Multi - Room TV Connections

[stevenjonas]

We watch terrestrial TV & satellite TV (English, German & Italian - from 3 satellites, requiring 3 LNBs all set up & working on our dish) all on our one TV.

We are having a ground floor extension built. It is our intention to be able to watch both the terrestrial & satellite TV in the sitting room, in the kitchen & in the spare room.

It is our intention that the TV in the sitting room will be wall mounted & that the TV in the kitchen will be ceiling mounted, in both cases to save room.

It is our intention that all 3 TVs (of differing sizes) will have internet access.

We do not really want to have to have 2 separate co-axial cables to each TV (one for terrestrial TV & one for satellite TV) plus cat 5 or 6 cabling to each TV.

I appreciate that I may avoid the cat 5/cat 6 cabling by having Wi-Fi dongles in each of the TVs?

However, how can I avoid having 2 co-axial cables to each TV?

I have read about the HDBase T extender (which I note featured again at this year's CES - albeit at a ridiculous price) but it has been around now for several years & is clearly not taking off.

Surely there is a simple solution to this as so many people have TVs in different rooms around their houses?

We do not have & have no intention of subscribing to cable TV or to Sky.

:doh:

 

[daveh75]

Are you intending to be able to have independent viewing of satellite channels on all 3 TVs (sat receiver for each TV) or just looking at distributing video/audio from a single sat receiver to all the TVs, so only able to watch the same sat channel on all 3 TVs at the same time.

Either way it is possible to combine satellite and terrestrial signals onto a single coax or indeed the RF output from a STB and terrestrial signals, but would need more details on what your trying to achieve and current setup

 

[stevenjonas]

The work on our extension has started, so I need to address this issue. Thanks for your response. You raise an important question which I had not considered. having now done so, I would want to watch different programmes in different rooms. So that I may be watching a terrestial Freeview HD channel in one room, whilst my wife is watching a German satellite channel in another room. You suggest that this is possible without running RF cables from the TV areial to both sets and RF cables from the satellite dish to both sets too?

 

[stevenjonas]

Background

With apologies to those who have been following me in other threads, on different aspects of this, we're having an extension to our house built, to accomodate my wheelchair - bound mother-in-law. I've decided to seize the opportunity to donate our CRT TV (which has served us well) to the Heart Foundation. Our elderly Technomate SD satellite receiver will go the same way.

TV Desires

I am hoping to have a new TV in the living room (hopefully 42", 46" or 47"), attached to the wall & a 2nd TV in the kitchen (probably 32") attached to the ceiling, or thereabouts, in the kitchen. We already have another TV (32") in a bedroom that we use as a study.

It is a given that if I am to be allowed to do any of this & keep my prized hi-fi equipment that i must minimise the amount of visible wiring & wire as much as possible through the new walls.

Hardware

We currently have BT Vision. I'm intending to buy a receiver with both DVB-C/T (Freeview) as well as a DVB-S/S2 (satellite) feeds, such as the Gigablue HD 800 UE+. I haven't decided on which TVs yet. I'm hoping to buy them next month when they should get cheaper in the run up to the new models being issued.

Mulitroom

I was intending to have the Frieeview & satellite feeds come in to the living room near the BT Vision box & new satellite receiver., both being hard wired in to our ethernet network. I was intending to send the signals from these 2 boxes to the living room TV along cat5e cabling, using something like the Gefen HDBaseT Extender for HDMI over one CAT5 (see: https://www.rcblogic.co.uk/p-2177-gefen-hdbaset-extender-for-hdmi-over-one-cat5.aspx).

Then I was going to also send the signals from these 2 boxes to the kitchen TV, again along cat5e cabling, using another pair of these HDMI - cat5e devices.

I was hoping to find something cheaper than the Geffens as a pair of pairs of them will set me back £1,000, which is too much, on top of everything else.

The BT Vision box & the new satellite receiver each have only 1 HDMI socket. I was thinking of buying a splitter, splitting the HDMI feed in to 2, before feeding them in to the HDMI - cat5e converter.

Am I correct in assuming that I can just feed these feeds in to my new cat5e network, or do I need seperate cat5e wiring for each connection?

Phew! That's a lot to think about. I have no doubt that others have perfected all that I am thinking about. I would welcome the benefit of their knowledge & experience, please.

 

[daveh75]

Am I correct in assuming that I can just feed these feeds in to my new cat5e network, or do I need seperate cat5e wiring for each connection?

Nope.

HDMI over cat5/6 don't use TCP/IP protocol, and are point to point so need dedicated wiring. You don't need those expensive gefen extenders either.

Two pairs of these will do the job >>> http://www.thatcable.com/product/HDMI-CAT5-IR-Extender

 

[stevenjonas]

That sounds a bit more manageable, thanks.

Can I use an HDMI splitter (such as http://www.thatcable.com/product/HDMI-Splitter-1-Input-2-Output-Port-Distribution-Box) with a view to sending the feeds down different cat5e lines to different TVs?

Is it necessary to use a splitter at all? I see that the extender you recomend has 2 x cat5e sockets per HDMI socket..

Could I have 1 x HDMI connected to a satellite receiver & through this device send the feeds to 2 x different TVs?

If so, would I be obliged to watch the same channel on each TV, or could I watch different channels on different TVs?

 

[daveh75]

Yep.

 

[stevenjonas]

Dave, You've been so helpful, for which I'm very grateful.

Do you mean yep - I would be obliged to watch the same channel on each TV, or do you mean yep - I could watch different channels on different TVs?

 

[daveh75]

That sounds a bit more manageable, thanks.

Can I use an HDMI splitter (such as http://www.thatcable.com/product/HDMI-Splitter-1-Input-2-Output-Port-Distribution-Box) with a view to sending the feeds down different cat5e lines to different TVs?

Yes.

Is it necessary to use a splitter at all? I see that the extender you recomend has 2 x cat5e sockets per HDMI socket..

Yes. Those units use two cables, instead of one.

Could I have 1 x HDMI connected to a satellite receiver & through this device send the feeds to 2 x different TVs?

No