How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Hi,

New to this, so I am sorry if my question seems really stupid - i'm sure someone must have asked before, but i can't find it.

I have ntl digital, with just one digibox, in the lounge. If i want to be able to watch cable channels in the bedroom, what do i need? I have seen signal splitters/transmitters/receivers in the shops, but not sure if compatible. Can someone tell me in very simple language what i need, or even give me a link to a suitable product? I really don't want to pay ntl another £15 per month for a second digibox if there is an easier and cheaper way to do this.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I have put in a pair of Digisenders. I got them off e-bay for £40 but they are sold in Agros (http://www.hard2buy4.co.uk/i_742.html) . In order to use you remote control unit, you need a Gold version, but there is lots of information about this and for me that was not an issue.
Here is a simple overview. They are very simple to use.
http://www.geocities.com/digitalsatuk/digisender.html

I hope that this helps.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Hi keep it simple and welcome!

Can you run a cable to your second TV or do you want to do it wirelessly? Using a cable will provide a slightly better picture, be more robust, and be more flexible BUT you will have to find some way of running the wire.

Which type of set top box (STB) do you have? There should be a label on the bottom giving a type number.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Thanks for the links - very helpful. As far as i can gather, the issue with the ntl remote control is that it uses a different form of infra-red signal, which is not compatible with most senders. Am i right in thinking that the main advantage to the gold version is being able to control the stb form the bedroom? if i go for a cheaper sender I will still be able to watch in the bedroom, but just have to set the channel on the stb downstairs first?

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Hi,

Don't really want any more cables - already using an 'old-fashioned' co-ax cable to carry a signal from a booster so i can watch terrestrial channels upstairs. The wireless option sounds much easier!

The stb is made by pace, but not sure which model - not at home right now.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

If you already have a cable then why not use it? Use the RF output of your STB to feed to your booster instead of the terrestrial aerial. Then, on your second TV, you'll be able to receive the terrestrial channels AND the cable channel.

Something like this:

[img]Download Failed (1)[/img]

Some models of STB are compatible with conventional infra-red devices - which is why I asked for the model number. There is some more info here:
http://www.redremote.co.uk/

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

maplin sell senders for £29.99 until end of this week.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Thanks altis,

The diagram looks kinda complicated for a bear of little brain like me, but actually i think i have everything connected up pretty much as you show. I can get channels 1-5 ok, and, funnily enough, sky news - in fact when i first set up this tv in the bedroom (it's a new one only had a few months) i even got UK Gold, but that has since disappeared again. Maybe the signal from the booster just isn't strong enough?

Anyway, think i've decided to buy a wireless sender - just found a good deal on the maplin web site. Code L43AT, reduced from £79.99 to just £29.99. Sounds like a bargain. Also, i think maplin have answered my other question - i was asking kobuskint:

"Am i right in thinking that the main advantage to the gold version is being able to control the stb form the bedroom? if i go for a cheaper sender I will still be able to watch in the bedroom, but just have to set the channel on the stb downstairs first?"

The blurb on the maplin site says:

"Please note: This product does NOT relay remote control signals from NTL or Telewest digital cable boxes. It will however still send the pictures and sound, you will just be unable to change the channels in the second room."

Looks like i am close to a solution - off to maplin now; hope it's in stock!

Thanks for all your help.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Yep, thanks wolf - just seen it. going there now!

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

KIS - you're gonna be worse off if you install this video sender.

You appear to have an older STB with an analogue pass-thru - which is why you can get Sky News on the remote TV.

Currently, you can use the channel selector on the remote TV to switch between 1-5, Sky News and whatever the STB is viewing. However, with the video sender you will only have whatever the STB is viewing and you will not be able to change channels from the remote TV.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Unless you happy to be tied to whatever channel is selected on the STB downstairs then a second STB is the only real option.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

hmmm, interesting. well i've been out to maplin at lunchtime and bought the sender, so i will just have to do some experimenting before i decide whether i've wasted £30.

