What LNB

Dr4gul4

At a bit of a loss here really, mostly as im only planning this out.


Current house has a satelite dish, looks Sky(ish) unknown version, can be replaced if required.

I had planned on Running all Coax from the dish in to a central hub, to 2/3 freesat boxes and in turn drive the signal out over cat6. Simple enough so far I hear you say, One 5 x 8 distribution switch will take care of the box connections, and one quad lnb will in turn take care of the dish end.

However I'd like the option of deploying a Zgemma h2s into the mix but this requires two dedicated BNC cables connected.

Originally I though, ok, maybe I could use the sky Q hybrid lnb, but this doesnt play nice with a distribution switch on the freesat side of things.

It sounds like im kinda boned, Would an easy if expensive option be separate LNBs.

Thoughts and advice happily received

PabloAndRoy

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

At a bit of a loss here really, mostly as im only planning this out.


Current house has a satelite dish, looks Sky(ish) unknown version, can be replaced if required.

I had planned on Running all Coax from the dish in to a central hub, to 2/3 freesat boxes and in turn drive the signal out over cat6. Simple enough so far I hear you say, One 5 x 8 distribution switch will take care of the box connections, and one quad lnb will in turn take care of the dish end.

However I'd like the option of deploying a Zgemma h2s into the mix but this requires two dedicated BNC cables connected.

Originally I though, ok, maybe I could use the sky Q hybrid lnb, but this doesnt play nice with a distribution switch on the freesat side of things.

It sounds like im kinda boned, Would an easy if expensive option be separate LNBs.

Thoughts and advice happily received

Alternatively you could go with

Quad LNB -> SAT>IP -(IP)-> Raspberry Pi (with tvheadend) -(IP)-> TVs (via Kodi on Android TV or Kodi on RPi)

Stick a 1GB external HD on the backend pi and you have centralised recording..

This will work out much cheaper than what you are suggesting above and in my opinion is more flexible.

I have a set up similar to this and its a dream (I added a couple of USB DVB-T tuners to the backend Pi for Saorview). I have some port forwarding set up and I can watch my home TV when i am out and about on my phone. I bring one of my RPis with me on holidays now and get my home TV system over public internet.

The only thing to be aware of is that the backend Pi does not have enough grunt to do any transcoding, so you will need at least 12Mbps uplink if you want to access HD channels outside of the house.

Each Pi including power supply will set you back about 50 quid.
here is a rock solid Sat>IP Quad server that is fantastic value for money:
https://www.amazon.de/Telestar-Digibit-Sat-IP-Netzwerk-Transmitter/dp/B008OVPYCQ

Dr4gul4

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

Alternatively you could go with

Quad LNB -> SAT>IP -(IP)-> Raspberry Pi (with tvheadend) -(IP)-> TVs (via Kodi on Android TV or Kodi on RPi)

Stick a 1GB external HD on the backend pi and you have centralised recording..

This will work out much cheaper than what you are suggesting above and in my opinion is more flexible.

I have a set up similar to this and its a dream (I added a couple of USB DVB-T tuners to the backend Pi for Saorview). I have some port forwarding set up and I can watch my home TV when i am out and about on my phone. I bring one of my RPis with me on holidays now and get my home TV system over public internet.

The only thing to be aware of is that the backend Pi does not have enough grunt to do any transcoding, so you will need at least 12Mbps uplink if you want to access HD channels outside of the house.

Each Pi including power supply will set you back about 50 quid.
here is a rock solid Sat>IP Quad server that is fantastic value for money:
https://www.amazon.de/Telestar-Digibit-Sat-IP-Netzwerk-Transmitter/dp/B008OVPYCQ

wow, thats actually an incredibly interesting approach. I fear tho it's a little out side my own comfort zone right now however, but it's soemthing i could tinker with in the future as it would provide wifi access in house also to tv streams.

At this stage, it looks like an easy option for me is to remove the Distribution switch, run the two SKy Q cables to something like the Zgemma I looked at, and the other 4 cables out to say 3/4 Freeview/freesat boxes...

Means I'm limited, but ! I could always look to implement SAT>IP after a period of time... and when i've obtained the wife acceptance level

Johnboy1951

I have been running a similar system to that described above for a few years, albeit with different hardware (using an old Dell Dimension with tuner cards for backend).

