Wall-mounted TVs: where does the media-box/decoder go ?

Usjes

Hi,

I've only ever had a TV sitting on a cabinet in a sitting room where the DVD player and NTL/UPC/Virgin/whatever mediabox/decoder could sit. Now with flatscreen TVs I see them wall-mounted in bedrooms, kitchens and all over the place. I'm trying to understand how does this work ? My current UPC mediabox for decoding/recording TV is about 30cm*20cm*10cm, so where does this go for a wall-mounted TV in a bedroom, see the attached photos for example.

Do you have just one mediabox for the whole house and different remotes on different frequencies to change the channel in different rooms ?
Or
Is there just one mediabox that decodes all the channels and transmits them decoded around the house so the remote in each room just needs to change the TV channel ? In this case I guess you can't record channels in each room ?
Or
Can these wall-mounted TVs only receive Saorview if they don't have a mediabox connected directly to them ?
Or
Something else ?? TV distributed about the house over the Wifi network or something, in this case what does it mean when they say a house is 'Wired for Virgin Media' or 'Wired for Eir' ?

Thanks,

Usjes

decor58

You can get a shelf, Google "media box shelf, 17.95 in Powercity, I use FTA tv so I put an old Sky box up in the attic and use a magic eye, Saorview and satellite channels through the one cable.

Usjes

decor58 wrote: »

You can get a shelf, Google "media box shelf, 17.95 in Powercity, I use FTA tv so I put an old Sky box up in the attic and use a magic eye, Saorview and satellite channels through the one cable.

For me the box is the problem, I don't want a shelf or bulky box sticking out of the wall at head-height, for me that's the whole point of a flatscreen, you can hang it anywhere on any wall and it doesn't take up any space. But I do want to be able to record and pause live TV like a Sky or Virgin box allow.

So, if the only coax/cat5 points in the room are at head-height in the middle of a wall like the TVs shown in the previous attachments, what are my options ?

- Is there some sort of small wireless repeater available that I could plug into the coax point on the wall that would transmit the scrambled Sky/Virgin signal to a decoder/mediabx and TV that were sitting on a desk in another corner of the room ? Or would the decoder/mediabox have to be attached directly to the coax point on the wall ?

I'm also wondering what's the deal with the two examples shown in my previous attachments, are they Saorview only given there's no sign of a mediabox ?

Thanks,

Usjes.

Johnboy1951

you can hang it anywhere on any wall and it doesn't take up any space.

Regardless where you hang it it will have to have access to a power socket and a feed from whatever you use to feed to the TV.
So some preparation work is needed usually after you decide where you want the TV.

Usjes

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Regardless where you hang it it will have to have access to a power socket and a feed from whatever you use to feed to the TV.
So some preparation work is needed usually after you decide where you want the TV.

Preparation isn't a problem, and in fact in my case its not even necessary as its a new-build and its already done (see attached photo), there are already power coax and cat5 available at head-height on the wall, my problem is that a flatscreen will fit fine there but it is a ridiculous place to stick a big, bulky media box. So I'm trying to figure out how these are intended to be used such that you have just a flatscreen on the wall (like in the pics attached to my original post) but are able to pause/record TV?

If this is not possible without sticking a box on the wall then I'm fine with that also provided I can stick the box and tv in some corner of the room on a desk and have the signal come WIRELESSLY form these existing coax/cat5 to the mediabox/TV. Is this possible ?

Really I'm trying to figure out how to use the existing points without having a big bulky box sticking out of my wall at head-height which appears to be the setup in my original pics, although maybe these are Saorview only ?

asteroids over berlin

have our tv on the wall and cabling in behibd, have extra long 15m hdmi cables running around the room perimeter under the carpet to the upc box and dvd player which are in a cabinet(signal is perfect)

colm_c

Typically you want to hide the box.

There are two general options:

1) all points (coax, satellite, power etc) are located behind the tv, in which case the sat box can be mounted vertically behind the tv, so nothing shows. Then using the likes of a magic eye, you can repeat the signal for the remote to a visible surface.

2) all points are not located at the tv, in which case you need to place the sat box near it's outlet and route an hmdi or other connection to the tv, either in wall, in low profile trunking etc. Probably need to paint the trunking to match the wall. If you have stud walls it's fairly easy to route the cables behind it, concrete/block walls not so much.

Wireless options for hdmi/cable are not there yet, too much lag for realtime tv.

Johnboy1951

The signal from the receiver box would be sent to the TV over the coax or ethernet cables.
Which and how is dependent on such things as how you normally connect the receiver to the TV; what other outputs the receiver has; the inputs and capabilities of the TV itself.

Most often people connect to the TV with a HDMI cable ..... which has to be connected to the receiver box also. That often determines how far from the TV the box can be.

BTW, you could put a small shelf over the TV (above head height) and feed the power and coax cables up to it, and the HDMI cable down to the TV.

