You will need to go to a good audio shop and get info from them for what is possible for your situation . Unless this is a complete custom build your builder will not tackle this and this needs to be done now for the best results

how do i do this? for example, the great room is wired with speakers but I believe the run is going to the wall of the great room. So I have to place my receiver in the front of the great room?

The speaker wires would need to run to the closet. The only way to do that is before the walls have been closed up or if the speaker wires are run in an attic and you can get to the wires and the closet from the attic?

Hi Tony,

I used "the useless" space above the fridge for our home run, it's FANTASTIC, everything all in one small space.

Cable box, internet modem, speaker amplifier, Insteon hub (for all our smart switches/lights, etc), heat exhaust fan, one of 3 wifi transmitters, a network switch, because I only have one "master feed cable from the modem downstairs. So the "internet modem" in my home run is actually an "internet router". The FIOS modem is in the basement.

There's also a small device that converts the HDMI video output from the cable box to send video over standard "CAT5" network cable, and the receiver box for that is behind the kitchen TV and converts the signal from the CAT5 cable back to HDMI so it can be plugged into the TV.

We LOVE our ceiling speakers, we put "Thunderstorm Sounds" for night time white noise, it's amazing.

my audio/video installer from the builder told me that running hdmi from the great room or any room that needs hdmi to closet is too far and its costly to do the signal change. hard to troubleshoot and not supported by the home builder

so reading about it more, looks like I can buy a hdmi extender over cat6 and stick it at the back of the TV and run a cat 6 to my closet? I do have the cat6/hdmi port on the wall. CAt6 port will be running to the closet. but not the hdmi. HDMI only goes down below on the great room

thoughts?

Tony, where do you want your home run closet to be located?

I chose the space above the fridge due to it being easy (for us) to drill a hole in the floor down to the basement, also, useless space.

Here is what my home run above the fridge space looked like after they closed up the walls.

its going to be in a storage room - 2nd level.

I am seeing most people are using the hdmi extender

like this

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hdmi+extender+4k&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

I am not sure my builder/audio person will run the speaker wires to the closet.

So Tony a few things: (1) if your speakers zones are wired locally and you want to get distributed audio throughout, check out Sonos Connect Amps or the new Sonos Amps are your solution. For any 5.1 audio zones you can use a Sonos Playbar and Sonos Connect Amp / Sonos Amp working together to great a 5.1 audio zones (a sonos wireless sub will bed needed for this as well. For video, you a Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable and what is called an "HDMI Balun" to send a video signal from one room to another. There are several different kinds that support 1080p only, both 4k and 1080p, both 4k, 1080p and HDR, etc. etc. This should be well within the purview of any Home Theater / Home Automation company. Have you called one in your area?

I am only working with my builder/audio video integrator

I got a great room and loft with 5.1 speakers
Also kitchen and decks with pair of speakers

Should I ask if I can wire the speakers to the closet instead of locally?

I prefer running all the receiver/amp in a closet

Well you can but they will probably just run wiring from the local location they have no to the location you want to go and splice it.

What is the difference between a hdmi Balun and hdmi extender?

I plan to run hdmi and convert to cat6 with an extender to the closet

Can ceiling speakers be wired to 2 locations?

Good advice from Technospeak

HDMI Baluns (BALanced / UN-balanced) are also referred to as extenders - and typically sold in pairs (transmit/receive) However, I would be skeptical about purchasing cheap stuff from Amazon - as the saying goes, you get what you pay for - as all extenders are not built the same. Contrary to popular belief HDMI is not just transmitting audio & video - there is data transmission as well. Specs for these units are distance maximums you need to properly display 1080P & 4K resolution as well as EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) compensation - the information needed to communicate between devices. If this gets screwed up you'll wind up with a blank screen as well as other intermittent problems. Some devices have the means to adjust for this. We use Binary brand, but that is reserved for Pro AV installers. If you insist on DYI, then consider Key Digital, Wyerstorm & Vanco Evolution which is not a bad unit. You probably won't find then on Amazon, but an authorized AV dealer can sell it to you. Run over CAT6 or in harsh EMI areas, CAT6 shielded.

