Advice on installing a remote computer room

Hey everyone. I'm not sure which forum this should be posted in, but I've been impressed with some of the wisdom I have seen here and at the LAFCPUG meetings, so....

I am a FCP editor. My office gets very warm with the MacPro, hard drives, Fibre channel raid, and monitors. My central air cant keep it cool enough. So, I decided to buy a small stand alone AC, install it in a closet and move a lot of the noisy and heat creating gear in there....

Seeing as I will have to install some dedicated power outlets in the closet, I was thinking I might as well also install a few wall plates so I can connect neatly without a mass of cables running under the closet door.

However, I cant seem to find any place that sells firewire 800 wall plates. I cant be the first person attempting this. Has anyone had any luck finding firewire 800 wall plates... Or, a place in the Los Angeles area that will install that kind of stuff properly (I was going to call an electrician).

Also, does anyone have any advice as to exactly what ports I should include in the wall plate to "future proof" my set up? I was thinking FW 800, FW 400, USB, and and Ethernet. And seeing as I do video editing, maybe an HDMI or coax port...

Thanks in advance for any advise of suggestions

David

A firewire hub/repeater might be the answer.

[www.synchrotech.com]

You can get FW400 to 800 adaptors or complete cables.

[www.sonnettech.com]

[www.google.com]

FW800 is backwards compatible with 400 only needs the correct connection.


You can get Ethernet sockets quite easily from most computer stores that have networking departments.

There is a huge list of wall plates here:

[www.provantage.com]

Give provantage a call I'm sure they'll be able to sort out most of the gear you require.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Thanks for the reply-

I need a wall plate not a repeater. The physical distance of the computer room to the computer will be about 10-15 feet so a cable should suffice, but I dont want a mass of cables going under the door. I want it to look professional so I can just plug one end into the wall plate and under the house the cables run up to another wall plate next to the computer. I then plug in a cable there. Kind of like an electrical outlet versus extension cords and I am looking for a place that sells FW800 outlets.

As to the FW 400 adapter: In theory its a good idea, but I do HD video editing. I dont want to take the firewire 800 and force them to go at FW400 speeds or through a FW400 port. I think that would defeat the purpose of the FW800 drives.

Thanks for the suggestion of Provantage. I didn't see what I needed on their site, but I will call them and see if they have what I need.

Thanks,

David

Hey David,

You may need a repeater (to boost the signal) if you run the firewire very long.

The FW400 adaptor would be for cameras and or other devices - most HD cameras such as the HVX200 or any HDV cameras use 4pin FW400 to connect to a computer.

Let us know if provantage or another supplier have what you need - maybe you can do a show and tell of the installation? That would be good to see.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

ive seen several studios just cut a 2" hole in the wall. run the cables through that then plug it up with foam rubber

Yep...a Firewire 800 repeater is what you will need for extended spaces up to 1640 feet away:

[www.ramelectronics.net]

Gefen manufactures pretty much any extender you would need.

[www.gefen.com]

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

The closet is less than 10 feet from the computer. Add a foot or two on each end for slack and I dont think I am at the distances needed for a FW 800 extender, am I? That link seems to suggest that the extender is needed for distances upwards of 500 metres.

But, I was actually thinking if I couldn't find a FW wall plate maybe put the entire computer in the closet and use a few DVI wall plates for the monitors.... If I have my cinema displays 10 feet away from the graphics cards am I asking for issues?

Dave

BTW...I could be wrong, but I believe power outlets in a closet are in violation of fire codes which means if a fire ever broke out from that (possibly) illegal outlet, your home owner's insurance may not cover damages. Better check with your local authorities first.

I wouldn't put a CPU in a closet anyway. The thing has to BREATHE and should be surrounded by air conditioning (which there is no A/C nor air circulation at all in a closet).

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.