Runnig Satellite Coaxials before plastering

[MartinDIY2010]

Im currently rennovating a property to live in. I am runnning Satellite coaxial to the lounge and all of the bedrooms to provide connections for terrestrial TV but have been told that this would work equally well for Virgin/Cable or Sky. Ive been told to run 2 cables to the lounge and one to each bedroom and to lead them into the loft.

This makes sense for a digital arial so that they can all be connected to a splitter and ultimately to the arial. But how will this work for Virgin/Cable. Could I connect the 2nd Coaxial to an incoming cable line in the lounge and to some sort of splitter in the loft to distribute to each of the bedrooms.

Also what is the best way to terminate these in each room? A single back box with a TV point or just the cable loose from the wall?

Im basically looking for the best option for longevity and am a bit of a novice so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ChrisFrost]

There are so many ways to skin a cat.

First off, you're unlikely to be able to cover every foreseeable option, so have a think about what you absolutely need now, and what you might reasonably expect to want in say the next 18-24 months and then work that as the basis for your plan.

Sky - If you plan to go multiroom (multiple Sky boxes) then you want two feeds from the dish to the main viewing area, and then 1 or 2 (two is safer) from the dish to any location that might have an additional box. You should also have one cable from each box going to the central distribution hub. This will let you pipe a basic Sky RF feed to other TV points in the house. You also want a TV feed to each room from the central distribution point (this includes the rooms where there is a Sky box)

Cable - Your cable box signal will come in to the house where ever the cable company can get to. You'll have to check with the cable box supplier what connections they have on the current boxes. If there's an RF output then feed a cable up to the central distribution point (CDP) and make sure there's an RF feed back from the CDP.

The rest of the rooms need coax feeds from the CDP to the most likely location for a TV. This used to be the corner of a room; but with flat panels being wall mounted then you should also think about signals in the middle of walls too (and power, of course).

The distribution amp at the CDP will handle RF signals from your TV aerial, but also an FM aerial and a DAB aerial if you get the right box. It's also worth spending the few extra pounds required to get a box that will pass the power required for Sky eye controllers.

If you go for just a basic "TV only" distribution amp then your room termination can be loose cable. If you plan to distribute radio too than you'll need some wall sockets called diplexers. This is because the distribution amp mixes the radio and TV signals down a single cable, and then the wall socket splits it back to two sockets - one for TV, one for radio (FM & DAB)

There are a few other things to consider that others will throw in, I'm sure; but this will get you started on the right path

 

[chapeau]

While you have the chance put Cat5 networking cable to where your Audio visual kit is going, and anywhere else you might think you might need to plug in a computer. Wireless is all well and good but I still think cables are better. Also sockets in every corner and every 3m in long walls. Alarm cables too. If you are going to have a surround sound AV system then put loudspeaker cables in too, going to places where you might think you might put speakers.

Be careful about putting power into places where you think you might want a flat screen tele on the wall at a later date. If there is no evidence of a live cable in the wall then somebody might drill into it. Cables behind plaster in walls should always go vertically or horizontally to something on the wall you can see i.e socket/switch/outlet.

 

[MartinDIY2010]

Ok so ive got 2 coaxials to my main room and into the loft and 1 coax from the loft to each room where I expect to have a TV. Will the Central Ditribution Point be it TV (arial) or Satellite require power?

 

[ChrisFrost]

Your best bet is a TV distribution system that will carry Sky as a piggybacked RF signal (from RF2 on the Sky box). In that case then Yes, the distribution box in the loft will require 240V mains power.

With the cabling you have I would definitely not recommend trying to distribute the satellite dish signal to several rooms each equipped with a satellite tuner (i.e. a Sky box in each room).

If you follow my advice you can have...

• Freeview in each room
  Sky*, with remote control of the box

*Sky will show the same channel on all the TVs. In other words - if you watch Sky Sports 1 on one TV then all the TVs will show Sky Sports 1 if if you turn each TV to the analogue channel that is tuned to the Sky box's picture.

You'll be able to watch any Freeview channel on any TV.

 

[joinerjohn]

By the time the OP finishes wiring this house, he'll have wires and cables all over the place. Av cables alarm cables, speaker cables, co-axial, cat5 or 6 and the power cables. Don't forget the telephone extensions as well.
There will be no room left for the plaster to cover them.

Nah seriously though,,, How far do you go these days?? A mate of mine is doing a property up to sell it. Everyone is giving him advice. This , That , The other. He's stopped short of putting cat5 cables in. If a future owner wants to, then it's up to them.
The OP would be well advised to just put in what he wants at the moment.

Has anyone successfully built the futureproof house yet??

 

[ChrisFrost]

The OP would be well advised to just put in what he wants at the moment.

Has anyone successfully built the futureproof house yet??

^^^ which is pretty much what I said almost a week ago

First off, you're unlikely to be able to cover every foreseeable option, so have a think about what you absolutely need now, and what you might reasonably expect to want in say the next 18-24 months and then work that as the basis for your plan.

Your mate doing up a property has a very different set of criteria to someone wiring their own home. Property development is about pitching the right level of features for the market that the house is designed for. All of the developers I have installed for (Cheshire area - house budgets £1m- £3.5m) have been wired for TV, network, multiroom audio and whole house lighting control as a minimum. Smaller projects should be wired for TV and network as a minimum. That's sensible and usually a step up from what's available from the vast majority of the UK housing stock.

