Sky multiroom / Splitter

[admin_exported]

I'm not sure whether to put this in the Sky forum or here as it involves both, but here goes...

I've recently ordered a projector and am looking to turn the spare room next to our living room into a cinema room. The plan is for the amp, blu ray player and speakers to be moved into the new room with the PS3, wii, Sky and TV remaining in the living room. My main concern is what to do with the Sky box, should I get a seperate multi room subscription or an HDMI splitter from the one box to feed both rooms?

Here are what I think to be the pros and cons of both methods -

Sky Multi room Pros

• I can watch the football with friends whilst at the same time she watched America's fattest..., The World's craziest... and so on.
• Simpler set up with no drilling through walls (well by me anyway, only the Sky installation)
• Easier operation of the Sky box (splitter would require an IR extender also going through the wall).
• Splitter option may result in loss of quality in signal - sky box -> splitter -> wall plate in cinema room -> amp -> projector

Splitter Pros

• Price - Multiroom would be £199 for a new box (cheaper 2nd hand option would probably be the route to go down), £10 multi room subscription + £10 addititional HD subscription (in addition to the HD subscription in the living room).
• I can record a show on one box and watch it on both screens rather than predetermining which screen I was going to use in advance

My biggest issue is that of the possible loss of quality of the signal. I'm not going to open the can of worms over the quality of cables, however my proposed solution includes a number of 'junctions', does anybody have any strong recommendations against this or situations where they are happy with the results?

If there are any other considerations that anybody feels I ought to be looking at I would also be very grateful.

Regards

Phil

 

[Anonymous]

Well I,ve got Sky in every room without an extra subscription via a normal distribution unit

You would be better / cheaper to move your SKY box into the cinema room letting you HDMI into your Amp and then to Projector , then use coaxial RF OUT 1 or 2 to the aerial in of a dis-board then back to the living room , bedrooms etc.

Disadvantage everone watches the same programe

Advantage Save a fortune

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers Les,

There may already be a solution built into the house (it is a new build and we only moved into the property in July).

I'll try and upload a photo of the board that is in place that I think is what you are talking about.

I guess that the other disadvantage would be that the signal to the other rooms in the house will be SD and stereo only?

 

[Anonymous]

PhilPhilips:

Cheers Les,

There may already be a solution built into the house (it is a new build and we only moved into the property in July).

I'll try and upload a photo of the board that is in place that I think is what you are talking about.

I guess that the other disadvantage would be that the signal to the other rooms in the house will be SD and stereo only?

You could of course have the SKY coaxial back to the living room only, leaving any bedrooms etc unafected.

Put a Sky link in the ariel of living room TV for remote control from the living room , I dont think Sky link workes through a dis-board , at least I havn't managed it so far

 

[Dave_]

PhilPhilips:

I guess that the other disadvantage would be that the signal to the other rooms in the house will be SD and stereo only?
Not just SD but poor quality - and you'll only get mono audio from Sky boxes RF out.

 

[Dave_]

lesmor: I dont think Sky link workes through a dis-board , at least I havn't managed it so farIt does providing the distubution amp is compatible with magic eye's, i.e allows power pass-through. Or you can by by-pass kits for amps that don't allow pass-through.

 

[Anonymous]

daveh75:PhilPhilips:

I guess that the other disadvantage would be that the signal to the other rooms in the house will be SD and stereo only?

Not just SD but poor quality - and you'll only get mono audio from Sky boxes RF out.
I,ve no prob with quality as the dis board boosts the signal.

The op , if he has a board already has nothing to loose a lot to gain by giving it a try, before moving the SKY box

But hey feel free to buy another SKY box , another subscription and add £10.00 for HD

 

[Anonymous]

An alternative would be a video sender in the cinema room , sound would be in stereo , wouldn't need a link for remote ,still have the problem of watching the same channel on the TV the sender receiver is connected to

 

[Dave_]

lesmor:daveh75:PhilPhilips:

I guess that the other disadvantage would be that the signal to the other rooms in the house will be SD and stereo only?

Not just SD but poor quality - and you'll only get mono audio from Sky boxes RF out.
I,ve no prob with quality as the dis board boosts the signal.Yes they'll boost the signal, but they won't convert low quality video into good quality. Modulated RF is lowest form of video there is.

The op , if he has a board already has nothing to loose a lot to gain by giving it a try, before moving the SKY box I agree, the OP has nothing to lose trying it, if the cabling/amp are already in place, just pointing out the quality isn't great....

But hey feel free to buy another SKY box , another subscription and add £10.00 for HDThe OP really needs to decide whether independent viewing is important or not.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info guys.

Independent viewing is not a huge requirement.

Having the standard RF feed sent across the house would be good should we get a kitchen or bedroom set but I do want HD in both the main rooms.

My main concern with splitting the signal was the number of connections between the box and the projector (or tv if I were to connect up the other way around) and any possible affects this may have on the image / sound quality.

