Recently Filed in Structured Wiring

We’ve been hearing a lot more lately about manufacturers embracing green initiatives and greener products. It seems pretty fitting that a recent one was brought to our attention from a company based in Colorado. Colorado Springs-based Liberty Wire & Cable has announced that more than 90 percent of its 6,000-plus products comply with the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. The company’s green manufacturing practices comply by using reduced lead, mercury, cadmium, hexevalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in electronic and… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Audio Cables • Connectors • Speaker Wire • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Miscellaneous • Green Technology • Enhancements • Product News

If you’re planning on constructing a home anytime soon, here’s a little something you should know: By building certain technologies into the structure of your residence, you can roll their costs into your mortgage. That goes for the box—the structured wiring panel, or hub,—where all the wiring of your house comes together. Manufacturers of structured wiring systems offer a host of add-ons to support computer networks, multiple telephone extensions and surveillance cameras. More recently, third-party manufacturers have started to create unique systems designed specifically to… View this story
Power Management • Structured Wiring • Multiroom Audio • Multiroom AV • Product News

The topic of wire can be a little messy. Wiremold/Legrand looks like they want to untangle your wired world—via the web. The company just announced that they’ve launched a website aimed at consumers with an interest in cable. The site has a lot of neat projects, such as Garage Makeover, Install a Flat Screen, Kid Safe Your Home, and others. There are some nice how-to videos. Of course, there’s no shortage of information on how to purchase Wiremold products. However, we’re hoping the company plans… View this story
Audio Cables • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Web Services • Networking • Product News

The CEDIA Expo just wrapped in Denver, but it ain’t ever over as long as people can flaunt their awards. The organization, also known as the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), has bestowed those bragging rights on five companies. The Manufacturers’ Excellence Awards were presented at the trade organization’s annual banquet on Saturday, September 8. The awards are designed to recognize innovative products that most enhance an installer’s business—because you want it. And the winners were… > AMX for the AutoPatch PrecisLT with… View this story
In-Wall Speakers • Structured Wiring • Switches and Extenders • TV Mounts • Lighting Control Systems • Shows and Expos • Home Theater • Audio • Home Control • Product News

When it comes to optimizing a home theater, townhouses can be tricky. This Florida resident thought outside the box—in this case, his 13-by-13-foot box of a living room—to make way for a 60-inch plasma and surround sound system. To create about 4 more feet of viewing depth so the screen didn’t overwhelm him or the room (his old TV jutted out almost two feet in front of the railing and virtually hid the nearby fireplace), the owner wanted the plasma mounted onto a staircase wall.… View this story
Plasma • In-Ceiling Speakers • On-Wall Speakers • Structured Wiring • Equipment Racks • TV Mounts • Entryway • Living Room • Media Room • Installers • Home Theater • Cool Homes

What do you do if you want to go for a nice, warm swim but live in the chilly Northeast? You can build an indoor pool, but would you use it in the summer? Sure, if it has a retractable roof. That’s what this homeowner did when he built a pool with a motorized glass roof. The top panels slide down at the press of a button on one of the Crestron touchpanel controllers. A retractable pool cover is likewise motorized. That’s not the only… View this story
Safety and Security • HDTV • Plasma • On-Wall Speakers • Structured Wiring • Zone Controllers • Home Control Systems • Pool and Spa • Touchpanels and Keypads • Home Theater • Home Control • Enhancements • Cool Homes

Converting an unfinished room into a home theater can be an extremely rewarding project. Your dark and dreary basement, for example, can become a cozy entertainment spot the whole family can enjoy. Plus, it’ll add value to your home. Transforming an area into a comfortable, enjoyable home theater takes vision, a solid design plan, a budget and at least a few months—yes, months—of labor to complete. The design, construction and installation time can seem like an eternity, but as the pros at The Home Theater… View this story
Video Projectors • Video Screen • Audio Cables • Speaker Wire • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Acoustic Treatments • Equipment Racks • Home Theater Accessories • Basement • Media Room • Installers • Home Theater • Info and Answers

Siemens research findings on plastic optical fiber (POF) show great promise for the world of home automation. A Siemens lab successfully sent an IPTV signal at 1 Gbit/s, a significant transmission rate. POF is an alternative to copper wire and the widely used glass fiber, which is more expensive to work with. POF has been limited in use due to a high “attenuation,” or loss in signal amplitude over longer distances. Siemens’ research test was done over 100 meters without data compromise, indicating that the… View this story
Structured Wiring • Home Control Systems • Ethernet • Fiber/FiOS • Home Control • Info and Answers

Leviton Voice & Data has introduced additions to its Fiber Raceway product line that will allow customers to tailor the Fiber Raceway system to their specific application and control the cabling setups in their homes. The Fiber Raceway system is available in two new colors—black and orange—has several new accessories, and has expanded mounting hardware options. Homeowners can now specify sizes and colors for Fiber Raceway Systems: 2”x 2”, 2”x 4”, 4”x 4”, 4” x 8” or 4” x 12” –- in yellow, gray, orange,… View this story
Cables, Wires and Tools • Cable Organizers • Structured Wiring • Tools • Multiroom AV • Networking • Product News

Imagine music that follows you from room to room in your house, playing the soundtrack of your home life. Using an unobtrusive system of amplifiers, in-wall speakers, and control devices, you can enjoy your music anywhere in the home. All this is possible with multi-room audio, allowing you to play and control music from a centralized system. You can listen to the radio in the bedroom while someone else listens to the CD player in another part of the house. Let’s take a look at… View this story
Audio Cables • Structured Wiring • Wall Jacks • Multiroom Audio • Home Control Systems • Audio • Multiroom AV • Info and Answers

Ray Coronado is a home theater installer’s dream—if that installer likes to be lazy. This do-it-yourselfer needed a little help from a contractor and an electrician, but Coronado demanded to be included in his home theater’s dirty work. The Coronado home theater is where “Cribs” meets MacGyver. “I’m real hands on,” Coronado says. “I really don’t buy anything until I personally take a look at it, use it and see if it’s going to integrate well with my stuff.” For years Coronado kept his hands… View this story
DLP • Video Projectors • Video Screen • Structured Wiring • HD DVD • Remote Controls • Equipment Racks • Media Room • Rec/Play Room • Installers • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes

It all started with the computer. As people became comfortable and dependent on the machine’s ability to manage their personal and professional lives, it wasn’t long before a second or third PC joined the family. Today, about 25 percent of U.S. households have more than one computer, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. At first, homeowners simply doled out the cash to buy each computer its own printer, scanner and other peripherals. There was no other choice, they figured. Assigning each PC a different system… View this story
Networking and Communication • Ethernet • Routers and Switches • Audio Cables • Structured Wiring • Video Cables • Networking • Info and Answers • Slideshows