how to run 2 Sky boxes if you have communal arieil

aayush

Hi can any advise on how i can do the above without having to pay for other call out charge from Sky

I have just upgraded to a Sky + HD box but want install other box in my bedroom

penrhyn

Unless there are two more dish feeds available to you you can't.

Gratis

What you could do is feed the HDMI output of the main Sky box through a powered HDMI splitter box and run two HDMI leads from it; one to the main TV, the other to the second TV.

You don't even need the second box to do that.

And there's no additional fee to pay to Sky.

All it costs you is the price of the splitter and the second HDMI lead.

It works well. We do it.

macman

You don't have a communal aerial. You have a communal dish.

davemurgatroyd

Sky would almost certainly not be able to provide the extra feed(s) that you require for the extra box - they would either contact the installation company responsible for your communal dish or refer you to them and it will probably cost you a fair bit more than a standard Sky callout. None else can work on that installation. Ask your landlords/management committee who is responsible for the communal installation.

lammy82

Gratis wrote: »

What you could do is feed the HDMI output of the main Sky box through a powered HDMI splitter box and run two HDMI leads from it; one to the main TV, the other to the second TV.

You don't even need the second box to do that.

And there's no additional fee to pay to Sky.

All it costs you is the price of the splitter and the second HDMI lead.

It works well. We do it.

It'll be obvious to most, but not all, that this method means you have to be watching the same Sky channel in both rooms!

aayush

well the other box is for the bed room as some time want to watch some thing late form the bed instead of sitting in living room till late

penrhyn

If you want to control the channels from the bedroom you'll need a magic eye.

http://www.tvlink.co.uk/tvlink-black.htm

Gratis

lammy82 wrote: »

It'll be obvious to most, but not all, that this method means you have to be watching the same Sky channel in both rooms!

You're right to point that out.

(Although it was obvious to me before I installed it! ).

But the OP might not actually want to watch two different Sky channels (or recordings), in two different rooms at the same time. You can, after all, only be in one room at a time.

It’s also handy if you want to flit between rooms while still watching the same Sky programme (or recording).

What I suggested works fine with a simple, powered, HDMI splitter. In practice, however, what I did was embellish the solution by purchasing, instead, an HDMI 4 x 2 matrix box (like this one). Up to four sources in, with outputs to two televisions.

The nifty thing with a matrix box is that you don’t have to watch the same source on both televisions; they are individually switchable.

So, you can plug the HDMI outputs of your Humax HD FreeSat box, your Sky+HD box and your Blu-ray player into the matrix box and then run one output from it to the main television, the second output to a television in another rom.

With that installed, one person can then watch the Humax box, the Sky box or a Blu-ray in one room and a second person can watch the same thing, or one of those other sources, in a second room.

If you want to, you can run extra HDMI feeds to other rooms by buying a matrix box with more than two outputs (which is more expensive) or you can put a powered HDMI splitter into one of the two outputs from the basic matrix box.

Bear in mind that this is a simple solution, needing only a single HDMI lead to service each television but providing them with HDMI access to multiple sources. A second Sky box in another room may give you access to the whole range of Sky programmes (for an additional £135 a year) but it won’t enable to you watch a Blu-ray or a programme you recorded on your Humax box.

If, as it appears, the OP isn’t able or permitted to install the satellite cabling required to run a second Sky box, at least this solution would enable him/her to watch Sky HD in the bedroom (as desired) from the main box. And without having to pay Sky anything additional to do so.

So, it’s worth considering if what this (or even just a basic, powered, HDMI splitter plus some HDMI cable) offers you is actually all you need: it works extremely well if you don’t need to watch more than one Sky channel (or recording) at the same time.

Only caveat is that for an HDMI run of 15 or 20 metres you do need to buy decent quality HDMI cable and not a cheapie from Poundland; otherwise the signal doesn't carry reliably (if at all) over that distance. Mine cost less than £20, though.

Lateral thinking, perhaps, but it works for us!

aayush

yes i have tv point in bed room nothing for sky box