Hello,
First post: OK, here goes, I wonder if anyone can try and work this mammoth task out for my house im about to wire –
We will be having 8 LCD / LED TVS in 8 different rooms – all will need 5.1 surround from any source
8 HD Sources = Sky HD1, Sky HD2, Apple TV1, Apple TV2, Bluray Player , Tuner / CD Player, Xbox, CCTV DVR
8 separate amps (with HDMI Input / Output) for the 8 TVs
8 sets of 5.1 speaker sets
8 separate touch screen remotes – Philips Pronto ?

Apart from the 5.1 in each room there will also be 2 speakers in every room of the house that will connect back to 1 Main Amp in the hub. The audio source for this will be 3 sources out of the above 8 sources (Apple TV1, Apple TV2 and Tuner/CD Player) The menu / track selection etc for these 3 sources will be available for selection etc on any of the 8 TVs, the Main Amp will be turned on / volume adjusted etc by remote control – from anywhere in the house – maybe by RF ?
Everything will be located back in a main hub in the house (obviously apart from the TVs and 5.1 speakers).
I was looking to do the following: - Your thoughts and ideas on this setup would be greatly appreciated as im sure there will be various problems with my ideas:
TVs-
All 8 sources and all 8 amps will be located in a hub room in the house.
All sources would be run over a pair of cat 5s
All 8 sources would be lined up – A HDMI cable would run from the 1st source into the 1st amp. Another HDMI cable would run out of the 5.1 amp and into the true matrix switch. Another HDMI cable would run out of the 5.1 amp and into the Balun. 2x cat 5 cables would run out of the balun and into the 2nd balun. A HDMI cable would run out of the balun and into the TV.
This would be repeated to all 8 sources etc



Multi Audio-
For the multi amp there would be 2 speakers in each room of the house (About 17 rooms - 33 or so speakers) – These will be nothing major and mainly used for background music throughout the house etc if necessary.
The multi room amp will pick up the source signal by having a spliter / Y cable coming off the 3 sources above: (Apple TV1, Apple TV2, CD Player / Tuner). The splitter /Y cable will be on the cable running from the source into the 5.1 amp.

Could I have volume control for the amp by using the RF remotes in each room – just a simple volume up and down ?

Would the above work ?
Does the above seem to have any issues with HDCP ?
What is the situation with distributing SKY HD in this way and also how about the audio needing to be 5.1, as I hear SKY HD does not support this ?
Can anyone give me any advice on hardware and what brands to use ?
Bearing in mind I was thinking of having a decent remote for each TV / Room – a possible Pronto or something similar – does anybody see any compatibility issues with what iam trying to do? Also I have no idea about IR distribution or RF of RS232 – can anyone give me advice on remote control setup and hardware ?
As you can see I mainly trying to use the tvs in each room as monitors as well as TVs so I can control / access music, radio, TV and DVDs etc from the 1 screen.
Or if anyone can help with a better setup ??
Urgent help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sam

That's a big-ish project. I think what you need is smart-e for HDMI matrix switching, they have the precise thing you need, but it's not out till beginning of January.... But you won't be done before then anyway I shouldn't think. It runs IR control and HDMI over 1 x cat5e cable. You can have an 8x8 matrix, no sweat. The matrix itself is IR and RS232 controllable. You could choose cheaper IR universals, or even original remotes, or the pronto on wi fi or IR to control the sources. If you can run to a proper audio distribution too, I would. If it's a large-ish building, the losses down the speaker cables will shoot the sound quality down in flames, as well as reducing power available. You could look at www.netstreams.com Their Digilinx system is my personal favourite. Dunno where you are, I'm an SE based custom installer and do this stuff on a day to day basis. If I can help, even if just to chat through, I'm more than happy. Drop me a PM if you like, it's not easy to type up all your options, it's pretty much what I do as a business proposal, rather than just a quick DS post!

Hi,

Can we have a chat about this, and see if you can draw me up a proposal / hardware and wiring details. I want the installation to be done by me, but am wanting exact wiring diagrams and hardware advice, and an exact breakdown of how the system will work.

Can you also give me an idea of cost for your services ?

Thanks,
Sam

By all means, let's PM. No probs with DIY, or any degree of assistance you may or may not require. Or simply a 'This is what we'd do' type chat, and you sort yourself. It's a major interest of mine as well as my job.