One for Bill? TV Coax splitter

When has customer annoyance ever mattered?

Bill

We cut through the noise!

Bill

Sure, but what I am talking about here is bringing the aerial cable (some distance) in from a stack at the end of a roof (big old house, so already 20m or so) to a point where it's on the wrong side of structure, meaning you can't-quite-get-it by standing on ladders in the loft hatch. You had to climb in (only 1m or so) and sit cramped up in the small loft space, just to get to the amplifier? ;-(

There were nearly as many cables going South as there were going North so it wasn't (in this particular case) a matter of biasing the unit to keep most the cable-runs as short as possible.

The point was, given how long most of the runs were, the extra 1m wouldn't have made any difference to the signal but would have made it far easier to work on.

Now it could have been that initially there was no distribution amp and it was fitted later, in the best point possible *then*, but I think I would have extended part of it (the outlet) at the time and then worked from there.

My amp is in our bedroom cupboard because the aerial is in the loft. Nice an easy to get at. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Yeah well, logic don't work every time :-)

I have an amp on the aerial mast, then a 10m run of coax to the upstairs airing cupboard where it was a nice easy place to put the amp PSU and a multiway splitter (and a good central place to run all the feeds from).

And get to enjoy a visible delay between what you see and what you hear as a side benefit!

Not noticed here. Gifted Bose headphones and linked to the LG TV. as instructed here:-) What does bother slightly is the stereo effects appear badly balanced.

I sometimes wear Bluetooth headphones paired to a LG TV for noisy films so as not to annoy SWAMBO watching TV in the other room. What I have noticed is you are more aware of the background noises such as people talking in the background or traffic noise. I do not know if this is a feature of a 5.1 audio system as I have never had or heard one but takes some getting used to not to mention annoying at times.

Richard

Such things simply don't matter to most. Digital rules. ;-)

That's OK, then. You pay a premium for something that doesn't work as well. ;-)

Zakly.

This was my whole point about a bit of planning and how some people just seem to just 'do' (and worry about any knock-on consequences of the potential lack of deeper consideration later, or leave it for someone else ...) and how others try to consider all eventualities and work with them in mind, the 'what if' stuff.

I think it all comes from the work ethic that starts 'think thrice, measure twice ...' and whilst it traditionally ends 'cut once', it could also be 'tile once', fir distribution amp once but also easy access for servicing', 'fit CH pump once but where you can get to it without having to take the cylinder out' etc etc.

Daughter is (also) a thinker and suffers (anxiety) because of it and sometimes we both wish we weren't. We wish we could approach tasks like many do, 'a bull in a china shop', 'fools rush in' ... but we can't.

'You are selling that, can't you just paint over the rust ..?', no, we can't, we would rather leave the rust than waste time and effort bodging it up and at least the buyer can see it 'warts and all'.

Leaving something like that means that it doesn't get our signature on it, it is what it is etc.

'Whatever you do do, do do well'. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

Umm. As said elsewhere, the basic need is for me to enjoy TV without bothering the boss!

TV stereo sound is new to me and with age related hearing frequency/volume issues slightly disturbing. Are you saying that earphones will never give a balanced reproduction or that I need better equipment?

I suppose the old Westerns etc. that I watch would not have been produced with stereo anyway. A bit disconcerting to have the left ear full of some *stage left* police siren but nothing apparent to the right ear.

Stereo sound from a TV, or a TV with close speakers will be such that for example right channel only sound will appear to come from the right hand (or slightly beyond) screen edge.

In a pair of headphones it will appear to be directly from your right with no front component at all.

Headphones need a little knob to introduce crosstalk ...

Yup, I like a good think before a job. However that does not stop one doing something and then later thinking, "why did I not do X instead?", it would have been so much easier!

The paralysis of analysis.

Yup, the irony being that you are probably more likely to put up with a bodge on something you are keeping.

It does vary a bit depending on the kit in question, and even the blutooth standard being used.

Often TVs have an audio delay adjustment that can be used to compensate.

Its fair to say that there is a whole world of sound present on most film soundtracks which is pretty much inaudible on a typical set of TV speakers. Feed it into better quality reproduction equipment and it becomes noticeable.

That is were a 5.1 system will win over headphones, in that it can keep the dialogue nicely pinned to the centre speaker(s), with all the ambient stuff elsewhere in the 3D soundstage.

Yup, I have the same issue, the lounge is directly under our bedroom, and if SWMBO has gone to bed, and I am watching a "loud" film, I can normally expect to get interrupted by a phone call! So headphones help then!

The stereo mix should be "ok" - it does not benefit from the dedicated centre speaker you get on a surround sound system (which keeps the dialogue separate from the other sound), but it should still be pretty good (better than TV speakers anyway).

If you have poorer hearing in one ear than the other, then you might need to alter the stereo balance to get things to sound "equal". All amps/AV amps, and most TVs will let you tweak the balance.

To compensate for "notches" in your hearing is harder, but again you should be able to do it playing with the equalisation controls when available. (which is fine for personal headphone use - although might end up being a bit odd in for others in a shared listening environment)

Even mono stuff can benefit from the ability to adjust the left / right balance on headphones. Otherwise if one ear hears better than the other you can end up with the soundstage appearing to be somewhat off to the side of your head!

I am being slightly harsh, in that in most cases it can be tune out enough to be less irritating.

I find that with the phones paired directly with the TV I can get acceptable results. If I pair them with the AV amp though its harder to eliminate the delay consistently.

I am not aware of a serious hearing imbalance but most birdsong is long gone and I usually need a bit more volume than that preferred by others.

The earphones are excellent for current affairs/news output. Just the odd unexpected squawk from a modern film.

As you could do with corded headphones. I assume you don't jump around the room while watching TV? ;-)