Yes, we do that essentially; it allows the video output as well as NTL cable box output (also unswitchable, like the video) to be sent around the house. But why "in the days before Freeview"? We don't have Freeview, but why can't the same trick be used?
David
It can, but if you only have one Freeview decoder, it's only the channel currently being decoded which can be distributed - so you can't watch different digital channels in different rooms.
So how would that enable you to watch several different digital channels at the same time? (assuming you wanted to be able to do that - which doesn't seem unreasonable).
If you mean watching different channels in each location then you'd need a separate receiver in each room, the wiring would make no difference anyhow. You can still do that with this setup. Send one, more or no receiver outputs from the distribution cable to the distribution amp. Up to you.
Yes, but that's the scenario which I and (AFAICS) Mungo have already with distributed video (and also cable TV in my case) - it seems to me Mungo's saying that can't be done with Freeview?
David
My apologies. All I meant was that in days before Freeview (and the additional decoders required to get Freeview) you could distribute six channels around your house: five terrestrial (if you get all five) and the output of the video. Then we got the adverts for "freeview", so we buys a freeview decoder. And about ten minutes after I've plumbed it in to the main telly, SWMBO asks why she can't watch freeview on another telly... sigh.
But nowadays with Freeview decoders in every telly you can watch Freeview anywhere in the house.
What I haven't done yet (can't be bothered) is to use an RF encoder box of tricks I bought to take the phono-plug output of the freeview decoder box and recode this as a RF signal whose output then goes through the video to the distribution amplifier. This would convert a single Freeview channel and make it appear as a seventh channel to all the tellys in the house. You can watch any Freeview channel you get, but you can only watch one at a time.
The encoder box came from "Henrys" if I remember correctly and was bought along with a one-inch-square CCTV camera board so that surveillance video and audio could be injected into the telly distribution electronics and thus monitoring of a location could be performed via any telly in the house. I can look up the details on the bit of kit if anyone asks.
Mungo
While you are running cables - I would also run CAT5 network cable at the same time to each room, this will make sending TV, video and sound from your home PC or "media centre" much easier in the future.
The cost is not great I am sure you can get wall plates which have TV, FM and network sockets all together, although you can always leave the network cable coiled up and unconnected till you want it.
Robert
Provided you always buy only Freeview receivers equipped with modulators( becoming more difficult), it is possible to add as many apparent terrestrial channels as you wish. Simply bring the initial aerial input into a loft mounted distribution amplifier via a combiner(splitter)( or ten) and if necessary boosting the signal levels from the aerial and other sources. By feeding the outputs of Videos or DVDs( more difficult as you may need to add a modulator) back to the loft input amplifier, you can watch any channel for which you have a modulated signal from any analogue TV in the house. Experience shows, that apart from a bit of cross modulation(patterning on the picture) 15+ operating channels is quite feasible without major instability. The losses at UHF are sufficient to keep the system from oscillating, even though it has nominally 100% or more, feedback. If the aerial signal is low noise, then digital receivers will also work without problems. There are very few lossless UHF combiners on the market, if someone finds one, I'd like to know about it.( Think summing amplifier)
Regards Capitol
Hi how are you
16 years later, he could be 6 foot under !
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