Smart Homes For Dummies
, by Unknown
- ISBN: 9780470165676 | 0470165677
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 7/23/2007
Now revised and updated-the plain-English, 21st-century guide to smart home technology Smart Homes For Dummies is an across-the-board overview for consumers who want to take a low-tech house and turn it into the home of the future-with all their electronic devices talking to each other and made accessible throughout the house. It covers the five major components of a wired home: home entertainment systems, phone networks, wired (and wireless) computer connections, security systems, and home automation and control systems. Readers will discover what's possible and attainable in their homes to make life more comfortable and enjoyable for the entire family.Danny Briere (Mansfield, CT) and Pat Hurley (San Diego, CA) are telecom and wireless industry consultants and the authors of nine books, including Wireless Home Networking For Dummies (0-471-74940-0), HDTV For Dummies (0-470-09673-X), and Home Theater For Dummies (0-471-78325-0).
Danny Briere founded TeleChoice, Inc., a telecommunications consulting company, in 1985 and now serves as CEO of the company. Widely known throughout the telecommunications and networking industry, Danny has written more than one thousand articles about telecommunications topics and has authored or edited ten books, including Internet Telephony For Dummies, Wireless Home Networking For Dummies (now in its second edition), Wireless Hacks and Mods for Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies, and Home Theater For Dummies. He is frequently quoted by leading publications on telecommunications and technology topics and can often be seen on major TV networks, providing analysis on the latest communications news and breakthroughs. Danny splits his time between Mansfield Center, Connecticut, and his island home on Great Diamond Island, Maine, with his wife and four children.
Pat Hurley is Director of Research with TeleChoice, Inc., and specializes in emerging telecommunications and digital home technologies, particularly in all the latest consumer electronics, access gear, and home technologies, including wireless LANs, DSL, cable modems, satellite services, and homenetworking services. Pat frequently consults with the leading telecommunications carriers, equipment vendors, consumer goods manufacturers, and other players in the telecommunications and consumer electronics industries. Pat is the coauthor of Internet Telephony For Dummies, Smart Homes For Dummies, Wireless Home Networking For Dummies, Wireless Hacks and Mods for Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies, and Home Theater For Dummies. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, a fiery red-headed toddler named Annabel, and two smelly dogs.
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| About This Book | p. 2 |
| What You're Not to Read | p. 2 |
| Foolish Assumptions | p. 3 |
| How This Book Is Organized | p. 3 |
| Future-Perfect Homes | p. 4 |
| Making Your Home an Entertainment Center | p. 4 |
| Now We're Communicating! | p. 4 |
| Livin' Off the Fat of the LAN | p. 5 |
| Keeping the Bad Guys at Bay - Security | p. 5 |
| Putting It All Together - Home Automation and Control | p. 5 |
| The Part of Tens | p. 6 |
| Icons Used in This Book | p. 6 |
| Where to Go from Here | p. 7 |
| Future-Perfect Homes | p. 9 |
| Mi Casa, Cool Casa | p. 11 |
| Living in Your Smart Home | p. 12 |
| Starting your day | p. 12 |
| Getting down to work | p. 13 |
| Dinner time | p. 14 |
