Question Best and most cost effective way to distribute multiple sources throughout home

[DGood]

Hi All,

First of all apologies to what may seem a commonly asked question, however I'm getting confused on what I require and potentially over complicating matters.

Am due to move shortly and as the house will be the "forever home" I'm looking to do things properly, but on the flipside everything I do will need to be cost efficient.

Currently reside in a 2 bed house, TV in lounge has a SKY HD box and a PS4 connected, master bed has another TV and another SKY HD box. We don't require 2 boxes going forward as we're either in the same room watching the same program or shes in the bedroom watching TV whilst I'm on the PS4.

The new house is a little bigger and is having multiple Cat6 runs to each room with a patch panel and Cisco 3750 at the core. I would ideally like to centrally locate all my AV sources with the switch and patch panel and distribute to 4 TV's (lounge, kitchen, playroom and master bedroom), I don't see the point of having multiple SKY boxes when they aren't actually used, we just need to be able to watch SKY from each room. Is a matrix like the HDanywhere 4x4 mhub the way to go or are there options on a budget? Inputs would probably be 1 SKY box, a PS4 (see concerns below about that!) and a media hub.

Can the PS4 be centrally located, read a number of articles about poor bluetooth range which may be problematic so I may need to place this directly into the lounge.

The new lounge will also have a SONOS playbar and sub, are there any things I should worry about using audio/video distribution?

If I could get pointers on the the above questions and guidance on best solution for my needs that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

[Member 581642]

To keep cost down then stick to one source and a HDBaseT Splitter (HDMI over single Cat6).

You may well have issues with PS4 as its not IR , as you mention, and BT range can be an issue.

I would strongly advise whichever product you get make sure its to the HDBaseT single HDMI over Cat6 standard.

The issue you may have with any zoned system with different Audio capabilities is that HDMI can only carry one type of audio stream at a time (ie 5.1 DTS or Stereo) so if one zone can handle 5.1 and another can only handle stereo you will have to ensure the source (sky in this case) is set to teh lowest common denominator or be prepared to switch the audio output on the SKybox depending which zone you are in.

What is the media hub as you maybe better streaming this over the network rather than over HDBaseT connections.

We recommend our HDBaseT Splitter with 4 Receivers, it is also POC (power over cable) so no need for power at the TVs, and has IR control down the same CAt6 cable

http://store.aclasstechnology.com/hdbaset-4-way-hdmi-splitter-over-single-cat56-2139-p.asp

 

[Member 319784]

Hey @DGood,

We just saw your message there. You have a couple of options really.

From what I can see this would be your cheapest option and let you send your Sky box to the two TVs.... It doesn't take into account the PS4 however.

The virgin hub you mention is a wireless router...not a media streaming hub as such. My understanding is it works with your Virgin media box? You can't connect that directly as an input device? It does not have a HDMI connection.

PS4 as an input is tricky, due to the bluetooth communication as said. Some people don't experience problems if they've got smaller homes / apartments but it can be hit and miss.

What models of TV do you have- are any of them 4K? If the lounge has TV has an optical connection you can just use this for the Sonos and then place a signal manager at the other TV that doesn't have multi-channel audio requirements (aka the TV where you are just using the TV speakers as usual). The signal manager will take the 5.1 audio format and downmix it to stereo, so you'll get audio in both rooms as you want.

Maybe you want to give us a call on 01684 576 348, that way we can more fully chat through your options or feel free to direct message me on here. If your TVs are 1080p and have no 4K devices with HDCP 2.2 then any mHub 2K product will do (either the affordable 1x4 linked to above or the popular 4x4). If you need 4K / HDCP 2.2 support and need to send 10/100 Ethernet to each TV, then the mHub 4K 4x4 is a better option- but substantially pricier.

Hi All,

First of all apologies to what may seem a commonly asked question, however I'm getting confused on what I require and potentially over complicating matters.

Am due to move shortly and as the house will be the "forever home" I'm looking to do things properly, but on the flipside everything I do will need to be cost efficient.

Currently reside in a 2 bed house, TV in lounge has a SKY HD box and a PS4 connected, master bed has another TV and another SKY HD box. We don't require 2 boxes going forward as we're either in the same room watching the same program or shes in the bedroom watching TV whilst I'm on the PS4.

The new house is a little bigger and is having multiple Cat6 runs to each room with a patch panel and Cisco 3750 at the core. I would ideally like to centrally locate all my AV sources with the switch and patch panel and distribute to 4 TV's (lounge, kitchen, playroom and master bedroom), I don't see the point of having multiple SKY boxes when they aren't actually used, we just need to be able to watch SKY from each room. Is a matrix like the HDanywhere 4x4 mhub the way to go or are there options on a budget? Inputs would probably be 1 SKY box, a PS4 (see concerns below about that!) and a media hub.

Can the PS4 be centrally located, read a number of articles about poor bluetooth range which may be problematic so I may need to place this directly into the lounge.

The new lounge will also have a SONOS playbar and sub, are there any things I should worry about using audio/video distribution?

If I could get pointers on the the above questions and guidance on best solution for my needs that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Dan