Newbie Questions

[Mick Furlong <dorsai@xxxxxxx>]

Hi all

I am new to all this home automation stuff but have been researching
it quite extensively over the last couple of months.

I have a couple of questions which I hope someone on the list can help
me with.

Sorry for the length of this email my questions are at the end :)

My main issue is one of location, I want to control power and lighting
along with AV equipment but I can't co-locate my PC and the AV
equipment (the wife would kill me my PC is a monster;)

So my thoughts go something like this......

1. Locate the Homevision unit with the AV equipment

2. Cable from the Homevision to my Office/PC room

3. Eventually I will want to run an MP3 server (from the PC soundcard)
into the AV equipment so it would seem sensible to run cable for this
at the same time.

4. Caller ID via a suitable box or modem into the PC

5. Control of the AV kit including Cable TV from the Office/PC room

6. Use of 2xFujitsu lifebooks with touch screen for control of
everything via wireless networking (803.11 I think)

7. Use of a Sony RM2000 remote for control when the lifebooks aren't
to hand (or booted up )

8. Home security functions including door cam etc

9. Use of Gigavideo or similar for cams around the house and possible
transmission of AV due to the cabling problems

10. Voice Control (I just love that idea :)

Questions I have are as follows

What kind of cables and how many  should I run between the
AV/Homevision and the PC room for video, audio and homevision (it is a
1930s brick built house so cabling is a nightmare)?

What are the limitations on using homevision to control the AV
equipment if they are all installed in a cabinet with all the units
pointing in the same direction? I seem to recall reading that Mark M
had a problem controlling his TV in this configuration.

Is using ACE clients/server the best solution for enabling control
from the lifebooks?

Which is best Ace caller ID or Homevison caller id and what hardware
is available to support this in the UK?

Which security systems should I consider or is it reasonable to run
the security from Homevision assuming I can make it secure in
software?

Will I get interference problems with gigavideo wireless video  and
the wireless networking?

Is voice control feasible and if so what is the best solution?

Sorry to bombard you people with so many questions but you seem to
know what you are talking about :)

Regards
Mick

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