What equipment/knowledge do I need to know when building/buying a home?

[GradVT06]

Hi folks. I currently had to give up Dish Network satellite service to this crap they call Cox because of a job relocation. We will be looking to either buy property and build a home, or buy a house that might not be in the best condition and fixing it up.

My questions is what do I need to know going into this that gives me the most flexibility and ability to be as current as possible for wiring 4-5 rooms for cable/satellite, for being able to wire home theater and making it look good (no wires hanging everywhere, etc?

For example, I used to work at an E* call center and home nodes were beginning to pop up. I'm not 100% sure what it is (or I don't remember), and I basically want to be able to have HD (including OTA) and DVR ability in as many as possible or all of the rooms, and be able to wire a home theater in a living/family room and basement/theater/bar room. I'm considering a projector, and have no clue how to do wiring for it. Are there any new technologies I'd need electricians and builders to get/provide, or at least make sure they do in building?

Thanks for the help! :

 

[miller5]

Heres what I'd do. Run 2 or 3 RG-6 runs to every outlet. Run Cat5 to every outlet as well. As far as speaker wiring its pretty simple. Run all the speaker wire from your speaker locations (Depending on if your doing 5.1 or 7.1) back to where your going to put your entertainment center. 16 guage is the smallest I'd go on the speaker wire. On to your projector. Pick out a projector and find out what connection your going to need from your reciever to projector and simply buy that length and run it from A-Z. I ran about a 12' component cable from mine. If possible use some conduit so you can pull something new through if needed.

Let me know if your close to Omaha, I could give you a hand. Hope it helps.

 

[TommyTDFVC]

Good response Miller 5. I would DEFINATELY do all that and include a run of HDMI cable if you want HD. Non-amplified HDMI is rated for up to 50' if I remember correct from my supplier. I can give info on where to get all the specialized cables you will ever need, direct. ...Especially if drywall is coming anytime soon. Always install oversized conduit-PVC will do-with a pull line in place for future upgrades. Run all cat 5, coax, and etc. with individual or "home" runs back to one or more key locations. Make sure all wires are labeled. (A whopping 13 cents a piece for the zip-tie style ones I get, but a life saver.)
Please refrain from hiring an electrician from working on your pre-wire/home theater system. I can substantiate that electricians botch more low-voltage systems than one could imagine. So find yourself a low-voltage contractor. Will be insured. Audition prospects and listen to how knowledgeable they seem. The good ones will stand out. I suggest finding a high-end home audio place and discretely finding your way to their installers to negotiate directly and cut out the middle man. Otherwise, look for a large dish install company and ask a salesman there who they recommend and audition them. Salespeople at dish places always get real customer feedback from their experience. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have a good contractor. I don't know if it is in the rules here, but I offer free advise for satellite and home theater. experience with thousands of installs and worked in $150,000 plus home theaters.
You need advise. if in ussatellite rules, feel free to email me at thoffmann@weadock.net
Or reply here.
Good luck.
Tom