smart T V with Freesat-New Install

[delboy51]

guys
After 12 years with the big box (early digital TV ) and incurring the wrath of my teenage kids I am biting the bullet ant buying a modern freesat tv and wall mounting in the lounge.

I am looking for guidance as to what cabling to run to it. Walls are dry lined and I have successfully poked/fised wires behind before. I want to do the cabling /prep work while I save the last few hundred quid for the telly.

We have a wireless router to the rear of the house and I was proposing to run externally (in conduit) network cable from that.

We hav 2 other TV's in the house that I proposed to leave running off the existing aerial and splitter.

So I have to install a sattelite dish and presumably cable straight into back of set ? If it comes in thro a vent -can I join it ?
We also have a boxed Sony Home Cinema (Scart connection to TV) which I will upgrade in the future.

To future proof I think I need the following going to TV thro the wall :
HMDI Cable to a DVD/Home Cinema
Network Cable for Internet TV
sat dish Cable
Power

As its not mains can I use mini trunking externally ?

I will not get SKY in the future as cant stand the Murdoch's sowhat Satellite dish should I get -like the idea of European Channels ,Italian newsreaders so much more interesting even if I struggle to understand..

Thanks in anticipation.

Del boy 51
PS I realise I may need to have the dish installed although I am up for havin a go.....

 

[ChrisFrost]

You've got the basics right:

• network cable from router to TV (tick)
  HDMI cable for home cinema system (tick)

But you're missing some other essentials...

First off, you'll still need an aerial cable if you want Freeview to work. The Smart TV/network connection doesn't replace Freeview but rather simply adds some other non-related features.

Next, any satellite dish cable will need to go in to a decoding box. Think of it like a Sky install - dish+box - but your dish might be pointing at a different satellite and your box won't be a Sky box. The exception here is TVs with built-in Freesat. They need a direct feed. Freesat is an alternative to Freeview. The channel choices are pretty similar; some minor differences. You'll find out more if you Google. All other non-Freesat TVs need the satellite signal decoding in some sort of receiver box, and then the signal from that (via SCART, Component + audio, or HDMI) goes to either the TV or a home cinema kit.

Non-Sky satellite services can be a bit of a minefield for the novice. There are dozens of satellites up there. Several satellites provide multiple services, so for example - your could be pointing at the same satellite that delivers the Sky signal but be watching a different set of services. Some of them are free. Others are by subscription. Here's a starter for what you can expect from the Astra satellite LINK.

A DIY satellite install is certainly possible. Though you should bare in mind that you'll be aiming at something the size of a decent sized box van at over 24,000 miles distance.... and there are several of those up there. Consider a professional install to save time and a lot of grief.

For the rest of your cabling choices much depends on the gear you have now (You need a SCART cable if you want to use the existing home cinema kit) and the gear you might buy in the future. Either put in sufficient cables now to cover all the options, or put in big enough trunking so that you can pull extra cable as your needs increase.


I do this kind of thing for a living. On all the installs I am doing my recommendation to clients includes some additional network cable to wherever the boxes are going. Network connection is becoming pretty standard for additional services and firmware updates. Wireless isn't always available built-in, and even those boxes with wireless can still struggle if there's interference or you need to stream larger files. A bit of copper wire solves those problems.

When it comes to choosing a new home cinema kit then do make sure it has at least a couple of HDMI inputs as well as either optical or coax for digital audio.

 

[delboy51]

Chris
thankyou -you have confirmed the bit I missed that I still need to run my Terrestrial aerial to the TV.

Presumably if I want an Freesat Box with recording facility I dont need to buy the TV with Freesat.

Last Q -do most modern home cinema/DVD have HDMI connection to the TC rather than scart ?

Thanks again
derek

 

[Sam Gangee]

I haven't heard of a TC but I'll add a couple more comments.

If space is tight, it's OK to use WF65 (twin coax) or WF65-1 (single) for short distances (say 10 metres). Otherwise use WF100 or TX100. The cost of having good screening is tiny compared with the cost of trying to fix interference problems.

It's possible to combine UHF aerial feed and satellite LNB signal into a single cable. You simply need a diplexer at each end. These can be bought in the form of a metal box or a wall plate with two sockets (or 3 if you want radio as well).

 

[ChrisFrost]

Presumably if I want an Freesat Box with recording facility I dont need to buy the TV with Freesat.

TBH, most people have some form of recorder even if their TV has Freesat. BTW, any TV with Freesat will also have a normal aerial socket for Freeview too.

Anyway, if you are planning on having Freesat then to cover yourself what you want is three cables from the dish in to that room. One cable will go to the TV directly for it's own Freesat tuner. The other two cables will go to the recorder. You have two cables because the Freesat rec orders worth having have two tuners in them so you can record two channels at once if there's a clash or overlap of program times. This is different from what you'd have with Freeview from an aerial cable.

The reason for the difference is the way satellite signals work. The Quad LNB on the end of a satellite dish for Freesat has 4 signal receivers. This is so each receiver can swap between the different bands that carry the channels. If you had just one cable and shared the signal across three satellite tuners (1xTV, 2x for recorder) then sooner or later you'd want channels from two different bands and then then you'd find you lose one or the other. Freeview doesn't have that restriction. One aerial feed daisy-chained from recorder to TV can supply as many tuners as you are likely to have in a domestic recording/viewing scenario. Sorry to get a bit technical, but it's important when you are planning the wiring for an install because it's expensive to go back and do it right after the decorating is done.

Last Q -do most modern home cinema/DVD have HDMI connection to the TC rather than scart ?

It's certainly becoming the standard on all but the cheapest home cinema systems. Really, if you're going to buy a new HC kit then Blu-ray would be a sensible choice. They'll still play your DVDs as well as Blu-rays.

Other developments worth knowing about are....

1) A.R.C. - Audio Return Channel. This is a feature of the latest version of HDMI sockets.

HDMI used to be just a one-way connector. But in HDMI version 1.4 they added a feature where the HDMI connection from your home cinema kit to a TV can now carry sound back in the opposite direction. The practical application is that the sound from the TV's own tuner can get back to your home cinema kit without the need for an extra wire and more sockets. Those of us used to SCART will say "big deal". But it has been something of major step for HDMI because it uses no extra wires for this feature.

In order for A.R.C. to work your TV and HC kit both need to be A.R.C. compatible. Gear with HDMI version 1.4 (or later) sockets have this feature. Importantly though, the cable doesn't need to be anything special. Any current HDMI cable will work. It's the hardware that has the A.R.C. feature, not the cable.

2) Ethernet over HDMI. This is another feature of HDMI 1.4. But it is not at all well supported yet. In short, don't fall for any sales patter asking you to spend more money for this feature. At the moment it is still-born and there's no sign of life on the horizon.

3) 3D - It's a bit of fun. If you think you might want to try this then make sure both the TV and the Blu-ray player/HC kit drive are 3D compatible. One on its own is useless without the other.