Advice On New System

[totallymaxed]

Take it from someone who is finishing their basement and have a wiring closet downstairs.  Run extra wiring, it's very cheap to do at the time, and $$ later.  My basement is almost finished and I'm already finding places where I wish I would have run more.  What I have is sufficient and fits my plans, but more wiring up front means more options later.  Little stuff like running cat 5e from the wiring closet to 2 walls in every room instead of just the one where I plan to use it.

Yep...100% agree with that. We always say to clients that it is the cable you did not run that is the most 'expensive' :-)

Andrew

[skeptic]

Take it from someone who is finishing their basement and have a wiring closet downstairs.  Run extra wiring, it's very cheap to do at the time, and $$ later.  My basement is almost finished and I'm already finding places where I wish I would have run more.  What I have is sufficient and fits my plans, but more wiring up front means more options later.  Little stuff like running cat 5e from the wiring closet to 2 walls in every room instead of just the one where I plan to use it.

Yep...100% agree with that. We always say to clients that it is the cable you did not run that is the most 'expensive' :-)

Andrew

Heh heh, words of wisdom.

I have to call my electrician this week to add two more power outlets (wife now wants a mini fridge under the wet bar/kitchenette counter top and a microwave hidden inside the upper cabinets).  While he is here I'm going to talk to him about running a phone line into the wiring closet, something I didn't even think about and didn't think I'd need because I only have cordless phones.  However, I have a fax machine I'd like to move downstairs and I didn't run a single phone wire there.  Stupid move on my part.

[twodogs]

I've been looking at products to send video and control signals over cat5/6 cable per the diagram in a previous post. I have not found much info on the web about how specific models do or don't work (but the manufacturers claim they work great!) I'd love to know if anyone has any comments on the products below or similar. I have a lot of cat5e cable but I've heard that using cat6 might make the difference between a setup that works and one that doesn't. Also, it seems that all the USB extenders I found were 1.1. Maybe that would be OK for watching a movie on the external DVD, but might be a problem if I later upgrade to an external blu-ray.

In selecting components 'm primarily looking at three factors...

- LinuxMCE compatability
- Price
- Power usage (trying to minimize the use of A/C adapters)

The video baluns I'm looking at are all passive. I've come up with three options for powering the USB devices.
1. Power everything from the computer's USB port - baluns, 1:4 hub, DVD, Gyration receiver, and USB to RS232 cable to control the TV. (this might draw too much from one USB port on the computer)
2. As above, except get an external DVD that has an A/C adapter (puts the biggest power hog on its own supply that I could switch on/off when I get up to insert the DVD. I still might be overloading the computer USB port with all the other devices, though)
3. Power the baluns from the computer's USB port. Get a 1:4 USB hub with an A/C adapter. Power the Gyration receiver, external DVD, and USB to RS232 cable from the hub. (this may be my best option)  

Here are some of the products I've found...

Component Video over Cat5/6 (called variously - converters, extenders, or baluns)

MilesTek (kit incudes sender and receiver) integrated with wallplate $50
http://www.milestek.com/video-over-cat5.html?gclid=CJCS88WQiJ0CFRQpawodcjjcbg

MCM (two required) $52.95 bulk price for 4 or more
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7722

Muxlab (two required) $74.95 each
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/MUXLAB-500050-/33-10060

USB over cat5/6 (Note: none of these work for my application, need a USB extender not a balun - 20 Feb 2010)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/515655-REG/Intelix_DIGI_USB_F_Digi_USB_F_USB_Cat_5_Modular.html
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/IOGEAR-GUCE51-/83-9610
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-VAD-1110-/83-11534


USB Hubs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817201031


External DVD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135195&cm_re=external_dvd-_-27-135-195-_-Product

[skeptic]

Do some searching here - there is a pretty detailed description of doing this from a LMCE point of view.  IIRC, specific hardware is even included in the write-up.

Just to add a bit to previous comments, I'm going to be dropping a few hundred bucks to get a phone line ran into my wiring closet..  Would have been almost free if I didn't forget about it the first time.  Doh!

[totallymaxed]

Do some searching here - there is a pretty detailed description of doing this from a LinuxMCE point of view.  IIRC, specific hardware is even included in the write-up.

Just to add a bit to previous comments, I'm going to be dropping a few hundred bucks to get a phone line ran into my wiring closet..  Would have been almost free if I didn't forget about it the first time.  Doh!

Yep ;-)

Andrew

[twodogs]

I'll heed the good advice on running more wiring. I think I'll also put in an empty PVC conduit from the basement to the attic for future expansion.
I'm still not finding anything in the forums but very generic info on baluns, ie "you need to get a balun." Its hard to search for info because they are called baluns, extenders, converters, etc. When you do a search for "balun" you get about 5 posts. When you look for the other terms you get hundreds of posts that have nothing to do with video over cat5. I'm thinking I should buy some hardware and post my results.

John

[totallymaxed]

I'll heed the good advice on running more wiring. I think I'll also put in an empty PVC conduit from the basement to the attic for future expansion.
I'm still not finding anything in the forums but very generic info on baluns, ie "you need to get a balun." Its hard to search for info because they are called baluns, extenders, converters, etc. When you do a search for "balun" you get about 5 posts. When you look for the other terms you get hundreds of posts that have nothing to do with video over cat5. I'm thinking I should buy some hardware and post my results.

John

John,

The problem is that there is such a vast range of these types devices out there...and they are more than often OEM'd by small Chinese companies...and it becomes incredibly difficult to document the performance of these devices. My company uses a make of HDMI-CAT5 extenders (Balun is an old 'audio' industry word for the same thing) that we import direct from China...as far as i know they are not available on the open market. We tried some of there product and we liked it so we stuck with it....I believe there are literally 100's of similar companies building similar products.

So in the end I would suggest buying some units and testing them.

Andrew

[twodogs]

That's what I was beginning to realize. I think its time to start experimenting!

[sk1]

I think I'll also put in an empty PVC conduit from the basement to the attic for future expansion.

This is a great idea.  I just built a house and I remembered to do this.  I got to use it when they came to install the wireless (I am out in the country but up on a hill so I can WiMax to the watertower 5 miles away, 1.0 meg service is better than dial-up and a lot cheaper than satellite) and even though the rep on the phone assured me that I just need coax (RG6) for their installation, the installer gets here and tells me that guy is an idiot and they use cat5e.  So instead of having to fish cat5e (I actually used cat6 everywhere) through two stories to get from the attic to the basement, I just dropped it down one of the three 1.5 inch PVC conduits i ran along side the clothes chute.  One of the best 'extras' that I added while I was building this place.

[twodogs]

Does anyone know of an economical way to get a component video signal out of an ASUS P5N7A-VM? I have a Denon AVR-3805 that only does component switching. I've seen adapters for almost nothing, but they look suspiciously like adapters that only work on ATI boards. Other DVI/HDMI to component converters sell for up to several hundred dollars. Yikes!

By the way, Kudos to everyone involved with the MCE810 DVD release. Much easier than building from Kubuntu.

John

[twodogs]

I think there is a way forward. The TV and speakers are on the second floor directly above the main wiring closet in the basement - a distance of about 20 feet. I'll use the TV for video switching (it has an RS232 control port). I'll run a 30' DVI cable from the hybrid to the TV. I'll also run composite video from the DirecTV satellite box, using baluns and cat5e cable. The Denon also has an RS232 control port, so I can use that for audio switching. I believe that will get me up and running for now. When the HD-PVR driver is ready I'll integrate that into my system and simplify things.

John