Here's what we got in a nut shell. The price, as of tonight, $820. But this will likely change tomorrow as we need to finalize things. We got NO bells or whistles...I was hoping hubby would come home & surprise me with a speaker system but he's MUCH better at knowing our limits than I am. Haha! :-)
* Standard outlet package : 2 cable; 2 phone (but we swapped out 1 phone for an additional cable outlet)
* 4 Ethernet outlets (one for each bedroom) that way we aren't using as much wireless capacity. I think we may remove 2 of these.
* Over-the-fireplace cable/Ethernet/HDMI/cat5 (cable is behind the wall installation).
Our next step (ASAP) is to really find out how much our cable company will charge us to relocate the cable box to another room (ie closet) so we see no wires/box. Guardian wanted to charge $1000 for re-routing the cable to the pantry closet & to have the IR to RF to IR remote control kit.
Did others use Guardian to do the relo or your cable provider? Any tips?
Also, has anyone had any luck paying Guardian out of pocket rather than rolling this into your mortgage? How did you get approval? We'd rather pay out of pocket.
** On a side note, we couldn't get a cable outlet placed outside. We eventually want to have an entertainment outdoor space. Just an FYI to those looking to do this. Guardian will not do this for you.
We cut the cable cord in 2008, so I can't help you there. Also we cut the land line phone in 2006. So all our freebies became ethernet/ cable jacks. We upgraded all our cables to cat 6, data links in 2 bedrooms (using wireless extenders to make the wireless connection seamless) 2 pre wires for TVs, and yes we did get the security system.Since ours will work on cellular we will be better able to keep track of the kids going in and out (our oldest will be a teenager before we know it :(, as well as other features we can handle remotely No speakers, or that stupid in house vacuum system. We were told that we could pay for it out of pocket but I am not sure how that works- I need to find out as our time is closer than what we think.
ReplyDeleteDo you have an Apple TV or just go off Netflix? The box we have is called iTV, which creates the link between the tv and our iPhone / iPad. Which we select the AppleTV on our device to connect to the tv. But we still get basic cable along with it. Thanks for the tips. I'm thinking to tell Chris to do away with phone lines so we just get the extra Internet line. ;)
DeleteWe use our gaming systems to stream use Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus (free). this is why we upgraded to cat6- allows for faster streaming. We are a house with a mix of technology
DeleteSounds like you guys did good! We only added an extra cable outlet and did the prewire for surround sound. Think we got out the door around $600. We skipped everything else.
ReplyDeleteYour cable company should be able to easily move the box, just remember to have an outlet in the closet. What a load of crap for $1000. I have the Harmony Ultimate remote and it rocks! All of our components are in an enclosed cabinet. Be no different that being in a closet. It has a hub and little IR blisters that can control everything out of site. It can do a ton of stuff and I included a link below. $350 for a kick butt remote is a heck of a lot better than $1000 for something very basic. I seriously can't tell you how awesome this remote was. At first I had done buyers remote due to the price until I tried it. Once I did, there's no going back. Maybe I'll do a quick blog review on it.
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-ultimate-home
Also their music system seems dumb. My surround sound receiver connects to my iPhone AirPlay. For me that's more than enough. So again, good job saying no. Lol
Blasters, not blisters. Lol. Dumb autocorrect.
DeleteHoly crap, I'll stop ranting about hating not being able to easily edit a post. When I go back and reread, I appear half illiterate. Lol.
DeleteHaha! This site makes it hard to edit after posting unless you delete the comment.
DeleteAppreciate the feedback. I'll have my husband look at your link. I think our plan was to eventually get a few wireless speakers in the house to run music to it. I swear I've been through 3-4 CD players since our twins were born because we play music for them in the night & the players burn out!
As for the tv, my husband found some IF remote last night for around $50! Not sure of the reviews but if this is the case, then we just need cable company to come out & run the line to a closet or the pantry. They were charging $600 to run the cable line & $300 for the infrared kit thing.
Good luck on the Ravenna guys, we love it. We keep a hardline phone in the kitchen just in case cell towers go down, no power, etc and had the second jack put in the bedroom. We run wireless signal to the printer/fax in the office just in case we ever need to do that. But having two definitely was not a waste. We actually had another company come in and add a bunch more coax/cat5 right before drywall went up (Ryan doesnt care but dont brag about it), drywall guys came in did their thing and after we closed my alternate company came in and pulled their hidden lines out of the drywall. It cost me the same to add 6 items as it did to have Ryan tech contractor do 2, ridiculous. Something we also did was to run a piece of pvc from the attic to the basement, it allowed for an easy fish point and so much flexibility later. Cellular service on the alarm is a no brainer these days. Guardian having a preference as to where you place your router sounds very shady, they shouldnt care at all. They work predrywall so there is no labor hit for them. And yes, an outlet in the closet will be required to power the router and the backup battery for your alarm. Good luck.
ReplyDelete