Question TV pairing

[Bradfordlad1986]

I’ve have knocked through from my kitchen to my dining room and have 2 separate tv’s as a result.
I want to ideally wirelessly link the 2 TVs to play the same channel on both.
I need one tv to be the ‘master’ tv and the other tv just mirror the picture.
I’ve no sky box in these rooms but have a firestick plugged into one tv.
I know you can run 2 TVs from a sky box using an hdmi splitter and branch off from there to both TVs. However I’m struggling to just link tv to tv, with no sky box.
I know pubs and bookies show the same picture across a number of TVs by using one remote.
I got advised to buy a splitter but this didn’t work.
The two TVs ate sharp smart TVs. 1 55’’ and the other 32’’.
Ideally I’d like a wireless solution but I’ll hard wire if that’s the only answer.
Any advice on this would be appreciated as I’m at the end of my limited expertise on this one.
Thanks.

 

[mikej]

I don't think you can output the video feed from a TV's inbuilt tuner to another TV. As far as I know, the only thing a TV can output over HDMI is sound to an AVR, via ARC or eARC.

If you want to watch the same 'live' channel on two TVs, then you'll need an external source, such as a Sky, Freeview or Freesat box. If you had both TVs wired up for Freeview, then you might as well just turn them both on to the same channel though ! You should be able to distribute the signal from your Firestick to two TVs using a '1 in 2 out' HDMI splitter, but watch your HDMI cable lengths.

If you did get this working, would you want the sound coming from both TVs ? I can't help thinking you might run into problems with the sound not synching between the two.

 

[Bradfordlad1986]

Thanks Mike
Looks like getting an external source, such as a sky box, will be the answer then.
I’ve have a sky box in the lounge which isn’t too far away. Not sure if taking a cable off from this to another sky box and then branch off from the additional SB would work? Or I’d have to contact sky, get another box and pay for a multi room package?
I’ll look at getting a splitter for my firestick as well and probably hard wire a connectIon to both TVs, as not to have cables on show.
Ideally I’d like both TVs playing sound but if there’s syncing issues, no problem, I’ll just mute one.
Thanks for advice

 

[Bradfordlad1986]

Maybe something like this...

 

[mikej]

The first thing you have to do is decide which channels you want to watch on the bar and extension TVs, in order to decide between the Freeview and Sky options.

If Freeview will do, then buying a separate Freeview box and having to channel out walls for long runs of cable does seem a bit OTT to me when the TV's already have Freeview tuners. And having to do that again for the Firestick.

I'm not that familiar with video distribution but there's bound to be a simpler solution ? Hopefully someone with more experience can advise.

As I said - you also have to be careful with the length of your HDMI cable runs, particularly at 4K resolution. You might not need that now, but I would think about future-proofing your set-up if you're going to this trouble. I think you can distribute via ethernet cable (which will be easier than having to bury chunky HDMI cables) but that presumably involves additional hardware and cost.

Are you on Sky Q ? If so, I'm thinking the simplest option would be to add a Mini Box to the bar/extension TV area. This communicates with the main Q box via wi-fi (so no satellite coax connection needed) and would give you access to the catch-up apps, plus some of the streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. It also acts as a wi-fi booster/extender, so would improve the wi-fi coverage in that part of the house. Unfortunately - it won't currently give you Prime Video, otherwise it might remove the need to have a Firestick.

On a (related) side-note - if you're not on Sky Q but like the idea of the convenience of a mini-box set-up, then have a look at what you're currently paying. A relative of mine (long-standing Sky customer) was paying around £90/month for Sky HD (basic package), plus ADSL broadband and line rental/inclusive calls all with separate companies. She managed to upgrade to Sky Q and get fibre broadband plus line rental and inclusive calls (all from Sky) for just over £60/month and that included a free dish upgrade too. I'm not a Sky customer myself, but the deal was a no-brainer for her.