# Questions about new construction...



## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

wow, what a great site.

I currently am constructing my own man cave and stumbled on this sight. I have spent the past 3 hours reading and picking up many tips. Thanks guys. I do have a few questions if you don't mind:

My configuration will be a gas fireplace which will be about 12" off the back wall, then a 50" Pansonic S2 above which will be offset in a box above of approximately 35" x 54". The mantle on the fireplace will be 12" so the TV i believe will have enough protection. (so, box off back wall of 12" and then another 12"for fireplace mantel) 

I will be running a 5.1 Pioneer receiver (3 HDMI in) to my speakers and will be wiring this week as framing was done last week and electrician coming tomorrow to wire basement. All i want to run off receiver is a Bell ExpressVu, a new Blu Ray player, my WII and potentially be able to hook up my video camera once in awhile?

Here's my quick questions as i'm not that tech savy AT ALL !

1) Fair to say the plasma TV will be fine with the gas fireplace below? with the mantel 12" and then the inset TV box, i'm hopeful?

2) Here's where i struggle. I want to run all the equipment behind a wall using a universal remote. Should i go Logitech or UC? what size. My audio guy is trying to sell me the best of the best and given i'm not a true HT guy, not sure it's needed given what i want to run above? Thoughts?

3) So, the run from receiver to TV will be about 14'. I know i need to run a HDMI from receiver to TV and then hook up HDMI from Blu Ray/Expressvu directly to receiver? What else? there's a "fibre optic" spot... what do i hook that up to? TV?? How do i do the WII? i really have no idea? anything special since it will be behind a wall now?

4) Lastly, speakers. I learned today i will need CL3 or CL2 since running in the wall. The runs will be about 20' for the back 2. 12 or 14 gauge? Home Depot? For the subwoofer, is a RG6 what i need? a coxial?

Lastly, CAT6. Do i need any of this for anything?


I appreciate your help guys. Heading to bed and hoping i can put up some pics tomorrow to see the progress. I'll post the poker room pics as well! 

Cory


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

TV above fireplace will be fine. I have my Panny plasma above a wood fireplace. The brick there does not get hot and we keep the fires pretty small (no burning pizza boxes . . . anymore)

If all your sources can send audio over HDMI, then no need for a fiber optic signal. If you have an older cable box or DVD player, you may need to run the audio through fiber, but no need with the newer HDMI units.

you can get CL2/3 at Home Depot or Lowes. Parts Express and Monoprice sell rolls of it cheaper, though. Estimate your exact lengths and add 25%. Bends and the extra slack to the speaker/ receiver take up more than you'd think.

Cat6 is great to run everywhere. You can use it for distributed IR, ethernet, even speaker wire or signal wire in a pinch. I still have half a box of Cat5e that I use. I pull an extra one with every cable run. Then if I need a hookup or a pull wire for a new cable, it's already in the wall.

Good luck and welcome to the Shack!


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Like previous poster.. All your signals run to your receiver and then everything is sent to the TV over a single HDMI cable. Parts express is the way to go for cables, etc.

I have all my components in a cabinet and use a logitech harmony 880 which is really all the remote you would ever need..unless you want to cook toast with your remote or something. The 880 uses radio frequencies (RF) and infra-red (or a combination of both).

So basically, you would control your TV with infra-red (IR), and all the rest of your components would be controlled by RF. The RF signal is sent to a little device that receives the RF signal, converts it to infra-red, and sends it out to your devices by a little cable and IR "blaster" that sticks to your componants over the IR reciever.

THe logitech is programmed on your computer and its pretty slick. You enter in the components you have and it downloads the IR codes to the remote. Then you tell it what your "activities are" and it memorizes the sequences of events. Example.. when I hit "play xbox", it turns the reciever input to "hdmi 3", turns the xbox on, turns the projector on, turns up the bass levels, and then dims the lights. 

If I am watching a movie and press pause, I programmed the remote to turn up the lights a little. 

I have tried to program the remote to "insert ear plugs in wife's ears" but unfortunately I can not locate the remote codes to wife version 2.0 :huh: This technology doesn't exist yet, but I'm hopeful.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Hi and welcome aboard the Shack Cory,

1) As mentioned above over the fireplace is fine just as long as the display has room to breath and the vents are not obstructed.

2) Logitech will work just fine for your needs I have one and have no issues with it so far over a year later.

3) Hdmi caries audio and video and as long as your running everything through the receiver first then that will be all you need. That said running a length of component cable and an optical cable would not be a bad idea even if you dont use it now it may come in handy later.

4) My personal opinion is the 14awg wire is fine and that will be good for all speakers 12 will be hard to fit in some of the binding posts as well. For cat6 a run to the receiver and Bluray player is enough as well as the all you need for the sub is a good rca cable.


