Hello all,

A few years back, I had our basement remodeled after a flood. Custom A/V wiring (4-5 separate zones) was done with the idea of adding an HT setup later on down the line. I have ideas and some pieces in place that will remain with final setup; some will just be moved to other areas of the house that won't be connected to this setup. I'll list what's in place and follow with my questions:

HD Plasma (non-Internet) TV
AT&T UVerse TV/Internet
Linksys WRT610N w/DD-WRT firmware
Linksys WRT54G(just a spare router from way back when)
2 Netgear APs w/DD-WRT firmware
PS3
Bose CineMate 2.1 system(stereo connections)
Zone 1(main sitting area): 7.1, HDMI
Zone 2(bathroom): ceiling speaker wiring
Zone 3(laundry): ceiling speaker wiring
Zone 4(guest bedroom): 2.1 wiring, sep. HDMI for spare TV
Zone 5(2 rear ceiling speakers from Zone 1 that are positioned above; might not be worth having this zone since it's SO close to main zone)
Rack system(pre-built or custom shelving) and Control Center to be sourced in 5ft(H) x 43in(W) space under stairs, door accessible
iPod dock/some form of control panel to be installed in side wall of stair space
***Xbox 360(coming soon)
***Google TV(coming soon)

Q1) I'm not looking for $1000/piece speakers, but want components more flexible and reputable than HTIB setups. Which receiver(Internet capability desired, not required)/speakers would you suggest?

Q2) A number of the devices I have contain Internet apps--which one to use?

Q3) A number of the devices contain media server features--which one(s) to use?

Q4) I want to separate streaming media traffic from basic Internet usage. The WRT610N has the simultaneous dual-band feature for this. I also have the core wifi from the UVerse RG--is there a setup that could leverage all 3 wifi options or should I just use the dual-band options with the Linksys router?

Q5) Thinking about building and HTPC, but I have pieces that perform some of the same features--what benefit, if any, is there to add one to my setup?

That should be enough info to go on for now. Can upload pics if it will help. If some parts have been answered elsewhere, feel free to just post a link to it. Thanks for your assistance with this long overdue project! :-)

I recently purchased a new receiver with HDMI connections. My sat box has one HDMI out. If I connect this to the receiver must I always have my receiver on to watch TV? How can I still watch Sat tv without using the receiver? Sometime my daughter uses my den to watch Sat TV but has no interest in Home theater sound.

I have a Pioneer VSX921k AVR with a Panasonis TC-55ST30 HDTV. The cable box is connected to AVR HDMI1 and TV is connected from HDMI Out on AVR to HDMI1 ARC on HDTV. Everything works, sounds great but when I use the apps. from TV (netflix, pandora...) the only audio I get is from TV feed of the cable feed. What am I missing ??

Thinking about trying out some Insteon devices. Anyone have any experience with them. It looks like its backwards compatible with X10 which there are some cheap ones on sale.

whats the best way to wire my subwoofer to my surround sound.

Hi,

I just bought my first HDTV (I know!) and am in the market for a Blu-Ray player. The problem is that my receiver, which does support 5.1, doesn’t have an HDMI connector. It does have Optical. So how do I connect my system? Before buying the Blu-Ray do I need to make sure it has any specific connectors?

Thanks,

Jerry

Any recommendation on what type of cameras to get. Should I get Internet network based or coax cable based?

Hi, I'm new here and was hoping someone could answer a question I have about speakers. I have some old hand me down speakers. They are big and tall but they sound great. I don't have surround sound speakers so I'm looking for some. DO they need to "match" the older speakers I have to sound good? Do I need to buy the same brand?

I have some old office speakers Altas
FA138T167 that I would like to try with my home receiver, I can just bypass the transformer and they work O.K. but these also have a crossover on them should I run my signal through the crossover if anyone is familiar with these what wire + or - should I connect to the Green and Brown wires going to the crossover?

Did I do this correctly???

