Bedroom tv

Hi all

Could anybody suggest how to connect my tv in bedroom (Sony kdl 756) with my sky +hd box
And technomate sat box tm5402 hdm3 which are both down stairs in living room ?
Would like to be able to watch sky or my sat box and if possible control both from bedroom as well as living room . I don't really want to shell out for multi room if I can avoid it
I don't have an aerial only 2 sat dishes.

Thanks
Markzzr

If the bedroom is directly above the lounge then a couple of HDMI cables will do the trick.

You'd need to drill some holes to accommodate the HDMI plugs when running the cable. At the Sky and Technomate boxes you'll need to split each HDMI output 1:2 so that there's a HDMI signal for the lounge TV as well as upstairs. Do this with a couple of powered HDMI splitters. Use these instead of the type that 'pinch' power from the HDMI socket. The powered ones are far more stable and a better choice where cable lengths are greater than 3m. For IR control the simplest option might be a couple of sets of IR Injector kits. These work by piggy-backing an IR signal on to the HDMI signal. There's a small HDMI extender plug added to the ends of each HDMI cable. These carry the signal from an IR Eye down to an IR Emitter at the equipment end. You should be able to achieve this for approx £100-£150.

Standard passive HDMI cables can run out of steam at lengths over 15m. Active (powered) HDMI cables can be bought; these have signal amplification built-in but they may not work with IR Injectors. If you want to keep the HD resolution then a couple of HDMI to Cat5/Cat6 baluns with IR Pass Thru will take care of getting the signal upstairs. You'll need to run a couple of lengths of Cat 6 cable (recommended) per HDMI balun set from the lounge to the bedroom in place of HDMI. Add the Baluns which convert HDMI to something that will run over the Cat cable. (Note: This isn't turning HDMI in to an IP signal that can then go via your wireless router or wired PC network. There are solutions for that but they cost a lot more.) If you fancy having a go at terminating the Cat cable yourself then you'll be able to get away with drilling far smaller holes than you would with HDMI. Sending the signal via Cat cable means that it is possible to span much larger distances than with HDMI. I'd recommend buying HDMI baluns with built-in IR Injectors. That way there's no issue with compatibility. Budget around £60-£100 per balun pair plus the cost of Cat cable. On that topic be careful when buying the Cat cable. You want solid (100%) copper and not the cheaper CCA (copper coated aluminium) stuff sold by idiots who don't care it's crap and breaks. At the equipment end you'll still need to split the HDMI outputs so go with the same powered splitters. Total project budget around £250.

The above are not the only solutions; among the other options you can choose to try a wireless HDMI sender or convert the HDMI signal so it will travel over standard coax and appear at the bedroom TV like an extra HD channel on the TV tuner, or down-convert everything to standard definition and send it via video coax or over aerial coax in analogue form. Each has its pros and cons. Wireless is attractive from a simplicity-of-installation point of view. However the results can be very hit and miss because wireless reliability hinges on your house and how much interference there is. What that means is that even gear with very good reviews can turn out to be unsuitable in some homes. The other issue for wireless HDMI is cost.... the kits with IR pass thru are £300~£500 with no guarantee they'll work for you. You'll also need a HDMI switch as well as the splitters unless you plan to buy two wireless kits

If your Sky box has RF Out 2 (the newer ones don't), you can simply run a coax cable to the bedroom tv and tune it in, but it's an analogue signal so your tv needs to be old enough to receive an analogue signal, ie not digital tv only. IIRC you need to enable RF out on the Sky box menu (can't remember exactly how, but it's easy to find on the net). To be able to change channels add a 'magic eye' in the bedroom (maybe it's this step which requires the RF out enabled, sorry can't remember). We have three additinal tv's running off our lounge Sky box, all with magic eyes, but had to add an amplifier/splitter in the loft for signal strength. The picture quality isn't quite as sharp as the main lounge tv, but it's perfectly good enough.

On the newer Sky boxes with no RF2 outlet you can get something called an I o Link ( I think) which plugs into the Sky box. Then use a magic eye. Works well enough for me

RF quality is "OK" for a tiny bedroom TV but bear in mind the audio is mono.

On the subject of HDMI leads, Lucid, am I right in thinking that some HDMI splitters will amplify the signals so a slightly longer output cable can be used? Also, what max length of cable can be used to connect into the splitter? (I'm hoping you have practical experience of this. I know I can simply read the specifications.)

Yes. Splitters with equalisation and amplification can be used on the end of longer cables than basic splitters. They'll generally support a longer length of cable past the split point too. Exactly what lengths of cable though depends very much on the source signal resolution and the quality of the HDMI circuits on each device and the cable quality. 2D 1080i from Sky or a Freeview/Freesat PVR could well run quite happily up to 20-25m through even basic High Speed cables. 3D 1080p might struggle at 10m because the frame rate is double (48Hz) so the bandwidth required is twice that of a 2D 1080p Blu-ray. If you had a true 4K source then 5m might be all you could achieve.

Equally you might have exactly the same cables and splitter as someone else, and be doing the same job, but their system works and yours doesn't or vice versa because the soutce and receiving gear is different. In this respect sending HDMI over distance is very much like using indoor TV aerials because the environment often dicates the result.

I wish it was possible to more prescriptive regarding cable lengths and hardware. The specs often miss out on important details such as shielding material in cables. With such variety as there is in the HDMI peripherals market the best us professionals can do is find and test a brand then stick with it. It might be a little more money than the cheap gear from Ebay and Amazon, but if it works reliably then it's worth the extra £10 or £20.

By coincidence, my neighbour has just told me his tale of woe. He changed his TV set and the HDMI signal was no longer recognised. A local shop tested his very expensive 5m HDMI lead and found nothing wrong with it. So they told him to try their cheapo £5 lead and let them know. Of course the cheap lead works perfectly!

Thanks all, I will read and re-read replies and try and get my head around what I need and how to do it !!

yours hopefully

Markzzr