Just to clarify, on the bedroom tv i currently only have choice of 1-5, sky news or whatever is playing on the video downstairs - i am not able to view whatever the stb is viewing at all.

If it's a pass-through analogue signal, surely it should still work? i thought the whole idea is that the transmitter will send whatever signal is coming in, so if i am receiving both digital and analogue won't i still get both on the remote set?

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Thanks Paul. Yep, i understand that limitation. I know it's not ideal but all i actually want is a way to be able to watch sky football in the bedroom so the rest of the family is not forced to watch it with me on the downstairs tv.

No doubt while i am watching sky sports upstairs the kids might prefer to have cartoon network downstairs and my wife might prefer hallmark channel, but they will have to live with it - it's really not worth paying £15 a month for another box just for an occasional football match. They will just have to put up with channels 1-5 or else watch a video or dvd!

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

A video sender can only transmit one channel. You can stuff many down a cable at the same time - each on a different frequency. The connection to your video sender will be via a scart (or possibly 3 x phono), not RF.

If you cannot view the STB output on the TV upstairs then this might be because:
1) your STB is not in the RF chain - study the diagram above - there should be a lead from the RF output of the STB to the aerial input of the VCR.
2) your remote TV is not tuned in to the STB - make sure the STB is on and then do a channel search upstairs.
2) the RF output of your STB is tuned to channel that is already used by another - you can use the engineering pages of the STB to change this - best to get Customer Services to talk you through this.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

can do it for less than a fiver. All you need is a 3 way passive spliter, coax, 11 male connectors and 3 rf connectors . From the output of your stb connect a small amount 30cm or so of coax with a male connector at each end one to fit to the stb and one for the splitter. Connect from the stb into the IN connection on the splitter which is at the top now you have 3 connections at the bottom of the splitter cut the required amount of coax needed to serve the remaing tv's you need to add male connectors to each end of the coax attaching a rf to the end that goes in the tv can get a piture of these if need be although you can only change channels from room where stb is

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I work for Maplin and there are issues about senders not working with NTL boxes and even some Sky boxes. I own the QM48 senders and they say the same thing but mine actually works better with the remote control than actually trying to use the remote in the same room. Maplin will refund you if you are not happy. 14 day Box and receipt full refund ( WE ARE NOT LIKE PCWORLD ). Need help with anything Maplin wise let me know.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Ok guys, been experimenting, but without much success :(


I realise now that a major weakness of my current set-up is that i am not actually using the RF output from the stb. The connector is the opposite type to those on my tv and vcr - male/female, i don't know which is which, but i think the tv and vcr have female connections, with male connectors on the leads pushing into them, in which case the connector on the stb is another male, and none of my existing leads will connect to it. hope that makes some sense! everything seemed to do what i wanted at the time, so, i guess through laziness, i never bothered to tidy up and connect things 'properly'

I'm attaching a diagram of my set-up (i hope, if i can work out how to do it).

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...tid=2970&stc=1

The incoming cable goes through a 2-way splitter, which then goes to the stb and to the vcr. the rf output from the vcr goes to my signal booster which has 2 outputs, one to my main tv and one to the upstairs tv. When i originally set it all up, thiswas what i wanted, as we wanted to be able to let the kids watch a video upstairs while we watched something else on the downstairs tv. Less need for this now, as we have a dvd player connected to the upstairs tv.

I have 2 scarts attached to the stb, one going to the tv and one to the vcr.

I have now discovered I CAN receive the signal from the stb upstairs, but if someone puts on a video downstairs that over-rides the signal (presumably as the booster is taking its input from the vcr, but, as mentioned above, no reason why i should continue to have the vcr feeding the booster).

Couldn't get the sender to work at all. It connects via scart, and it didn't seem to matter whether i connected it to the stb or the vcr, i couldn't receive anything upstairs. Also, using up a scart socket that way then meant other things not working properly. Also the receiver upstairs needs to connect to the scart on the tv, and it only has one, which meant unplugging my dvd player. Don't think the sender is going to solve my problems after all - i am eating a large slice of humble pie as i write; shouldn't have rushed into buying it. Hope wolf is right about maplin's willingness to take it back!

think my options are to either make up a cable to connect the rf output on the stb to my booster (probably easiest), or to get a 3-way splitter in place of my current 2-way, so that i can have a direct cable signal going into the booster as well as to the stb and vcr. all i really need to do is make sure i can watch the cable signal upstairs, uninterrupted if someone wants to watch a video downstairs. will this work, or can anyone suggest some better way i should have everything connected together - remember, though - KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Any thoughts?

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

The Maplin sender should work in conjunction with a Red-Eye Translator, and if the Maplin one is 30 quid, this combination will be cheaper than the digisender Gold option, which is the only remote+video sender that copes with NTLs IRDA (blacK) remotes

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I use a product called a DigiEye to send the remote control signals from upstairs to my downstairs STB. Works fine with my NTL PACE 1000 STB. As I understand it the average infra red remote control unit cannot cope with the diverity of signal range needed by the STB having to do interactive, email and all that sort of nonsense.

http://www.easylife.co.uk/servlet/Ea...roduct=DG100DE (not an endorsement of the vendor who I have never used - other sellers probably located after a quick google)

As for your wiring, you are almost there. Simply disconnect the coaxial aerial out from your video to your booster. Instead run a coaxial from the STB aerial out to the booster and that should be it.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Not wishing to be too harsh, but these solutions are all quite complex. My way (which is far simpler) is as follows:

Get a standard UHF aerial lead and plug it from the RF output of the STB to the socket on the wall where your old terrestrial TV used to come from. (Most people still have these)

Plug the TV in the room you want to watch into the socket on the wall (again, normal UHF aerial lead).

Go into the loft and find where the two aerial leads (i.e. the one from the STB in the lounge and the one from the second TV) come out and join 'em up. No amp needed, no fancy splitters, just a cheap 'n' simple aerial connector. Job's a good 'un!

Ok, so you can't watch cable on more than one TV around the house, you can't change channels and you can't watch more than one channel at once, but it works and it's simple. I use it for watching TV in the kitchen while I'm cooking and it works well. Good enough quality for a 15" LCD TV and simple to do (it took me 20 minutes).

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I just put a UHF aerial splitter (one of the cheap chearful kind) into my old aerial wall socket. The took a standard UHF aerial lead from for the "TV" connector on the STB and plugged it into one arm of the splitter. Then ran a UHF aerial from the other arm of the splitter to my other TV. Hey presto digital & terrestrial down one lead.

Not sure why it works but for two aerials and a splitter was a piece of cake

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

KIS - you are nearly there.

Please print out a copy of the drawing above. Then get a pen and cross out 'Distribution Amplifier' and write 'Booster' instead. Then cross out the box marked 'Main HiFi' and the green and red lines going to it. Then cross out the red line at the top going from 'FM' to 'VHF', all the little yellow boxes and the box labelled 'Radio'. Now, there you have it - completely - and that will work. You will even be able to do fancy stuff like record a cable channel while watching different, terrestrial, ones on the TVs.

Using a 3-way splitter will not work.

Really, this is not complicated and you have already done all the hard work by putting the cable in.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I used to have the STB fed via the RF through into the VCR, then on the VCR output I had a splitter (inductive) which then fed both the front room TV & the back room TV.

I could watch all channels in both rooms.
All i could not do was change the STB channel.

Total cost was about £1.

If you need to put it through an amp (you should not need to unless your signal is really naff) then try that before the splitter.
(that will then amplify the signal before it gets split, which reduces the signal level.

I took it a bit further & then went to another series of splitters to feed 3 other rooms, all via RF cables.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

BTW, to make a 3 way splitter, get 2 x 2 way splitters & have the output of one fed into the input of the other.

If you use splitters, the "inductive" ones are much better than the "resistive" ones as they have a lower signal loss.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Thanks all for your help.

Firstly, daern :

The wall socket is only linked to the cable running down the external wall from an old rooftoop aerial which is no longer there! (it blew down in a storm and was never replaced as i now have cable and didn't need it).

No aerial leads in the loft, as far as i know. Main lead runs down external wall, as mentioned above. Only aerial lead to second tv is the one from the downstairs signal booster.


altis:

yup, can already do all that.

Have compared your modified diagram (with all the unnecessary bits crossed off as you suggest) to my own drawing. No problem with the scart leads :) . Seems to me the only real difference is i don't have the rf lead from the stb to the vcr. I'm not totally sure why that is a problem, as my incoming cable is split - if i have a direct feed from the cable into the vcr, do i need a feed from the stb to the vcr? or is it something to do with the difference between the raw incoming signal and the decoded signal which i guess comes out of the stb?

MovedGoalPosts seems to have come up with the simplest and most logical suggestion:

because the booster currently takes its feed from the vcr, that is why the upstairs tv can view whatever is on the stb, but if a video is played then it can only view what the video is playing. If i run a lead from the stb to the booster instead, as suggested, it should solve that problem, i.e. even if a video is played downstairs, the upstairs tv will still be able to see the signal from the stb.

Can someone just confirm that, because the connectors on the stb and booster are different, i need a cable with an rf plug on one end and an rf socket on the other?

Thanks all for being patient with me :dunce:

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Yes that is exactly what the problem is!

The signal that you STB decodes is digital. None of your TVs will understand this signal but, fortunately, the STB will convert it to one that they can - this is what comes out of the RF-output.

There is no need to worry about the gender of an RF connector - they both do the same function - you just need to ensure that it mates correctly! Here is a picture of the back of my STB with the connectors labelled.

MGP's suggestion will allow you to watch the STB upstairs but you will no longer be able to watch the terrestrial channels or the video upstairs and you will not be able to watch terrestrial downstairs while recording some other cable channel.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

OK, so what is the solution? Presumably you are saying i should take an rf lead from the stb output and connect to the vcr? If i do that, the incoming cable (or, rather, 'half' of the split cable) which currently goes into the vcr will be left hanging spare. That seems wasteful - should i plug it into the tv, instead of the lead it currently has from the booster? This would presumably give better quality on the terrestrial channels when the stb is switched off (on standby) - currently, because the tv gets it signal from the booster, the picture quality on 1-5 is significantly poorer than when i watch them via the stb.

Thanks again for all your help.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Can someone just confirm that, because the connectors on the stb and booster are different, i need a cable with an rf plug on one end and an rf socket on the other?

Thanks all for being patient with me :dunce:[/QUOTE]

You can use a rf back to back connector like this below to overcome the problem with the connecting a rf adaptor to the rf of your stb

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I'm afraid it all depends what type of STB you have. Please post the type number at the next opportunity. I also need to know if you have an ordinary terrestrial aerial that you can use. You'd probably best explain about the splitter too. Was it part of the original installation or have you introduced it yourself? Is it screwed to the wall and looks like this?

If your box has an internal pass-thru then you don't need an external aerial. Simply wire it up exactly as the diagram but without the aerial and lead - you won't need your splitter either.

If your box doesn't have a pass-thru but you do have an external aerial then wire it exactly as the diagram. Again, you won't need your splitter.

If you don't have an external aerial you can use the now-spare leg of your splitter instead. Connect it to the RF input of your STB.

However, intuition leads me to suspect that you have one of the newer boxes without an RF input connection. If this is the case then the last two options won't work. Let me know and I'll lead you through the possible solutions.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

I do have one of those on the wall. The fm cable goes to my hi-fi. The tv cable, however is then split into two, and that's the splitter i was referring to. One half goes into the stb and the other half goes into the vcr. I think the engineer did it that way when he installed it because i specifically said i needed to be able to watch the video signal upstairs.

I will check what model of stb i have tonight and let you know.

Took the wireless sender back to maplins at lunchtime and they refunded me with no problem. I bought a cable to connect either from stb to vcr or from stb to booster - will do some more experimenting tonight and let you know the outcome :)

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

OK, here's an update,

altis, my stb is a Pace DI4001NC, Part No. 541 4807735. The front looks like this , and the rear looks like this. The splitter i mentioned looks like this - apologies for the writing not being too clear - my flash kept reflecting off it.

I tried the cable i bought today, connecting it from the tv out socket on the stb to either my vcr or to my booster. I was surprised to find that neither worked - i could not receive any sound or picture on the tv anymore. Even when i connected the cable directly to the tv, it picked up NO signal. Did i get the wrong sort of cable? it was from maplins, GW61R - VCR/TV Aerial lead (Coax [IEC 169-2] plug to coax socket). Or do i need to re-tune the tv to find the signal? When i connected the cable to the vcr i tried re-tuning that, but it could not find a signal.

In answer to your other question, as mentioned in an earlier post, I do not have a terrestrial aerial any longer - just my ntl cable.

A recap on what i have and what i want:

Currently, on the main set in the lounge I can watch channels 1 to 5 even with the stb switched off, and can video any of those whilst watching a different cable channel via the stb. Likewise i can video a cable channel by setting the video to record the av channel, whilst watching any channel from 1 to 5. Switching the tv to av receives either the signal from the stb, or, if a video is playing, from the vcr. dvd is built into the tv, rather than being separate (thank goodness, that's one less complication!)

Upstairs i can also view channels 1 to 5, or switching to av gives me whatever channel the stb is set to downstairs, or, if playing, the video signal from downstairs.

All i want to achieve is to be able to watch a cable channel upstairs whilst someone else watches a video downstairs. If anyone is new to this thread, see the diagram i posted earlier that shows how everything is currently connected.

What do i need to change? Starting to think i should just leave it be, lol.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Keep it simpler & non technical & without any wiring at all.

Obtain a few large mirrors & arrange them so that they all reflect the picture out of the front room, up the stairs & into the bedroom.
You shold then have a suitable video picture to watch, just turn the volume up & your away.

Note: you may have to sit upside down to watch this. :D :D

There, no wiring needed.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Thanks, zoom. u gotta laugh!

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

That's brilliant KIS. It tells me a lot about what's going on.

The lead you bought from Maplin is fine.

I think we need to determine first whether you box is faulty - it should be providing an RF output signal. Your new lead could be faulty but I think that's unlikely.

I suggest that you lug your other TV downstairs and connect it directly to the RF output of the STB. Switch on the STB and make sure you can see some channel on the main TV. Now do a tuning search on the other TV. There should be just one channel (probably number sixty-something) showing the same as the main TV. If there isn't try another lead if you can.

From your photos I can se that your box doesn't have an aerial input. This causes a little problem but we'll come to that later when we've determined if your box is faulty.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Just had a thought...

Before you move anything you could check out your new lead. Conveniently, it has a plug at one end and a socket at the other. Just slip it into the RF lead somewhere between your splitter and your remote TV and make sure you can still see a picture as before - then you'll know if it's definately working.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

OK, making progress (sort of).

Turns out the cable i bought does work, and there IS a signal from the rf output on the stb :Yes: I was in a rush last night because i had to go out, so was careless in my tests. I still had the tv tuned to channel 1 , instead of av, and of course with it taking the signal from the stb rather than the incoming cable it was not receiving the analogue terrestrial channels!

I have now modified my set-up to give a short-term solution. Instead of connecting the output from the vcr to my booster (which was causing me to get the video signal upstairs instead of ntl when a video was played downstairs) I have now connected the vcr output to the tv, and the output from the stb to the booster.

Everything downstairs still works :) . Because the video is being fed by the incoming cable, and the tv is being fed by the video, I can still get channels 1-5 and can still video one of them whilst watching a cable channel, or vice versa.

