Distributing video throughout a house

Cromwelly

I have two Sky+ boxes and numerous TV's throught the house.

I'm having some building work done and have the option to wire AV cabling throughout.

I was wondering whether I could locate the two Sky+ boxes in a central location, tucked away in a mini comms room, and use Sky Eye devices from each TV to a particular Sky+ box.

I guess that means using each RF output from each Sky+ box and feeding it to a couple of different TV's.

What are the practical limitations of having long runs of coax carrying the Sky boxes RF (vhf?) output ?

Will I see a drop in picture quality by doing this ?

Is there a better way of distributing a TV signal around a house ?

mathias

The RF output will work , but there will be a definite drop in picture quality as you will only be getting basic composite and not the RGB output you can get over a scart connection , it will probably do for " Extra " TV's but for the main one , you will still need to connect using Scart ,

Long scart runs can be expensive and problematic , you would need to spend a lot on high quality cables.

A better option would be to run the Satellite co ax ( main cable feed from the LNB on the dish ) around the house with a multiswitch , and locate the boxes near the TV's. Extra boxes , both standard and sky + can be had on ebay at very reasonable prices , Use the sky plus ones on the main TV's and the standard ones on the " Extra or bedroom TV's.


http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/multiswitch.htm

This of course , is assuming that because you have 2 sky plus boxes , you must have at least a quad or octal LNB on your dish , and a minimum of 4 cables coming from the dish?

keystone

Hi there

I have used this solution to provide the exact service throughout houses, apartment blocks and estates.

http://www.abitana.com/index.php?id=1&L=0

There is an Irish supplier that will be able to arrange a show house viewing and can do the job. Definitely see a show house

This solution will all you want and more.

I've seen content from an IPOD Nano be published to all rooms in a house via one of the internal channels.

You can easily pop an IP webcam with speakers onto the system and monitor it via the TV. I've seen this used to monitor young children in when asleep and so on.

If you are serious about doing this, this is the solution.

And no I am not a salesman for the product, I'm a lowly IT Manager involved in Housing. This just works.

Cromwelly

mathias wrote: »

A better option would be to run the Satellite co ax ( main cable feed from the LNB on the dish ) around the house with a multiswitch , and locate the boxes near the TV's. Extra boxes , both standard and sky + can be had on ebay at very reasonable prices , Use the sky plus ones on the main TV's and the standard ones on the " Extra or bedroom TV's.


http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/multiswitch.htm

This of course , is assuming that because you have 2 sky plus boxes , you must have at least a quad or octal LNB on your dish , and a minimum of 4 cables coming from the dish?

Presumably though for each extra Sky box I'd need an additional multiroom subscription and card (€15 per mionth for each new box ?)

Yes, I've a quad LNB at present though an octal would be no problem to buy and fit.

mathias

Presumably though for each extra Sky box I'd need an additional multiroom subscription and card (€15 per mionth for each new box ?)

You will get all the FTA channels without a sub on extra standard boxes , however if your happy with the feeds you have the multiswitch will route your entire sub to different rooms and you dont need a multiroom sub for that. You just wont be able to have them all on at the same time is all.

If you want your full subscription available in every room on all the lines coming from the LNB then yes , you would need a multiroom subscription as you would need a viewing card for every box.

Cromwelly

mathias wrote: »

You will get all the FTA channels without a sub on extra standard boxes , however if your happy with the feeds you have the multiswitch will route your entire sub to different rooms and you dont need a multiroom sub for that. You just wont be able to have them all on at the same time is all.

If you want your full subscription available in every room on all the lines coming from the LNB then yes , you would need a multiroom subscription as you would need a viewing card for every box.

So...

If I feed from the LNB into the multiswitch and then onto 6 (say) eBay Sky boxes, with no cards, will I get the FTA channels simultaneously on all six ?

But if I instead feed the RF out from my main, subscribed, Sky+ box into the multiswitch I can see the main Sky box on any TV. But how do I change channels ? Presumably the multiswitch just splits one signal into many, it doesn't pass the IR remote signal back down the line ?

In an ideal world, I want something like a cross between the multiswitch and a Sky Eye where I can sit in bed and choose to see the signal from one of my Sky boxes.

mathias

If I feed from the LNB into the multiswitch and then onto 6 (say) eBay Sky boxes, with no cards, will I get the FTA channels simultaneously on all six ?

Yes thats correct. Also each box can be controlled independantly , no need to watch the same channel on any two sets.

But if I instead feed the RF out from my main, subscribed, Sky+ box into the multiswitch I can see the main Sky box on any TV. But how do I change channels ? Presumably the multiswitch just splits one signal into many, it doesn't pass the IR remote signal back down the line ?

No , the idea of the multiswitch is to route the feed from the LNB thus preserving the quality digital feed and the fact that all boxes will work independantly of each other, the RF is analog , you wouldnt use the multiswitch with it , I dont know if it would even work with the RF , Ive never seen a multiswitch used that way.

In an ideal world, I want something like a cross between the multiswitch and a Sky Eye where I can sit in bed and choose to see the signal from one of my Sky boxes.

A multiswitch will allow you to do all of that , with no quality loss. If you get the multiswitch and the boxes , you wont need any magic eyes.

Cromwelly

mathias wrote: »

A multiswitch will allow you to do all of that , with no quality loss. If you get the multiswitch and the boxes , you wont need any magic eyes.

Sounds like this may be the way to go, although I'd probably get a third subscription so I'd have everything on at least three TV's.

So a multiswitch basically extends the number of LNB outputs available ?


I also found this, which might do what I'm thinking of.

http://www.tvlink.co.uk/spc4.htm
(also available from SatelliteSuperstore.com)

That seems to take RF outputs from four boxes, and allow them to be split to four TV's. Each TV can potentially watch any of the four boxes. The only restriction being that each remote is tied to a single box, so each room would have a single remote allowing it to view one box, but by bringing a different remote to the room I could watch a different box.

Also, the boxes could be located at a midpoint in the house so RF cable runs were as short as possible.

mathias

Yeah , the Tvlink thing looks good , but cant compete with a multiswitch for quality.

Cromwelly

mathias wrote: »

Yeah , the Tvlink thing looks good , but cant compete with a multiswitch for quality.

True, but the TvLink would allow me to watch something I recorded on a particular Sky+ box, in any room, then grab another remote to watch something else I recorded on a different Sky+ box.

In fairness, the logistics of managing recordings on multiple boxes, with multiple remotes, with kids in the house, means I might be better off with a multiswitch, three Sky+ boxes and three subs.
And as you point out, the quality will be as good as it gets.

Thanks for all your advice mathias, much appreciated !

ShaneOC

Will the multiswitches work with a Quad LNB or does it have to be a quattro LNB?

Quad LNBs are what you get from Sky when you get Sky+/Sky HD/Sky Multiroom.

mathias

Yes , they work fine with quad LNB's

davybaby40

Hi Guys , if your using a multi switch you'll need a QUATTRO LNB and NOT a Quad LNB. The two items are totally different.

In a normal house you can have up to 4 sky receivers (even all the same type receivers) routed around the house providing 4 "channels at each TV plus terrestrial if you have an aerial.Sky provides code splitting on its remotes to identify each remote to a certain Sky box.
It certainly makes sense to connect the primary Sky box to the TV via scart or a CAT5 balun with spdif breakout

see also
http://www.mcdonnellsystems.ie/Hotel%20Pub%20Apartment%20TV%20system.htm

davybaby40

see also http://www.tvlink.co.uk/spc4.htm