| Peace at last! | p. 15 |
| The home-network revolution | p. 16 |
| What's in a Smart Home? | p. 16 |
| Why Network Your Home? | p. 18 |
| What Does It Take to Network Your Home? | p. 20 |
| Zen and the Art of Whole-Home Networking | p. 23 |
| All Together Now! | p. 23 |
| Moving Your Network into the Closet | p. 26 |
| The contents of your wiring closet | p. 27 |
| The location of your wiring closet | p. 28 |
| Feeding Audio and Video from the Media Center | p. 29 |
| The contents of your media center | p. 30 |
| Setting up your media center | p. 31 |
| Choosing Cables | p. 32 |
| Cable categories | p. 33 |
| Patch me in! | p. 35 |
| Jacks and plugs for everyone | p. 38 |
| Modular wall outlets | p. 39 |
| Investigating All-in-One Wiring Solutions | p. 40 |
| Structured cabling systems | p. 40 |
| Where all-in-one systems work (and don't work) | p. 41 |
| Makers of all-in-one systems | p. 42 |
| Hints for Designing a Futureproofed Home | p. 42 |
| Racking It Up | p. 44 |
| Cool Stuff Home Networks Can Do | p. 47 |
| Neat Phone Tricks | p. 48 |
| Entertainment Everywhere | p. 49 |
| Save Energy - and Money Too | p. 50 |
| Internet Outlets | p. 51 |
| Remote Control of Almost Everything | p. 52 |
| "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!" | p. 53 |
| Pool, Anyone? | p. 56 |
| To Infinity and Beyond! | p. 57 |
| Connect your kitchen appliances and more | p. 57 |
| Let your TV show you the Web | p. 59 |
| Make phone calls on your computer | p. 59 |
| Check up on your house over the Net | p. 61 |
| Timelines and Budgets | p. 63 |
| New or Existing Home? | p. 63 |
| What Do You Want from Your Home Network? | p. 64 |
| Deciding How Much to Spend | p. 64 |
| Going Over the Costs | p. 65 |
| The Home Team | p. 66 |
| Starting Down the Smart-Home Path | p. 69 |
| Making Your Home an Entertainment Center | p. 71 |
| Breaking the Entertainment Bottleneck - Without Breaking the Bank | p. 73 |
| TV and Video Systems | p. 73 |
| Analog still rules the roost - but not for long | p. 74 |
| Digital is here! | p. 75 |
| Next-generation digital TV | p. 75 |
| I want my HDTV! | p. 78 |
| TV types | p. 79 |
| Video source components | p. 84 |
| TV Connections from the Outside World | p. 85 |
| Broadcast TV | p. 85 |
| Cable TV | p. 86 |
| Satellite TV | p. 89 |
| Audio Systems | p. 92 |
| Intercom Systems | p. 93 |
| Getting Video Where You Want It | p. 95 |
| Distance Counts in Video Signals | p. 96 |
| Cabling between components (A/V interconnect cables) | p. 96 |
| Cabling the video-distribution network (broadband) | p. 99 |
| Coaxial Video Networks | p. 100 |
| Coaxial cable | p. 101 |
| Coax connectors | p. 102 |
| Components | p. 102 |
| Wiring a Video Network | p. 109 |
| Connecting Your Video Network | p. 110 |
| Filling your walls: Running the cables | p. 113 |
| Tying it together: Making connections at the distribution panel | p. 113 |
| Hooking up: Making connections in the TV rooms | p. 115 |
| Summing Up | p. 117 |
| Special Needs of Satellite Systems | p. 118 |
| Running a one-way satellite network | p. 118 |
| Creating a hybrid satellite/video network | p. 119 |
| Making satellite connections | p. 120 |
| And in This Corner, CAT-5e/6 | p. 122 |
| Cut the Cord: Wireless Alternatives for Video Distribution | p. 124 |
| Use What You Already Have: Phone Line Alternatives for Video Distribution | p. 126 |
| Bringing You Music | p. 129 |
| Zoning Out: Single-Zone versus Multizone Systems | p. 129 |
| Audio Connections (in the Short and Long Run) | p. 131 |
| Line level (for the short haul) | p. 134 |