Usjes

Okay, my problem is:

- Sockets, coax and cat5 are at head-heigth on the wall opposite the bed, I don't want the TV there, I want it in the corner of the room and draping cables of any sort from the sockets above to the corner of the room is not practical, so do I have any options ?

> Wireless options for hdmi/cable are not there yet, too much lag for realtime tv.
This suggests that I can't simply do a wireless connection as I was hoping, what about TV over powerline as described here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27rfD5DAXfE) or is this only available in the UK ? This wouldn't be ideal but I could live with just the powerline adaptor and the box on the wall if I could have the TV in the corner of the room. Does this look plausible ?

The Cush

Usjes wrote: »

Do you have just one mediabox for the whole house and different remotes on different frequencies to change the channel in different rooms ?
Or
Is there just one mediabox that decodes all the channels and transmits them decoded around the house so the remote in each room just needs to change the TV channel ? In this case I guess you can't record channels in each room ?
Or
Can these wall-mounted TVs only receive Saorview if they don't have a mediabox connected directly to them ?
Or
Something else ?? TV distributed about the house over the Wifi network or something, in this case what does it mean when they say a house is 'Wired for Virgin Media' or 'Wired for Eir' ?

Basically option 3 for a wall mounted TV - Saorview only with aerial connected or in the case of a combi TV - Saorview via a connected aerial and free-to-air satellite channels with a satellite dish connected.

In the case of your UPC media box, a separate box is required at each TV.

Boxes can be located and controlled remotely using a "HDMI over co-ax solution", aka HDMI DVB-T RF Modulator. It converts the HDMI output of a box to a DVB-T modulated UHF channel which is carried to the TV via the regular co-ax cable and then can be tuned in on your TV like channels of old. It can be combined with the Saorview channels. There are models that send IR Infra-Red remote control signal back to the remotely located box also for channel changing.

My brother uses a Technomate one with his SkyQ receiver. Don't remember the specific model but it may have been this one - http://www.satworld.ie/technomate-tm-rf-hd-ir-hdmi-dvb-t-rf-modulator.html. His SkyQ box is tuned in on LCN 8 (channel 8) on his main TV and he controls the SkyQ receiver with the SkyQ IR remote control via the return IR.

raddo

I had the same issue when I was wall mounting a TV.
After much searching, I am now using a HDMI extender, really happy with it.
Info in the following post.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/show...24&postcount=8

winston_1

Usjes wrote: »

what about TV over powerline as described here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27rfD5DAXfE) or is this only available in the UK ?

Powerline adapters cause serious interference to other users of the RF spectrum and should not be used. VM should know better.

https://www.ban-plt.org.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/publications/whitepaper195

https://www.frequencycast.co.uk/powerline.html

winston_1

winston_1 wrote: »

Powerline adapters cause serious interference to other users of the RF spectrum and should not be used. VM should know better.

https://www.ban-plt.org.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/publications/whitepaper195

https://www.frequencycast.co.uk/powerline.html

You forgot the link for tin foil hats.

Using power line adapters for years, only solution when you need wired Lan and don’t have the cabling.

LenWoods

Usjes wrote: »

Hi,

I've only ever had a TV sitting on a cabinet in a sitting room where the DVD player and NTL/UPC/Virgin/whatever mediabox/decoder could sit. Now with flatscreen TVs I see them wall-mounted in bedrooms, kitchens and all over the place. I'm trying to understand how does this work ? My current UPC mediabox for decoding/recording TV is about 30cm*20cm*10cm, so where does this go for a wall-mounted TV in a bedroom, see the attached photos for example.

Do you have just one mediabox for the whole house and different remotes on different frequencies to change the channel in different rooms ?
Or
Is there just one mediabox that decodes all the channels and transmits them decoded around the house so the remote in each room just needs to change the TV channel ? In this case I guess you can't record channels in each room ?
Or
Can these wall-mounted TVs only receive Saorview if they don't have a mediabox connected directly to them ?
Or
Something else ?? TV distributed about the house over the Wifi network or something, in this case what does it mean when they say a house is 'Wired for Virgin Media' or 'Wired for Eir' ?

Thanks,

Usjes

I've purchased some floating boxs on ebay and 90 degree steel brackets mounted them tight to the ceiling in the bedrooms,
I've then routed all cables directly in to the attic and down inside the partition walls to the television,
All plugged in inside the attic where I've fitted 6 socket adapters with time clocks on the television power supplys to save on electricity aswell as prevent them staying on all night,
This is my first post on here;
I have pictures of my installation which I want to show; but I dont know how to add images yet

If you search Google: Lenny Living Room Project

Then go to page 3 of the thread you will see my installation process including virgin media box's and sky multiroom boxes with uk sky cards for the most free channels without any noise from hard drives.

Johnboy1951

Maybe upload your pics to here https://imgbb.com/ and add the links to your post as text?

LenWoods

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Maybe upload your pics to here and add the links to your post as text?

