Multimedia and Wi-Fi and connections

But Cat7 cables have less attenuation and better shielding, so they can potentially stay in place longer in the future, especially the long cables.

However, only very few are likely to have a villa with cables over 100m long.

And otherwise they are only slightly more expensive than Cat6e cables! And Cat6 sockets can also be connected to them without any problems, wires etc. It’s basically the same. So it’s more cautious to lay Cat7 cables; 6 is already at the current limit.

Cat 7 cables do not fit that easily on Cat 6 sockets, because of the additional shielding in the way. And if as a result the installation is imprecise, the better shielding is lost again. Apart from that, the overall system is of course determined by the slowest component. So with Cat 7 cable and Cat 6 socket, 1Gbit is the limit, while a Cat 6a cable with Cat 6a socket can achieve 10Gbit.

If 10Gbit from Cat 6a is not enough for you, then Cat 7 won’t help you either, even if all components were suitable for it. However, I doubt that the users here have a lot of 10Gbit devices.

As a networker, I can only advocate planning as many network sockets as possible. Even though WLAN technology allows for increasingly higher bandwidths, it will never reach the consistent rates of a LAN connection. Moreover, it is hardly possible nowadays to stream an HD video over WLAN. Not to mention 4K. For tablets, smartphones, and the like, access points naturally make sense. Much has already been written about that.

Now, CAT6a or CAT7 cabling? I would always tend towards the latest standard, even if it may not bring significant advantages at the moment. Of course, currently, no private person has devices that can handle 10Gig. But who knows what will be in 10-15 years. The past shows that bandwidth demand increases year by year. Of course, the additional costs must remain reasonable.

What does an access point on the ceiling look like? Are there inconspicuous variants or can I imagine it like a smoke detector?

On the ceiling, the most inconspicuous installation is indeed the "Rauchmelder" design. We have simply planned a network socket on each floor in the hallway just below the ceiling. That's where our APs will simply go. Likewise, a network cable to each future PC station and television. The rest, like mobile phones, laptops, Gameboy, must be handled by the APs.

Whether CAT6a or CAT7 cabling? I would always tend towards the latest standard, even if it may not bring major advantages at the moment. Of course, at the moment no private individual has devices that can do 10 Gig. But who knows what will happen in 10-15 years. The past shows that bandwidth demand increases year by year. Of course, the additional costs must be kept within limits.

In principle, I agree, but Cat7 is purely related to the installation cables, so it doesn’t really gain anything. The best would be Cat8, in turn. Nevertheless, we will now also install Cat7 installation cables because it is simply the cheapest option at the moment, since Cat6a cables are no longer available sensibly. However, it must be considered that the connection is more difficult to get cleanly with Cat7. Most home tinkerers will probably achieve a maximum of 1 Gbit anyway due to unclean connections.