Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
- How This Book Is Organized
- Part I: Future-Perfect Homes
- Part II: Making Your Home an Entertainment
Center
- Part III: Now We're Communicating!
- Part IV: Livin' Off the Fat of the LAN
- Part V: Keeping the Bad Guys at Bay: Security
- Part VI: Putting It All Together: Home
Automation and Control
- Part VII: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Future-Perfect Homes
Chapter 1: Mi Casa, Cool Casa
- Living in Your Smart Home
- Starting your day
- Getting down to work
- Dinner time
- Peace at last!
- The Home-Network Revolution
What's in a Smart Home?
Why Network Your Home?
Chapter 2: Zen and the Art of Whole-Home
Networking
- All Together Now!
- Thinking of networks in different ways
- Caution: Merging networks
- Home Design/Layout Tips
- Bringing your network out of the closet
- Feeding audio and video from the media
center
- You can't prewire too much
- Investigating "All-in-One
Solutions"
- What are structured cabling systems all
about?
- What you can (and can't) use all-in-one
systems for
- Who makes all-in-one systems?
- Chapter 3: Cool Stuff Home Networks Can
Do
Neat Phone Tricks
Entertainment Everywhere
Internet Outlets
Remote Control of Everything (Just About)
- To Infinity and Beyond!
- Connecting your kitchen appliances and more
- Let your TV show you the Web
- Make phone calls on your computer
- Check up on your house over the Net Chapter
4: Getting It Done: Timelines and Budgets
New or Existing Home?
What Do You Want from Your Home Network?
Deciding How Much to Spend
Going Over the Costs
- The Home Team
- Get out your napkin
- The final push
Part II: Making Your Home an Entertainment
Center
- Chapter 5: Breaking the Entertainment
Bottleneck (Without Breaking the Bank)
- TV and Video Systems
- Digital is coming
- TV types
- Video source components
- Stereo Systems
Intercom Systems
- TV Connections from the Outside World
- Broadcast TV
- Cable TV
- Satellite TV
- Chapter 6: Getting Video Where You Want
It
- Distance Counts in Video Signals
- Cabling between components (baseband)
- Cabling the video-distribution network
(broadband)
- Coaxial Video Networks
- Coaxial cable
- Coax connectors
- Components
- Chapter 7: Wiring a Video Network
- Connecting Your Video Network
- Step 1: Running the cables
- Step 2: Making connections in the TV rooms
- Step 3: Making connections at the
distribution panel
- Special Needs of Satellite Systems
- Running a one-way satellite network
- Creating a hybrid satellite/video network
- Making satellite connections
- Cut the Cord: Wireless Alternatives for
Video Distribution
- Use What You've Already Got: Phone Line
Alternatives for Video Distribution Chapter 8: Planning to
Bring Music to You
- Zoning Out: Single-Zone versus Multizone
Systems
- Audio Connections (In the Short Run and the
Long Run)
- Line level (for the short haul)
- Speaker level (for the long haul)
- Cables and Components
- Control systems
- Amplifier and speakers
- Speaker cable
- Audio connectors
- Speaker outlets
- In-wall speakers Chapter 9: Running
Audio Here, There, and Everywhere
- Reaching for a Star
- Single-Zone Simplicity
- Installing a single-zone, single-amplifier
system
- Implementing a single-zone, multi-amplifier
system
- Mega-Multizoning
- Other Ways to Send Audio
- Wireless systems
- Intercom systems
Part III: Now We're Communicating!
Chapter 10: Planning a Phone System for
Your Home
- Selecting Equipment for Your Phone Network
- Plug and play the old-fashioned way
- Wireless phones
- Fax machines
- External ringers/lights
- TDD devices
- Key phones can be key
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