Good Luck

-FP

PS - Please don't shove all your AV gear and the router into a cabinet which sits above a giant metal box and close the door- this is an EMI and cabling nightmare. This may be a good spot for one piece of gear that you need to hide - such as a cable-box or a cam DVR, or a Sonos amp. Do yourself a favor and find another location for your Wifi router or consider Wifi access points - your family will thank you for it.

Thank you. I am reading that I need a minimum of 3 cat6 to a TV ?

I understand I need 1 for network

1 for the hdmi to cat6 conversion - run that to the closet

1 for IR? What does that do? If I plan to add something like control4 down the road, I will need an extra cat6 to the tv?

Tony - Any Pro AV installer will initially run at least four (4) CAT cables, sometimes more, to a location that he may never have access to again - just for the purpose of future proofing - and possibly a COAX cable. I say this because some TV locations may just need a cable box DTA, which you can tuck behind the TV locally without the need for HDMI extenders. Think through you wiring for each location.

Generally, you can use CAT5e for IR control (TV IR flasher). However, a well designed higher-end HDMI extender will have the means to carry IR signals, as well digital audio (optical or COAX) and Ethernet. I'm not a big fan of HDMI ARC (audio return channel) so if you're back-hauling TV streaming source audio to a receiver, prepare the means to do so.

Hi Tony,

As posted above, we have a heat exhaust fan in our cabinet above our giant metal box, have never had any problem.

Elementary.

Good advice though, lol!

LOL!, Touche' Miss Janie...didn't mean to offend. The cab exhaust fan is a great idea...but trust me, if you find another location for your router you'll have extended Wifi coverage!

- Frank P

https://corporate.comcast.com/comcast-voices/10-ways-you-might-be-killing-your-home-wi-fi-signal

Ha, no worries Frank.

We're in a 519 sq foot apartment with 3 transmitters, unfortunately, the original HDMI cable that hubs ran didn't work after walls were closed, was fine during testing.

Definitely had to drop 10 yards and punt after that one.

But the wifi is bompin!

Tony, what have you decided?

any recommendation for the hdmi extenders? builder wants to charge me double for running the speaker wires locally and running them to the closet. each extra cat 6 run cost $175

Again that sounds reasonable as local speaker wire runs are typically pretty short.

how hard is it to run additional cat6 after the walls are closed up?

Hi Tony

Trying to help, but this question is bordering on the surreal...are you OK with someone cutting up the walls, drilling through ceiling joists, framing between rooms/floors, patching, sanding and painting? If the answer is yes, then not too hard at all.

Hope this helps.

they cant fish it? I mean add more drops to existing locations

Cost wise take your pre-wire cost and multiply it by 2.5 to 4.5 depending on the length of the run, wall materials, paint or other finishes, etc, etc. During a pre-wire you drill the size whole you need for the wires in the project scope to save time and you money. Adding more wire means bigger holes and/or new holes. Also depending on the thickness of the stud/joist you are going through you may have to drill other holes. If you are talking prefab beams, you may not be able to drill any more holes at all.

If you want honest advice-- pay the pre-wire cost and move on to other parts of your home build. If you go too cheap on your prewire there will be corners cut that you won't realize until construction is done. For a LV pre-wire there are minimal requirements per code and nothing unsafe, so no basis on which to pursue contractors afterwards if you didn't feel like you got what you paid for. You will then end up paying 2-5 times more to get it the way you want it.

how hard is it to run additional cat6 after the walls are closed up?

Hard?

Not at all. I could take my sledgehammer and smash up your lovely new walls and ceilings with a few blasts.

However, you now need a rubbish clean up, re-inspection, the cost of a whole new installation, your walls and ceilings closed up again.....Tony, do you get the picture?

Unless you are bleeding $$$$ and just want to throw it away, you're not making any sense.

Please! Listen to Technospeak!

Shortcuts = $$$$$$

any idea what kind of speaker wire I need to bring ceiling speakers back to a closet? Its going to be more than 100FT. maybe 300ft or less. I keep reading saying thicker the better and seeing some with 2 pair and some wtih 4 pair. do I need 14/4 pair or 12/2 ?

It depends on the type of amp and the specs on the speaker. Best to hire a local Home Theater contractor to help you as they will know what to use.

Size of the speaker wire depends on the length of the run, but don't go less than 14 Ga. Each speaker requires one 14/2 or 12/2. The 4-wire cable might be useful to run to a pair of speakers from the closet, but I would stick to the two-wire cables.