 

[joinerjohn]

My mate has owned the property for the last five years. He let the house to an old friends son who has absolutely wrecked the house in the five years. The lad did a runner several weeks ago and so my friend thought it would be a good time to just do it up and sell it (less hassle than dealing with tenants. He's completed the first fix now. He's put extra sockets in every room. He's put tv points and phone points in all bedrooms. Everything now ready for the plasterer. If I can get the photo's of the place when he eventually managed to get in, I'll post them here. (took 4 skips to empty the property of the mess the lad left).

Chris, I wasn't having a go at your advice though. If I were to have my place rewired, I'd only want some sockets below in the kitchen and a tv point in the bedroom as extras. My whole point though was just how far do you go these days? Someone will only invent the next must have gadget in 6 months time which means more chasing out for cables etc.

 

[chapeau]

My whole point though was just how far do you go these days? Someone will only invent the next must have gadget in 6 months time which means more chasing out for cables etc.

Well it's a good point. The answer, IMO, is to run Cat 5e cable to wherever you might want to use the 'gadget'. It's probably as future proof (for household use as far as we can see) as 2.5mm2 twin and earth.

 

[JOHNBOY42]

Martin, there is some good advice here and I have got to agree with them, run mains cables, coax cables, cat 5 cables, alarm cables, and some speaker wire cables ...you may not use them now or never use them but the cost of putting it in now will far outweigh the cost/mess later on..I done the same thing about 4 years ago when I bought a property and like you took all cables back to the loft on a board at the back and fitted a unit around it ..I have been to houses where they have run cables everywhere and it looks very unsightly but you have the chance to eliminate this problem.....DO IT

 

[MartinDIY2010]

Your best bet is a TV distribution system that will carry Sky as a piggybacked RF signal (from RF2 on the Sky box). In that case then Yes, the distribution box in the loft will require 240V mains power.

With the cabling you have I would definitely not recommend trying to distribute the satellite dish signal to several rooms each equipped with a satellite tuner (i.e. a Sky box in each room).

If you follow my advice you can have...

• Freeview in each room
  Sky*, with remote control of the box

*Sky will show the same channel on all the TVs. In other words - if you watch Sky Sports 1 on one TV then all the TVs will show Sky Sports 1 if if you turn each TV to the analogue channel that is tuned to the Sky box's picture.

You'll be able to watch any Freeview channel on any TV.

Thanks for the advise so far! Would you be able to give me an example of such a unit!

This is all brand new to me so I admit im a little confused! Would a unit of this kind take an input from a Satellite dish and a Digital arial so that I would only need one outlet in each room (i.e. both signals through one cable) or should I run an additional cable to each room (i.e so that there are effectively 2 outlets, 1 from the digital arial and 1 from satellite?)

 

[chapeau]

Couple of thoughts about feeding signals to teles.

If it's on an outside wall it's not a major problem bringing the cable in from the outside.

Cat5e will carry video quite easily. You need special equipment (google balun) at each end, which are coming down in price significantly now. If you have a cat5 e cable going somewhere you can send video down it. If you have all your cables meeting at patch boards in the attics you can manage it up there.

I am not 100% sure how 1080P DRM is handled this way, but I am sure somebody else is, if it is a problem at all.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Thanks for the advise so far! Would you be able to give me an example of such a unit!

This is all brand new to me so I admit im a little confused! Would a unit of this kind take an input from a Satellite dish and a Digital arial so that I would only need one outlet in each room (i.e. both signals through one cable) or should I run an additional cable to each room (i.e so that there are effectively 2 outlets, 1 from the digital arial and 1 from satellite?)

I've said it before, but maybe you haven't read or understood.. so I'll make it really clear...

If you want an easy life DO NOT DO NOT get involved with trying to distribute the satellite feed from the dish.

It's not like a TV signal. You CAN NOT simply split a single satellite feed between several receivers. Satellite doesn't work that way. Each box needs a direct feed. So unless you plan to run only one Sky box at once (i.e. no one else can watch Sky whilst one room is using it - and that's hardly a practical solution0 then trying to distribute satellite dish feed via a domestic distribution amp is a pain in the arse.


Right, now that I hope you're up to speed on satellite let's talk about what you can do and what gear you need for the job...

What you are dealing with is RF direct from the roof aerial and from the RF2 output of your Sky box. You need an aerial distribution box that has Sky pass so that Sky Eyes will work. Here's an example of such a box... this one includes Sky Eyes, but you can buy them individually so don't worry about having to find a larger capacity kit.

For a simple and basic kit like this your TV aerial feed from the roof goes straight to the Sky box. The output from the Sky box (on RF2) goes to the aerial distribution amp, then the outputs from the box go to each telly. Budget around £100 for a domestic 8 way box and some Sky Eyes.

If you want to get a little more advanced then there are loft boxes that will distribute radio aerial signals as well as TV, and that will allow you to integrate the feeds from two or more Sky boxes and distribute them to the TVs, but that's going to triple the budget.

 

[ChrisFrost]

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[MartinDIY2010]

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Ok I think ive got it now. So if I wanted to run sky to my front room and then set up the suggested output to additional rooms, with the distrubution centre located in the loft (without external cables), I would need to run the following -

1) Satellite co-ax from loft to the front room - for satellite feed to box
2) Co-ax from loft to front room - for digital arial feed to satellite box
3) Co-ax from front room to loft - for RF out to distrubution unit
4) Co-ax from loft to each additional room requiring feed - from distribution unit to each outlet?

Thanks again!