Musings/Setup Dilemma

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eXDee

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#25829 2-Sep-2008 21:57

Okay, this might seem a bit complicated, but im getting a bit frustrated.
Anyway, we have 2 LCD TV's and recently someone else in the house decided to get MySky HDi, though we had recently just built the HTPC which has been out of service for short while due to hardware issues.

As you may know these both perform the same role as a PVR, but the Mysky obviously does Sky and the HTPC does Freeview HD, with sky on the Svideo input, which doesn't really work out for the HD channels.
Awesome mspaint diagram of the setup:

So what i'm trying to figure out is now how do i fit the HTPC back into it? We still watch videos stored on the hard drive so it will be used, however not for the original purpose.

Options i think include:

1) I attempt to integrate Sky into the HTPC by buying a DVB-S2 tuner and tuning in directly with my trusty 45xx card. I loose a bit of ease of use of the HDi but the biggest concern is loosing the component out which is servicing the TV upstairs with HD sports since this isnt downscaled over component. This would be a good option if it wasnt for the last bit.

2) Same as above but buying another whole HTPC for upstairs too, being a client of the downstairs one. This solves the component issue but is very expensive.

2) Putting the HTPC upstairs, which means i will have a means of recording up there which there isnt currently, though not a big issue. I would have to use the DVD home theatre's HDMI cable since we cant really run any more cables to the TV (hard to explain), and i would have to unplug the optical sound input into the home theatre which is currently being used by the TV with integrated tuner, since there is only one. I'd also have to take the aerial cable to the TV since unless i run a splitter.

3) Trash HTPC completely

. This would make me sad since time + money has been spent, it has a lot of potential etc, you know the rest.

Im starting to pull my hair out since its not going as i want, pretty much thanks to the HDi unit.

Dingbatt

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#161756 3-Sep-2008 09:12

Hi
If I have not grasped exactly what you're after I apologise.
From what I understand you are trying to get the HTPC back into the system so it can be watched on either display.
My setup is a little similar in that I have all my HDMI sources and AV equipment in a central cupboard. I use a 4x2 HDMI matrix switch to send info to my displays (i.e. 4in, 2out). The switch has an IR remote so works in nicely with my IR sender.

My supposition is that you can replace the component cable to upstairs with HDMI (I have a 10m cable running to the plasma in the other room). Then you connect all your hdmi sources to the 4x2 switch and your 2 displays likewise (sorry don't have awesome paint diagram to illustrate).

      HTPC---------         ---------upstairsLCD
                         [4x2]
MySkyHDi---------     ---------downstairsLCD

If you can't change the component cables, it sounds like you have cat5 to the upstairs so you can get baluns to convert to and from hdmi (need 2 cat5s tho'). The 4 in ports allow for other sources to be added.

While there is plenty more I could do with my layout I am resisting because as sources get cheaper, the cost and hassle of cabling and switches overtake the cost of extra sources. That is certainly what happened to me with DVD/Component only a few years ago.

Incidentally, while in Australia last week I saw a Panasonic Blu-Ray Hard-Drive Recorder (DMR-BW500), it was $AUD1999. The salesman made a big deal of the fact that Australia was the only country outside Japan that had it. But it must only be a matter of time until it hits these shores (with the correct tuner installed). http://panasonic.com.au/products/category.cfm?objectID=3513

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

eXDee

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#161904 3-Sep-2008 16:54

Sorry, i kinda should have explained it better, so heres what i want to do
-Get Sky in HD (sports) both upstairs and downstairs as it is now
-Have the HTPC part of the system (provides TV to the desktop computers as well as record freeview HD)
-Ease of use without having to constantly change lots ofnputs etc.

It seems i simply can't do it without a second HTPC for the TV upstairs. I would go for the Sky on HTPC option if i could get clone monitors working so i can get the same picture on each TV but i dont think it works.

kevthesparky

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#161924 3-Sep-2008 18:48

Hi wot scale does sky hdi put out in component???

You could get an av selector and position it in the main tv location some av selectors have dual outputs so you could go to your local tv and remote tv.

Have a gander at these.

http://www.avico.com.au/products/products.asp?qs1=1&qs2=236&qs3=1393&qs4=4088

http://www.avico.com.au/products/products.asp?qs1=1&qs2=236&qs3=1393&qs4=4091

Dingbatt has a matrix switch and these work really well they can be expensive but are comming down in price if you want complete versatility then you need one. Yoe get what you pay for.

Cheers

eXDee

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#161948 3-Sep-2008 20:13

Cheers for the suggestions guys.
I'm pretty sure sky doesn't downscale the sports channels as mentioned by someone else on here, so unless my eyes deceive me i think its 720p - though it might be hard to tell with sky's HD broadcasts, they are noticeably lower quality than freeview.

Dingbatt

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#162037 4-Sep-2008 09:32

Yes, I didn't consider that you might want to watch SkyHD on the two TVs at the same time.
If that is not the case then a matrix switch (mine cost $145) is perhaps less expensive, but less flexible than a client PC. It does allow hdmi to each display and doesn't affect the ethernet connections to the client PCs. I use a universal remote, so the multi button pushes required for switching is removed from the equation.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

kevthesparky

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#162206 4-Sep-2008 17:52

dingbatt what type of matrix switcher do you have. I did a bit of investigation for a client and the one I priced was around $1500.00 are you not talking about an hdmi switcher.