[DarkKnight]

Hi all,

I'm planning ahead for a new home I'm buying and wanted to lay down a home network to stream AV content around the house. This is likely to be via Media server which can send and receive data, audio, voice and IR.

However, I would like this future proofed to handle High Definition content when it eventually hits the UK.

Can CAT5E handle this ?

If not what type of cabling should I consider ?

Also, would I need any special type of hub/switch or plug convertors to handle this ?

(Apols if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything!)

[stripe]

Yes Cat5E will handle it, but if you really want to future proof yourself, get Cat6 which is guaranteed to do Gb and a obviously you'll want to get a Gb Switch and NIC's.

However to stream HD material you will need hi-end PC's to get any kind of results out of it.

[DarkKnight]

Many Thanks Stripe.

HDTV PC Tuner cards are available now in the US and it's just a matter of time before they hit these shores.

However, from what I can tell from http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.asp, CAT6 seems to just be a more stringent standards version of CAT5E.

Does the bandwidth vary amoungst these versions ?

I assume CAT6 most be more costly ?

[stripe]

Cat6 really is just an updated version on 5E but it is guaranteed to do what it claims, you'll probably not notice any difference.