Internal signal routeing for second TV

[A.Clews]

I have a 19" LG LDC Freeview TV in my kitchen, using an indoor aerial that's sat on top of the kitchen cabinets. I can only get a reasonable picture and sound on BBC1 and 2. The other channels suffer intolerable breakup, and even on the BBC channels I often have to fiddle with the aerial. My main (lounge) TV (37" Panasonic with Freeview, with its feed from the roof aerial) is fine on all channels. I'm only about 6 miles from the transmitter and the signal is pretty strong. I'd like to set up a secondary feed from the lounge to the kitchen, but I don't really want to install sockets and cables. I did buy a wireless kit (can't recall the make) last year from Focus DIY but it didn't work because of a manufacturing fault, and I got a refund.

I was wondering if there are any other kits around (or any internal aerials suitable for Freeview) that anyone could recommend.

[Toby]

The best way would be to run a cable from either the other TV, or if it is easier, from anywhere the cable to the current TV runs and split it to feed the other TV, if you run it from the lounge, then you can feed other sources like sky/cable to the other TV, if you split the feed to the current TV somewhere, then you will just get the normal freeview stuff. - as you are close to the transmitter, you should be fine with just a passive splitter, and shouldn't need to use a booster. Don't just wire another cable into the aerial, you need a proper splitter like this

(If it is going inside the house) (If it is going to be on the wall outside)

Otherwise, you could buy another wireless transmitter/receiver, but that would only transmit one channel from the other room, assuming you have a source such as a separate freeview/sky/freesat/cable box - it won't allow you to use the built in freeview receiver in the Kitchen TV.

Toby...

[tony sayer]

In article , Toby scribeth thus

And prolly be affected by microwave, wi-fi and other video sender interference..

Cables best in the long run...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you think of it, re-broadcasting a wide band signal off your aerial simply won't work. If it were strong enough to work throughout the house it would also feed back to the aerial...

A video link - but both TVs could only show the same thing - is more practical. If not, the only answer is to run an aerial cable.

[John Rumm]

Well you may find the current setup improves after DSO when the tx powers go up, but set top aerials are usually marginal at best.

Alas you don't have a viable alternative if you want to retain the ability watch different channels on both TVs at the same time.

All a video sender will achieve is to send one baseband video signal from one place to another - typically the output of a VCR or Sky box etc. It may have a reverse remote control link as well, but it is not the same as extending a multi channel aerial feed such that the two devices can operate from their own tuners independently.

Could you split the signal outside the house and route a wire down the outside?

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Toby ([e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

From this and other replies it looks like cabling is the best (only?) way to go. It wouldn't actually be very difficult because the kitchen is next door to the lounge and I could run a cable behind the skirting boards, through the adjoining wall and behind/under kitchen cabinets etc and thus invisibly. I'm just a bit lazy that's all :-)

I see what you mean. Yes, I think cabling really is my only option. It's normally my habit to have the lounge TV and kitchen TV on the same channel because they're both within earshot of one another, so it sounds awful if different channels are tuned on each set. In any case the kitchen TV is sometimes out of sync with the lounge TV and I get a weird echoing until I retune the kitchen TV! Whether or not this will change with the common aerial feed, I don't know.

Thanks to all for your helpful replies.

[Toby]

Nope, you may well get a slight delay between the two, due to each TV having to decode and then display the digital signal, this induces a delay that is not always going to be totally in sync. You wouldn't get that with an analogue feed to them both.

If I were you, I would run two cables, one normal aerial cable, plus another AV cable that includes composite video, left and right audio. Then you can connect this to the Kitchen TV's AV input (You may need a SCART adaptor) and connect the other end to the output of the lounge TV (If it has one - check first, most of them do output what is on the TV to at least one of the SCART sockets - usually the picture next to the SCART socket indicates if is is an input or both input and output with arrows either pointing into a box, or a double headed arrow pointing in and out for a socket that outputs too. This is assuming you are using an integrated freeview tuner in the TV, if not, then you would just connect this cable to the back of the freeview box)

You would need a SCART adaptor like this for the lounge TV

another one for the Kitchen TV if it does not have "RCA" (Phono) sockets.

You would need a triple cable like this between the two

is a 15m lead, but CPC do other lengths!

Toby...

[Terry Casey]

University of Sussex?

Modern crap uni that doesn't cover subjects that could be useful in the REAL world ...?

... Good quality splitter/cable/connectors ...

... or else, I'm sure someone doing some useless social something degree could suggest some useless waste of your time and money ...

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Terry Casey ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

If you can't open your mouth without talking bollocks, why open it at all?

I rest my case. The words "chip" and "shoulder" spring immediately to mind. Thank you to all the other helpful folk who replied in this thread.