It gives you options. I'm no expert on the subject but there are always tech changes. What if the isp's decide to charge by the mb, or decide they want to throttle streaming services? I use roku as well, but I did coax in case.

We have unfinished attic and basement. No worries about adding anything, but you may not have the same easy access. (All I cared about putting in place was the central vac system! LOL)

That is how I've been living for the last 10 years. Modem in the basement.
Everything else is wireless.

What do you people use an ethernet for besides a stationary home office?

I like wired ethernet because the connections are much more robust, not subject to interference from other devices sharing the same bandwidth, no messing with security passwords etc, My wireless devices always seem to want to latch on to the weak signal from the barn router rather than the strong one in the house. No such issues with a wire.

It gives you options.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. Technology is changing, and I think it's very possible that you'll be glad in the future that you have cables installed in your walls.

You might consider at least running a PVC pipe through your walls so it'd be easy to install cables or cords at some point in the future, if your needs change.

And, yeah, you said you don't want to talk resale, but life sometimes surprises us and turns "don't plan to sell for many years" into next year.

If you put a chase up the center of the house, if a need for cable arises later, it should be pretty easy to add later. If the builder is charging a lot for the additional line, that might be a nice cost saver for you.

I put coax in each room to be on the "safe side" and also for resale purposes if we ever decide to move.. With that being said I have over 100 cat6 runs throughout the house.. We are using cat6 runs for video to each bedroom.. This will allow us to keep all cable boxes in the basement instead of having them at every tv location... Another cat6 will transmit the ir signal.. I have always been a firm believer in hardwiring everything.. With all of the electronics out there there is too much room for interference.. We did the same thing with our alarm system.. Hardwired every sensor.. There has not been one house that I have gone to that didn't at some point have a "lag" issue with wireless.. It is the nature wireless.. Much easier to interrupt..

Do you think people would notice if you do not have cable jacks? I don't think they would. And even if they noticed, say, during their inspection, it might not be a deal breaker. If you put them in, what if they don't like where you put them, or want jacks in other rooms?

I think (with the assumption that you won't be selling the house for ten or more years), cable will be a moot point. There's so many that use only internet for entertainment now..and increasingly so. However, I do applaud the wisdom of making adding more/different wires easy (the pvc pipe solution).

Things are changing fast...

Thanks, everyone. I understand the need for flexibility, but since we're not planning to move for a while (>10 years), it doesn't seem worth it to me to put in additional cable jacks. Yes, my situation might change and we'll have to move. Yes, I might decide I want cable for some reason. But if that happens, we'll put in jacks at that point, and eat the extra expense.

Run cat6 to each room like njbuilding did. I like to have everything hard wired also. I have everything terminated in a media closet in the basement connected to a gigabit switch.

I'd love to put the cable box (FIOS in our case) down in the basement with the routers! How do you get the video signal from the cable box to the TV (I currently use HDMI, but the distance would be way too long for that) and how do you get the remote to talk to the cable box without line of sight?

Hey NJ how did your house turn out?

Future proof. Down the road, technology will change. 4k is more popular now. And wireless is NOT the way to go. Cable is cheap. You are spending a fortune building, why cheap out on cable.

My 2 cents -

We pretty much know that the Internet of the future is going to run through fiber optics in the home. There is no real reason to run Rg6 if you can run Cat6, but thinking ahead to conduit for hard to rewire rooms is pretty smart.

Thanks for posting this question and answers everyone.

Carol

Why are folks running cat6 to rooms other than the router or their home office?
I'm curious to make sure I'm not missing something.

Is it simply for flexibility and options?

I've used 1 hook-up in my last 3 houses over 10 years. I must admit I'm a strong believer that a TV doesn't belong in a bedroom. Tablets certainly make their way in the rooms though.

Wow njbuilding that is quite the low volt plan. I would never have guessed a master bedroom would need 20 cat6 runs. What system did you use for keypads for the whole house?

Sorry your build has been such a nightmare with your builder.

Carol

nj, thanks for the additional detail! Can you tell me a bit more about the audio inputs running off the cat6?

Ethernet cables (Cat5e and Cat6) are the most flexible of the current cables. They can carry almost all audio, video and internet standards with higher bandwidth than most. Because it is both cheap and easy to work with, it is the standard in most whole house audio, video, internet and automation applications.

In English - they make a lot more adapters for it to handle things in your house because it is a lot more adaptable at handling things in your house.