Sky Q + downscaler @ splitter

[Riddor]

Hey AV nuts,

Question - before I scower eBay and purchase the wrong kit..

Have sky q running in 4K....

Would like to send this round the house through an existing splitter...

Question: can I just get a 2 output splitter and on one of the outputs put a 4K downscaller and use the output on that as the input to the splitter and away I go?

Or are there issues with my perceived simplicity of this as a solution?

Any advise on this truly appreciated guys.

Tim

 

[Lucid]

In theory it should work. But honestly, until you try one for real then everyone is just best-guessing whether it'll work with your combination of gear.

As I see it there are 4 hurdles to negotiate

1) Sky Q UHD runs at 50Hz (2160p 50Hz) - a lot of units max out at 2160p 30Hz so they aren't compatible straight away

2) HDR - you need to know if a UHD downscaler can handle remapping the dynamic range; I'd be impressed if it/they can because that's not something easily achieved

3) WCG - again a bit challenge to convert 12 bit colour down to 8 bit for normal HD TV screens

4) DD+ audio for Dolby Atmos - this one is (or should be) less of an issue unless the EDID info rears its head to scupper the main system compatibility


So then, it's not just scaling down the resolution ready for distribution; it's also about handling all the bells and whistles when part of the system supports them but the rest doesn't. Things such as HDR make a bigger real world difference to picture quality than the extra pixels.

Your main TV might be UHD but not capable of supporting Wide Colour Gamut or may not produce a deep enough black and bright enough white to reproduce HDR correctly. What happens though if/when you change that set in the future? Tech gets cheaper, so the features that were only on the very top-of-the-range models eventually filters down to more accessible price points.


Weigh up the pros and cons of a splitter/scaler option versus going for multiscreen with a second (HD 1080) box dedicated to driving the distribution system. It can still access the recordings from the main box but solves all the HDR/WGC/EDID issues, albeit at the expense of adding to the subscription package...... but at least it's guaranteed to work.

 

[Riddor]

Many thanks!

I do enjoy a learning from someone who knows their shiz!

Didn’t even think about just getting another sky mini for £99 odd quid and using that as a dedicated unit!

Tim

 

[Keithmac]

Lucid's idea with the 1080 box is spot on.

I've wrestled with EDID issues and its no simple to sort out.