Q. I recently purchased a house that isn’t wired for TV and has an antenna hookup in one room. I consider this to be a good thing, because now I can run whatever cable would be best to receive a quality signal for the next 10+ years. The problem is that I’m not sure what is best to run for TV and Internet. Is coax or cat or fiber optic the best? Cost does play a factor, but I am willing to spend some money to do the job right. What should I run? - Nick, PA

A. Lets start by organizing things. You will need a structured wiring panel. OnQ and Open House make the most popular units. This medal box is like an electrical panel but is designed for low voltage, phone, date and video. It will house all the wires and give you a “home run” location to connect all the systems. If you get a large enough unit it can also house your modem and router for the home. The full size units are not available from Lowes - they need to come from a electrical supply house or your local low voltage/AV contractor.

Next, to the wires themselves. Be careful when acquiring the cable. Discount coax is often missing what is needed for the best signal. For TV you will need to use rg6 quad shield cable. Also make sure it is solid copper, not copper clad. Each location should get 2 individual coax to have the most flexibility. Often with Satellite or Cable DVRs two coax are needed.

For the in-house network don’t expect Wi-Fi to carry you into the future. Hard wired is still much faster and more reliable. Most people now use a combination of both wired and wireless depending on their needs. Run cat 5e or cat6. NOT straight cat 5. Both can give you gigabit speed if properly terminated but cat 6 is rated for runs longer than 100 meters. In general there is some controversy about weather cat 6 is worth the extra money for shorter runs. We also typically run cat 5e cables so one can be phone and the other the network. But they can both be ethernet in a pinch.

And since you mentioned fiber - it is a great way to future-proof. Studies show that the need for bandwidth will continue to increase and fiber certainly has the ability to accommodate the necessary speed. You can install it with the thought it will be needed in the future but you will not be able to terminate the connections yourself. The tools to do that are very expensive and a little tricky to use.

So if you want to be prepared run all 3. We often run what we call a “Combo Cable.” It is 2 cat5e, 2 rg6, and 2 fiber all wrapped together and covered in a protective jacket. This makes pulling cable much easier. However this too needs to come from a electrical supply house or your local low voltage/AV contractor.

About the Author:
Scott Varn - VP, Harmony Interiors

Scott has been in the technology industries for over 20 years. But his experience as an artist is what led him to create an award winning business that combines engineering and aesthetics for home theater design.