Wondering if anyone has some experience in either hiding network cables or running them. I didn't build the house so I'm not intimately familiar with the plumbing/wiring.

-Essentially the gateway is on the same floor on the opposite corner of my house from my entertainment center in the living room.
-hardwood floors
-molding along the baseboard almost everywhere.
-several passageways (without doors) that the cable may have to cross if routed in the interior.

I would prefer not to drill a hole in the floors but open to suggestions. With U-verse adding Xbox360 support I'd love to be able to control my tv and dvr with Kinect and I doubt HD streaming is going to cut it over wireless N.

10/6/2011 11:46:57 AM

If you want to be lazy about it, get something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Wiremold-CMK50-CordMate-Computer-Entertainment/dp/B0015EDVVU/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_4

10/6/2011 11:51:50 AM

Do you have access to get under your house?

I suggest making a new network socket in your wall next to your power socket, dropping the wire under your house, hang it under your floor along your house and up into the other room where you make another network socket in the wall.

If you can't get under the house then this is obviously not doable.

Don't drill holes in your floor. All your wiring probably runs under your house and is easy to piggy-back off of.

10/6/2011 12:24:02 PM

I had a similar problem. My house is on a slab, and because of the design of my living room, the only way to run speaker wire was to take off all of the base molding, run a toe saw around the edge to trim back the hardwoods a bit (in some places the installer didnt leave the right gap between the wall and the flooring), lay the cable in the channel, and replace the molding.

Took a weekend or two, but the install looks amazing.

10/6/2011 12:31:03 PM

Quote :

"Do you have access to get under your house? I suggest making a new network socket in your wall next to your power socket, dropping the wire under your house, hang it under your floor along your house and up into the other room where you make another network socket in the wall. If you can't get under the house then this is obviously not doable. Don't drill holes in your floor. All your wiring probably runs under your house and is easy to piggy-back off of."

Well, when ATT came out they decided that they couldn't drop the cable down the wall for some reason, they ended up drilling through the wall and routing the cable 15 inches outside of my house into one of my vents to underneath. I can definitely get under the house but the particulars of creating the network socket and dropping the cable (if possible in the office, it's possible the tech was just lazy I guess) I'm not familiar/comfortable with. Any recommendations on a service for this or anyone want to quote me here?

I'll start looking at guides online and see if it's something I can do but I'd rather it be done right and look good than me tinkering around with my drywall.

You know what, nevermind...apparently the installation kit comes with one of these:
http://www.motorola.com/Video-Solutions/US-EN/Products-and-Services/Voice-and-Data-Consumer-Premise-Equipment/Home-Networking/Adapters-and-Accessories/HomePNA3-1Adapter_US-EN

So I can use the existing coax. woot.

[Edited on October 6, 2011 at 12:59 PM. Reason : .]

10/6/2011 12:56:59 PM

If you want some help running cable and installing plates, I've got a nice punchdown tool and everything else you'd need from doing it in my house last year. It's pretty simple, you just come up through a small hole in the sole plate, and run into an old work box or low-voltage box with keystone jacks. If you just need a few short runs it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, and I'd be willing to help out, just let me know.

I've found that installers generally take the laziest way out, so it's entirely possible he just didn't want the extra hassle of doing an in-wall installation. I had to work with my satellite installer to get the coax where I wanted it, but it now comes up into a nice wallplate like everything else.

10/7/2011 1:55:26 PM

^That. It's really, really easy to do this, take him up on his offer to help!

10/7/2011 2:05:35 PM

Quote :

"If you want to be lazy about it, get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Wiremold-CMK50-CordMate-Computer-Entertainment/dp/B0015EDVVU/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_4"

I have something similar and it sucks horribly.

10/7/2011 3:11:46 PM

If that Ethernet to home PNA thing sucks then I just might take FenderFreak up on it, but AT&T doesn't even have any of the kits currently available so I'll keep my Wireless-N for now. Thanks for the input, all.

10/10/2011 9:12:32 AM

Another option is ethernet over powerline. I have a Belkin unit and it streams HD video without a hitch.

10/10/2011 9:46:46 AM

I too can vouch for the ethernet over powerline. It runs my Xbox with no issues.

10/10/2011 5:30:20 PM

Just use a few of these:

Works great!

10/10/2011 11:00:42 PM

^^,^^^

Not to hijack this guy's thread but can you recommend a good ethernet over powerline set? I tested an older, slower TrendNet one that seems to work just fine so my power circuits should support it. I'm wanting to get one but not sure which to trust.

10/11/2011 12:16:26 PM

^ http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=606336

10/11/2011 12:26:27 PM

Hijack away, I'm not using it until ATT fixes their shit and releases more kits.

10/11/2011 2:56:16 PM

^^^The answer is just above your post: Splice together an Ethernet cable and power cord for cheap and easy Ethernet over powerline.

10/11/2011 8:52:28 PM