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There are a few points to consider if you are building, remodeling, or refinishing. First, envision your needs. Here are some questions that you should be asking yourself.
1. Will you need an internet connection? How many PC's or laptops will you use? What type of connection is available in your area, Cable, Fiber Optic, ISDN, DSL, Satellite, or Dial-up?
2. Will there be a need for multiple telephone lines, fax lines, or Internet lines? Will they need to be available at all of the outlets in the space?
3. Will you be considering an advanced telephone system?
4. What kind of Television signal will be used, Cable, Antenna, Fiber Optic, or Satellite? Will you need a combination of multiple systems?
5. Will you be considering a dedicated home theater either now or in the future?
6. Would you like to have the ability to have music in multiple rooms or outside using dedicated or shared source components with keypads that actually display track, artist, or channel information?
7. Will you be installing a security system and cameras? If so, do you want to record and view the cameras on any or all televisions?
8. Do you plan on having the video equipment for each TV in the same room with the unit, or would you like a dedicated rack that houses all of your electronics in a central location behind closed doors?
9. Is there sufficient electrical to meet the needs of your future system?
10. Will your TV's be mounted to a wall, above a fireplace, located in a piece of furniture, or be hidden behind a mirror?
11. Will there be proper ventilation for your equipment?
12. Will you be installing any sort of lighting system? Lutron dimmers, or programmable lighting scenes?
Obviously, there are many many more questions that could be asked, but by asking the above questions during the planning phase of the space, you will you will be able to get a great idea of what to expect from the prewire, and how flexible the prewire will be.
Low voltage technology, as with many high-tech industries, is very dynamic. With many manufacturers producing electronic products for the residential and business marketplace. Prices are now less than half of what they were just five years ago. It is now a great time to consider projects such as Home Theater, High Definition Television, Home Automation, Whole House Audio, Video Distribution, and Data Networking. If you are building a new home, office, or conference room, consider installing the infrastructure now, even if these types of projects are not immediately feasible. The investment put forth during construction can pay for itself many times over in labor, and can be used as a selling point if you decide to sell the home or business at a later date.
 We will work with custom home and commercial builders to wire to the very highest standard. If you're in the process of building a new home, or office, we will gladly meet with you during the planning phase of your new construction or renovation to look at your plans and help you design the proper prewire. We can "Future Proof" your new home and do it right, before the walls go up. Not only will the finished results look and perform better, but you'll pay a lot less to do it as part of construction rather than paying to have it retro-fit later. Even if you are just going to install basic coaxial and telephone outlets, one of our low voltage prewire specialists can bring many options and considerations to the table that you may have over-looked.
Your home or business telephone system infrastructure should be well designed and properly run. The phone cable should always be run in a “home run” fashion, not the “daisy chain” manner that has been used in the industry for many years. These cables should be routed away from any high voltage electrical wiring and should be run to a central and accessible location. Using “home runs” allows for more advanced systems and easier servicing. The class (category) of cable that we install is Category 5E+ or Cat 6. This cable will provide up to 4 telephone lines at any location, is high speed (350mb/second-Cat-5E, 600mb/second-Cat-6 compared to 10mb/second on standard phone line or even 100mb/second on normal Cat-5) and is virtually immune to crosstalk when using two or more lines at once. We suggest that Cat-6 cable should also be run for computer networking (LAN network). We suggest that a different color of Cat 6 for DATA so the cables can be identified. Don’t forget to have phone jacks installed at your primary TV locations. Digital Satellite, TVIO, RePlay, WebTV and Interactive “digital” CATV will all require a modem hook-up.
 High Definition Coaxial Cable
Many new options have become available in the last few years. HD Satellite and Digital Cable have changed the way we view our programming. Many local cable and satellite providers are updating their equipment and will be switching to a higher performance system with a much expanded programming selection and in many cases, interactive options with Web access will be available. These new systems will require a faster data rate and broader bandwidth. In order to provide the best possible picture only RG-6 “quad shielded” coaxial cable should be used. In every area that has a satellite or cable box, two dual RG-6 quad shield coaxial cables should be run from the main distribution area to the equipment location. This will allow for dual tuner satellite receivers, and modulator systems to be installed that will allow you to view your DSS receiver, VCR, camera system, or Digital Video Disc (DVD) throughout your home. Our coaxial cable is the finest RG6 available. Four (4) layers of shielding around our RG6 cables prevent ghost-images, minimizes interference, and significantly improves cable modem service quality.
 Satellite
By subscribing to DirecTV or Dish Network, customers living in the most remote areas of the continental United States can now receive HD programming, including satellite-only offerings such as the NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV.
Until recently, the only way to get high-definition local channels through your satellite receiver was with an over-the-air antenna add-on. All of that has changed with the arrival of MPEG-4 AVC, a video compression technology that allows more than twice as much HD video into the same amount of bandwidth as the current MPEG-2 technology. One important issue to keep in mind, however, is that both DirecTV and Dish Network don't cover all of the local channels. Dish Network offers the top four networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC), and DirecTV offers the top four networks plus The CW. That means if you want to watch PBS, you'll still have to use the over-the-air antenna add-on to do so. .
With the advent of MPEG-4 technology, older DirecTV and Dish Network dishes and set-top boxes aren't compatible with MPEG-4 services. DirecTV and Dish Network plan to broadcast the existing MPEG-2 HD lineup; for the time being, however, you'll need to replace your current satellite equipment to watch the new local and national HD channels. Luckily, both satellite carriers offer discounts to existing HD customers to make the transition less painful.
To get DirecTV's MPEG-4 channels, you'll need the new H20 HD receiver and a five LNB dish that can receive signals from five different orbital positions. DirecTV also has a MPEG-4 capable DVR, the HR20. The unit has dual HD tuners and an excellent interface- despite losing TiVo support.
For Dish Network MPEG-4 HD service, you'll need an MPEG-4-compatible satellite dish and a receiver or DVR. Dish Network's HD DVR has similar features to DirecTV's receiver and adds multiroom features that let you watch different shows on two TVs at the same time.
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