We have been contacted to carry out a service call to address an issue with the Main Video Output of an Audio Video Receiver in a home theatre in Blouberg.
When we arrived onsite, this is the condition that this home theatre installation was left by the company that installed the Audio Video System.
If you are are wondering what it takes to install infrastructure cabling neatly, this is a quick introduction.
We start the planning stage of any installation by referring to the best practice for future proofing the home. Deciding on the cabling installation includes:
Once the cabling requirements have been decided, we start with the first fix.
This is the initial installation of all the cabling to each of the required points. These cables are left labeled to be sorted later.
First Fix Cabling Installation
Once the first fix is completed we usually check all our cabling and write a report to certify that our cabling has been installed and is in good condition.
Generally this is when we leave site and let the other trades carry on with their work, this may be carpenters fitting joinery or painters completing their work of course during a new house build there are many other artisans on site.
Next we return to site and start to work through the cables and group them into their separate groupings. These groupings will be combed into looms which will be neatly installed into the equipment rack.
What it looks like to sort through first fix cabling
Once the cabling has been sorted into its loom a cable comb will be applied. In this instance a high quality Panduit cable comb is being used.
These are incredibly useful and allow cables to be slotted into the comb from the sides. Once the cables have been combed velcro cable ties are used to keep the cables fastened into the loom.
Using velcro falls into the best practice for cabling looms, however if needs be, standard cable ties can be used.
Cable comb being used to tidy cabling loom
Next the Cat6 cables are separated into where they are going to be patched on the network switch. Then they can be stripped and terminated, ready to be installed into the systems rack.
Separating cables into their relevant patch locations.
This is the beginning of a professional cabling installation.
Thank you to Smart Nest for taking the photos for this post!
Please fill in our contact form to get in contact about carrying out a professional cabling installation like this in your home: Contact Us
We have recently completed our first ad notam mirror television installation. The installation was for the Ellerman House Hotel in Bantry Bay, Cape Town.
This is a short introduction detailing what it took to install this mirror television.
Discussions started with architect Michael Dennet in March 2012. During our first meeting I was joined by Christiaan Beukes of Sphere Custom Design. He had been appointed as the automation specialist and was going to be providing the high definition video feed for the mirror television. We were informed that the client had seen our mirror televisions overseas so he knew the quality of ad notam mirror televisions. With this peace of mind he knew what to expect. Over the coming months and various consultation meetings the final decision to have a mirror size of 1700mm x 1100mm was made. For an ad notam DFU 650 – 65″ Display Frame Unit this was the smallest size mirror that we could use. Final details regarding the installation were to be finalised closer to the installation date as Angus Taylor was working on a cladding design to surround the mirror. The material of choice for this cladding would be Hematite. To make sure that our mirror finish would match the Hematite we had a 100mm x 100mm Magic Mirror sample shipped overnight down to Cape Town for comparison.
With the confirmation that the polished Hematite and the Magic Mirror were a suitable match the order was confirmed. Manufacturing lead time for the ad notam Magic Mirror and DFU is six weeks. Shipping time ex works in Germany to our point of installation in Cape Town is also six weeks.
In the week leading up to the installation I visited the site to mark out the location of the DFU and Magic Mirror on the wall.
Once this was completed Angus’ team of sculptors came in and started to mount the metal support frame that was going to fix the Hematite cladding to the wall.
When it comes to ensuring we deliver a high quality, professional installations for our clients. Choosing the correct products to work with is as important as the planning and installation itself.
We were approached to install and ODE Floating Television Unit for a client of ours in Camps Bay. The Television had been installed on a small table which had been placed against the wall. With an adjacent pedestal that the DSTV decoder and DVD player had been placed on.
Television placed on Small Table
When we were contacted by our client to move his entire Bang & Olufsen installation from his house in Newlands to his new house in Constantia, we were reminded of the original installation. The original installation took place in December with the holiday rush looming and shipping delays as usual during that time of the year, the installation schedule was always going to be tight.
Joyfully with this installation there was a window period which we were able to work with. Between moving the televisions out of the old house and the clients moving into the new house was 5 weeks. This left us with the perfect opportunity to make sure that the entire project was up to the professional standards that we pride ourselves with.
Firstly we had to get one last photo of the completely installed Bang & Olufsen installation before carefully disassembling the entire system, bubble wrapping all items for transportation and taking the BeoVision 7 away for a service and clean.
