prejudice)
c) We have absolutely no room in our walls for speakers (unless they're 25mm thick).
Tuna said:
So... what do you think?
This sounds like amazing fun. I would love to plan a room/house like this from scratch. Just a question for personal interest. Does the projector work well during the day? Will you not have to close all the curtains etc. everytime you want to watch TV?Salgar said:
Tuna said:
So... what do you think?
This sounds like amazing fun. I would love to plan a room/house like this from scratch. Just a question for personal interest. Does the projector work well during the day? Will you not have to close all the curtains etc. everytime you want to watch TV?Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff