[fr0do007]

Long time reader first time poster.

I have recently bought and am renovating a house and have run two Cat6 and two coax cables from a central point in my house (the hub) to every TV. I will have (when they are installed) 8 TV's in total ranging from 19" (TileVision) to 50". I have also placed an order for Sky HD which will be getting installed next month. I intend to hook the sky box up with magic eyes running over the coax to the RF2 output in order to change channels so I will have the option of viewing Sky over coax or sky HD over HDMI.

My setup is going to be fairly simple with the TV speakers producing the audio so no suround sound systems or amps.

I've been looking into hdmi Cat6 extenders to allow me to view Sky HD on every TV. I have talked to a few people and read many of the posts in AVForums and other websites in my research. From what information I have gatherd so far I have the following questions:

1. The local AV specialist says that trying to send Sky HD to multiple displays can get quite tricky once the number of displays goes above a few. Apparently this is due to the handshake that takes place within the HDMI protocol i.e. hello I'm a sky box > Hello I'm a 50" plasma that can display 1080i at 60hz > Sky Box - ok I will send you 1080i at 60hz - Crude example but you get the idea. My local specialist says that when hooking up a lot of displays the sky box is trying to handshake with every one of the displays which gets messy (nice techinical term). All that without even mentioning HDCP. So the question is, is it possible to hook Sky HD up to so many displays which all vary in Make, Model, spec etc? Has anyone got a similiar setup up and running with Sky HD and if so what kit did they use?

2. Is it better to take the hdmi output from the sky box and split it (using a HDMI splitter) then hook each "split" hdmi output to a HDMI Cat6 extender or use a device like THIS one that does the splitting and converting to Cat6 all in one box? As my setup is fairly simple and I'm using magic eyes I don't need digital auio or IR passback over HDMI just the picture and the audio.

3. The only thing that puts me off of the splitter/Cat converter option is that all of these devices that I can find only output onto a single Cat6 cable. I was advised to run two Cat6 cables for this and now that they are run it would make sense to utilise the additional bandwidth available with two. Has anyone got any thoughts on this?

4. One of the TV's is a 19" Tile vision TV in the bathroom with a max resolution of 1440x900 is it worth while deploying the HD solution (Cat6 and coax already in place) to such a small display that can only display 900p which is still more than SD which I think is 480p? This answer will be a matter of opinion but given the cost of a HDMI cat6 sender/receiver is the difference between 480p and 900p on a 19" TV that great?


Appologies if my understanding (i.e. the HDMI handshake, SD resolutions etc) does not add up but I'm no AV expert but want to get the HD piping to every TV right if it is possible at all.

Thanks

[Jamie S]

1. It is perfectly possible to distribute Sky HD to up to 16 screens. Sky HD supports 16 HDCP keys.

2. If all the makes and models are HDCP compliant and are capable of 1080i resolutions, you should not encounter many problems (in theory).

3. From our experience of both dual and single Cat5 extenders, really it is down to personal preference. Dual works out cheaper, however most Cat5 splitter units will use a single Cat5 cable.

The cheapest and simplest solution would be a HDMI splitter + HDMI over cat5 balun pairs, however, it would not work on your tile vision TV. The fact you have magic eye already in place makes life easier in terms of channel changing and reducing cost.

There are solutions out there with auto-resolution adjustment that will downscale the HDMI signal to match that TV's maximum resolution capability such as the HDMI over IP devices that we sell that would work with the tile vision TV, although they do work out more expensive.

Hope this helps

[Joe Fernand]

Hello fr0do007

HDMI distribution can be 'messy' as the background EDID and HDCP chatter that goes on between each device connected to the system can cause glitches, delays, snow etc - though when it is working it is very good.

Some HDMI distribution and switching gear employ EDID bypass and EDID learn/store modes to try and cut down on the potential for EDID problems that normally appear when folk are switching sources or switching displays in and out of standby on the connected system.

