[thericky]

i'm building a house and am trying to figure out my video/audio distribution systems... i've got a lot of it figured out but am stumped when it comes to HD distribution.


basically, i'm going to want to distribute my HD DVR (when i get one) from my family room to the rest of the house and distribute the IR signal with it. i've got a spare RG6 run from that room to the distribution point which i hope to use to do the distribution. is it possible to steal the output from an HD DVR via RG6, run that to the distribution point, have it distributed to my other HD set(s) via RG6, and expect the signal to be in HD at the destination? do i need a special distribution unit to carry an HD signal? also, would it kill the signal to distribute IR signals over the same line?


thanks

 

[mjones73]

There is no easy way to do this, you won't be able to send the HD signal over RG6 for distribution around the house. You'd need to settle on either using analog (component) or digital distribution (DVI/HDMI) and go from there. How many HD sets do you need to hook up and what input options do they have anyway?

 

[Gerald C]

Distributing digital HD (DVI) is a whole topic unto itself, and I'm not qualified to say much. This is the realm of the computer guys, and solutions will probably be there (if not already here). But AFAIK, it will not support distribution on single coax.


On the analog side, there is not currently a consumer-affordable solution for distributing, other than potentially routing component video cables (all three) via RG6 coax. I've heard of people doing this, but you have to maintain all three cable lengths identically with good accuracy. And this would only be point-to-point, not a home-run configuration with multiple taps.


Some day in the future there may be MPEG2 encoder and RF modulator units (the latter just like we do today for NTSC), enabling you to distribute easily via RG6. The elephant in the ointment if, of course, copy protection. How much content of the future is going to be flowing from HD analog output jacks?

 

[mjones73]

From what I can tell, to do HDMI or DVI distribution you can get splitters to break up the signal, just don't know how long the runs can be, you'd need a seperate feed for audio also...

 

[thericky]

i guess what i was thinking was this...


my HD signal comes in via RG6 from my cable company (brighthouse). i figured i could redistribute this signal from the output of my DVR cable box so that i could watch recorded HD programs in other rooms. i guess the copy-protection issue prevents that.


so then i am limited only to distributing recorded SD programs? do HD DVR units have RG6 outputs for SD distribution?


i'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. i definitely want an HD DVR unit... but i also definitely want to be able to watch recorded programs from multiple rooms, but i don't want to have multiple DVR's. am i going to be limited to watching recordings only in the same room as the DVR?


thanks for your help

 

[mjones73]

You could easily send a SD signal around the house, you could use a RF modulator to convert from composite/s-video to coaxial and transmit the signal over your RG6 to your other TV's if your box doesn't have an RF out, if it does, you could just amplifiy and distribute the RF signal... There are devices out designed to do both.


I found this site, they have some nice looking equipment, no idea how good they are though...

http://www.channelplus.com/products_rf.php

 

[rlj5242]

Quote:

my HD signal comes in via RG6 from my cable company (brighthouse).

It's coming into your house in QAM format (encrypted, non-encrypted or both).

Quote:

i figured i could redistribute this signal from the output of my DVR cable box

You are sending out a completely different signal type. Like what was stated earlier, distribution via HDMI or DVI will be difficult because of it's a digital signal and it wasn't made for long runs of cable. If you can distribute the component outputs (analog) it will be easier but you need to run at least 5 cables (3 video/2 audio) to each location you want to view HD. If you local cable company decides to throw the copy protection flag, your component outputs will be disabled for that viewing.

Quote:

do HD DVR units have RG6 outputs for SD distribution?

None that I know of. You can get a channel modulator like the Channel Plus 3025 to distribute your signal and IR commands.


-Robert

 

[thericky]

right. i figured out the whole SD distribution... but i guess i'll have to forget about distributing the HD signals for now.


any chance of a box that will let me distribute a down-converted HD signal for watching on an EDTV? i know that an EDTV will do that for me, but since i can't distribute the HD signal over RG6 to begin with, sending out an already down-converted signal over RG6 is the only other thing i can think of. basically, converting an HD signal to SD (or slightly higher) so that i can at least view the programming in another room? (yes this is silly but i'm just curious)

 

[Gerald C]

Most of the new boxes, both D* and Dish, have simultaneous HD and SD outputs, though I am not sure about DVR boxes. And some of the boxes do have modulated output (Chan 3/4). So you could certainly plan on distributing the SD output, even if you had to purchase an RF modulator. I do this all the time in my setup.


You also asked about remote IR. Some STBs come with RF (UHF) remotes, which serves that function. If not, the solution will be an IR blaster (IR/RF) repeater device.

 

[Paul Bigelow]

I have two cable boxes and cable modem. I kept the cables as short as possible and it still took a run of RG-6QS to the SciAtl 3250HD to have an error-free HBOHD signal.

 

[slehman]

Distributing HD everywhere in your house will be quite expensive with today's products, but that's bound to change. Even if you might not be willing to pay for what's available today, it may be worth doing some extra wiring during construction. It would be a lot more work once the house is done.


There are CAT5 distribution solutions that will get you further than a single DVI or HDMI cable for about $500, but that still only gets you 150' (presumably further at less than 1080P). But if some rooms are close enough, it may work for you. Going much further would mean fiber and at over $1000 for a single point-to-point run. Might as well get another DVR instead!


I expect there will be more network-based solutions coming where you would just need a basic ethernet connection between a set top/DVR and the main DVR/server. There's already TiVo's HMO (not for HD capable boxes yet) and MS' Media Center Extenders announced. Wire the house with CAT5 for networking, and you'd be able to network future set top boxes. There are even networking over coax technologies announced (which future Voom DVRs are to use?) so having RG6 everywhere could still come in handy (not sure what that network topology looks like though).


Bottom line IMHO, unless you've got a big budget to blow right now to do it, wire the house for networking and use RG6 to get cable where you want to watch it right away. Maybe in the not too distant future there will be a CableCard hi-def TiVO unit with HMO, and you'd be close to what you want.

 

[thericky]

yeah that's what i've already done. RG6 and CAT5...


so i'll just send out the SD signal from the DVR and that'll be good enough. i don't really intend on watching HD for extended periods of time in more than 1 room so whatever.


hopefully those network-based solutions will emerge within the next year and then i'll invest in those. they seem like the best way to go anyway because then i can call up programming from multiple rooms simultaneously, rather than 1 program on all the TVs hooked to the box. server/client will definitely be excellent.


one final question here:

do you all have recommendations for distribution units if i do distribute SD signals (DVDs, DVR, DSS, whatever)? i looked up a whole bunch of them on smarthome.com and i'm not sure which one to go with. ideally, i'm looking for one that will accept the CATV input, one or two other RG6 inputs (from channel modulators i assume), and then distribute those signals to 6-8 locations. i also would like some way of having it carry the IR signals as well (would be cooler than RF). smarthome has some nice in-wall IR units. of course, i dont' know if the IR signal interferes with the cable signal.

 

[rlj5242]

I'm using a pair of Sony MRD-D1's which are very similar to the Channel Plus 3025. The 3025 has a CATV input and RCA inputs for two components. It has multiple outputs both boosted for long runs and non-boosted for short runs. It will relay IR remote signals back to the modulator with optional equipment. I will probably add a 3 channel Dayton modulator (from Parts Express) to modulate my security cameras.


-Robert