Mike Barnes wrote:
I'm about to wreck our dining room and it will soon re-emerge as a cosy
living room (estate agents would call it a "family room"). Eventually
I'll be installing a home cinema setup, and I'd like to get some fixed
wiring in place before decorating.

The trouble is I know nothing about home cinema gear so I don't know
what sort of wiring I'm going to need. Our TV, which hasn't been
switched on in years, is one of those fat heavy glass eyes with a mains
plug and an aerial socket. I'm aware that things have moved on since
then but I haven't kept up.

I'm thinking of a big flat screen in the middle of one wall, speakers in
the four corners (how high?), and a collection of black boxes near the
screen to make it all work. I have no idea what provision I should make
for connecting the boxes to the screen and speakers, other than knowing
I don't want wires trailing all over the place. Any advice appreciated.

I have little interest in broadcast TV but it would be daft not to have
any connection with the outside world. I'll be providing an internet
connection for the black boxes and I know how to do that. It's possible
that I'll get a satellite dish installed at some stage (there's no
prospect of cable) and I assume that the satellite wiring would enter
through the outside wall. That's nowhere near where the black boxes will
be - so how might I prepare for it? Or would I be wasting my time with
satellite when the internet is taking over?

The room's about 4 metres square, by the way, with a concrete floor
which will be carpeted, and thick stone walls.


OK. Run several mains style cables (for audio) and a lot of CAT 5 (for
anything it might be useful for, like a home network) and coax (to the
TV from the loft amplifier/distributor) to wherever you might want to
have bits of the setup.

SEPARATELY run a mains ring.

Now even if you leave the cables coiled up inside a backing box, at
least the cables are there if you need them. Its generally no big deal
to hack out for another backing box and put a socket next door to one
that exists, and ,if there is enough cable, extend a particular service.