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How to distribute Saorview/Freeview throughout home

  • 14-11-2012 4:02pm
    #1
    mac_daddy
    Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭


    Hi all

    Yesterday I had a guy out to install an aerial and dish so I could pickup Saorview and Freeview. I wasn't there as only my wife was at home, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. Each room in the home is already wired with TV aerial sockets and what I was expecting him to do was to run the connection into a central point in the house that feeds all the aerial sockets in each of the rooms. What I actually got a a nice big dirty drilled hole into my living room wall from outside with a cable running down the chimney and into a new combo box residing under the TV.

    So my question is: How do I distribute the TV signal to all other aerial sockets throughout the house from this cable coming into my living room? Perhaps I haven't provided enough info but please send through any tips that might help solve this.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    How many tv points are you talking? Also should mention that Freeview is the UK terrestrial service. You should refer to 'FTA satellite' (free-to-air) to avoid confusion.


  • #3
    mac_daddy
    Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭mac_daddy


    Your right, FTA Satellite.

    There are 5 TV points. I only moved in two days ago so not entirely sure if the central point is in the attic or utility room.


  • #4
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    The maximum no. of satellite feeds available direct from an lnb is 8 (octo lnb). Each tv point will require at least 1 feed, 2 if you want to run a PVR with twin satellite tuners. There's also the matter of including the terrestrial signal on 1 of the feeds to each point.

    An octo lnb could be used to feed 2 x 4-way satellite/terrestrial combiners (the most outputs available, that I'm aware of), with the terrestrial inputs coming from a splitter or distribution amplifier. This requires 4 satellite inputs & 1 terrestrial for each combiner.

    An alternative, particularly if you need more than 8 sat. feeds, would be a multiswitch, fed from a 4-output lnb: quad or quattro, some will only work with quattros. (A quattro has 4 fixed outputs, 1 for each band/polarity setting. The multiswitch carries out the band/polarity switching, usually done by the lnb in simpler setups.) The switch will also combine the terrestrial signal onto each outgoing feed.


  • #5
    mac_daddy
    Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭mac_daddy


    Thanks Peter for the reply. Much appreciated. However my TV technical knowledge is at an entry level so a lot of what you have just mentioned is going to involve quite a few Google searches from me this evening.

    So the two solutions (once I get my head around them) are very useful. I need to determine though should a solution be implemented from the wire entry point within the living room, or should it be done from the central point wherever all the TV points are branching off from (attic, utility room etc.). Basically what I thinking is (and I am not sure if this is correct as have only been in the house for 2 days) the signal from the roof top aerial and dish should come in to a central point that feeds the signal to all the other points within the home including the living, but at present the signal is only coming into the living room.


  • #6
    The Cush
    Registered Users Posts: 15,476 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    mac_daddy wrote: »
    Basically what I thinking is (and I am not sure if this is correct as have only been in the house for 2 days) the signal from the roof top aerial and dish should come in to a central point that feeds the signal to all the other points within the home including the living, but at present the signal is only coming into the living room.

    In my opinion the best solution would be to run the cable feeds from the aerial and dish to the central point where all the feeds from the rooms terminate. I've installed dishes and aerials for family members like that.

    How many feeds are there to each room?
    Once you find out where the cables terminate can you get the installer back to rerun the aerial and dish cables?

    Regarding your current setup you may be able to split the aerial feed and feed it back to the central point via the existing TV point in the living room and then distribute it to the other TV points from there, each fta satellite receiver requires a direct connection to the sat dish.


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  • #7
    winston_1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,685 ✭✭✭winston_1


    Peter Rhea wrote: »

    An alternative, particularly if you need more than 8 sat. feeds, would be a multiswitch, fed from a 4-output lnb: quad or quattro, some will only work with quattros.

    You cannot get quatros for Sky dishes. You can physically fit standard quatros to Sky dishes but their performance will be poor as they are matched to standard dishes not the wider than tall sky dishes.


  • #8
    mac_daddy
    Registered Users Posts: 97 ✭✭mac_daddy


    Thanks for the feedback guys. I spoke with the electrician who worked on our house when it was being built and he is going to come out to sort it. Happy days.


