New Installation - Recommendations on configurations

[bf2k]

Hi all

Can I please ask for your advise on the following situation as well as possible equipment that I might need and cable types. I do have some limited knowledge in this area but want to make totally sure before I spend a lot of someone else's money

I am currently renovating a relatives house and have come to install the entertainment systems that he wants in. He doesn't want to see any wires trailing so I'm going to bury everything into the walls. He also want to future proof the installation now whilst he's in renovation state and give himself the most flexibility by installing everything now.

He wants to be able to receive the following:

Living Room Feed 1
Sky+ HD
Freeview
Virgin Media
DAB/FM

Living Room Feed 2
Sky+ HD
Freeview
Virgin Media
DAB/FM

Master Bedroom
Satellite - 2 feeds (for Freesat HD, for example)
Freeview
DAB/FM
Sky link from Living Room Feeds
Virgin Link from Living Room Feeds

Second Bedroom
Satellite - 2 feeds (for Freesat HD, for example)
Freeview
DAB/FM
Sky link from Living Room Feeds
Virgin Link from Living Room Feeds

Third Bedroom
Satellite - 2 feeds (for Freesat HD, for example)
Freeview
DAB/FM
Sky link from Living Room Feeds
Virgin Link from Living Room Feeds

All 4 rooms are to also have telephone points for the equipment as well.

He also wants the option of putting his TV, sky, ect at either end of the room, this is why there are two feeds to the living room.

I have attached a diagram on how I believe the Distribution of the Satellite, Freeview and DAB/FM Feeds will work (FILENAME: SAT ETC DISTRIBUTION.pdf). I plan on using a diplexer in each of the rooms using the following connections:

Living Room points
2 SAT
1 TV
1 DAB/FM
1 Telephone

Bedroom points
2 SAT
1 TV
1 DAB/FM
1 Telephone

These will be fed from a multiswitch in the loft. At the moment he has 1 digital aerial and I plan on installing another for the DAB/FM signal and get a local installer to pop up a Satellite Dish. Both the digital aerials will be fitted with a Mast Head and all the switches will be located in the loft.

I have attached another diagram to show how I plan to feed the Sky/Virgin link to the bedrooms using magic eyes (I figured he'll never have Sky & Virgin together, it'll always be one or the other) (FILENAME: SAT ETC DISTRIBUTION2.pdf). I plan to put a separate TV point in the Living Room and Bedrooms for this. Because he wants the option to have his TV at either end of the living room I am planning on combining the two RF Returns in one cable. Is this a correct solution. I simply plan on taking the incoming Virgin feed to a splitter (4 ways?) and feeding that back to the two living room points and one off to where ever he may want a broadband router.

This type of setup I understand uses coaxial cable (i.e. WF100). I have learnt about another setup called AV Distribution??? Is this a better, simpler solution?

Thank you in advance

Andy

 

[satelliteman]

Welcome to the forum.

Assume this is a domestic system only?

Haven't looked at the pdf's but you want to aim at cabling 3 or 4 coaxial's to each room possibly including one or two cat5e runs.

 

[bf2k]

Hi satelliteman

Yes this is a domestic system. It's going to be my future brother-in-laws house. If I run the car5e cables is that an AV distribution set-up. I take it the 3 or 4 cables to each room will be (2) Satellite, (1) Digital TV (1) DAB/FM?

 

[satelliteman]

Two 'IF' feeds and a terrestrial. Other services ie. DAB/FM can be diplexed onto the TV feed. Consider the return path also as you mentioned you want IR control. Cable in Cat5e for other applications.

On a complex system of this size, it would be advisable to call in professional AV company to design such a system.

 

[bf2k]

Looking more and more into the AV system, I can't see him paying the prices. I think I'll have to do it using co-ax. Do you recommend using a multiswitch that can handle IR or use a separate digilink amp for the return?

Thank you for your help.

 

[bf2k]

Sorry, I forgot to ask, would you use a mast head on both the digital and DAB/FM aerial to boost the signal? His current aerial is in his loft. I'm not sure on the signal strength but most parts of Burnley don't enjoy a fantastic signal (me for one ).

 

[satelliteman]

Sorry, impossible to advise anymore without doing a survey and looking over the proposed system in more detail. My advice would be to get in a professional.