All the old coax going to different rooms is ripped out (a few pieces yet to go but unused) and each room gets a LAN cable or two (Cat5e or Cat6).
The versatility of being able to view TV on any capable device that connects to the LAN is huge.
Home plugs can also be used.
Of course internet access is also available on the LAN.

I did find that my 2.4Ghz wireless was not sufficiently good for HD TV, hence the home plugs in one location that is without LAN cable for the present.

I would encourage you to look at going this route, even if you had to keep one or two LNB cables for standard STBs while you set up the system.

PabloAndRoy

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

wow, thats actually an incredibly interesting approach. I fear tho it's a little out side my own comfort zone right now however, but it's soemthing i could tinker with in the future as it would provide wifi access in house also to tv streams.

At this stage, it looks like an easy option for me is to remove the Distribution switch, run the two SKy Q cables to something like the Zgemma I looked at, and the other 4 cables out to say 3/4 Freeview/freesat boxes...

Means I'm limited, but ! I could always look to implement SAT>IP after a period of time... and when i've obtained the wife acceptance level

This was a the biggest challenge for me. Consistency and ease of use are the goals with the TWAT (The Wife Acceptance Test).

The key for us was to use the cleanest skin (imo Mimic) on all the TVs and ensure that all the TVs look exactly the same and behave exactly the same. I mapped all the remote controls in the house to work on all the Kodi installs (using lircd on pi) and made it so that the Red, Yellow, Green and Blue buttons all map to most commonly used functions (Channel List, Guide, Recordings, Fullscreen). There is an addon called Keymap Editor for that. The channel orders and groups are all managed in the backend so that's straight forward.

When I add a new TV to the system I simply copy the settings over from one that is already in the system and it just works pretty much straight away.

Dr4gul4

I just realised i said SKY Q up there, but really it's what ever's on the Astra 2 satellite, so sky HD maybe ...

Any who, still looks to be two cables to the Zgemma and four others to the alien2 boxes ... eventually..

Johnboy1951

Originally I though, ok, maybe I could use the sky Q hybrid lnb, but this doesnt play nice with a distribution switch on the freesat side of things.

I wondered about this.
Why would this LNB not play nice with something?
It seems all the outputs default to legacy mode unless otherwise connected and receive a suitable signal for a different mode of operation.

Dr4gul4

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I wondered about this.
Why would this LNB not play nice with something?
It seems all the outputs default to legacy mode unless otherwise connected and receive a suitable signal for a different mode of operation.

I think my area of concern really started when I was told the Zgemma unit's require two dedicated inputs to the lnb. thus throwing a spanner in the works for my distribution switch idea.

While i could theoretically just use two of the outbound connections on the switch. i'm at a loss to know if that's possible at all ..

If it we're it would be simple enough ... quattro lmb + ariel > switch > 8 outputs ..

dubrov

Can I ask for the Sat>IP setup with Kodi client how quick is start up?
I.e. Do you have to start the TV, then browse apps until you find Kodi, then run the correct addon etc. or can it be configured to be ready to go when switched on?

Also, what is channel switching like? Is it like IPTV (~2 seconds between channel changes) or more like Sky (~quarter of a second)?

THanks

PabloAndRoy

dubrov wrote: »

Can I ask for the Sat>IP setup with Kodi client how quick is start up?
I.e. Do you have to start the TV, then browse apps until you find Kodi, then run the correct addon etc. or can it be configured to be ready to go when switched on?

Also, what is channel switching like? Is it like IPTV (~2 seconds between channel changes) or more like Sky (~quarter of a second)?

THanks

First off, I use LibreELEC on Raspberry Pis.. so this boots straight into Kodi. You can set Kodi up so that it boots straight into the channel list if thats what you want.. or the guide etc.. Generally I leave the Pi just switched on all the time (approx 1.5 watts when idle) and just turn the TV off. So as soon as the TV is switched on I am good to go. I can't speak for Android TV as I don't have an Android box or a Sony smart TV, but i beliive there are several ways of autostarting an app on bootup.

