THE PREWIRE The Domestic Prewire can be a contentious subject as everyone seems to have a point of view so here we will discuss a few of the principles and trade-offs involved and hopefully simplify the process a little for the installer. The challenge is to accommodate all of the viewing habits the home owner has at present and then to also balance this against any future habits of, not only a growing family, but also any possible future owners of the home when the original family decide to move on. Often the rush towards the finish line when building can make the prewire seem like a low priority but the reality is once the wall lining is on, any future considerations for AV become much more difficult. Anyone contemplating a wireless future should consider the likely age of any immediate or future occupants of the home as there is no substitute for copper in the wall for reliability and ease of use.
relatively inexpensive nature of the cable. It normally also has the advantage of returning the IR signal back to the AV source, (in the opposite direction the picture and sound are travelling) simplifying remote control from all locations back to the AV source. It is recommended to avoid patch panels and faceplates when choosing CAT6 distribution, and cable directly between transmitter and receiver using brush plates (see 05MM-WP64). This is to avoid the loss associated with too many intersections leading to drop out and picture instability and this means wiring directly from the equipment area to a TV location rather than through the CAT6 hub. REST OF HOUSE
HDMI DISTRIBUTION VIA CAT5/6 34MM-2K50-3
RG6 We would recommend every current, or possible future, TV or Sky decoder location, be wired with 1 x RG6 each back to the distribution point (typically a recessed box in the garage or a nominated equipment area in the house). If modulation for distributing SKY around the home is being considered, then you also need a second RG6 to transmit the newly created Sky DVB-T channel back to the RG6 distribution point from that SKY decoder location. In addition to this you also need to make the RG6 connections from the roof mounted Aerial or Satellite dish to feed the same distribution point. If you have both mounted on the roof then run a separate cable for each but if left with no choice you can combine the Satellite and Terrestrial signals into one cable with an outdoor diplexer. TYPICAL SKY AND/OR FREEVIEW TERRESTRIAL RG6 WIRING DIAGRAM 13MM-R65P
10MM-DDA24
HDMI SOURCE
LOCAL TV
Another reason to prewire with CAT6 is to give each TV location a hardwired connection to the internet for the online content available in smart TVs . This is to avoid WIFI congestion and improve reliability and capacity as our connection speeds improve into the future. If you intend to run HDMI leads to distribute an AV source to all TV locations, then you also need to consider running a CAT6 lead for returning the IR commands back to the source. Whilst there are kits available to run a remote control signal over an HDMI lead there is nothing that takes into account more than one location. These IR signals can be run through a patch panel and/or faceplates as the signal is very robust once captured into a copper connection.
02MM-MDU50
HDMI 10MM-MT67
CAT6 Whole house distribution of an AV signal over CAT6 is now very popular due to the ease of the prewire and
18 | LIVEWIRE
Prewiring with HDMI is normally a performance option when picture and sound performance are a priority. HDMI also currently happens to be the most cost effective way into 4K capacity, as 4K extenders continue to be relatively expensive compared to their 1080p cousins and modulation has an upper limit of 1080p. Whilst early, or low-cost, HDMI cables have a reputation for failing over
