Home Network: Structured Wiring vs. Wireless vs. HomePlug

What works best for integrating Music, TV, A-V, Internet and Telephone (plus any other electronic services) in the home?

The three main contenders seem to be:

Structured wiring  multi-room audio and video distribution system using industry standard CAT5 (or co-ax) cable e.g.

Wiselan http://www.wiselan.com/homecabling.htm

NEXUS  http://www.wowlighting.co.uk/audio_video.htm

HomePlug (networking via the existing electrical sockets and cabling) e.g. Devolo Dlan http://www.devolo.co.uk/uk_EN/spezial/flashstart.html

Wireless networking

e.g. Rimax 5.8GHz Audio Video Sender & Receiver  http://www.rmxdirect.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/98?osCsid=c0f42db2dafacd067faf3d5b5ef070ac

Sonos Wireless Music 2 Zone Package with Speakers  http://www.stylishautomation.com/category_Wireless_Audio_Distribution_9.aspx    

The HomePlug option looks fantastic for retrofit, though.

The dedicated (CAT5) cable approach does seem the best bet.

Merely distributing audio and A-V is the easy part. How to manage the content sensibly when it arrives is the trickier part. Assuming speakers in every room as a starting point, Wiselan provides a wall-mounted audio controller (typically sited next to the light switch) with standard controls (play, skip, rewind, etc.). Nexus offers a remote for each room - letting you operate the remote sources (DVD player, TV, CD player, etc.) via an Infra-Red uplink. Think how annoying it could be for each of the teenagers in the house to be able to switch the main lounge TV from their rooms!

Good points.

As far as audio is concerned, I am trying to offer a choice of listening to say 3 different sets of ears: one pair in the kitchen, one pair in the lounge and one pair in the study. Thus just playing music loudly in one place is not sufficient. I could certainly use distinct music sources (e.g. CD players, iPods, MP3 players) locally in each room space - in conjunction with wireless headphones. However, not everyone finds headphones comfortable or convenient. The audio (music and training talks) is on a central digital store, avoiding the clutter and problems locating physical media.

Regarding audio-visual, the sources are a mixture of live TV, recorded TV (on a PVR), DVDs, PC-based videos (e.g. youtube), PC-based photos. Here again, I am trying to offer the choice of being able to watch different 'channels' in different places at the same time. Also, it would be convenient to watch the same source in different places (at different times). e.g. start watching a youtube video on the PC; later watch it on the big screen in the lounge; finish up watching it on a smaller screen in the bedroom.

Now, telephone. I want to be able to use either the internet (e.g. Skype) or landline from any room in the house. UK telephone circuits are limited to 4 devices (usually 4 handsets but may include answerphones and faxes) so I can't simply have a handset in every room. I would need to install a mini-exchange to achieve this.

Regarding security: I want to be able to see the output of any security camera on any screen, and also for the gate intercomm to be transmitted everywhere.

Finally internet. Obviously, I want to be able to use a laptop anywhere (including in the outbuildings). Wireless connections were deemed too slow a couple of years ago; now they appear fast enough - but the security aspects need to be borne in mind.

Ideally, I'd like ALL of these channels to be presented as TV channels (including the internet, videos on PC, gate intercomms, etc.) so that I get a simple, consistent interface for accessing them all. Is that too much to ask?

Are you living in a mansion or a castle or have you just won the bloody lotto !!

It's a tiny cottage - but that's not the point. As I'm having some work done, now is the time to recable the entire place. I get one shot to get the wiring right for the next 30 years. Plus, I need to do it on a modest budget (so that I can still afford a chess.com subscription).

haha I have the perfect solution for you, get off the chair and do it the old fashion way use one phone (btw these phone just about have everything in it !)
one tv, etc. and that will save u heap !

I couldn't resist the elegance of the structured wiring solution. I'm going with 4 cables from point zero to everywhere: 2 cat5e cables for ethernet, a satellite-coax cable for terrestial TV and POTS (but 6-core rather than 4) cable for the telephone.

That leaves: alarm which will be wireless, gate comms probably via mobile phone and music via a few, portable iPod/speaker-dock combinations.

I just need to get the cats security vetted so they can use the cat-flap.

Given that basic home cinema needs at least 6 speakers, is there an industry-standard 6-core cable and plug/socket solution that surround-sound amps typically use?

Two candidates for the cats' security:

• a variant of PawSense that identifies the cat, and
• radio-frequency-identification-rfid-controlled-cat-flap.

Don't worry, I've put the cables in place. In fact, I've cabled up from both sides of the room. Anyone foresee a problem with having all speakers connected back to both faceplates simultaneously?

Artfizz-"Anyone foresee a problem with having all speakers..."    you will end up  wearing a hearing-aid. 

Perhaps I should have phrased it: 'connecting up BOTH SPEAKERS OF THE PAIR to each correponding socket of the baseplate'.

beat me ...you got too many sockets for sure.

That's a 7:1 faceplate. Each (stereo) speaker has a pair of cables. The bass box has one too.

(Some amps support an auxiallary zone, so you may have 5:1 speakers in your home cinema room - but still take outputs to another pair of (stereo) speakers elsewhere.)

You not turning your house into something like this........

I'm not sure I follow you but if you're thinking about wiring speakers in parallel, like in my silly diagram, it's not a good idea. Speakers have a set impedance (resistance). If you connect them in parallel you cut the impedance in half. The circuits driving the speakers are tuned for the full impedance. Cutting the impedance in half will cause the driving circuits to drive too much current and possibly overheat and fry themselves. If that's not what you mean then just ignore me. Everbody else does.

Thanks for your interest, Gomer. I haven't described it well. I'm thinking of this ...

I don't anticipate generating sound through both baseplates simultaneously.

I think I understand now. You want to drive each faceplate with a different device. Only one device will be driving at a time. The speakers will be hooked to both faceplates.

I don't know if the devices will mind being backdriven by another device. They certainly wouldn't like it if they're also sending a signal. I don't know what might happen if they're turned off.

Some progress ...