Blog & Media
Structured Wiring - Wire Now or You’ll Pay Later!
January 14th, 2009
Structured Wiring is an absolute necessity in homes today.
Structured wiring (or low voltage wiring) is a general term that refers to various types of wiring installed in a home for the distribution of audio, video, telephone and data signals. Structured wires are usually bundled together and can include RG-6 or RG-59 video cable, CAT-5, CAT-6 or CAT-7 network wiring, fiber optics, audio cables and other custom combinations. Structured wiring enables the distribution of audio, video, computer data and telephone signals throughout a home.
If you are building a new home or remodeling an existing one, the best advice is to wire for everything you can think of NOW even if you don’t foresee installing equipment and/or using the wiring in many locations. Chances are that you WILL use the additional wiring and even if you don’t, the next person that owns your home probably will and it will pay off in the long run. In 2009, home buyers want everything from speakers in the bathroom and that sexy new 1.5″ UltraThin flat screen HDTV on the wall to whole-house iPod integration and lighting control. If you’re not offering the ability to install these products in your home (whether you’re a builder or home owner) you may have a hard time selling when your home goes on the over-populated real estate market. Retrofitting Structured Wiring to an existing home generally costs three to four times more than pre-wiring! And at around $1 per square foot, why would you not future-proof your home now? Don’t think that 5 year old Suzy needs a flat-panel pre-wire in her bedroom? What will you do in 2019 when Suzy turns 15 and you’re tired of listening to MTV playing at full blast in the living room? What happens when you decide that you would rather work from home and now you need two phone lines plus a fax and a high-speed internet connection in your home office all in addition to your home media/storage server and networked printer?
You don’t pay your trim carpenter to install toilets and sinks, so why is your electrician running CAT-5 and coax cable? The Structured Wiring for your new home should be designed and installed by a CEDIA certified professional. Many builders and home owners wire for speakers and HDTVs throughout the house only to find out that the proper wire has not been pulled and is very often useless. This usually happens when the lowest bid is accepted and instead of paying an extra couple hundred dollars (and having the job done right), hundreds of dollars are wasted. Contact Wagner Home Systems, we can help you design and install a Structured Wiring plan to fit your personal needs.
NetStreams Wins Perfect Vision Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award
March 24th, 2008
NetStreams has won Perfect Vision’s Editor’s Choice Award in the Emerging Technology category. The DigiLinX system was named as the “Most Forward-Looking Multiroom Video System, DigiLinX delivers uncompressed, high-quality audio and video (HD) distribution, as well as full control over a CAT5 network.”
The magazine’s editors picked the very best A/V equipment of 2007, out of the more than 200 products they reviewed over the year, including Apple TV and Apple iPhone.
Unlike traditional analog systems, DigiLinX’s capacity to deliver the ultimate audio and video performance over an IP network, combined with its’ simple, cost-effective installation and operation in an open source architecture, with little to no programming required, sets it apart from other award winners.
Hitachi Launches New Line of Ultra Thin Displays
March 24th, 2008
Hitachi has achieved yet another consumer electronics breakthrough with the annoucment of its new line of 1.5-inch (35mm) Ultra Thin HDTV’s. Hitachi also expects to be first to market with its new Ultra Thin series, which will be available in the Japan market in December of 2007. U.S. consumers can expect to see Ultra Thin models in early 2008 – many months before thin displays from other manufacturers.
These slim, stylish LCDs from Hitachi represent an important new category of product that is being called Ultra Thin Displays. This new type of display is designed for a highly affluent and refined segment of consumers who seek luxury, style and prestige. This extremely discerning audience also demands a set of features, technologies and design aesthetics that are separate and very distinct from those found in today’s traditional Flat Panel Displays.
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