What cables/wires should I PRE-INSTALL at my house for Sky/Satellite to be fitted in 6 months time?

FrankFalcon

Hi all

I am helping my son renovate his house.  If you take a look at the attached image you will see the exterior of the property has loads of ugly wires/cables running from top to bottom of the house.  You will also see an ugly alarm box and satellite dish.  Whilst we are renovating the house we are changing the windows etc but also want to paint the top half of the house again in White.  This means that we have already removed the dead alarm box.  We also plan to remove that ugly satellite dish and all the associated wires.  That will allow us to paint the exterior of the house again.  So, as this is a full renovation there is no plaster on the walls inside the hose...It is literally back to the brick inside.  Taking into account that when the house is finished being renovated my son will (more than likely) want a satellite dish re-installing again I want to take this opportunity to ensure that any future cables (for TV & Satellite etc) will be inside the house (behind the plasterboard).  Indeed, during the first fix electrics, our electrician had already wired the TV Coax to every bedroom & lounge etc on the internal walls (Because obviously there's no plaster on the walls).  Therefore, on this photo, I will now be able to do away with one of those cables (the TV Coax) because it will now go from the TV Aerial (fixed to the chimney), through the loft (instead of down the front of the house), and to a TV Aerial booster he has installed in the loft.  So, no unsightly TV Coax in sight now.  On to the satellite cables now...So, I just now want to do away with these satellite cables.  With this in mind, will will soon remove the old dish and drill a hole from outside the house into the front bedroom (as shown in the picture).  We will thread through that hole any cables required for a future installation of Satellite TV and leave lots of slack at the other end, in the lounge near where the TV will go.  So, in 6 months' time, the Satellite man turns up to fit a new dish...He gets his roll of cable out (ready to pin it to the outside of the house wall), which is where I shout "STOP THERE MY OLD CHINA. I've done the cabling bit for you.  There's one end... sticking out of the wall...There's the other end... in the lounge near the TV".  He says "Oh great.  That's half the job done for me.  What cable have you pre-installed for me"...This is where I tell him what I am asking you guys now. 

So, without further ado my learned friends, I hereby ask you the million-dollar question...

What are the cables I need to pre-install for the Satellite man in 6 months?
Thanks in advance. for the Satellite man in 6 months?
Thanks in advance.

MorningcoffeeIV

Does he really want to revert to a satellite dish? 

Does he have the necessary equipment (eg an old Sky or Humax box)? I don't think Sky will install anything other than Q.

It may be that he's better off going down a more modern route.

Ayr_Rage

You will need a twin cable for Sky satellite, however they are no longer offering Sky+ HD installations so if that is what you have now you will need to find a local installer for the dish and an appropriate LNB.

If you wish to order or upgrade to Q then Sky will install the dish, however they may not offer a guarantee if you have already put in the cable.

Sky Stream is worth investigating if you have decent broadband speeds however do check the latest requirements and be aware of the channel differences as compared to the satellite offering, also, stream does not record locally onto a hard drive.

FrankFalcon

Thanks for your replies guys. I’m a bit baffled…
So, the very latest SKY that people
are watching these days, I assume that’s SKY Q? Does Sky Q not require a Dish or is it 100% streaming? 

Please correct me if I am wrong guys but as I understand it there is no need in future to have a Sky dish on the outside of your house? 

Thanks. 

victor2

Forget satellite connections, just cable the inside of the house with Cat6 or Cat7 ethernet. Figure out where a line is most likely to come into the property, and where in the house a hub could be (could just be the broadband supplied hub/router), then run cables from there to other key points, where you are likely to have computers, smart TVs etc.

Of course you'll have WiFi as well, but as you'll need power points where devices will be, it won't be so difficult to run data there as well. Probably not a good idea to run ethernet in the same trunking as power though.

Username03725

FrankFalcon said:

Thanks for your replies guys. I’m a bit baffled…
So, the very latest SKY that people
are watching these days, I assume that’s SKY Q? Does Sky Q not require a Dish or is it 100% streaming? 

Please correct me if I am wrong guys but as I understand it there is no need in future to have a Sky dish on the outside of your house? 

Thanks. 

I don't know what Sky offer or provide these days, but my Sky Q installation has 4 x LNBs on the dish and 4 x cables running into the house. 2 go into the Sky Q box and two into the Freesat TV. It all works and allows the box to record up to 6 simultaneous programmes, iirc. It definitely records at least 3 things at once.

Sky Q needs a dish and works best with an ethernet feed as well to allow catchup via iPlayer etc, and that neat trick of some channels allowing you to watch a programme that's already started from the beginning by going to straight to the appropriate catchup service.

Sky Glass doesn't use a dish and relies totally on video over IP. I'm sure it's great but I've heard less than wonderful reports of picture quality esp for 4K / UHD / HDR, and I 've heard (happy to be told otherwise...) that it all relies on catchup services so the box doesn't build up a library of recordings for those moments when you just fancy something that's there rather than having to actively decide what to watch then d/l it to view. 

Username03725

...and at risk of opening a can of worms, if you're interested in getting the best out of your entertainment system install a separate mains feed for your tv, audio etc. You might not need it now or indeed ever but you never know, and now's the time to do it.

Take a feed from the meter house side via a Henly block to a dedicated consumer unit and then use 6mm or even 10mm sq T&E to sockets that will supply only the tv & audio system. It's not night & day difference, but it's worth it, esp for some specific makes of UK audio. No Naims, no pack drill...  

MikeJXE

My son had Sky glass no dish, don't ask me what it is but I do know it is via wifi

Username03725

flaneurs_lobster said:

Username03725 said:

...and at risk of opening a can of worms, 

Oh goody, here comes the 5 grand HDMI cable.....

It’s quite a leap to go from spending a couple of hundred at best on a dedicated mains supply whilst the house is being revamped anyway, to shoehorning in “you want to try something better? The only possible way is to spunk a few grand on a pointlessly expensive cable”. Well played there sir. 

flaneurs_lobster

Username03725 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Username03725 said:

...and at risk of opening a can of worms, 

Oh goody, here comes the 5 grand HDMI cable.....

It’s quite a leap to go from spending a couple of hundred at best on a dedicated mains supply whilst the house is being revamped anyway, to shoehorning in “you want to try something better? The only possible way is to spunk a few grand on a pointlessly expensive cable”. Well played there sir. 

You're right, grumpy cheap shot. I've deleted. Apologies.

Wiring up a clean mains supply for your AV kit while you are doing a full re-wire is a perfectly reasonable suggestion.