Wiring Advice

Retromatic · 15 Dec 2010 at 20:20

I'm looking at getting my home completely networked next year and was wondering what I would need. I live in a town house and want my games room on the ground floor to serve media/sky etc to other devices and tv's in the house on the floors above. What kind of cabling would I need?

I've read a bit about cat5 e, but wondered if cat 6 would be better? It would be used for wired streaming of HD content and music. Noobie questions but do I also need any kind of converters or switches for cat cables to hdmi etc.

Any help appreciated.

lucid · 15 Dec 2010 at 23:13

Go CAT6 if possible. It's more future-proofed.

The key to understanding what you plan on doing is to know the difference between "IP traffic" and "AV signals converted by a balun to run on CAT cable".

IP is what your computer and router use to pass data around a network for file sharing and web surfing.

Baluns, on the other hand, are simply a relatively cheap pair of boxes for converting AV signals in to something suitable for travelling over longer lengths of CAT cable, then converting back to AV. Baluns don't make AV signals in to IP signals that can be shared or distributed by a router or played on media players. Baluns should be used for point-to-point connections... e.g. HDMI splitter to 2nd TV.

AV over CAT cable and IP signals can't be mixed on the same network. You can have boxes that will convert AV to IP and back though. They aren't cheap, and you normally need to use the same manufacturers router to ensure that the system will work. But with an AV-over-IP system any person with the right streaming player can select any file on the network and play it.

AV-over-IP systems vary in price from under £1000 to many thousands. One of the main reasons for this is... resolution. Many of the cheaper systems resample the video signal to something lower resolution. So your 1080p Blu-ray or 1080i Sky HD might end up being down-converted to something close to standard definition before being scaled back up at the streamer end. This is to save cost and make it easier to handle the network traffic.

MikeHunt79 · 15 Dec 2010 at 23:14

You may be better off asking in the networking section but I'd go for cat6 also.

SimonR · 16 Dec 2010 at 18:06

Cat 5e is perfectly capable of handling HD video, as is Cat6. What is more important is the quality of the install. A poor Cat6 install can have poorer performance than an average install of Cat5e.

If possible try and plan where your runs go. Keep good separation between data and mains voltage cabling. Make sure that your faceplates / patch panels are terminated properly. You will always end up needing twice as many drops as you originally planned for.

You will probably want to plan for LSOH cabling, if it is to be used in a domestic residence.

Finally budget for a decent quality Gigabit switch.

Retromatic · 16 Dec 2010 at 18:20

lucid said:
Go CAT6 if possible. It's more future-proofed.

The key to understanding what you plan on doing is to know the difference between "IP traffic" and "AV signals converted by a balun to run on CAT cable".

IP is what your computer and router use to pass data around a network for file sharing and web surfing.

Baluns, on the other hand, are simply a relatively cheap pair of boxes for converting AV signals in to something suitable for travelling over longer lengths of CAT cable, then converting back to AV. Baluns don't make AV signals in to IP signals that can be shared or distributed by a router or played on media players. Baluns should be used for point-to-point connections... e.g. HDMI splitter to 2nd TV.

AV over CAT cable and IP signals can't be mixed on the same network. You can have boxes that will convert AV to IP and back though. They aren't cheap, and you normally need to use the same manufacturers router to ensure that the system will work. But with an AV-over-IP system any person with the right streaming player can select any file on the network and play it.

AV-over-IP systems vary in price from under £1000 to many thousands. One of the main reasons for this is... resolution. Many of the cheaper systems resample the video signal to something lower resolution. So your 1080p Blu-ray or 1080i Sky HD might end up being down-converted to something close to standard definition before being scaled back up at the streamer end. This is to save cost and make it easier to handle the network traffic.

Thanks for the info, but I must admit I'm totally confused now lol.

Maybe I don't need Cat cable after all? I'm really just looking to have a NAS server with wires hidden in the wall that will play 1:1 bluray films over the network wherever I want to in the house. I would have a cheap media streamer connected to the tv's. Internet wise I'm not too fussed about, there are already phone sockets in all rooms so I could just use home plugs or something for that or wireless as I do now?

lucid · 18 Dec 2010 at 00:28

Well then, if you just want to play content from your NAS on to some media players then it's a whole lot simpler. A CAT5e network and a Gigabit network switch is your basic spec. Go CAT6 if you can - just remember that you'll need CAT6 spec faceplates/sockets to maintain the system integrity.

It gets more complicated if you want to share Sky around the home as you said in the OP.

Retromatic · 18 Dec 2010 at 10:15

lucid said:
Well then, if you just want to play content from your NAS on to some media players then it's a whole lot simpler. A CAT5e network and a Gigabit network switch is your basic spec. Go CAT6 if you can - just remember that you'll need CAT6 spec faceplates/sockets to maintain the system integrity.

It gets more complicated if you want to share Sky around the home as you said in the OP.

Oh sorry I did didn't I. I should have been more specific - I already have multiroom for the downstairs room (games room) and the lounge. I'd read about a magic eye thing for changing the channels etc on tv's where there is no Sky box linked up and thought it might be a case of running some kind of splitter from the Sky box(s)up to the tv's in the bedrooms and then using the magic eye perhaps.

On the Nas/media side of things I will look into CAT 6 and a Gigabit network switch, many thanks.

SimonR · 19 Dec 2010 at 22:09

Leviathon said:
Oh sorry I did didn't I. I should have been more specific - I already have multiroom for the downstairs room (games room) and the lounge. I'd read about a magic eye thing for changing the channels etc on tv's where there is no Sky box linked up and thought it might be a case of running some kind of splitter from the Sky box(s)up to the tv's in the bedrooms and then using the magic eye perhaps.

On the Nas/media side of things I will look into CAT 6 and a Gigabit network switch, many thanks.

What you wish to do with Sky is quite feasable, in fact it is quite common. As long as your loft amp/loftbox supports passing the signal from the magic-eyes you wil be fine. I would recommend that you look at something like a Global Comms Loftbox.