Hi, I am building a 4K sqft home and have done all the automation in my last house (by myself). During that time I worked for a company that owned a division that sold home and industrial automation and I could get anything for 50% below cost. Having said that we just broke ground on our second home and I am doing all the design install and automation for this home and here is what I am putting in from what I have learned in the past. #1 - Lighting System. It was my favorite thing in the last house (a Leviton system). This time I am using Insteon for many reasons but it can be programed by a small box you instruct - plug into an outlet and let it do it's thing. Custom printed buttons, complex scenes - timers whatever. It is the most flexible system out there and goes from standard configuration to super complex and everything in between. It is also cost effective. #2. You can get Insteon Thermostats that do a lot of goofy stuff - but I am going with 2 Nest units for each zone. Easy Simple. #3. A Cat6 Camera system from Samsung (16 cameras - only putting in 8 to start). I really like the fact that I can see the house and the sump pump etc. when I am out of state. #4. An ELK alarm system. This is the "brain" of the house and it talks to the lighting system and Insteon thermostats. You can hit the "Vacation" button and it will set the HVAC and even turn on and off random lights at night if you want. #5. I am wiring for Somfy drapes and shades. Simply putting in the 16/2 DC wires in locations for now. The bedroom will be all blackout shades. Roll over and hit a switch and you are in a 1000 a night hotel. I am not putting in any music systems. Never used them. I had a fancy Russsound AV distribution system as well and won't be doing that either. Simply doing Cat 6 everywhere, DirecTv, and will use wireless Apple products for music at patries. You will NEVER use a computer to control these devices. You will never get up and use a wall touch screen. That being said this is a hobby and should be treated as such. You won't get your money out of it. Your friends won't understand it. Friends at parties won't understand it. But if it is something you like then go for it. It takes 10,000 times more effort, time, frustration, and money to do these things with an automation system than it is to get up and hit the light switch or pull the drape cord. But to me it is something I can't seem to live without. Wife hates it - can't seem to understand how it all works - or the need for any of it. Even with custom labeled buttons that say "party" or "clean up" on the lights she still uses the switch instead of the scene button. It is nice to turn off every light in the house from your bedside - and then to have the alarm to arm automatically at 11:00 at night with no need to do anything. To have the lights come on and light the house when it detects motion etc. That being said it is a very slippery slope. Don't listen to the salesmen - they want to sell you what they want to sell. Best advice is to do as much as you can and bring in a pro for the things you don't understand (alarm for me)... Good luck!

When we bought our house the one thing we had to have was the wiring package for internet / cable TV and phone lines. One never knows what the future brings and while we won't be having computers in the bedrooms in the new house, we do have a laptop that very well could be brought up to the rooms if needed due to someone not being well. Same thing with phones. While a lot of phones these days work off of electrical outlets, I would prefer a handset wired directly to the phone outlet. You also never know about fax machines, there have been times when we had to hook ours to the main phone number due to faxing long distance. It's a pain having to fish lines through the walls. It's also a pain to have to cut sheet rock for a new outlet. Much easier to pay the builder to have it done when the walls are open. I wish we could send our sons to the new house to wire, one works for DirecTV while the other works for Comcast; yet we're not allowed to do that :(

@ace_tx From what I've read a lot of people are suggesting what you said, so I'm thinking that would be a good idea.... can you just help me understand it a bit more? Would I run all four of those wires to where the tv would be in the room? or only 1 rg6 quad coax and 1 6pr cat5e/6 lines to where the tv and they other 2 would be at a different location in the room? (Then of course all those wires would run to the central location, right, and plug into what?, I'm not sure - guess I can figure that out later) Are there any other cables I should have behind my TV in the main viewing area (assuming my dvd player and stuff are in a separate cabinet)? THANKS!

Wiring up to the test jack is telco wiring. From the test jack in, is inside (customer) wiring. If you have to get behind the test jack to switch any wiring (i.e. open the second access), you are in the telco portion of the box. If you can make any terminal connections without opening the second portion (telco) of the box, that is customer responsibility or, a charge from the phone company to make the connections for you. If you know what you are doing and have to open the telco portion of the box to make connections, you can make the connections yourself with no push back from the telco.