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| EMagazine Volume 5 Issue 2 April / May 2000 |
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Toys Interview - April 2000 - [HTI Home Page] |
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Interview - Structured
Cabling Solutions It's more a question of how Residential Gateways expect to interface with the home and what they will do for it. We maintain a completely open architecture with lots of flexibility. The future gateway is just as likely to be a Sony Playstation II as anything else. |
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QUESTION 1: What do you recommend as a standard cabling package for a modern home? Please list the components of the system and their uses. (i.e. Distribution Panel, Number of cables and types, outlets etc.).
ANSWER 1: We recommend as a basic structured cabling package: 2 runs RG-6 Quad Shield coax and 2 runs Category 5 UTP to each location, all home-runned back to a consolidation panel. We also suggest an extra run of UTP to locations likely to support multimedia or A/V distribution, in anticipation of some "switch-hitting" with cable types-- data over coax and A/V over UTP, for example. Finally, we strongly recommend surge-protected electrical outlets at any location likely to support a PC, home office or A/V gear, and low-voltage cabling surge protectors (on the coax and telephone service inputs). We recommend glass multimode optical fiber between the home office and home theater to support digital video, and another run from the consolidation point to both home office and home theater for future services.
Wallplates should consist of 2 Category 5 RJ-45 jacks, 2 F connectors, and if fiber is used, 2 SC connectors.
QUESTION 2: Have the recommended cabling standards changed over the past year? Have more wire types been added / changed? Are there more applications now ... please elaborate?
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QUESTION 3: Is structured cabling a standard component in new home construction yet? If not ... how soon will it be considered so? How much does it add to the cost of the home? Is this cost more or less than it was a year ago?
ANSWER 3: See number two for the first part; in Seattle, the answer is yes- a structured cabling system is likely standard in 60-70% of new homes. Street pricing on a TIA-570 structured cabling system is between 750-1500 depending on drops and options; this is through a builder and may be lower when buyers deal directly with low-voltage contractors. It has come down somewhat in cost, largely because it is moving out of the specialty low-voltage realm and into the mass market.
QUESTION 4: How has the explosion of Home Networking and Broadband Internet Connections affected the design and cost of Structured cabling systems?
ANSWER 4: People are much more interested in active components for networking, and Ethernet hubs are becoming standard features in structured cabling panels. Note that the two strongest applications are multiple user internet access and multiple user gaming (over PC's and on the internet); networking PC's and peripherials are a relatively small application (partly due to the rock-bottom prices of printers and scanners; it is cheaper to buy more peripherials than to network them).
QUESTION 5: Is the use a fiber optic cabling something that the homeowner should consider in the structured wiring system? Why / Why not? How costly is it?
ANSWER 5: Absolutely, as fiber will support 2Gb and up data streams. It will likely be the medium of choice for digital television and comunity networks, something already happening in some master-planned towns out west. The price of glass fiber has come down so much (largely due to Chinese imports) that the cost for the actual fiber is very low. The real cost is in termination, and that is getting easier and consequently cheaper as well. Homeowners should run the fiber and terminate later if they wish.
QUESTION 6: How does your system integrate or interface with a Residential Gateway? What does the future hold and how will your system adapt to new technologies?
ANSWER 6: It's more a question of how Residential Gateways expect to interface with the home and what they will do for it. We maintain a completely open architecture with lots of flexibility. The future gateway is just as likely to be a Sony Playstation II as anything else.
QUESTION 7: Please describe what makes your system unique or superior to other cabling systems in the marketplace.
ANSWER 7: Our package is an all-Leviton solution, which delivers the entire electrical and electronic infrastructure from one brand with considerable contractor, consumer and builder equity. The Leviton name is an edge in resale as well.
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