Free Sat in Newly Built Home

kennyt · 03-05-2007 9:47am #1

Hi

Firstly, i apologise if i am going over old ground, I have read other threads bit still unlear.

I am coming up to the wiring stage of a newly built house and i will be talking to the electrician soon so want to be clear what i want him to do.

i have a "freesat from sky" card, and was going to use that as well as a normal tv aerial for the rte's..etc.

i've seen a house that the electrician wired recently and he had a box in the attic that accepted the feed from the dish. This box then ran down to each of the rooms that wanted a telly.

I was looking for some advice on the best way to proceed for my house.

1. Should i get the same as above, but also another point for the analogue "rte" aerial to each of the rooms?

2a. If i change channel on the digibox in the living room will it change the channel on all of the tellys in the house?! (not ideal!)

2b. If so, can i get the electrician to "split" the cable(?) so that i can watch a different satellite channel in the kitchen than in the living room?

3. Should i get a "magic eye" remote? do you need to run a wire from the digibox for the magic eye remote? (not ideal for the upstairs bedrooms)

4. Can you run more than one magic eye remote from the digibox?

basically looking at my options, would prefer not to get sky multiroom, but if this is the only alternative i will.

Thanks a lot for any advice.

Kenny

jhegarty · 03-05-2007 9:53am

If you want different programs in different rooms then you will need to run a feed from the dish to each room... you can't split a sat cable like you can your rte signal...

You will also need a sky/fta box in each room....

kennyt · 03-05-2007 9:58am

thanks jhegarty

So if i need a sky/fta box in each room i assume i will need more than one freesat card.. unless i decide that only the living room can get channel 4..

should i tell the electrician that i want a seperate line coming down from the dish to every room? is this possibly, or is there a limit on the number of seperate lines coming from the dish?

Sponge Bob · 03-05-2007 10:14am

the box is called a multiswitch

it delivers sat(s) and tv aerial in one side and sends signals to rooms on the other side.

there are multiswitches that are sky compatible and multiswitches that are HD compatible which is a more recent issue.

here is what one LOOKS like , I am not recommending it per se

http://www.trianglecables.com/201-747.html

No matter what the electrician sez about rg59 and rg6 cable it is not up to scratch , you will have to get proper cable installed like CT100 equivalent or H109 , copper on copper stuff , it will cost maybe €.85 a metre when the other stuff is half that .

You will need 2 feeds to the main "entertainment centres" (one to watch and one to record) and have this wiring either side of your fireplace so you can move yoru sitting room around in future

in bedrooms have it up the wall so a wall mount tv will hide teh cables and sockets

Tony · 03-05-2007 10:23am

Sponge Bob wrote:

multiswitches that are HD compatible which is a more recent issue.

In what way are these different?

kennyt · 03-05-2007 10:30am

thanks a lot sponge bob

so if i get the multiswitch set up do i still need a seperate digibox in every room?

do you recommend the magic eye?

Sponge Bob · 03-05-2007 10:33am

I understand some may have more switched spectrum available than others which could impact HD.

Dunno how many mhz one needs for SD and then HD though .

you need a digibox in each room but as your card only gives you sky3/c4 and c5 why bother with a card in them and as for me, I prefer mediaportal and cat v

Tony · 03-05-2007 10:52am

Sponge Bob wrote:

I understand some may have more switched spectrum available than others which could impact HD.

Any multi switch should handle all the available transponders so I really don't see any HD compatibility issues. The main difference in a HD satellite signal is it takes up more transponder space because of the larger amount of data. I've used multi witches with HD and have encountered no problems at all.

Sponge Bob · 03-05-2007 11:00am

recommend one or two of them Tony , please.

Tony · 03-05-2007 11:46am

Sponge Bob wrote:

recommend one or two of them Tony , please.

Sure (but just one

only one i've used lately) Titanium ms-t98 http://www.wela-electronic.de/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=40

watty · 03-05-2007 11:52am

The EMP-Centauri Multiswitchs, the LNBs and the Dish don't care if it is analogue, Digital or HD.

I can't imagine why any multiswitch would not work with HD.

kennyt · 03-05-2007 11:57am

Hi

If i have a multiswitch in the attic do i still need a seperate digibox in each room or would a magic eye work ok?

can you run many magic eyes from the same digibox?

thanks

watty · 03-05-2007 12:16pm

A magic eye is nothing to do with multiswitch. It is simply a remote control via coax. Both TV sets, local and remote on coax see the same channel.

If you independent viewing, each TV needs its own satellite receiver.

A Digibox in theory could have more than one magic eye. It really does the same thing as a video sender, but mono instead of stereo, and potentially lower quality picture.

You would need a suitable "magic eye" compatible TV distribution amp.

Zaphod · 03-05-2007 12:54pm

Sponge Bob wrote:

I understand some may have more switched spectrum available than others which could impact HD.

Dunno how many mhz one needs for SD and then HD though .

The link you had was for a DirecTV setup. The Yanks have specific 'HD-ready multiswitches' because they are transmitting some HD channels on the Ka-band. The LNBFs they use downconvert part of the Ka signal to the B-band (250-750 MHz) which needs to be upconverted by the multiswitch to the IF region (950-2150 Mhz).

DirecTV Ku/Ka LNBF
Input Frequency :
12.2 - 12.7 GHz,
18.3 - 18.8 GHz - 'Lo Ka' to B-band
19.7 - 20.2 GHz - 'Hi Ka' to IF
Output Frequency :
950 - 1450 MHz
250 - 750 MHz
1650 - 2050 MHz

kennyt · 03-05-2007 1:56pm

Hi Watty

Thanks for clearing that up.
Do you have to run a wire from the digibox for the magic eye or is it wireless?
(probably a stupid question!)

Thanks

watty · 03-05-2007 2:06pm

Coax.

The magic eye connects between TV aerial socket and cable. The cable must come from RF2 on Digibox.

If your signal is good & no issues with neighbours or WiFi, the Wireless video senders can work better and work with DVD too.

watty · 03-05-2007 2:09pm

Zaphod wrote:

The link you had was for a DirecTV setup. The Yanks have specific 'HD-ready multiswitches' because they are transmitting some HD channels on the Ka-band. The LNBFs they use downconvert part of the Ka signal to the B-band (250-750 MHz) which needs to be upconverted by the multiswitch to the IF region (950-2150 Mhz).

DirecTV Ku/Ka LNBF
Input Frequency :
12.2 - 12.7 GHz,
18.3 - 18.8 GHz - 'Lo Ka' to B-band
19.7 - 20.2 GHz - 'Hi Ka' to IF
Output Frequency :
950 - 1450 MHz
250 - 750 MHz
1650 - 2050 MHz

Thanks for clearing that up Zaphod. I couldn't imagine what it could be.

All our services, even German, French. Polish etc are Ku band. Even if Ka services did appear here, it's possible the IF would be standard anyway.

mcguyver · 08-05-2007 2:39pm

does this switch mean you plug your lnb into it and run all your decoders off the one dish? can you run an indoor on it too?

byte · 08-05-2007 8:32pm

Basically, yes. Running an indoor aerial on it too will depend on the make/model you choose, but a lot do have the terrestrial input too.

Free Sat in Newly Built Home

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