Upstairs, because my booster signal is now coming from the stb, I ONLY get whatever channel is viewing on the stb. As long as no-one changes the channel, I can watch my football undisturbed :) , and those downstairs will be free to watch any channel from 1 to 5 or a video or a dvd, without affecting my signal. The downside is I no longer get any terrestrial channels upstairs, but I think I will try getting one of those powered electronic set-top aerials with a built-in signal booster. Then if i want to watch 1 to 5 upstairs i just need to unplug the feed from downstairs and plug in the set-top aerial. Better still, is there a simple adapter that will allow me to have both 'aerials' plugged in at once?

Thanks again to all who helped me try to sort this out.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

That's good news - everything works - well sort of.

All you need now is a combiner such as one of these. If you ring up NTL customer services they should be able to supply you with one - although the may insist that an engineer fits it. It allows you to combine together the RF output of your STB and the 'spare' leg of the splitter so you have a single feed to your booster.

You could achieve the same effect with another splitter wired in reverse. It would work but I wouldn't recommend it since part of the STB's RF output will pass back up the cable. NTL won't be happy and your neighbours will be able to see what you are watching late at night ;)

Best of luck with customer services. If they won't play ball then there are other, more long winded, ways of achieving the same effect. Let us know what happens.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Thanks, altis. I'm not really confident about being able to explain to customer services exactly what i need. In any case, I don't actually have a 'spare' leg of the splitter (It's ok, I'm not surprised you've forgotten what my configuration looks like, it's so long since I posted the drawing and so many possible variations have been discussed/tried, lol)

The incoming cable splits, with one leg going into the stb, and the other into the vcr (which it needs to do to allow me to be able to video one of the terrestrial channels while watching cable, or vice versa).

I think I will stick to my plan - the latest one; about 'plan z' i think. I've looked at the maplin site again and they do a nifty little gadget for plugging 2 signal sources into one aerial socket - intended for people with a playstation or such like - which has a switch on it for switching between sources. It looks like this: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...tid=2995&stc=1 and it's only £3.99.


That, together with a set-top indoor aerial should be all i need for upstairs - i can just plug in the set-top aerial and the cable signal from downstairs and be able to easily switch between them.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Just ask for a combiner. They will know what you mean - well they should do. If they don't just say your box doesn't have an aerial input and you need to arrange one.

The 'spare' leg I was on about is the one you referred to earlier in post #27. Look at my diagram above. Imagine the small box, top left, is your splitter. One output leg goes to the cable input of your STB (as now) the other output connects to the aerial input of your combiner. The second input of the combiner comes from the RF output of your STB. The output of the combiner goes to the aerial input of your VCR.

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

My first post!

Took a while to read through this thread, & confirmed to me how involved it can get trying to pipe signals around the house.

I have a Pace DI4001N STB & decided to go for the DG400 Digisender. It's not cheap (about £120 from Argos), but it does seem to cover all eventualities. I have a video recorder & DVD player also plugged into it, & all 3 remotes work fine in the 2nd room. You can also watch any combination of them in both rooms, although you need to watch standard terrestrial through the video recorder in the 2nd room.

Must admit though, I wasn't sure it was going to work at first!

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

Sorry to go a little:notopic: I have 2 STB's one a 1000 series for the main TV and one 2000 that is used for separate TV and BB. Apart from the older 1000 box having a crossover ethernet socket they are both like the one in your picture, however that does not show the other two sockets at the opposite end of the STB labelled RS232 DCE and IEEE 1284, what are these sockets intended for if anything, possibly an unused function :confused:

Re: How can i watch ntl in another room?
 

My manual says:

RS232 DCE connector - For service use only
(I guess it could be used as a debug port or to download software)

IEEE 1284 connector (sometimes known as a parallel port) - To connect a printer (for future use)

These together with the Mondex bank-card slot on the front suggest that someone had an idea that, one day, the STB should be a user-friendly computer so they tried to cover all angles.