# Looking for basic Wiring/Planning Guidance



## musicfan (Jun 21, 2010)

Hello,

Guys here were very helpful w/my TV over fireplace/phantom center questions. Now, I'm eager for some basic guidance w/re some wiring/planning/design issues for a home renovation. The contractor is going to be closing the walls next week, so I need to tell my guy who is doing the A.V wiring what I want. 

I've read a bunch of stuff over the past days about wiring etc. and am trying to think about wiring for future scenarios as best I can, which is somewhat challenging b/c I'm not definitely sure what I'm doing yet. So, here are some basic Qs, all help is welcomed. 

For background, I will have my main audio/video location in our new family room, but will also be finishing a basement room a bit later with home theater equipment. I am also expecting to have a smaller TV in our master bedroom with a receiver.

I also want to incorporate the Sonos system in the design to distribute music. I bought an Onkyo TR876 home theater receiver on advice here, and have some other components (and will buy some). TV will be plasma, lcd or led.

So, I think I want to wire the family room for at least two different possible tv locations. With that in mind, I want to provide power, wiring etc. in the right places. My question is, between the TV location and the receiver and other component locations, how many RG6 coaxial wires, HDMI wires, CAT6 wires or other wires should I anticipate using. Are there any other wires I should consider. 

Also, what and how many wires should I run between locations (such as between the family room and basement)?

We're going to be using Verizon fios for TV.

For you Sonos guys, should I try to directly wire the boxes together just in case where they are close enough due to the new construction, even though I plan to use Sonos wirelessly?

How many outlets should I place where the gear resides? The electrician suggested 4 outlets, since he thinks I'll be using a surge protector. What would you advise generally regrding outlets/power. 

Thanks, Mike


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Honestly, the best thing you can do is run conduit between locations and wherever any central hub is if you plan to share components. Standards WILL change over time. You WILL want to pull different cables at some point. 

In addition to power and AV, I would also highly suggest running at least 1 pc of Cat 6 wire to each location as more and more pieces are becoming network aware.

Bryan


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Yeah, run as much conduit as possible.

Also, unless you are running amps that blow the breaker all the time, don't worry about tons of outlets or multiple circuits. My entire rig has never drawn more than 4 amps continuously (4 channels driven, Outlaw power amp, preamp, projector) and only 7 amps at startup for a second.

Outlet for the TV, outlet for the gear, and possibly an outlet for the subwoofer, if it's not near the gear.

Good luck.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> My question is, between the TV location and the receiver and other component locations, how many RG6 coaxial wires, HDMI wires, CAT6 wires or other wires should I anticipate using. Are there any other wires I should consider.


There’a no reason to run RG-6 to the TV, unless you’re going to connect a TV antenna to it. If you’re using the Onkyo or some other AVR as the hub of your system, then all you need between the receiver and TV is HDMI. However, I would include a set of component video cables as a back up, as sometimes HDMI can be “blinky.” Cat-6 would also be good as a “just in case” for the future. Don't forget to run a signal feed from the reciever to where you anticipate locating your subwoofer, so you won't have to stretch a cable across the floor. RG-6 will work for this, too.




> Also, what and how many wires should I run between locations (such as between the family room and basement)?


I would imagine the basement will be a stand-alone system with its own AVR. If you intend to share source components between the family room and basement, any cabling you’d have run between those components and the family room AVR will require similar cabling between those components and the basement. Problem is, most source components like DVD players, FIOS receivers etc. only have a single HDMI output. So for the secondary location (basement) you’d have to run cabling for component video and digital audio, and wiring that might be required to remotely control the component, such as an IR repeater system.

It makes more sense just to have separate source components for the two locations. That way you won’t need a crystal ball to figure out what kind of cabling you’ll need in the future between them. It’s more flexible too. For instance, with a single FIOS receiver shared between the two locations, obviously everyone has to watch the same channel. 

With two fully independent systems, the only cabling you’d only need would be whatever FIOS would require or say, a satellite receiver, should you at some point chose to switch providers. Don’t know what FIOS needs, but for satellite you’d need at least two RG-6 feeds, and at least a couple of Cat-6. One of those could be used for the sat receiver’s phone line. Of course, you’d also need any wiring the Sonos system requires as well, if you want that accessibility in the basement HT.




> How many outlets should I place where the gear resides? The electrician suggested 4 outlets, since he thinks I'll be using a surge protector. What would you advise generally regrding outlets/power.


_Put all the HT equipment in a dedicated circuit._ If more than one circuit is used, make sure they're all on the same service leg (phase). Outlets either at the wall or your surge protector are needed for each piece of equipment that requires uninterrupted power, such as the AVR, FIOS receiver, DVR, etc. Other components like DVD players can have their power switched by the AVR. As Anthony noted, it'd be good to include an outlet at the location you'd expect your subwoofer(s) to be.

You might look into getting a whole-house surge protector instead of local ones.

Regards,
Wayne


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## Tommy077 (May 15, 2010)

I agree with all the information given so far, but I would pull at least 2 or 3 CAT 6 cables to each location if you plan to run hard wired systems. This would be for back up and for addition of future equipment you would want. If you go with the conduit method (more highly recommended) make sure you install at least an inch and a half conduit. Since HDMI cables can not be field terminated (at least I haven't heard of them yet) you need to make sure you have plenty of room for several cables. Also, make sure that you don't put more than 3 ninety degree bends in the run without having a pull box. If you get 4 or more bends, you'll swear more than a Sailor while trying to pull the cable. Depending on the type of ceiling you have in the basement, you'll want to be sure you have everything in advance. If you go with a drop ceiling in the basement, you can always get back to the main floor walls and fish in new cables if needed. If you decide not to go with conduit, I would get at least 2 HDMI cables at each location as well.... over kill is better than having to go back and patch sheetrock if you make a major configuration change. It is also cheaper to have more cables than needed at first because if/when you make a major change, all you need to do is to plug the equipment in and set it up.

Hope this helps some.


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