| Speaker level (for the long haul) | p. 134 |
| Cables and Components | p. 135 |
| Control systems | p. 135 |
| Mating your amplifiers and speakers | p. 137 |
| Speaker cable | p. 139 |
| Audio connectors | p. 139 |
| Speaker outlets | p. 141 |
| In-wall speakers | p. 143 |
| Running Audio Here, There, and Everywhere | p. 145 |
| Making the Big Choice | p. 146 |
| Reaching for a Star | p. 147 |
| Single-Zone Simplicity | p. 148 |
| Installing a single-zone, single-amplifier system | p. 149 |
| Implementing a single-zone, multi-amplifier system | p. 151 |
| Mega-Multizoning | p. 152 |
| Other Ways to Send Audio | p. 154 |
| CATching up with CAT-5e/6 systems | p. 155 |
| Wireless systems | p. 158 |
| Now We're Communicating! | p. 165 |
| Planning a Phone System | p. 167 |
| Selecting Equipment for Your Phone Network | p. 168 |
| Plug and play the old-fashioned way | p. 168 |
| Cordless phones | p. 170 |
| Fancy phone systems | p. 173 |
| Fax machines | p. 177 |
| Answering machines | p. 178 |
| External ringers/lights | p. 179 |
| TDD devices | p. 180 |
| Choosing a Fixed Phone Service | p. 180 |
| POTS | p. 181 |
| Connecting in new ways | p. 182 |
| Voice over IP | p. 185 |
| Cutting the Cord: Going Mobile | p. 189 |
| Making the Phone Connection | p. 193 |
| What to Run Where | p. 193 |
| Building the architecture | p. 195 |
| Plugging into a KSU | p. 199 |
| Using KSU-less phone systems | p. 200 |
| Connecting Alternatively | p. 200 |
| Taking the wireless route | p. 200 |
| Adding a jack on the cheap, without wires | p. 202 |
| Livin' Off the Fat of the LAN | p. 203 |
| A Cornucopia of Computers | p. 205 |
| Considering Computers of All Kinds | p. 206 |
| Choosing traditional PCs | p. 206 |
| Looking at laptops, desktops, and more | p. 207 |
| Serving up files with a home server | p. 209 |
| PDAs, PDQ: Interfacing with Handheld Computers | p. 211 |
| Monitors | p. 214 |
| Keyboards | p. 215 |
| Eeek, There's a Mouse on My Desk | p. 216 |
| Plugging in Printers and Such | p. 216 |
| Beyond the PC - Next-Generation Computers | p. 219 |
| Game consoles on the Net! | p. 220 |
| Web-enabled TV - is it for me? | p. 221 |
| All Roads Lead to the Net | p. 223 |
| A World of IP Devices | p. 223 |
| Analog Modems | p. 224 |
| DSL | p. 227 |
| Lighting the Way with Fiber | p. 232 |
| Cable Modems | p. 234 |
| Beaming Internet in from Satellites | p. 238 |
| Connecting Wirelessly | p. 241 |
| Power Companies | p. 245 |
| Designing a Data LAN | p. 247 |
| Flipping the Wired or Wireless Coin | p. 248 |
| Running Cables Here, There, and Everywhere | p. 250 |
| Bedrooms | p. 250 |
| Living room | p. 250 |
| Home office | p. 251 |
| Home theater or media center | p. 251 |
| Kitchen | p. 252 |
| Other places | p. 253 |
| Migrating Your Computer Flock to the Net | p. 253 |
| Understanding home-network routers | p. 254 |
| Using your PC to route packets | p. 257 |
| Choosing the Parts for a Wired Data LAN | p. 259 |
| Building CAT-5e/6 LANs | p. 259 |
| Cables and Connectors | p. 263 |
| The network components | p. 263 |
| NICs galore | p. 266 |
| Software to put it all together | p. 268 |
| Visualizing How a Data LAN Works | p. 268 |
| Working with your Internet connection | p. 269 |
| Integrating with no-new-wires networks | p. 270 |
| Alternatives to a Wired Data LAN | p. 273 |
| Cut the Cord! | p. 274 |
| Understanding the standards | p. 274 |
| Is it time for N? | p. 278 |
| Back to base(ics) | p. 279 |
| In the NIC of time | p. 280 |
| Battening down the hatches | p. 281 |
| Putting together a wireless LAN | p. 283 |
| Extending a wireless LAN with WDS | p. 285 |
| But wait - there's more to wireless networks | p. 287 |
| Making the Most of Your Phone Lines | p. 289 |
| Powering Your Network | p. 290 |
| Mixing and Matching | p. 294 |
| Keeping the Bad Guys at Bay - Security | p. 295 |
| Home Security Boot Camp | p. 297 |
| Deciding That You Need a Security System | p. 298 |
| Security Basics | p. 299 |
| Getting control of your security panel | p. 300 |
| Don't panic - use your keypad! | p. 300 |
| You fill up my sensors | p. 301 |
| Sirens | p. 305 |
| Monitoring | p. 306 |
| Gathering Your 007 Security Equipment | p. 306 |
| Video surveillance | p. 307 |
| Audio surveillance | p. 309 |
| Finding and Installing the Right Security System | p. 310 |
| Hardwired systems | p. 310 |
| Wireless systems | p. 311 |
| Getting someone to do the job | p. 311 |
| Wiring a Security System | p. 313 |
| How to Prewire | p. 313 |
| Running a security loop | p. 314 |
| Wiring choices | p. 314 |
| Wiring for wireless | p. 315 |
| All Zoned Out | p. 316 |
| Super supervision | p. 317 |
| Wireless supervision | p. 318 |
| Connecting to Other Systems | p. 318 |
| Phone line interfaces | p. 318 |
| Alternative phone line interfaces | p. 320 |
| Home-control interfaces | p. 320 |
| Audio interfaces | p. 321 |
| Broadband interfaces | p. 321 |
| Putting It All Together - Home Automation and Control | p. 323 |
| Home Automation Extravaganza | p. 325 |
| Where an Automated Home Begins - and Ends | p. 325 |
| Understanding the Protocols | p. 326 |
| Understanding the Components | p. 329 |
| Modules | p. 329 |
| Switches | p. 332 |
| Controllers | p. 333 |
| Lights, AC (Powerline), Action | p. 338 |
| Control Networks for Entertainment Systems | p. 341 |
| Using RF remotes | p. 342 |
| Using a wired IR repeater system | p. 343 |
| Making Home Automation a Reality | p. 345 |
| X10 Marks the Spot | p. 346 |
| Building bridges | p. 346 |
| Keep those nosy (or noisy) neighbors off your powerline | p. 347 |
| Boost that signal | p. 348 |
| Surge protectors kill powerline signals | p. 349 |
| Wire those switches right | p. 350 |
| Controlling Your Home-Automation Systems | p. 351 |
| Keeping it simple | p. 351 |
| Adding a computer for more control | p. 352 |
| Making your home interactive | p. 353 |
| Getting IR Around the House | p. 357 |
| Making your coaxial cable work overtime | p. 358 |
| Being dedicated | p. 360 |
| Part VII | p. 365 |
| Ten Common Pitfalls When Building Your Smart Home | p. 367 |
| Missing the Basics of Automation | p. 367 |
| Not Reading the Manual | p. 368 |
| Thinking That AC and Low Voltage Are Friends | p. 369 |
| Using the Weakest Link | p. 369 |
| That PPPPPP Thing | p. 370 |
| Thinking That Wiring Is a Dirty Word | p. 370 |
| Falling into the Proprietary Pitfall | p. 371 |
| Tumbling into the All-in-One Trap | p. 371 |
| Forgetting to Add Conduit | p. 372 |
| Not Bothering to Use Labels | p. 372 |
| Top Ten Toys of the Future | p. 373 |
| Robotic Servants | p. 373 |
| Networking the Family Sedan | p. 374 |
| Losing Weight on the Internet | p. 375 |
| Figuring Out Which CD to Play | p. 376 |
| Serving Up Video on Your Screen | p. 377 |
| Giving a Concert | p. 377 |
| Gazing on a Starry, Starry Night | p. 378 |
| 3D Home Theater | p. 378 |
| Putting the "Motion" in Motion Pictures | p. 380 |
| Playing with LEGO, the 21st Century Way | p. 381 |
| Index | p. 383 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
What is included with this book?
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Please wait while the item is added to your bag...