Cable Wire connected to HD Cable Box

HD Cable Box to TV using HDMI Cable

Combo DVD-VCR connected to TV with Video Component Connections and Coax to Home Theater

Home Theater to TV via Optical Connection

Seems like I am not getting Surround Sound like I did with old DLP TV???

You can email directly: ctwindber@yahoo.com

I bought a movie on Amazon and I would like to play it over my network using DLNA. The format is WMV which I consider to be common. However, my Panasonic plasma television found the file but gave me an error of "Cannot Read File" when trying to play using DLNA. The TV is a TC-P50S30. Thx in advance.

Justin

Is it me or is DLP starting to go away? Its too bad because the picture is great and the screens are crazy big. I'm thinking about getting one, but not sure if I want to get an obsolete device. What does everyone think, is is still safe to buy a DLP HDTV?

As for enhancements, I continuously find my self checking the light status and waiting for the 'status updated' response before I 'believe' the status. I have had a couple of instances where the status apparently did not update when I first open the screen. It was showing all off even when I knew several were on. So I guess there is a default status of off when the screen first opens? Perhaps having a ? over the light icon when the screen first opens, cleared once the polling is confirmed could help or a colored highlight of black if confirmed off, green if confirmed on and some other color if not yet determined (orange/amber).

This would also apply on the Thermostat if the 'Get Temp' current value. Today when I open the T/Stat it shows 74/74 then some time lapses and the correct current temp shows up as 70/74 (cooler nights now in Ohio). Also, the status shows that the A/C On is highlighted, even though I know the A/C is not running. It would be nice if the orange frame highlight shows the A/C On setting and the Fan Auto setting if this highlight could change to 'green' when the system is actually running? HB shows the Status as (On or Off) and the Mode is set to 'Cool' (A/C On) so I think Vera has the info available.

My garage door sensor shows up always as 'On' regardless of wether it is Armed or Bypass, tripped or untripped. I don't have an actual motion detector at present, but I would presume it would be the same. Again, a color highlight around the icon could be used to show armed or bypass and the picture could show tripped or untripped, as a suggestion. Right now On=armed and OFF=Bypass but no indicator for tripped or untripped unless I am missing something.

As for the Scene status, all show 'On'. Pressing one runs the scene and the status changes to 'OFF' which is confusing because the scene is actually 'Active'. Pressing the scene again changes the status from OFF back to ON and it re-runs the scene so the On-OFF designation doesn't seem correct to me.

I also have a Lamp Plugin dimmer module which shows up by default in lighting which is technically OK. My outdoor module aslo configures as a Lamp. It could be a consideration to have 'Switches' be a category with different screens for dimmable and non-dimmable. At present, I can turn a dimmer on of off, but can not set a dimmer level. As for plug-in modules, I would rather have such devices appear as 'Power' devices.

I have previously mentioned adding a screen for multiple T'Stats which you have acknowledged (thanks). I have 6 of them since I have a three story house with zoned systems.

I have not needed to add window blinds so I can't comment there. Similarly, I have not yet added a Boxee or Receiver. I realize that I have posted many items here for consideration, he\owever, I would like to see more comments coming in on this BETA, to help you, help us to have a better remote interface to our HA/HTN systems.

Thanks for your efforts in this area. By the way, I understand the way your app currently works so I don't need a lengthy response to my post. I test its functions agaist my mios dashboard and watch the responses side by side. Thanks again for your considerations.

I was taking a look at the new home theater connection diagram and had a question on the receiver. The main question is do I need one? I'm using my TV for speakers now which don't sound that great. I'm considering buying a home theater on a box, but don't know if I still should get a new receiver too? Thanks for the help.

I'm new to home automation so not sure where to start. I would like to be able to control my thermostat and some lights away from home. The lights are in-wall light switches so I'm hesitant to change them myself since I have no idea how to. Same with the thermostat. Any idea on who to contact or any product recommendations?