[fabian82]

Hiya

I currently have sky+ downstairs in the lounge, i have a 2nd sky+ box which I want to start using in my room. I have no idea about how to sort it so I can watch what I want to watch upstairs regardless of who is watching what downstairs. I dont have a telephone line in my bedroom.

is it simple enough to run a wire from the existing sky+ box downstairs to mine upstairs? Do i put my sky+ box in the lounge too and operate it from my room with a magic eye remote or have I totally got the wrong end of the stick?

[Broadz]

You have three options:-

1. Be able to watch on your bedroom TV whatever is being viewed on the Sky box downstairs. This is not multiroom, and doesn't require a second digibox. It simply requires a connection from the one digibox to your bedroom TV (either an AV sender/receiver, or RF plus Magic Eye connection). It doesn't cost anything extra in terms of monthly subscription costs.

2. Be able to watch any channel that you subscribe to on your upstairs TV, regardless of what is being viewed downstairs. This is multiroom, requires two digiboxes, and will cost an extra £10 per month. Both boxes need connecting to the same phoneline. Where you site the second digibox is entirely up to you - but most people would site it close to the second TV set, so that the best connection (probably scart) can be used to get the best sound and picture. Both digiboxes will need connecting to the satellite dish.

3. Be able to watch any free satellite channel on your upstairs TV, regardless of what is being viewed downstairs. This is not multiroom, but does require a second digibox, which of course needs connecting to your satellite dish. It doesn't cost anything extra per month, and the box(es) don't need to be connected to your phoneline. You will not be able to make use of the second Sky+ box's recording/pausing capabilities if you don't subscribe to multiroom.

The positioning of the phoneline isn't normally an issue - phone cable is very slim and can run to verry long lengths, so it isn't unusual to have a long RJ10 phone cable running from the second (upstairs) digibox to the nearest (or only) phone socket downstairs. What may be an issue is the positioning of the other two satellite cables - to make full use of your second Sky+ box you will need two cables running from satellite dish directly into your second digibox. If you don't currently have cables running from satellite dish into your bedroom (or four cables in total running from satellite dish into your house) then you are going to have to get those cables installed anyway - so you might as well get them running to where you are planning on siting the second digibox.

You would normally only consider siting the second digibox in a room different to where you intend to view the second digibox if you already have spare cables running from satellite dish to this other room - and by the sound of things, you don't. I would imagine it will be easier running cables from sat dish to your bedroom than it will be running cables from sat dish to a second downstairs room, then running an RF cable from this downstairs room back up to your bedroom - which is another reason for siting the second digibox in your bedroom rather than downstairs.

What you almost certainly don't want to do is site both digiboxes in the same room - because whoever is then in that room using the remote control will be changing channels on both boxes simultaneously.

[fabian82]

Excellent, option 2 seems the best. Is it just the phone line that I have to connect it to? I wont need another wire connecting to the dish?? Sorry for being so blonde!

[Stevenage Neil]

x

[Stevenage Neil]

Beaten to it.

[fabian82]

Thanks everyone...

Stevenage Neil....if my sky box is downstairs how do i connect it to my TV? That seems like the best option for the SKY.

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by fabian82

Excellent, option 2 seems the best. Is it just the phone line that I have to connect it to? I wont need another wire connecting to the dish??

As I've already said - you will need two cables connecting each box to the dish - so four cables in all. Two running to your downstairs Sky+ box, two running to your upstairs Sky+ box.

[Stevenage Neil]

Originally Posted by fabian82

Thanks everyone...

Stevenage Neil....if my sky box is downstairs how do i connect it to my TV? That seems like the best option for the SKY.

You would need a video sender.

[cv65user]

I am also confused . It seems you need to run an extra LNB from the Sky disk to another Sky box in your designated room and then that must be linked to the telephone line. Otherwise Sky will think you are using 2 Sky services thus bill you for the extra service.

I currently have this setup:
Bedroom1 - upstairs
normal sky box into LCD , with a wireless TV sender

Bedroom 3 - downstiars
which then links wirelessly back to upstairs bedroom 1 and I can change channels from an extra Sky remote .

Bedroom 2 - back to upstairs . lol
I have an Sky eye link. I am thinking to link it from bedroom 1 where original sky box is to bedroom 2 (which is closer to bedroom 1 rather then to downstairs bedroom 3) . But I will need to go enter Sky box menu and enable RF2 and obtain the very long cable to route it into bedroom 2?

Am I allowed to do this ? Is it a good alternative to sky multi room obviously everyone cannot watch individual channels other then that .

[Stevenage Neil]

Originally Posted by cv65user

I am also confused .

Obviously. The LNB sits on the arm on the dish and can have multiple outputs - cables.

You can do exactly as you described for bedroom 2, and yes to RF2 power and long cable.

[cv65user]

so am I allowed to wire it in myself ? or this is tampering with the Sky dish? So I just get local or Sky engineer to do it ?

Then I can just get myself extra second hand box and plug it in telephone line and notify sky?

[Stevenage Neil]

The equipment is yours from the day it is installed - you can do what you want with it.

Run a couple of axtra cables from the dish, plug them into your box, connect a phone line then call sky for a new card and multiroom subscription. When your new card arrives call Sky and get them to pair your new box with the card and activate the Sky+ features.

[cv65user]

what is the cable called from RF2 socket pleasE? just coaxil ?

[Stevenage Neil]

Something like this: RG59B/U 75Ω Coax Cable : RF Cable : Maplin