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Multiroom TV
SaddlerSteve
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I'm not talking about Sky services just normal freeview channels to multiple TV's in several rooms in the house.
We currently have a main TV in the living room which is connected to a cable connection.
There is also 2 TV's in bedrooms which have their own portable aerials and an old portable down in the kitchen.
We're looking at installing a a wall mounted HDTV in the kitchen.
Are there any systems out there that can send the signal from the main connection in the living room to all of the other TV's in the house? They need to be able to watch different channels.
I'd prefer something wireless but could make something wired work.
Any suggestions?
We currently have a main TV in the living room which is connected to a cable connection.
There is also 2 TV's in bedrooms which have their own portable aerials and an old portable down in the kitchen.
We're looking at installing a a wall mounted HDTV in the kitchen.
Are there any systems out there that can send the signal from the main connection in the living room to all of the other TV's in the house? They need to be able to watch different channels.
I'd prefer something wireless but could make something wired work.
Any suggestions?
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The best solution is to split the aerial feed as close to the aerial as is practical and run cables to each room that requires a TV point. Putting the split as close to the aerial as possible minimises the cable run to each location which in turn reduces signal loss and the amount of interference picked up. Splitting in the living room and running cables back upstairs should be avoided if at all possible.
There are various ways to do this. If the signal is very high you can use a passive splitter. This will introduce some signal loss so only worth it if your signal is high enough for the loss not to matter too much. If the signal isn't strong enough for a passive splitter then there are various forms of powered splitter available.
You could do the split in the loft and use a standard indoor multi-output amplifier if you have power available in the loft. If not you can get multi-output masthead amplifiers. As the name suggests these are designed to go outside on the pole the aerial is attached to. But can be used in the loft if that is easier to access.
A masthead amplifier is powered up one of the output cables. You put a small power supply at one of the aerial points and as long as no one turns it off it powers the amp in the loft/out on the pole.
(Especially if you own the house and plan to stay) Don't skimp on cheap cable or components. It isn't worth it. Get good WF100 cable and a decent amp. We use a Wolsey amplfier now, and it's much better than the old cheap Labgear one. .Make the connections up well and don't cut corners is my advice.
Honestly, the best solution is the get some coax run in. That's really it. Yes, it's possible to rig up multiple Freeview boxes with then multiple wireless TX/RX kits but my God, what a mess and load of faffing about. Get a local spark to run some coax and a couple of CAT cable feeds while he's at it. Then plaster up and repaint where needed. Job done.
Plus I reckon 3 video senders might well interfere with one another.
We're hooked up to the city's cable system.
So the best option is to use some kind of splitter from the main aerial connection then just run coax cables to all of the TV's?
Yes, anything else is just trying to duplicate that, and failing badly.
Any recommendations for booster / splitter boxes and coax cables?
Sorry, I'm completely clueless about these kind of things.
So you have no roof aerial but get your TV down a cable? Where abouts are you? (I'm guessing Milton Keynes)?
Is the signal that comes down the cable analogue or digital? Do you have a cable box? Do you get (for example) BBC News?
Yes, we're in MK.
I've actually realised after checking that the living room TV is not actually using the aerial connection in the wall.
It's an old CRT and is plugged through the Sky box to the dish outside. The living room is at the front of the house on the first floor.
I have a HDTV with Freeview in my bedroom at the front of the house on the 2nd floor. This is using a portable digital aerial.
The kitchen where we want to put a new HDTV is at the back of the house on the ground floor.
I assume that the signal from the cable is digital as I thought the analogue signal had been turned off?
http://cmis.milton-keynes.gov.uk/CmisWebPublic/Binary.ashx?Document=31966
And
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1792257
If that situation hasn't changed then looks like the cable system could be pretty much useless. Certainly for watching Freeview.
It depends if it's ever been updated?, certainly the original MK cable was only analogue - but I'd like to think it's been updated many times since then.
However, the PDF posted above seems to suggest otherwise - presumably the original system was so poorly installed as to make it non-viable to upgrade?.
If that is too expensive, you could look at a loft aerial and do it yourself. If the indoor aerials are giving tolerable results at the moment then a loft aerial might do the trick but whatever you do DO NOT GO ON THE ROOF YOURSELF.