Sky Q install in a new build with media plate

kaku

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I am moving to a new build and have booked a home move with Sky.

The new build has a media plate in the lounge with cables in the loft.

The media plate TV module looks something list this one: Amazon product ASIN B003D1B5D4
1639915362167.png


I checked with the electrician who has done the wiring at the site, and I've been told that a twin coaxial cable is connected at the back of media plate module and the other end of the twin coaxial is in the loft.

I checked with Sky home move team if their installer will be able to use the cables in the loft and connect to them, but I have been told that due to covid regulations and health & safety, the engineer will not be going into the loft and will possibly try to run their own cables. It probably means that they will try to drill through the walls in the new house which I don't want them to do.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Also, I have two more single TV aerial sockets in the bedroom and another one in the diner. and I have been told that there are two more single coax cables in the loft which connect individually to each of these TV aerial sockets.

I have two old Sky+ HD boxes which I want to use for the free channels in the bedroom and diner.

What is the best way to get this done? I am aware that I need a hybrid LNB for a start, but it is the cabling I am worried about.

In addition, I do need a freeview aerial feed coming in and a FM/DAB antenna feed as well. I read somewhere that the TV/FM/DAB/Sky+HD signal can be multiplexed on the same cable. But Sky Q signal can't.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.
 
Multiplexing definitely causes issues with Q (and Freesat using a wideband LNB). It's best to run separate coax for satellite if you're using faceplates.
 
That faceplate is not suitable at all for Q as it has an internal dIplexer to filter off UHF and DAB/FM whose frequencies are used by Q.

The developer should not be using an electrician for these plates as electricians no very little about RF or sky.

The plates in the other rooms will at a very minimum need changing to F types to use sky HD boxes. Where does the return connection on the main plate go? I would expect it to go to one of the others.
 
Where do the cables for sat 1&2 run to? Usually they are cabled through a outside wall for the placing of a dish.
That's how our new build was setup..
 
I am moving to a new build and have booked a home move with Sky.

The new build has a media plate in the lounge with cables in the loft.

The media plate TV module looks something list this one: Amazon product ASIN B003D1B5D4
View attachment 1622144

I checked with the electrician who has done the wiring at the site, and I've been told that a twin coaxial cable is connected at the back of media plate module and the other end of the twin coaxial is in the loft.

I checked with Sky home move team if their installer will be able to use the cables in the loft and connect to them, but I have been told that due to covid regulations and health & safety, the engineer will not be going into the loft and will possibly try to run their own cables. It probably means that they will try to drill through the walls in the new house which I don't want them to do.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Also, I have two more single TV aerial sockets in the bedroom and another one in the diner. and I have been told that there are two more single coax cables in the loft which connect individually to each of these TV aerial sockets.

I have two old Sky+ HD boxes which I want to use for the free channels in the bedroom and diner.

What is the best way to get this done? I am aware that I need a hybrid LNB for a start, but it is the cabling I am worried about.

In addition, I do need a freeview aerial feed coming in and a FM/DAB antenna feed as well. I read somewhere that the TV/FM/DAB/Sky+HD signal can be multiplexed on the same cable. But Sky Q signal can't.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.
My new build house which I moved into last year had the cabling installed for Sky (from faceplate in living room downstairs, up to attic, with ends left free in attic). Meant the Sky installer just turned up, installed dish to wall, drilled hole through into attic, fed cable through from outside, then went into attic and connected cable from dish to ends of pre-installed cables.

Sooo...ignore what the home move team said, the installer may well go into attic, based on my personal experience :smashin:
 
Any join in a cable introduces losses.
It's always better to have one continuous downlead from Dish/LNB to the receiver.
It's all relative though...it's been almost 2yrs now and I haven't seen an issue with the signal. Better to have a single 'professional' join in the attic, than have the installer make a hole from outside to inside in the living room IMO. The way he did it was to fit the dish on the gable end under the eaves, then drill into the attic. This way no hole into the living room, taking advantage of the cbaling the housebuilder had installed while the house was going up
 
Mine had to be spliced too, it was done by the Sky engineer. Also no issues yet since we first moved here in 2012..
 
