{this question is as much about predicting the FUTURE as dealing with
the present}  I'm remodeling my house and for the next decades my
COMPUTER ROOM will be 30 feet from my TV ROOM.  a few years from now,
What kind of wires will I WISH I HAD HIDDEN in the walls between my
CPU and my TV.  That is, I assume that years from now, my computer
will be the brains behind my TV -- are there a few kinds of wires out
now that might be used to connect the two?  THANK YOU!

Hello Truman,

Excuse me for a moment while I put on my soothsayer?s hat. OK now.....
let?s look...It looks like you might *be*  or  *know*  someone named
Becky...from...I see a large US state...I see the Alamo... it's Texas!

Just kidding!  :-)    

On this Ask the Builder site, Becky, from Texas, posts much the same
forward asking question as you have: ?What is the best way to prepare
a house for electronic technology?  Are there special wires that need
to be installed before the walls are covered up??

The answer, presented from a builder?s perspective goes a bit beyond
what you are asking, but it offers sound advice, which echoes the
advice of my own cable monkey friend.

 The term used today for this cabling system is ?Structured wiring?. 
The most basic structured wiring advice would be to run conduit behind
the walls, from the computer room to the TV room. Some people
recommend adding a panel, into which outside phone and cable modem/DSL
lines connect, near your electrical panel, to control all the
computer/AV cables. Cables running from the panel ideally run in a 2?
conduit to a ?double gang? box, covered by a face plate, for
termination in each room you want connected. The cables should
include, for now, Cat 5e, or Cat 6, and RG 6 coaxial. These cables can
be used now, and for a good time in the future. Extra cables,
described below, can ?sit? unconnected, in the gang box, awaiting
future use.

See double gang boxes here:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/b_gang-boxes_29517438

  If possible, install 2? conduit to and from the rooms you wish to
connect, keeping it four feet from the electrical wires. My cable
money friend adds to the site?s advice:  ? To go around corners, don?t
make more than 45 0 bends with the conduit. (Purchase two    45 0 
elbows for each 900 turn.) In order to go around corners (If needed)
make a 45 0 turn, using an elbow, leaving a 2 to 3 inch  space between
elbows, then make another 45 0 bend. This leaves a stretch of conduit,
a 450 elbow, a 2-3 inch piece of conduit, and another 450 elbow, then
continue with the conduit. The conduit will make it easy for future
cable replacements; tape the newest cable to the end connection of the
current cable, and pull the new cable through the conduit from the
jack in the other room. Easy! Having two people, one for each end
makes it easier!
  Run several lines of Cat 5e and 2 lines of RG-6 in the beginning.
Run a pull line with each cable you place originally. A pull line is a
string that runs parallel to the cable, and pulled in at the same
time. You may consider lightly taping it once at each end. Two years
from now, when you want to add a new Cat 5e or even a  fiber cable, or
need to replace a cable, simply pull off the tape from the existing
cable and attach the new cable. Pull it from the other jack, and voila
! the cable is in place. Add a new pull string with the new cable, to
be always be ready to add or replace new cable!
  This site recommends running  Cat 5 and RG-6 quad shielded cable. As
this article is a few years old, I?d run Cat 5e  or Cat 6 and RG-6.
These are backward compatible and will work now, as well as support
future applications.  Firewire (IEEE-1394 ) and fiber will most likely
be the cables of the future: No signal degredation. However, Firewire
has drawbacks too: See the PC World article below.
http://www.askthebuilder.com/303_Wiring_For_The_Future_-_Do_It_Now_.shtml

Home Networked Solutions has some nice illustrations and  tips,
including this important one : Don?t forget surge suppressors!
http://www.networkedhomesolutions.com/research/wiring101.asp

Per Home Networked Solutions, ?more than 900,000 homes now have the
high-grade "structured wiring" necessary to support networked computer
and entertainment systems. And by 2004, nearly half of all new homes
built will have structured wiring in place, as more and more home
buyers want the benefits of entertainment throughout their homes and
the convenience of computer networks.?
http://www.networkedhomesolutions.com/research/welcomeToTheFuture.asp

From JDAW Cabling Systems:
http://www.jidaw.com/cabling.html
From BCO Distributing:
http://www.bcodist.com/Outlet2.htm
Electrical Contractors:
http://www.ul.com/regulators/ode/1001.pdf


Your PC will need a video card with a  TV tuner and/or a TV out
connectors to connect your PC to a TV.

I?m fond of ATI brand video cards myself:
http://motherboards.bizrate.com/buy/products__att250356--250493-,att259--43006-,cat_id--405,keyword--,rf--wgg.html

nVidia makes good video cards too:
http://www.xpcgear.com/videocards.html

More on structured wiring from Hod?s Home Theater
http://www.hods.com/structuredwiring.html


Bob Villa discusses different ?feature? levels, allowing you to add
and upgrade the cabling system:
http://www.bobvila.com/ArticleLibrary/Task/Building/StructuredWiring.html
From Bill Gates (?)
http://americanbuilders.com/articles/futurehome.html

