Whole House cabling?

[maseline_98]

If I want to run component/fiber optic cable throughout my house...what would I need? How would I get a spool/in-wall connectors/crimper?

[chasw98]

If I want to run component/fiber optic cable throughout my house...what would I need? How would I get a spool/in-wall connectors/crimper?

Personally, I would think about running digital coax instead of digital fiber cable. It is much more forgiving and easier to work with. You can get a 1000 foot spool of good quality RG6 coax and run 4 cables (3 for component, 1 digital audio) from your head end to where ever you are going.

If you insist on using fiber a local data supply house will have fiber for sale on spools. Usually they will teach you how to terminate and polish and test it in the store. Then they will sell you all the tools you need to attach the ends to it. You will probably find that the cost of tools and sometimes the frustration of getting the connectors to work properly can be more than it is worth. There are also several companies that sell coax to fiber converters for a reasonable price. That way you could pull the coax I suggested and if you have to use fiber buy a pair of canverters and convert the coax to digital.

Chuck

[augerpro]

Assuming you're talking about networking needs, let me suggest Cat5e. Alot of it.
I just built a house and all the rooms have one Cat5e jack, although I wish I had ran more, maybe 2-4 jacks in an entertainment/theater room.

[peterS]

compenent and fiber optic are obsolete
not to mention toslink cant run that far to begin with

[maseline_98]

So...I need 4 spools of RG6 coax cable(I'm assuming this is the same cable that i use for my comcast? And if so, why would I need to run 3 cables for the video...shouldn't I be able to split the cable in to RGB for component or Am i Missig something? I wasn't aware that coax could be converted to digitial audio or to component. Also, How do I make it so I have female plugs on each end(so I can just connect my devices via in-wall jack). Are they just standard RCAs?

EDIT: I was reading on AVS and found that a 'baluns' over cat5 could work...I would keep me from having to run multiple cables with one of these on each end: http://sewelldirect.com/Intelix-HDTV...site-balun.asp

Has anybody had experience with this?

[J Walker]

As "Chasw98" said earlier. Your local cable supply store can usually supply you with wall plates, connectors tools and all other parts and tools that will make you look like a PRO.

In answer to your question. All of the wall plates I use, in commercial A/V installs, have "pass through" connectors on the plate. Meaning (in the case of RCA, BNC or F connectors) the connector is a dual female, barrel connector, bolted to the plate. This allows you to use the same connectors on both sides of the wall.

I found this link to a plate supplier.
Hope it helps.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/home-wiring.html

RG6 cable has only 2 conductors. So when running RGB over RG6, 3 cable runs are required, because each color needs it's own cable. (Red, Green and Blue) Then the 4th RG6 is used for digital audio.

I have used quite a few of the Audio/Video to cat5 converters, namely Altinex and Extron, in commercial installs. They work well enough for normal presentation video but for HDTV I am not sure. (never pushed the video resolution above 1024x768. My customers never wanted it and most projectors "I" install are XGA native.)

[maseline_98]

I think I'm starting to get a better understanding as to what I have to do....BTW...THX FOR THE LINK!