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## mdrake (Jan 31, 2008)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Welcome to the shack!! 

matt


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Hi Cory and welcome..


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Welcome fellow Canuck!

Although the TV will be fine heat wise above the fireplace, the height will not be ideal. It would be alright if you were standing, but sitting you'll find that you might get a kink in your neck. A lot of people do it though, and it seems to be in vogue right now.

If your TV has an Ethernet connection you will want to run CAT6. A 24 AWG CAT6 cable is the equivalent of 18 AWG if split into two sets of four wires (or 15 using all). If you can get 22 AWG CAT6 then it would be 16 AWG (13 if using all 8). Any of which is fine for runs under 30 feet with 8Ohm speakers.

As for a remote. I have a Logitech Harmony 1000 with an RF extender and love it. They are a little pricey however. The Harmony 900 comes with an RF extender, the 1100 does not. Logitech is probably the most aggressively priced. Phillips Pronto remotes are nice also but do get expensive. Then there's the iPhone or iPod touch which can be used as a universal remote with an app and a GC-100 device.


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## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

Thanks guys..

So I made the plunge today and made a large order from Monoprice. HDMI cables, speaker wire, WII cables, speaker mounts and TV Wall mount.. To be honest, all for under $100 + shipping and up here, I'd be looking at a least $400-$500 when all said and done... I'm a little nervous about quality, but, we will see.

Now need to decide on a universal controller and a Blu Ray player. I will post some pics pre drywall this weekend hopefully.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*Re: New Guy From Canada!*

For a BluRay player look for the Panasonic DMP lineup. For the price they can not be beat. The upconversion is on par or better than the PS3 and can be found for around $120 in Canada for the BD60, The PS3 is another option "if" your a gamer or the Oppo BD83 is another great option but a little pricey.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Tony,

What is the loading speed like on the BD60?
My Samsung is horribly slow and it's starting to really tick me off!


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

The new Sony line-up is supposed load faster than its previous generation and supports SACD and DLNA streaming. The 370 is not too expensive and the 470 and above are 3D capable.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Prof. said:


> Tony,
> 
> What is the loading speed like on the BD60?
> My Samsung is horribly slow and it's starting to really tick me off!


Its fairly average, I dont use the standby quick startup feature as it draws a bit more power but it then loads about twice as fast. Most BluRay movies are playing the movie in about 35-45 seconds in the normal mode I use (lots faster than my previous Samsung BDP1400).


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks guys...I read a review yesterday on the BD60, comparing the load time to the Samsung BDP 4600..It did it in 17 seconds! compared to the BD60 at about 45 seconds!
It seems the quality of the up-conversion on the BD60 is outstanding for a player at that price level..which really appeals to me..I guess you can't have everything in that price range!


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## FREE1543 (Jul 16, 2010)

Bdp 4600 is the better choice


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Prof. said:


> Thanks guys...I read a review yesterday on the BD60, comparing the load time to the Samsung BDP 4600..It did it in 17 seconds! compared to the BD60 at about 45 seconds!
> It seems the quality of the up-conversion on the BD60 is outstanding for a player at that price level..which really appeals to me..I guess you can't have everything in that price range!


Keep in mind that the Panasonic BD65 (the BD60s replacement) is out now so it uses the same components and may load faster.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks guys..I'll look into both of those..


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## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

OKAY, I am sooooo close to posting pictures of my finished product. Basement is about 90% complete and i started to hook up the TV and Receiver today. however, i've hit a stumbling block. Please keep in mind i have the speakers wire run but not hooked up to Pioneer receiver yet but still have a problem.....

I have a pre wired HDMI cable that i hooked up to the TV. This cable goes right to the Pioneer receiver. I then hooked up my Bell box (satellite TV) and ran a HDMI cable to the Pioneer receiver. I wanted to make sure everything worked.

Well, i have picture but no AUDIO??? Am i missing something here? and please, please don't say i have to run another wire to the TV as i'm not sure i can fish behind the wall but can try.

ANY advice would be extremely appreciated.

thanks
cory


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

What's the model number of the Pioneer receiver? 

You might have to specify either in the AVR or Satellite Box's settings where the audio is coming/go from/to and from which type of source. I'd monkey around with the settings.


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## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

need 2 more posts to post link


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## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

last one.


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## Cory'sHTBuild (Jul 11, 2010)

link not working.
receiver is Pioneer 5.1 Channel HDMI 3D Home Theatre Receiver (VSX-520-K) 

any suggestions?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Firstly, check that Kuro is turned off in your receiver and then check in Audio Parameters that it's set to HDMI..


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