By Bob Gatton
When designing the wiring plan for a media room, I like to do it in two steps. First, lay out the diagram for the equipment that will be installed. Next, anticipate changes that might occur in the future. Many clients are more than willing to pay a premium for flexibility in adding or changing equipment down the road.
Start by listing all the equipment that will be installed in the media room. Include all of the sound equipment, sources and displays. Be sure to include surge protectors and any lighting control pieces that need electrical power. Then lay out the locations for the equipment (speaker and display placement were covered in previous articles). After that, it's a relatively simple process of running the appropriate wiring from the equipment rack to the display and speakers. That being said, almost every installation is different. Below are some issues to consider:
- Most front projectors have a 12-volt trigger. When the projector is turned on, this 'trigger' sends a command to a motorized screen to lower the screen. When the projector is turned off, a command is sent to raise the screen. These commands are sent through a wire. Be sure to include this in your pre-wire planning.
- Another front projector issue is the projector's "throw distance" and "lens ratio." The throw distance is the distance between the front of the projector's lens and the screen. The lens ratio is the amount of zoom that is available. These vary greatly from model to model. Check with the manufacturer of the project to ensure that you're installing the electrical and video connections in the right location for the projector model and the size of screen you're installing.
- Many PVRs – Personal Video Recorders – require a telephone connection. Make sure to have one where the equipment will be racked.
- Most PVRs and cable boxes now require two RG6 connections.
- Is there going to be a computer in the media room? Wireless routers are great, but if you have the opportunity, add a Cat5 connection (or two) to the media room. Try to place one behind the electronic components; and if possible, place one close to the seating area for quick laptop connections.
- I recommend a minimum of 16-gauge speaker wire, but prefer 14- or 12-gauge wire for speaker runs. The difference in cost is small.
- If a powered subwoofer is included, run both a coax cable and electrical power to the subwoofer. If it is not a powered subwoofer, sometimes referred to as a passive subwoofer, speaker wires need to be run to the subwoofer location instead of coax, and there is no need for an electrical outlet.
- Install conduit between the equipment and the display or projector. The preferred video connection has changed several times over the last few years; running conduit makes it easier to upgrade to the most current cabling in the future.
- Most surround sound systems use two surround loudspeakers, but it's becoming more common to have three, four, or sometimes more surround loudspeakers. Even if the current plan is only for two, you might want to wire for extra surround speakers.
Extra time spent on the wiring plan will save time in the long run when the equipment is ready to be installed.
This series of articles has been focusing on a media room, not a whole house system, but ideally this room should be part of the structured wiring plan. Please see the HGTVPro.com article on Structured Wiring for more information.
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See all articles in the Home Theater/Media Room Series
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