Muxlab AV plus balans for Cat5 distribution an option?

[freddyuk]

I have unscreened Cat 5e doubled up to various points in the house and found the Lynx to be the best option for distributing TV/Sky and audio from a central point. Trouble is i cant afford £3000+ for this system. There is a special offer for a Muxlab Videoease AV hub at under £300 plus various balans for various sources and i was wondering if this was a worthwhile option? I am not sure of the cost of the baluns but even at £50 each it would be cheap to set up. Am i on the right track here?

Thanks

[vex]

Before we go talking about hardware, what do you actually want to acheive?

Do you want different things in different rooms at the same time, or just the same thing available anywhere?

Also how many CAT5e / RJ45 sockets do you have in each location?

V.

[freddyuk]

Having reread the information i believe you have nailed it in as far as this unit only distributes the same signal to various locations. I want to have different TV and Audio to the various wall plate locations.
I have one socket with two cat5e cables to each location.
I was hoping to have initially Sky (and possibly Sky HD) to 6 locations showing different programmes and Audio to all locations (initially the same music audio signal to all locations)
I also wanted the audio to provide stereo to the main TV.
I currently have several sky boxes in a central location feeding via coaxial cables and magic eyes to outlets so as to control seprately each box.
I cannot run Scart leads to the TV's i only have coax and Cat5.

The music audio is currently via an Ipod plugged into an amp and cables run to speakers from the central location. I would like to have several audio feeds to several locations via the cat5 from a laptop (Itunes)

I have a bungalow so most cabling and speakers can be sited from above.

The AV Lynx i believe did all i wanted but it is very expensive. Or i could wait for the next system to come along??!!

Thanks for any advice.

[vex]

So how many points do you want this to run at?

With what you have in the terms of a CAT5e network is perfectly suitable with the sources you have although it must be costly running all those sky boxes.

The avLynx will do what you want, but I am not sure the price is right. In addition it will only be composite video with stereo audio. For that sort of budget you could go with an AVAtrix that would provide you with a component HD distribution system over two cat5e's which would also give you a stereo audio and a digital coax output.

There is even a port for a coax connection to give you a standard TV signal.

To start with there is a solution called SixDrive which will give you a single HD component and audio distribution system. This can then be up graded to a full AVAtrix system which uses the same faceplates / adaptors (reducing your upgrade cost) and change out to the matrix to give you 6 source, 6 zone system.

We are just about to supply a developer from these forums with 4 x SixDrives for a development with a view that the clients (buyers) can then upgrade later.

HTH

V.

[freddyuk]

That sounds very interesting. I would want minimum of 6 points.
The sky boxes are all second hand and i only currently have two subscription (with multiroom)cards with freeview for the others.

Can i get more info on the SixDrive as this sounds like a good option if i can add to it as i go ?

[albriscoe]

you might want to check our Dunks thread in members cinema gallery

dunks517's self-build and digital home install

I think he`s done something very similar

[vex]

AVAtrix website, with a specific link to the SixDrive is here.

http://www.audioauthority.com/produc...-71D/CAT_5/5/1

HTH

V.

[videoease]

Muxlab Baluns are point to point solutions. If you have several Sky receivers in one centralized location and each receiver is going to one TV, then you can use Muxlab Component or HDMI baluns to send Video, Audio and Controls over CAT5e.

I suggest taking a look at Muxlab's active component balun 500090. It can send component, Stereo Audio, Digital Audio and IR over (1) CAT5e cable. The other option is using a pair of Component Video/IR Pass-Thru Balun 500054 for Video and IR then use a seperate Stereo Audio balun 500027 for audio. The HDMI baluns 500400 can also send Video and Audio over CAT5e.

I suggest taking a look at them on the muxlab website. These solutions will be much cheaper then the alternatives mentioned here.