RG6 Distribution Blocks?

[Mellman]

Hey all,

I'm starting to plan/prepare/save to wire my house I just purchased. The house has no Cat5, but has existing RG59/6 run throughout the house to some rooms via various splitters and barrel connectors throughout the basement and attic...so i figure while I'm pulling RJ45 to each room I might as well go ahead and pull RG6 too. Plus it'd be nice having a single clean line coming into a centralized place and splitting from there whenever i need it.

I have my 48 port RJ45 panel, will probably throw in a 110 or 66 block for phone even though i'm not currently using a land line...but I'm not very familiar with splitting off RG-6, my previous experience has just been with lots of splitters...and those always tend to go bad or mess up my SNR. What are some options out there for splitting off RG-6 that are of good quality, easy to use/keep things clean(both visual apperance, and Signal quality), and won't break the bank?

In addition to a distro block, should I be running RG-6 or RG6-Quad shield?

Finally...shortly after the wiring install, i'll be installing a security system, and a video surveillance system. Is there a standard for wiring for all security systems, or do they all use something special? I.E. can i pull some extra Cat5 into the attic and expect that to be sufficient, or are there proprietary cable connector requirements for most security systems.

Lots of questions, hope it's not too hard to read! Thanks in advance!

-Matt

 

[DavidL]

Is the plan to use a TV tuner at each watch location?

Or, to centralize the tuners and (optionally) route to a matrix switch and then distribute the video / audio to the watch locations?

makes a big difference on how you wire things.

The latter is the higher end solution, and you would be distributing HDMI or three RG6 (component video) plus audio to the watch locations.

Most of the time, the work to get access to wire the first wire is the hard part. Getting additional feeds is not usually an issue, as long as there is space for the additional feeds. HDMI long cable is expensive and has loss issues with cheaper cables.

But, sounds like you are wiring for the more typical tuner per watch location.

 

[Mellman]

Is the plan to use a TV tuner at each watch location?

Or, to centralize the tuners and (optionally) route to a matrix switch and then distribute the video / audio to the watch locations?

makes a big difference on how you wire things.

The latter is the higher end solution, and you would be distributing HDMI or three RG6 (component video) plus audio to the watch locations.

Most of the time, the work to get access to wire the first wire is the hard part. Getting additional feeds is not usually an issue, as long as there is space for the additional feeds. HDMI long cable is expensive and has loss issues with cheaper cables.

But, sounds like you are wiring for the more typical tuner per watch location.

Hey David,

Yes -- for now my plan is to use a TV tuner at each location, so only running a single RG6 at this point in time. I currently have a tuner in the family room and in my bedroom, ideally i'd like to have one in my personal office as well, but I can't justify that quite yet.

While I would be interested in seeing the centralized tuner solutions you speak of, especially if they are scalable so that I could setup a 1-2 watch location system now, and expand it easily in the future....however I need to get my security/fire alarm system up and running before i venture into the finer amenities like whole house AV.

Thanks,

-Matt

 

[Steve]

All security systems are wired in a very similar manner. The big difference is whether or not they use End Of Line resistors and what values. Typically one uses 22 gauge 'security' wire, but Cat5 could be used, more likely for powered devices like motions detectors and glass break detectors. Normal door and window contacts are usually easier to wire with 22/2. Have a look at the CocoonTech Wiring Guide for more info.

Edit: Instead of running all that RG6, you may want to to consider just Cat5 and using SageTV with extenders. There is more cost to this method but it can't be beat for distributed HD capable TV/PVR system.

 

[Mellman]

All security systems are wired in a very similar manner. The big difference is whether or not they use End Of Line resistors and what values. Typically one uses 22 gauge 'security' wire, but Cat5 could be used, more likely for powered devices like motions detectors and glass break detectors. Normal door and window contacts are usually easier to wire with 22/2. Have a look at the CocoonTech Wiring Guide for more info.

Edit: Instead of running all that RG6, you may want to to consider just Cat5 and using SageTV with extenders. There is more cost to this method but it can't be beat for distributed HD capable TV/PVR system.

Yeah, I've thought of using sage TV, however...at this point in time with it being a new-to-me house,and my first house, i have plenty of other things to do before that will happen. I figure a spool of RG6 to pull along with all the Cat5 i'm pulling isn't that much more hassle. And I'm already planning on running 2 ports to every normal room and 4 to my family room, so one port will be available for a distributed TV system in the future whenever I decide to go that route.