If the connection is done correctly with the right fittings the loss is barely next to nothing and is barely noticeable.
 
Where do the cables for sat 1&2 run to? Usually they are cabled through a outside wall for the placing of a dish.
That's how our new build was setup..

yep , ours too , i would check the wall most likely to have the dish on, there may well be cable tails tied in a knot poking out beneath the soffit
 
I moved into a new build last year. I'm in the middle house in a row of 3 townhouses and want to get Sky installed. The dish would need to be on the rear of the property, but the living room is at the front. Don't really want to run the cable through two internal walls just to get to the living room.

We have a media plate in the living room, but no Sat ports, just a single TV aerial cable which runs up to the loft.

For those with experience in this, is that aerial cable likely to be loose in the wall or attached? My thinking was I could get an independent installer to pull that aerial cable through, pulling the required cabling for Sky Q through at the same time, drill out of the loft and leave enough cable dangling down for the Sky engineer to mount the dish.

Does that sound achievable?
 
FWIW, all my cables were pinned (cable clipped to studs) inside the wall in my new build...very annoying!
 
Dishless TV is now the way to go.
 
I considered Sky Glass, but the early reviews are very poor, plus the only TV I'm looking to replace is in the living room, and Sky Glass is only 60Hz and I'm looking for a 120Hz TV (Probably the LG C1) because I have a PS5.

Sky Q for me is still by far the best option currently available.
 
I have a fairly primitive form of internet and it’s never failed to do anything it’s been asked to do.
Maybe I’m just lucky that way.:)
 
Dishless TV is now the way to go.
No it's not. Not yet anyway. Lots more channels via a dish and no buffering and stuttering.

If the cable on you media plate is decent it could be repurposed for satellite. There would be a join in the loft but if done properly no problem. Be aware that sky installers won't go into lofts for 'elf and safety reasons
 
Edit for you: sky installers may not won't go into lofts

(Mine did, without any questions asked)
 
I have a fairly primitive form of internet and it’s never failed to do anything it’s been asked to do.
Maybe I’m just lucky that way.:)
Ironically, the bitrate of your Sky service on a primitive internet connection may be impacted to a greater degree than some lengths of coax being joined via wall plate. I’m sure both services still look great though 👍
 
It actually depends on the engineer you get to be honest, I have no issues doing it but I know some who won’t.
 
I am moving to a new build and have booked a home move with Sky.

The new build has a media plate in the lounge with cables in the loft.

The media plate TV module looks something list this one: Amazon product ASIN B003D1B5D4
View attachment 1622144

I checked with the electrician who has done the wiring at the site, and I've been told that a twin coaxial cable is connected at the back of media plate module and the other end of the twin coaxial is in the loft.

I checked with Sky home move team if their installer will be able to use the cables in the loft and connect to them, but I have been told that due to covid regulations and health & safety, the engineer will not be going into the loft and will possibly try to run their own cables. It probably means that they will try to drill through the walls in the new house which I don't want them to do.

Any ideas what I should do here?

Also, I have two more single TV aerial sockets in the bedroom and another one in the diner. and I have been told that there are two more single coax cables in the loft which connect individually to each of these TV aerial sockets.

I have two old Sky+ HD boxes which I want to use for the free channels in the bedroom and diner.

What is the best way to get this done? I am aware that I need a hybrid LNB for a start, but it is the cabling I am worried about.

In addition, I do need a freeview aerial feed coming in and a FM/DAB antenna feed as well. I read somewhere that the TV/FM/DAB/Sky+HD signal can be multiplexed on the same cable. But Sky Q signal can't.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.
I have a similar setup that works (though only with SkyQ, not extra SkyHD boxes). You need a dSCR or standard multiswitch which will go in the loft. They're about £150 - £500 or more depending on how many outputs you need. All your cables from the dish/aerials plug into it, and all your coaxial cables from your rooms plug into it.

This place sells them and they know what they're talking about: Satellite dishes, Satellite receivers, Satellite accessories. Caravan satellite. Big discounts. Satellite Superstore UK.