In relation to switching, I don't use the Sat>IP quite in the way you describe as I have a tvheadend server between the Sat>IP and the clients. Channel switching with this is about 2 seconds for HD channels and about 1 second for SD. This is due to the fact that as we are working over IP so there is some buffering involved.

The server i mentioned above can expose an m3u playlist and you can use the PVR Simple IPTV client to access that list and that takes out the need for the tvheadend in between. Channel switching in this configuration might well be faster than 2 seconds but I haven't checked that out, so I really cannot say for sure.

I use the tvheadend in between as it gives me timeshift, centralised recordings, easily managed channel lists and groups and also allows me to mix and match my Saorview and Freesat channels easily. All of these things are more important to me than channel switching time. There is a setting where tvheadend can use spare tuners to predict what channel you are hopping to next, tune to that channel on a spare tuner and the channel switching on that is pretty much instant.

The Cush

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

I think my area of concern really started when I was told the Zgemma unit's require two dedicated inputs to the lnb. thus throwing a spanner in the works for my distribution switch idea.

While i could theoretically just use two of the outbound connections on the switch. i'm at a loss to know if that's possible at all ..

If it we're it would be simple enough ... quattro lmb + ariel > switch > 8 outputs ..

Every satellite receiver tuner(s) requires a dedicated connection to an output on an LNB or an output on a multiswitch, the output on the multiswitch operates the same way as an output on an LNB.

You don't require a SkyQ hybrid LNB unless you plan to go down the SkyQ route also.

If not the simple route is LNB (quad or Quattro) + terrestrial aerial -> Quattro or quad compatible multiswitch -> Outputs

Dr4gul4

The Cush wrote: »

Every satellite receiver tuner(s) requires a dedicated connection to an output on an LNB or an output on a multiswitch, the output on the multiswitch operates the same way as an output on an LNB.

You don't require a SkyQ hybrid LNB unless you plan to go down the SkyQ route also.

If not the simple route is LNB (quad or Quattro) + terrestrial aerial -> Quattro or quad compatible multiswitch -> Outputs

Fudge !

I knew i should have stuck to my original plan, and just slapped in a quattro, and a multi switch, and take two individual satellite outputs from the switch to say the Zgemma or the DAB twin tuner ..

Do you have something similar set up cust ?

The Cush

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

Do you have something similar set up cust ?

No, but that is the most basic multiswitch setup.

Dr4gul4

The Cush wrote: »

No, but that is the most basic multiswitch setup.

Too true, it's rather difficult to get an official answer on these things, when it comes to dual sat and tripple tuners.

I had been told the way to go was straight from the lmb in to say a zgemma, but I cant see why with a distribution switch it would be any different given it taken in the four feeds....

Johnboy1951

dubrov wrote: »

Can I ask for the Sat>IP setup with Kodi client how quick is start up?
I.e. Do you have to start the TV, then browse apps until you find Kodi, then run the correct addon etc. or can it be configured to be ready to go when switched on?

Also, what is channel switching like? Is it like IPTV (~2 seconds between channel changes) or more like Sky (~quarter of a second)?

THanks

Channel switching in such a set up is dependent on software used and the hardware it is run on, in the client device.
Generally Kodi switches in my PC in about 1.5 seconds.
VLC +htsp will switch instantly (or near enough).
Running on a R-Pi B the switching will be slower as will all the user interactions.

Dr4gul4

Slightly left of topic, with a quatro LNB would a Mk3.Mk4 sky dish work or should i just order in an 80 cm Dish ?

PabloAndRoy

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Channel switching in such a set up is dependent on software used and the hardware it is run on, in the client device.
Generally Kodi switches in my PC in about 1.5 seconds.
VLC +htsp will switch instantly (or near enough).
Running on a R-Pi B the switching will be slower as will all the user interactions.

RPi 3 is a huge leap forward in this regard.

The Cush

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

Slightly left of topic, with a quatro LNB would a Mk3.Mk4 sky dish work or should i just order in an 80 cm Dish ?

I believe there are no Quattro LNBs available for Sky dishes - http://www.freetv.ie/satellite/dishes/lnbs/

Dr4gul4

The Cush wrote: »

I believe there are no Quattro LNBs available for Sky dishes - http://www.freetv.ie/satellite/dishes/lnbs/

You are 100% correct, order me a fancy new 80 cm dish