Reception without wires

[Chloe7]

Hi, I want to buy a TV for my bedroom, since I pretty much live in it. My bedroom doesn't have an aerial socket in the wall like the living room though. I could buy a long aerial wire from maplin and just let it run all through the house, but then I wouldn't be able to close my bedroom door.

I'm on a budget and trying to get moved soon, so I really don't want to do anything needlessly fancy like modifications to the house or paying for someone to run it in the corner of the ceiling or whatever. I just want something I can plug into the aerial in the living room that will send to my TV in the bedroom, but I hear mixed reports about how well those things function with high-resolution images.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Please feel free to talk down to me like a five year old because I know nothing about DIY or TVs.

EDIT: also I need a TV with a good refresh rate for playing video games, would that affect the kind of wireless thing I need?

 

[ChrisFrost]

There's a difference between a TV sender and what you are looking for which is to rebroadcast the entire TV frequency range with a wireless device.

The first thing, a TV sender, is easy and relatively cheap. However, it will only broadcast the signal from a tuner of some description. This could be a Freeview box, or a Sky box, or a DVD Recorder etc. So the actual TV tuning bit is done by a tuner box in another room.

There are AV senders that will handle HD signals. But again the actual tuning has to be done by a Freeview/Sky/Freesat receiver.

What you have asked for is a wireless link between the aerial socket in the living room (this from the roof aerial) to the aerial socket on your TV. That's not possible. It constitutes a rebroadcasting of what your aerial picks up. In effect it's a pirate broadcast. That's illegal, and no manufacturer makes such a device for use in the UK. Sorry, but there you have it.

I understand your reluctance to have some cable put in. But in all honesty that is probably the cheapest and most effective solution.

 

[Chloe7]

Well, about the TV sender thing, I do have a freeview box for my big bulky CRT TV in the living room, would that be compatible?

I'm not too fussed about how ugly it'd be to have a TV wire trailing through the house, the problem is I'd have to have my bedroom door open permanently to allow that.

 

[Alarm]

Drill a small hole in the frame.
Door closes you have aerial.

 

[Chloe7]

Not sure if I'd even be allowed to do that, I'm in a housing association tenancy. Plus I don't actually have a drill >.>

Wire is really a last resort, as I'm liable to trip on it and yank the TV down and smash it. Nor can I really afford to pay for a ridiculously long one and for someone to do it round the skirting board. Especially considering I'm trying to get moved ASAP, no sense starting home improvements this late in the game.

 

[Alarm]

I'm not too fussed about how ugly it'd be to have a TV wire trailing through the house

Run it tight UNDER the door then.
I am sure you could use a small hammer and some clips to avoid the trip hazard.

 

[ChrisFrost]

If DIY is out of the question then the cheapest solution for you will be a wireless TV sender hooked up to a freeview box.

Go for one of the 5.8GHz ones which are better for avoiding interference. All the senders are a bit hit and miss. It's more to do with the individual house rather than the TV sender as to the results you'll get. That's why any product recommendations are less than accurate.

I would always recommend buying a sender from a shop rather than online. You'll have an easier time getting a refund if it doesn't work well in your home.

 

[Sam Gangee]

This might be what you need:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page7.htm#flatf

Note that it uses 'F' plugs, not TV plugs, so you'd have to buy 'F' plugs to fit your specific cable.

See http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/fconn.htm

You can also get very thin cable:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page8.htm#thin