Some Home Networking Activity

Today, I decided to look into the process it would take to connect my TV to my home network.  I recently purchased an updated version of my old router, a Linksys WRT54GL, the Linux version of the venerable WRT54G family of wireless routers.  I was using it to replace a Belkin router I had, primarily since I pined for a return to using the DD-WRT firmware.  The Belkin will be relegated to a new home (with my girlfriend). 

The other part of this little effort involved running some network cabling to my Samsung HDTV.  My TV has an Ethernet port on the back of it, and it has the capability to run some widgets.  My nerd curiosity has gotten the best of me, as I really want to see this TV is capable of when connected to the Internet.  Personally, I am looking forward to using it to stream content.  Now, there is a wireless adapter for my TV, as it also has a USB port, but the network admin in me says the best way to get streaming content is to make sure the connection is stable. 

This project is going to take a bit more effort than I thought. 

• I need to find out where some of the wiring in my home goes, but I need to get a flashlight. 
• My house has structured wiring, as all the cable and phone wiring come to one central point in the basement.  The problem here is that makes it a bit more difficult to trace wires. 
• My wireless router is in my office, and my office is an addition to the original back of my house.  Consequently, I need to find out how the cable and phone wiring was run to my office in the back of the house from the central point where all of my structured wiring resides. 
• I need to figure out how I want to run the wire to the television from my basement.  I would like to run it using one of the two conduits I see, but I have a feeling that idea will require more work. 

The goal here is to run the cabling as neat as possible without damaging any walls.  It’s possible, but it is a project that is going to take me the better part of a weekend afternoon.