  • #9
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,558 ✭✭✭zg3409


    Just beware most electricians make poor Satellite installers. It might be better to discuss your situation with a TV installer and meet him and discuss all the options.

    Things you should consider:

    1) What TVs you currently have and are any of them Saorview compatable

    2) Existing wiring, existing dish, existing aerial etc

    3) Extra boxes, wiring and cabliing needed

    4) If you want a recording option, and if you want the ability to watch one program while recording another.

    Please note you should mention the make and model of the current box installed and we can give the pro's and con's before you possibly buy more.


  • #10
    conhen
    Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭conhen


    ok so here goes.... after a lot of googling i am still a bit stumped on the same problem as MACDADDY, i am moving to a new house with existing tv points in all the rooms. i want to get free-to-air and saorview combi. into all the room but using the existing cabling. i really dont want start feeding more cables into each room. lets go with 4 rooms
    so here is what i think needs to happen.
    - feed saorview aerial cable into attic
    - feed free-to-air satellie cabling (x4) into attic (direct from LNB octo)
    -split saorview signal in to 4 using splitter
    - combine x1 free-to-airsatellite cable and x1 saorview aerial cable using tv aerial and satellite combiner and connect to house wiring
    - in the corrosponding room (TV point) split the signal again using the same combiner in reverse and connect to freetoair and saorview combi box
    i would appreciate any comments or suggestions on a better way or even will this work!!!!
    macdaddy,if you succeeded how did you set it up?
    thanks


  • #11
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,558 ✭✭✭zg3409


    Conhen What you suggest might work if the cables are good enough quality to carry Satellite signals. Ideally you would use test equipment to confirm this.

    Also you would need quite a good TV signal to split it many ways. Depending on the strength at your particular location you may need no booster and just an unpowered splitter. However in very weak signal cases you may need a professionally installed rooftop aerial with masthead amplifier. It all depends on your location.


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  • #12
    conhen
    Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭conhen


    zg3409 wrote: »
    Conhen What you suggest might work if the cables are good enough quality to carry Satellite signals. Ideally you would use test equipment to confirm this.

    Also you would need quite a good TV signal to split it many ways. Depending on the strength at your particular location you may need no booster and just an unpowered splitter. However in very weak signal cases you may need a professionally installed rooftop aerial with masthead amplifier. It all depends on your location.


    Thanks a million for the reply zg, I take it you mean the signal from the saorview needs to be strong? Location is ashbourne co Meath so one would assume that it is fairly adequate?
    In terms of free to air...
    I have trawled the net looking for comments on the coverage of freeview ( ni or Wales) as an alternate to free to air but no conclusive comments on Ashbourne but again one would assume that that signal would need to be strong to split it to the degree that I want to so may not be a runner.
    I really don't want sky drilling in my new house for multirooms!!! So hopefully I can get this to work


  • #13
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,558 ✭✭✭zg3409


    conhen wrote: »
    zg, I take it you mean the signal from the saorview needs to be strong? Location is ashbourne co Meath so one would assume that it is fairly adequate?

    Not necessarilly. It depends on the distance to the nearest mast and what is in the way in terms of hills and other houses.

    Probably the best transmitter for you is Kippure. It's on a high mountain but more than 20 miles away. RTENL recommend the signal should be 20dB (or 100 times) stronger than causes breakup. If splitting 4 ways that would reduce your signal by 6dB or 1/4 for each TV. If your signal is currently 26dB or 400 times stronger than breakup levels then you should not get any breakup and the signal would be reliable. Splitters are cheap so you could just put one in and see if it is reliable.
    In terms of free to air...
    I have trawled the net looking for comments on the coverage of freeview ( ni or Wales) as an alternate to free to air but no conclusive comments on Ashbourne but again one would assume that that signal would need to be strong to split it to the degree that I want to so may not be a runner.
    I really don't want sky drilling in my new house for multirooms!!! So hopefully I can get this to work

    Freeview is even futher away. Even if you had a good signal at that range you would expect it to drop out 1 or 2 weeks a year during very good weather (high pressure). Via satellite is much more reliable and has more channels (except Dave etc)

    Unless you have watched BBC in the past from that location and unless your neightbours have 2 aerials on their chimney, pointing different ways, then you are probably not in a good location for freeview.


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