cable question for home office & theater

[Maison Carree]

Just moved and am setting up our home office and need some advice to future-proof my connections. Here's the set-up so far.

2 G5's in the office plus small HDTV.

In the closet I've got an x-serve, 16 port gigabit switch, an older G4 (un-plugged), 2TB WD sharespace and cable modem/router.

In another room, I've got a 5.1 set-up but haven't gotten the big TV yet, and it may be a while until that happens, so I'm unsure of its connections.

The question is what cables do I need to run from the TV in the HT room to the closet and from the Macs in the office to the closet so that they'll all work together for movies/music etc. I've got cat 6 for the networking, but am unsure about HDMI or DVI (possibly too long of a run) I've attached a PDF (hopefully the right size) of what I've been able to piece together so far, but I really do need some help on this one...... Thanks in advance!

 

[mr1970]

I think it probably depends what you want to do with it. In terms of network cables Cat 6 is as good as it gets so the weak links will be elsewhere. If you want to run music from the server room and possibly ripped DVDs, that can all happen over the network if you've got an Apple TV or something like that acting as a head unit. The connection from there to your big TV is most likely to be HDMI; the Apple TV would then output the audio to the 5.1 amp.

Best thing to do might actually be to post this in the Apple TV / Home Theatre forum; it's more that kind of question than a server question.

As for the Macs in the office, you can either run two cables from your switch to the office so that each G5 has its own connection straight to the switch or (probably easier) run one cable and have a small gigabit switch in the office. The advantage of the latter approach is that if you end up with more machines in the office there's no additional effort.

Personally I've got an old G4 running as a music server in the study, it connects to a gigabit switch which connects to a powerline network which goes to the lounge; my apple tv picks it up there and there are no issues with network speed at all - it's more than quick enough to stream movies.

 

[NightSailor]

It seems like your video run would be rather long. I would simply co-locate a small computer with the TV.

Do you have a basement? Can you install the computer underneath the TV?

I run a Mac Mini as a music server to my TV and Bose system, and the TV doubles as a display for an extra computer and as a Web Server--which always amazes visitors (see remote below). At parties I use it for for slideshows.

Remote Control. I use an iTouch for a remote control for the TV using "Snatch", and "Remote" to control iTunes. Wifi Remote control is the best. It is fast and more reliable than Radio signals (Bose) or Infrared (TV and most stereo components)

 

[Maison Carree]

thanks for the reply all. My main concern right now is trying to make sure I get the right cable in the right place. The problem is, I've never streamed videos before, and I'm just getting into itunes. I've got an electrician helping me pull cables underneath the house, but need to make the right decision on cables now. The real problem is I'm not totally sure of the full capabilities of the MAC's and ATV etc., but I'm learning and it's pretty cool......I just want to make sure the hard wiring is correct so I don't have to re-do anything right away.

I guess I want the G4 in the closet to hold the music/videos, then I'll back up my work into the WD sharespace. Is that correct? If so, do I run a HDMI to DVI cable from the TV room to hook up to the G4 in the closet? I've also have a small LDC HDTV at our workstation....do I need to send a HDMI to DVI cable into the closet there as well?

And here is where it gets even crazier to me. My HT set-up has zone 2 capabilities......if I want to do that into the office or the bedroom, what/where with cable hook-ups then?

NightSailer: No basement, and I guess I could put the computer in the HT room, but I've got this big 'ol closet and thought that it could be the data center.....but I'm up for any suggestions. Thanks again for any help you can throw my way!