Whole-House Audio

Growth potential lies in the ability to add equipment for zoned audio, where someone in one room can listen to a different audio source than someone in another room. Recall, 4 conductor control wire is already part of the wire run to each location. Using the same centralized audio wiring scheme, multiple amps and switchers are used for the sources. Each audio zone has a keypad that is used to select the music source, and the selected source is switched to the requesting volume control/speaker system(s). This type of system is very expensive (the zone keypads alone, depending on capability, run from about $250 to $450 each), with the same wiring, simpler (and cheaper) systems provide some limited control. For example, using an infra-red repeater system, an infra-red receiver (about $75-$85) can be put in the wall box and use the same wire to transmit to an IR blaster (about $65) in the media room, allowing control of the single-source audio from anywhere an IR receiver is installed. An IR remote is pointed at the IR receiver in the desired room, and the command is transmitted to the IR blaster in the media room to allow control of any piece of equipment in the stack. More sophisticated IR control systems are also available. There are also keypads that mount in the same wall boxes that just emulate a learning IR remote; you "teach" the keypad the IR commands (like programming a universal IR remote), and punching the pre-labeled keys then transmits the command through the wire to the same IR blaster. This avoids lost remotes and looks more professional, but the keypads are still about $250 each. In summary, lots of different methods of control are available using the same keypad/IR wiring in the house. BTW, this type of control is called IRBus by CEBus.

Power line, Video, Phone, and Data:

The design for video, phone, and data is based on CEBus specifications. Since the "workhorse" of CEBus is the Power line bus (PLBus), We can assume that if it would work with X-10, it should work with CEBus. Therefore, the high-voltage design should include having the electrician bring power to the light switches and then run the switched leg to the light, instead of running power to the light and the switch leg to the switch. This ensured that power (and ever-present signal path through the switch boxes) is available at each switch location regardless of the switch location; it ensured that a neutral wire is available at each switch box (needed for florescent or high-current X-10 switches).

Computer Wiring

To ensure adequate future expansion of either voice or data, run two 4-pair TP cables to both TV and phone locations. This usually gives at least two outlet locations (one TV outlet box, one phone outlet box) in each major room and bedroom at which you can connect phone, data, or both. Reserve one 4-pair cable for possible high-speed LAN connections (which could possibly use all 8 wires in the case of 100MBit LANs), and to ensure complete separation of data cross-talk, and use the other 4-pair for multiple phone extensions and/or low-speed LAN or other data links (such as a short-haul modem for non-LAN printer distribution, etc.). CEBus specifies separate 4-pair cables for phone and TPBus to avoid unwanted signal pick-up between phone and other services. This wire is relatively inexpensive (5-10 cents per foot, depending on category).

|| Information Sources || Introduction  || Audio System Design ||
|| General Features and Wiring Layouts|| Media Room / Home Theater ||
||Dolby, THX and AC-3 || Picture Size || Satellite and Antenna ||
|| Whole House Audio || Running Wire || Feedback and Your Contributions ||

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