From PC World on FireWire ?Then there's the problem of mixed analog
and digital signals. Quantum's Nelson admits that the IEEE-1394 A/V
specification isn't designed to be easily integrated with existing
analog components. And it isn't likely we'll see consumers tossing out
thousands of dollars worth of existing analog components for the
promise of digital.
Integrating analog and IEEE-1394 digital components requires adapters,
which makes a setup more complex and negates many advantages of an
all-digital system. Sony recently released the DVMC-DA2, a $399 box
that converts analog video, such as the output of a standard VHS video
recorder, to IEEE-1394 digital video. The quality is lower than true
digital video, but it's a start. The real advantages of the new system
will only go to those who essentially start from scratch.?
http://pcworld.shopping.yahoo.com/yahoo/article/0,aid,18334,pg,2,00.asp

From Tangora Technologies:
?With these facts in mind many new homeowners are opting to install a
"Stuctured Wiring System."
http://www.tangoratechnologies.com/future.htm

From this Chicago Tribune article, March, 2003 (You may need to sign
up for a free account to view this article)
?While hard-wiring solutions appear to be the direction that home
technology is headed, you also should be aware that wireless
technology is becoming widespread.?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/local/profiles/chi-0303290208mar29,1,6281112.story?coll=chi-technologyprofiles-hed


From this FanHome forum, some worthwhile tips:

?I don't know if it's cheaper..but I took some a/v cables(50 ft) from
my studio and bought an adapter from radio shack and plugged a short
s-video adapter and the long a/v cable from my computer to my tv...I
haven't seen any alterations in video or sound display...mine only
plays sound thru the sound card so the cable works wonders as I can
run both w/ 2 hook up and one cable. I've notice s-video can be
expensive so this is an option if that's a problem.?
http://mb9.theinsiders.com/ffanhomefrm12.showMessage?topicID=875.topic


This site is highly technical, but the technology was mentioned on
several sites as an upcoming home theater technology. It might be
useful to keep an eye on HAVi. You can sign up for free newsletters.
http://www.havi.org/gallery/index.asp



Although not nearly as common as wireless computer to computer
networking, there are wireless alternatives:
Tiger Direct has a wireless PC to TV system here: 
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?kbimage=G126-1010.jpg&kb=y&sourceid=1023&sku=G126-1010

Pragmatic Communications sells a wireless system:
http://www.wireless-experts.com/pragmatc/whims-p.htm

Two other wireless PC to TV systems:
http://www.timessquarecomputer.com/html/10057/336636.html
http://deelzonline.com/computer/pc_tv_tuner_card.shtml

Wireless can be more costly, and slower:
http://www.netadventures.biz/compwire.htm


Well truman, I hope this helps you configure an adaptable system
system. No one can accurately foretell exactly what type of cables
will be used in the next several decades. But if you plan now, you can
easily swap out cables through the conduit, without knocking out any
plaster or walls,  using the explanations above. If any part of this
answer is unclear, please request an Answer Clarification, before
rating. This will enable to me assist you further, if possible.

Regards,
crabcakes-ga

Search strategy:
Structured wiring future
PC to TV cabling
home theater future

wow, thanks so much.
a really fantastic job!

I am confident that in 10 years from now (I'd say more likely 3
years)that you won't need any wiring between your PC (Media center)
and "TV" screen.

One of the biggest growth areas predicted for the next 3 years is
wi-fi (wireless network) based home entertainment solutions,
integrated with computer systems.

Wi-fi now has the capacity to deliver TV quality signals, and within 2
years will be able to deliver HDTV signals, throughout your home
wirelessly. Many vendors are already producing "hangable" flat screen
TVs with integrated wi-fi connections to your computer.

Even though your PC will soon be able to become the "brains" behind
your home entertainment systems, it is more likely that a black box
type specific "media server" will take over this role.

I'm not a researcher here, so will allow others to look links to
reference my comments if desired.

okay, all that decade talk was a bit much.
I'm really pretty focused on the next couple of years.  
I'd rather not have to wait for 3 years and then be one of the first
on my block to be sending data wirelessly to my TV (I'm sure you're
right about the 3 years, but it's always so pricey to get in on that
stuff straight away).
  -- really I'm pretty focused on being able *in the next 12 months or
so* being able to just play works in progress on Final Cut Pro on my
TV without having to string wires through the house.
    thanks so much both for the reseach and the comment.
you all rock.
-truman

Hi truman-ga,

  Fiber! will be the future wiring choice. The bandwidth requirements will
skyrocket, making it the only choice!. The concept of structured wiring will
be gone!. All you have will be multiple channels of fiber running through
special bricks more like stripes.  It will be upto you to use if for whatever
purpose you need it. The bricks will have a bidirectional interface to the
fiber(you could either inject or tap from it) and a localized magnetic
induction interface(accessible only from inside the home). All you will have
to do to add a device to this "BUS" is to attach a proximity interface to
the wall and connect it to whatever device you wish.  The builtin interface
on each brick will have a means of activating/deactivating it through the
proximity interface to conserve power.  The power supply to the bricks is
by abutment, and the smart bricks might be interleaved with dumb ones(just
to continue power) for economy reasons.
The future home will have wireless shield(through construction material) on
the home's exterior walls.  Wireless will be used only for those non-critical
and unsecure low bandwidth appliactions within the home.  YES wireless will
not make it within the home.
Once again what I refer to is future(may be little over 15 years from now).
So, you cannot do anything to future proof your home right now!.
Just be a consumer of whatever intermediate technology till they breakdown/
become obsolete:>.
As far as sending your Final Cut Pro to your TV, just use a good quality
UHF modulator and use your existing cable.  If you really want a very high
quality signal, you could attempt using firewire with repeaters.

Regards
ldavinci-ga