Most HDMI over single CAT5/6 cable extenders will be doing some form of signal compression/conversion to enable the signal to travel over the single twisted pair cable.

Is it just SKY HD you intend to make available on all displays?

Joe

[fr0do007]

Thanks for your replies guys.

It is only Sky HD I intend to make available on all displays (accept the TileVision display as per Jamie's reply). Not that concerned that the TileVision will only have SD Sky as it has such a small screen.

I had thought about placing a Blueray player in the hub but instead chose in the selected rooms to run an HDMI cable from the back of the wall mounted display to a point in the room allowing me to place a DVD/Blueray player in each room and simplifying the setup.

If I was to go with a splitter + Cat6 baluns (as per Jamie's post) are there any make/models to be reccomended.

The Dual Baluns in your Link Jamie state Cat5 but not Cat6 is this important? Does Cat6 being used like this provide any advantages over Cat5e as they are both 1 gig cables? In an attempt to future proof it is Cat6 I have installed but wondered what the advantages are.

Joe you mention kit with EDID learn/store modes, would this functionality be on the splitter? Any examples recomendations?

Thanks
Dave

[Joe Fernand]

The TileVision 19" display is compatible with SKY HD (1080i50) over HDMI.

Here's an example of the Distribution Amps we install/supply that include EDID learn modes - RTcom USA, Inc. - Digital Extender specialized in Matrix Router, Switcher, Distribution Amplifier, Fiber Optic Cable and CAT-5 extender with HDMI and DVI format

With the above unit you would use external HDMI over dual CAT6 extenders - RTcom USA, Inc. - Digital Extender specialized in Matrix Router, Switcher, Distribution Amplifier, Fiber Optic Cable and CAT-5 extender with HDMI and DVI format

Some folk in your position would consider using analogue HD rather than digital HD - NeoPro® - Professional Grade Video Products for Custom Electronics Designers and Installers

Joe

[Jamie S]

Only having a single source such as Sky HD makes life a lot simpler. Also the fact that you are only distributing a 1080i signal helps.

Our dual baluns say Cat5, but we recommend you use Cat6 (if that makes sense) - "HDMI over Cat5" is a sort of industry adopted title for any HDMI over Cat5/6/7 product.

All of the kit we sell works well together.

How many screens are you looking to distribute to?

[fr0do007]

Joe, when you say the Tile Vision is compatible with 1080i50 what do you mean? As the spec for the 19" TileVision specifies WXGA (1440x900), do you mean the TV will downgrade the signal to 900? Do you have prices for the kit you listed, you can PM me if you preffer?

What are the differences in analogue and digital HD distribution? Presumably quality of end picture/audio and cost.

I'm looking to distrubute to 8 screens with the TileVision included or 7 screens without. From what I've learned I think I'm looking for 1x8 splitter with or without the EDID learn/store functionality (depending on the price difference). Does this sound like a common setup? Any ideas how much this would cost to put together?

Regards
Dave

[Jamie S]

We have a one package solution that would be suitable for a 7 (possibly 8) screen set-up here:
1x8 HDMI Splitter over single Cat 5/6 Cable Pro-2 Range - Free UK Delivery

[Joe Fernand]

The TileVision tv19 is just like any other display on the market - it has a pixel array, a video processing board and a video input board.

The video input board accepts a range of input signal types and formats and the video processing board matches the input signal to the pixels in the LCD array.

SKY HD outputs a 1080i signal at 50Hz via HDMI and the TileVision supports 1080i50 via HDMI so not a problem to stick it on the end of your distributed signal.

In terms of image/audio quality no real difference between analogue HD and digital HD - with analogue you don't have to negotiate the EDID and HDCP issues you can run into with digital so folk who implement and support big distributed systems are not jumping into the digital world with open arms just yet!

Joe

[khughes687]

Hi, I wonder if you can help me with my query? I am thinking I may have started my thread in the wrong forum...!

http://www.avforums.com/forums/how-d...will-work.html

Thanks.