Thanks mate
I've got them on a thread if you go to google search

Type in: Lenny Living Room Project

The TV stuff is on page 03 of that thread

I'll try get some images in the mean time but this forum says I cant post images yet as I'm new 😂 which is funny as I've been on forums daily and even a moderator for the past twelve years or more; strange being a newbie

Thanks for response

Johnboy1951

LenWoods wrote: »

Thanks mate
I've got them on a thread if you go to google search

Type in: Lenny Living Room Project

The TV stuff is on page 03 of that thread

I'll try get some images in the mean time but this forum says I cant post images yet as I'm new �� which is funny as I've been on forums daily and even a moderator for the past twelve years or more; strange being a newbie

Thanks for response

Unless you are Lenny Kravitz then nope, not found!

EDIT:

Is this it?
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/80864-living-room-project/page/3/#comments

LenWoods

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Unless you are Lenny Kravitz then nope, not found!

No I'm not �� sorry

Yep that's it in the link there ��

swoofer

WHY NOT GIVE US THE LINK YOURSELF AND WE CAN COPY AND PASTE?

or is this spam

LenWoods

swoofer wrote: »

WHY NOT GIVE US THE LINK YOURSELF AND WE CAN COPY AND PASTE?

or is this spam

The correct link is in the post above there;
Boards wont let me post links or images yet as I'm new only joined today

fritzelly

Unless its easy enough to run cabling behind the walls then just use some trunking to run the cables from the tv to your tv box/power sockets - with plain painted walls you won't even notice the trunking

Wired for Virgin etc just means there is a cable point in the rooms etc but you still need a decoder box for each TV unless you plan to split the signal and every gets to watch the same channel on every TV

JDxtra

Only my main living room TV has a box connected. The others are wall mounted, with power, satellite and terrestrial connections to them. These other TVs can use Freesat (UK) and Saorview. No need for any boxes here and the TVs are nice and tight to the wall.

I'm OK with FTA channels + Netflix so this works well for me.

fritzelly

JDxtra wrote: »

Only my main living room TV has a box connected. The others are wall mounted, with power, satellite and terrestrial connections to them. These other TVs can use Freesat (UK) and Saorview. No need for any boxes here and the TVs are nice and tight to the wall.

I'm OK with FTA channels + Netflix so this works well for me.

At least explain how you are getting a signal to all the tv's unless it's magic

JDxtra

fritzelly wrote: »

At least explain how you are getting a signal to all the tv's unless it's magic

Excluding the living room, I have one normal coaxial cable running to each TV. There is a satellite dish connection and a terrestrial aerial for Saorview. The signals are combined then split at the TVs. Fairly common to do this and it means running only one cable. Example combiner below. TVs will need a satellite tuner builtin, like most good Samsungs and LGs (preferably Freesat enabled).

https://www.satworld.ie/satellite-and-terrestrial-combiner-indoor.html

Johnboy1951

LenWoods wrote: »

No I'm not �� sorry

Yep that's it in the link there ��

I admire your attention to detail and it is gratifying to know there is someone else out there who takes nearly as long to finish a project as myself

While I took a different route myself for media distribution, I am rather glad after I did seeing all the details in that thread.
Of course my complications were much reduced by not making any proprietary/subscription Satellite allowance individually in each room. Everything is distributed from one central location.

I have certainly gotten a few ideas and useful links to suppliers of various products from the thread.

It was a long read, but I found it well worthwhile.

Well done!

LenWoods

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I admire your attention to detail and it is gratifying to know there is someone else out there who takes nearly as long to finish a project as myself

While I took a different route myself for media distribution, I am rather glad after I did seeing all the details in that thread.
Of course my complications were much reduced by not making any proprietary/subscription Satellite allowance individually in each room. Everything is distributed from one central location.

I have certainly gotten a few ideas and useful links to suppliers of various products from the thread.

It was a long read, but I found it well worthwhile.

Well done!

Thanks very much John I appreciate you taking the time to go through the thread and found it of interest, it is taking longer than expected to complete but in treating it as more of a hobby at this stage,
I could have done it without terminating all sattelite feeds inside the attic but I thought by adding a connection there: then the second feeds could be intercepted for use as somthing different if ever required.

Also Thanks for posting a link on here as I currently can't post links due to being a newbie,

My main reason for signing up to boards was to share detail on changing a virgin media multiroom box a Cisco 8685 to a solid state HardDrive which has completely eliminated all noise from the unit

Sorry to those whom get emotional when a thread goes slightly off topic; however I have contributed relevant information in previous posts; I'm now out unless someone responds to me

icdg

Im less concerned about that than the fact that a new user who (from what I can see) wanted to make a genuine contribution to the thread was SHOUTED AT and accused of spamming by one user and for that, swoofer can take a warning.

That said, LenWoods there is a convention on this forum that we don’t drag up old threads. Because you are new I’m willing to overlook that this time.