This as probably been answered umpteen times on this forum but will ask it as a specific to my house.
Currently major renovations to house, want to have a TV point in 3 possibly 4 rooms
I am not savvy as to what i will end up having as my tv source, may be Sky, may be freeview, not sure what is out there to be honest.
I plan to
1. Have a 240 socket outlet at a collective point in the loft
2. Plan to run a double? coax from were a dish may be sited to this point
3 Plan to run double coax from this point to each respective room were i aim to have a TV and teminate as a first fix in a single metal backbox.
Does this sound ok as a first fix??? i have heard mentioned references to other cables that i know nothing about HMDI ? Cat 5? cat 6?
all plaster is of walls ceilings and can run any combination
Just what would be the most versitile and futurproof option... if thats a valid question.
Cheers
Russell...apologies now but if using abbreviations in any answer could you possibly give meaning in brackets...I have an abbreviation phobia..bet i am not alone either.
You don't say whether it's just a basic loft or if it's converted to a living/working space. Presuming the former just have a think whether you want to leave some 240V mains powered device plugged in 24/7...out of sight....in scorching summer heat ...and freezing winter....and lashing rain. You might well say that your loft is insulated and with a brand new roof yadda yadda yadda. But still, do you and your missus turn off all but the essentials at the sockets before you go away for a couple of weeks?
Choose a loft distribution amp that uses remote power. That way the thing in the loft is running off 12V DC. It's much safer and the gear works just as well.
Next, there's not a whole lot of benefit running the sat feeds in to the loft. They won't go through the distribution amp without causing problems elsewhere. All you're really doing is adding extra cable (cost and reduces signal) for no real advantage. Take the dish feed direct to the sat box.
If you aren't sure whether you'll be Sky or Freeview then wire for both.
Presuming you go for Sky or a Freeview box which has an RF (aerial) output socket as well as one for input, then wire from the roof aerial to the box location. Then take the RF output back up to the loft and it to the aerial distribution amp. This will then feed Freeview to all the other TVs in the house. If you go for Sky then you'll also get a window on what the main Sky box is watching/playing. The Freeview recorder might do this too, but it depends whether it has an analogue RF output or if it's just a loop through of the aerial feed with no addition from the recorder. A
If the Freeview recorder box doesn't have an RF output then your aerial feed should go direct to the loft distribution amp.
You can cover both these options by having a two way mast mounted splitter added to your aerial mast. This will give you a feed to the loft and a feed to the lounge. You then have a second cable between the loft and the lounge. This acts as the feed beck up to the loft. You then make the appropriate connections depending on what type of recorder you get.
All of this is accomplished with satellite grade coax cable. Webro WF100.
Any TV with a Freeview HD tuner will be able to receive and decode hi-definition Freeview with either cable set-up. If you go for Sky, then the main lounge TV will see the best picture from that source. The other TVs will see Freeview and also a basic version of the Sky box picture (and sound) via the TVs analogue tuner [Look for the TV/DTV button on your TV remotes and consult the user manuals about analogue tuning]. Add "Sky Eye" infra red receivers to each TV and anyone in the house with a Sky remote control will be able to operate the lounge Sky box as if sitting directly in front of it.
To watch Sky in the best quality requires either another box for each TV, or a distribution system that gets the HDMI signal from the main box to the other TVs. HDMI is like digital SCART. The cables can be run up to 20 mtrs if using good quality "active" cables.
Active means there a little box built in to the cable at the far TV end that compensates for signal losses over distance. If you are sending one source signal to several TVs then you need a HDMI distribution amplifier. This takes one HDMI signal, amplifies it, and then duplicates that signal for a number of outputs.
For lengths in excess of 20 mtrs there are other solutions. The main one uses computer network cable (Cat' cable) and boxes on each end of the cable to convert HDMI to and from a different from of signal that will travel over Cat' cable. These boxes are called Baluns.
Cat is short for Category. You'll commonly see reference to Cat5e cable, and Cat6 cable. The ability of the Balun to transmit signals depends partly on the balun itself and also on the cable. Cat6 cable can handle more data than Cat5e.
Poor quality baluns convert high definition signals using a lossy process. i.e. you
don't get out what you put in and the signal quality suffers as a result. You'll also have to read the small print on the distance capabilities of the baluns. The higher the signal resolution then the shorter the distance it will travel. 480i/576i is standard definition from a basic DVD player. Baluns will often claim "Sends signals up to 200m!!", but then you read the fine print you'll see that it only applies to 480i/576i. When you look at 1080i (Sky HD) then the distance might drop to 50m. 3D 1080i (3D from Sky) and 1080p/60Hz (full resolution Blu-ray) might travel as little as 30m then only when using high grade Cat6 cable.
A Balun system is simply a substitute for a single HDMI cable where distance is a problem. You can use HDMI cables for short distances and Balun (A.K.A. HDMI over Cat cable) for longer runs. What you can't do with Balun systems is put the Cat cable through an internet router. Although Cat cable is used for internet signals, baluns don't use the same type of signal.
If you are planning on future proofing then give some thought to running network cables. Streaming is becoming very much a standard feature. Smart TVs make it easy to use catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer/ITV player/4oD/Demand 5. They'll also play content off a connected PC or NAS drive.
For bedrooms where the TV is likely to be on the wall, I would wire at least one aerial coax to the wall along with two network cables. I would then look at where there's likely to be some other in-room boxes (Games console, PC, streaming media player, local BD player etc) and wire 2 or 3 network cables to there and an aerial coax as well. Finally I would add a direct connection from the in-room box location to the TV. The minimum is a single HDMI, but those cables are so cheap it makes sense to put in two. What's more, I'd put then in a generously proportioned conduit (tube) that means that any future cables can be pulled through easily.
