Help with 3rd sky installation please

[silverpuma]

Hi all, I need some advice. I have sky+ in my Living room and Sky HD in my family room. Both have been installed by Sky with the multiroom package as well.

I want now to put a new 42 TV in our bedroom without going through Sky again, so a DIY job and the best cost vs functionality as I can have

These are my thoughts but I need someone who understands these things better than I do point me in the right direction. First, I don't need a recording function for the bedroom TV so I assume I don't need a sky box then??

1. Is it a matter of running a cable from either my sky+ or HD box (say for this idea I use the HD box) along with a magic eye to my new bedroom TV? Will this allow me to watch recorded programs from my HD box that I've connected to and also change the channels as normal using the HD remote control. Will I need the family room TV on for this to work or just have on the family room HD box.

Or is there another better way? I'm an ex building contractor so I'm handy with running cables etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice its appreciated.........

 

[Broadz]

Whether you want to record or not does not dictate whether you need a third Sky box. Whether you want to watch different channels on the bedroom TV to what is being viewed on the other two Sky boxes dictates whether you need a third Sky box or not. If you are happy watching what is being viewed on one of the other two boxes then you don't need a third box - if you want the bedroom TV's satellite channels to be completely independent of the other two boxes/televisions then you need a third satellite digibox in the bedroom to connect to the television. And if you want to be able to watch Sky subscription channels on the bedroom TV, this third box will need to be a Sky box, and you will need a third Sky card plus another multiroom subscription.

Assuming you are happy just watching the output from (say) the Sky HD box, yes you will need to connect the output from the Sky HD box to the bedroom TV - using RF coaxial (and Magic Eye), using wireless scart AV senders/receivers, or using a long HDMI cable and a HDMI splitter. Which you use will depend upon distance, the materials used in the walls and flooring of your house, and whether you want high definition in the bedroom or if you are happy with standard definition and mono sound.

Either way, you are taking the signal from the HD box, not from the TV that the HD box is sitting underneath, so the family room TV will not need to be switched on for you to watch the output from the HD box on the bedroom TV.

 

[silverpuma]

Thanks Broadz, this is very helpful!!

Yes I will be content with watching the output from the Sky HD box. Sorry for being a bit slow and I appreciate your patience, but is the magic eye and sender to allow me to change channels on the HB box from my bedroom?

I can run the cables from the HD box to the new bedroom TV but its about 22 meters, is this too long a run. I would really prefer to have HD in the bedroom TV but I guess this is only if I use the HDMI cables + splitter and not the senders. Or am I getting my apples and oranges mixed up LOL

If you don't have the time I understand completely but could you point me in the right direction for the splitter I would need if I go the HDMI cable and splitter route. If I go this way do I still need the wireless senders? Thanks again

 

[logiciel]

I couldn't have put it better myself.
That's if you actually want satellite on the third TV, as well as the Freeview HD that it will give you.

 

[Broadz]

A Magic Eye will allow you to change channels remotely. Wireless AV senders/receivers also allow you to change channels remotely (the wireless box in front of the bedroom TV picks up the key presses you are performing on the Sky remote in the bedroom and sends these wirelessly to the box connected to the scart output of the Sky HD box, this then tells the Sky box what buttons on the remote you have pressed and acts as if you were sat in front of the HD box pressing the remote). Similar to how the Magic Eye works, just wirelessly rather than through the RF2 connection.

HDMI will work over that distance - but you will still need one of the other two methods putting in place for achieving the sending of remote key presses from the bedroom back to the Sky HD box as the HDMI cable will not pick up key presses and transmit them back to source. I'm not in a position to advise you which HDMI splitters will work and which won't as I don't use this method - but other more knowledgable forum members may well be able to advise further. Search in the Sky HD subforum and you should find pointers.

 

[silverpuma]

Ok I understand now and all is clear In your opinion Broadz does the SD signal degrade alot if for ease of install (and lazyness!!) I just use the AV senders/receivers?

And if I use this AV senders/receivers method I suppose it does't matter if I connect to my HD or Sky+ box as I'll be getting a SD quality signal from both over the AV senders/receivers. Am I correct in my thinking here?

 

[logiciel]

Splitting and switching HDMI is always unreliable and with Sky machines it's even more so.
If you must do it then the best way to send it to other locations is by baluns and CAT cable, not HDMI cable.
When it's done the remote control simply goes back the other way with a wireless IR extender.
My recommendation is to forget HD quality on the extension TV and use a normal wireless videosender.
The result isn't bad at all, and you can send it from either of your Sky machines.

 

[silverpuma]

Yea logiciel I'm inclined to agree especially since its only the bedroom.

 

[davemurgatroyd2]

The main advantage of using coax and magic eyes is that the one cable will also carry the Freeview signal as well to the bedroom if you have an aerial point in the room that the "sending box" is situated in. AV senders will only carry the output signal from the Sky box. Picture quality is roughly the same on both systems although the coax method is mono sound only whereas many AV senders will allow stereo sound.

 

[MartinPickering]

C'mon, Logi. Wake up!
****If your TOPIC is on FREESAT or SKY do NOT POST it here****

(You can delete this now.)

 

[logiciel]

Yes, you should be fine without HD, and you can balance getting terrestrial TV down the cable against getting stereo audio through the videosender.