Regarding your dish, I have a quattro LNB (n.b. not quad. Fitted by a professional aerial firm) which is different to what Sky provide. This allows SkyHD to be split and sent to different rooms (I had SkyHD prior to SkyQ). I'm not 100% sure you can split SkyHD or other satellite signals via a multiswitch without a quattro LNB but it may be possible with a Quad LNB / wideband LNB| (read on re Triax multiswitch).

For SkyQ, engineers normally fit a wideband LNB (two cables to the SkyQ box). I believe they can fit, if requested, a dSCR LNB which will give you SkyQ along a single coaxial cable. You can then connect this via an f type coaxial coupler/joiner in the loft directly to the coaxial cable that feeds your quadplex plate. (Though you may still need the original LNBs for your SkyHD)

Your terrestrial TV / FM / DAB cables from the three aerials need to go into a combiner, either located outside near the aerials or in the loft if all three cables go into there), which will send all three frequencies along a single coaxial cable. This then goes into the multiswitch as well as your SkyHD and SkyQ. I'd get a professional aerial company to fit the combiner, unless you're handy with these things. You can also get them to fit your terrestrial TV aerial/FM/DAB aerials outside if required. You will also need triplex wall plates in the rooms you want to use SkyHD if the TV sockets you're referring to aren't. They're cheap and very easy to fit yourself, replacing the old wall plate with the new (I'm presuming you have satellite grade coaxial cable to all these rooms).

The multiswitch will then send the signals along your coaxial cables to your rooms. For your main room, the SkyQ ideally needs to be along its own dedicated coaxial cable, which goes to your quadplex wall plate. No problem if you have two coaxial cables running to your quadplex plate.

However, if you're using a dSCR feed, your terrestrial TV/FM/DAB should be able to travel along the same cable. You'll need to check this but I've read that whilst wideband LNB uses frequencies that are used in the TTV/FM/DAB range, dSCR does not. However, the wideband LNB input signal is possibly a moot point because I think (need to check) that some multiswitches change the wideband frequency to the higher range (like Freesat / SkyHD or quattro LNB use) in dSCR mode which is outside of the TTV/FM/DAB range, thus allowing all four of the signals to travel along a single coaxial cable.

Thus it's said that direct Wideband LNB signals may not work properly with quadplex plates as the decombiner in there can strip out some of the SkyQ feed that is using the same frequency as TTV/FM/DAB.

So you should ideally go with the dSCR route.

Re the above, this is why some say the SkyQ feed should goto the Sat 2 socket in your quadplex plate, which is a straight data pass through. I use dSCR and I've tried Sat 1 and Sat 2 on my quadplex plate and whilst they both show a signal quality of 90, on Sat 2 the signal strength is marginally higher, switching every few seconds between 70 and 80 whilst on Sat 1 it is 70 permanently. So it does seem the decombiner is interfering a little, even in dSCR mode.

Regarding your SkyHD feeds, they can travel along the same coaxial cable to your other rooms as TTV/FM/DAB all have different frequencies. Hence why triplex wall plates exist.

You should be able to get a single multiswitch for your SkyQ / SkyHD / terrestrial TV / FM / DAB. My Triax multiswitch sends SkyQ and FreeSat to my quadplex wall plate and I can switch between both on my TV. Triax have got newer multiswitches that can take a signal from quattro or wideband LNBs as well as your TTV / FM / DAB.

Multiswitches like the one I have (Triax TMDS 42 C dSCR) can take feeds from a Quattro or Quad LNB and convert them to 2 x outputs for SkyQ (dSCR) and 2 x outputs for SkyHD or FreeSat. This may mean that you don't need a dSCR LNB fitting though you might want to for future proofing (n.b. this Triax model doesn't take a TTV/FM/DAB feed, you'll need a higher model that includes this).

I'd advise you use a local professional aerial firm that can fit the combiner (and aerials etc if required) if there isn't already one in the loft/outside. The multiswitch you can do yourself, it's very easy, all you're doing is plugging cables into it. You'll need screw on coaxial f plugs for the end of coaxial cables (easy to fit) or compression fit if you want to get fancy.

From there, you just need to enable dSCR on your SkyQ box. There are further instructions on other posts on AVforums about enabling this etc.

It's pretty straightforward.

Good luck mate.
 
Last edited:
A lot of fuss for something that’s getting to be obsolete.:)
 

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