DVR features and Input/Outputs: This is a big section – How to choose a DVR? It is the same process as choosing any other piece of equipment, a combination of feature tradeoff with cost. So, features: Number of Inputs: Pretty straightforward, how many camera do you want around the house and how much effort are …
Why are you doing this? Why install a surveillance system anyway? Obviously this is a personal matter whereby you are balancing intruder detection, identification, general property surveillance, and more importantly some way to make you feel safer in your own home or business. So let’s start with a quick overview of the systems available and …
One of the biggest topics to cover, and perhaps the one with the most controversy since there are so many available products out there and each has its own distinct features and installation options. I will be discussing a few specific products and brands, but see the Appendix A with links to a host of …
Chapter 7: Proper Terminations Media Cabinet Organization: Note that these instructions are given using a basic configuration of having coax, telephone, and Ethernet in a single media cabinet. Adjust your plans based on the layout that best fits your needs. For larger installations, a single cabinet or wall-mount for all the terminations is preferred, then …
Chapter 8: Things to avoid Daisy chain telephone Yes, you can save wire by installing phone lines the “old fashioned way” and simply string a single wire from room to room, but don’t be fooled. A “Home-Run” installation with each room running all the way back to the media cabinet has huge benefits. It works …
Chapter 6: Whole-Home Audio Take a step back: Having your tunes in every room is the most requested and usually one of the first things people aspire to add to their home. The problem is there is a wide range of systems available to deliver audio throughout your home, and each one can require a …
Chapter 4: Future Proofing Aren’t we doing this already by installing wires in the walls before we even need them? The hardest part of picking what to pre-wire is making the tradeoffs betwee n what you need the day you move in, what you likely will need over the first 5 or 10 years in …
Chapter 5: The Actual “Pull” Whatever systems or wires you choose, these general rules and procedures will make the job easier. Overall Considerations * Most important: After you get through wiring, go through the entire home with a video camera filming every square foot of every wall and every ceiling. Having easy access to this …
Chapter 3: The Absolute Minimum – and Why Even if you are a minimalist, every home needs phone, TV, doorbell, and at least support for internet. Forget about you having sworn off TV, you have to put in at least the basic services for resell value. I hear from realtors all the time that the …
It’s great to sit in the family room and have access to all of that, but I really want it ALL at EVERY TV in my home. I don’t have Ethernet at every TV, nor am I interested in paying for another $12/month DVR at each of my other 7 TVs. I must have HD …