 

[grdunn123]

Phil, how long have you been a Sky customer? It's a great time to phone them and ask for a 'deal', for example, I had Sky HD downstairs and Sky+ multiroom upstairs, phoned them and said I was considering Virgin as an option and they offered a free upgrade to HD in the mutiroom ( free HD box and free installation + half priced sub for 6 months).

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately only a couple of months, was a subscriber for 6 or 7 years but then moved to a flat in a listed building for 6 years before getting the new place. I can try and see if they'll throw in the HD subscription on the multi room, then they've probably got a deal, if not I'll go the HDMI splitter route.

 

[grdunn123]

You've nothing to lose by asking, Phil.

 

[Anonymous]

I currently have an HDMI splitter/extender taking an HD video signal to my LCD TV which is next to my Sky 1Tb box and and a co-axial digital audio cable to a Denon amp also next to the TV.

I then have a 15 metre HDMI cable taking HD video from the other out put on the splitter to my projector in my cinema room, a 15 metre optical digital audio cable for sound to the amp there and a 15 metre co-axial ariel cable taking my remote control signal from my cinema room back to the Sky box.

I usually buy more expensive cabling, but as I wasn't sure this would work before attempting it I bought a 15 metre HDMI cable and 15 metre optical digital cable for under 60 pounds for the pair when I did this over a year ago on my previous Sky HD box. At that time I was using a digital optical splitter, which intially worked but then failed despite changing to a new splitter.

Other than the optical digital problem that developed with the splitter over this distance, everything worked well. When sourced straight through avoiding the splitter, the optical digital audio cable carried the audio signal over the 15 metres without any problems.

I ran the cables straight out through an external wall, along the outside of the building under the shelter of a slight overhang where the roughcast meets the brickwork and then back in through the external wall at the cinema room. I wasn't sure whether the cold and damp would penetrate the cabling and cause problems, which was another reason for the less expensive cabling. Despite the extremely harsh winter, I have had no problems whatsoever with the external 15 metre cable runs.

In my opinion, there is no apparent difference in signal/sound/picture quality from the more expensive cabling I previously used.

I didn't know if the digital optical audio out and the co-axial audio out on the new Sky box would work simultaneously when connected, but they do and this has solved the problem with surround sound output to two different amps that I experienced with my previous Sky HD box.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the route I would go......

The location of the amp / sky etc i would keep in the cinema room (including the PS3 if wireless controllers work between rooms, my 360 ones do if stud walls and door)

To be able to change TV channels in the living room use either the magic eye or a wireless video sender. £5-20

Then purchase a HDMI Splitter and a HDMI Ethernet Extender and 2 x Cat6 cable (the length required to run to the living room, outdoor cable can be purchased to allow cables to go via outside of property to minimize internal mess)and run this from the cinema room to the living room. No signal loss and you can run cable upto 30m. £45

Total cost £50-70

In the future you could later purchase a multi zone amp which has 2 HDMI outputs and then have stereo speakers in the living room and and then the splitter wouldnt be required unless you wanted to split the 2nd output to the living room and run another HDMI extender to a bedroom.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the detailed responses guys (I'd forgotten about the need for optical/coaxial out from the Sky box), more options for me to consider, I'll take a look in depth at them all this evening

 

[Anonymous]

I've noticed that our house is fitted with a Labgear HDU681 Loftbox, can this be used to share the Sky signal across different rooms as there are aerial points in nearly all of the rooms?

 

[Dave_]

PhilPhilips:I've noticed that our house is fitted with a Labgear HDU681 Loftbox, can this be used to share the Sky signal across different rooms as there are aerial points in nearly all of the rooms?Yes, it can, and it supports IR return/magic eyes...Though it will depend on the cabling/set-up in your property.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Dave,

Do you know if it can be used to send HD signals to one or more rooms?

Phil

 

[Dave_]

PhilPhilips:
Thanks Dave,

Do you know if it can be used to send HD signals to one or more rooms?

Phil

No, it cant.

If you want HD ,best bet is to go with your original HDMI splitter idea, or additional/multi-room boxes.

 

[Anonymous]

LYNKSYS have a device which uses a router to send wireless HD video. Never seen it in action though but my mate said its good quality

 

[Anonymous]

Having politely declined Sky's £60 installation, £200 box, £10 p/m multiroom and £10 p/m HD offer I'm going to go the splitter route and save some £££. I've just received a Neet HDMI splitter (quite surprised it needs a power supply) and am going the cheapo route of HDMI & digital coax cable going straight through the wall rather than HDMI faceplates etc (hidden with these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Labgear-Single-Width-Faceplate-Cables/dp/B003IUHOQ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286891865&sr=8-2)

I've also ordered a Sky magic eye but will have to see if that will work correctly or I can get another IR extender to go through the new hole into the room next door.