MySky HDI via Cat6?

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normsmith

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#28071 17-Nov-2008 19:36

Hi,

I recently had my house built and had coaxial wiring to all the rooms so I could have sky in every room. Of course I did not know much about hidef TV back then and didn't put HDMI cables in place. However my potential saving grace is that next to every TV outlet there is a cat6 port which terminates at a switch.

What would be the best solution to capture the hidef content in real-time from the MySky decoder and send it through the Cat6 link to other destinations in the house? Is this even possible?

Thanks
Norm

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346 posts

Ultimate Geek

#178441 17-Nov-2008 19:59

Yes you can send HDMI over Cat 6.

Not sure where in NZ you can get this gear, but here is a US site for your reference.

http://www.svideo.com/hdmicat5.html

C

CYaBro

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#178442 17-Nov-2008 20:00

Hey, it is possible with two CAT5e/CAT6 cables by using HDMI baluns.
If there is only 1 CAT5e/CAT6 cable then the best you could do would be S-video plus left & right audio or component video with SPDIF digital audio.

Just saw the link that Tockly posted. Didn't realise they were available. Not cheap though!

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

normsmith

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#178445 17-Nov-2008 20:09

Thanks for the replies. Using the extender sounds like a good option but i believe I would lose my network port if I was to go down this path. The extender would just treat my cat6 as a cable.

jjnz1

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#178446 17-Nov-2008 20:14

You can get a pair of HDMI baluns from any electrical wholesaler, most of them have it on their shelves.. yes you do need 2 cat5e cables thou. MySkyHDi when connected using component, sends it's signals out in 1080p anyway so hdmi is not that neccesary, if your tv can recieve component 1080p.

Summary:

HDMI == 2x CAT5e == runs over 150m == costs around $230 inc gst per pair (Cat6 works better)

Component (1080p) == 1x cat5e == runs over 90m == costs around $280 inc gst per pair == also uses same cable to send coaxal digital audio. (spdif). If your tv has HDMI chances are it has Coaxal Digital In.

Lower quality tv's like philips are not really compatible using these when running in excess of 20mtrs

I can set up a trademe auction if you would like to buy some.

Philips SUCK! -I own one! Samsungs rule!

jjnz1

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#178448 17-Nov-2008 20:17

normsmith: Thanks for the replies. Using the extender sounds like a good option but i believe I would lose my network port if I was to go down this path. The extender would just treat my cat6 as a cable.

If it was me i would go with a wireless card and do away with your cat6 port just to have an excellent picture/sound at the other tv.

eXDee

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#178458 17-Nov-2008 20:42

You'd have to use Component anyway because HDMI is obviously HDCP enforced and cannot be split, only switched. Component however could output to multiple TV's at the same time.

stuzzo

534 posts

Ultimate Geek

#178499 18-Nov-2008 01:05

eXDee: You'd have to use Component anyway because HDMI is obviously HDCP enforced and cannot be split, only switched. Component however could output to multiple TV's at the same time.

HDMI can be split no problem. HDCP handshaking is done from source to each display.

There is really no way to capture MySky HDi content in high-def and send on a single cable but I guess you could with Freeview with a digital tuner card and stream to another room.

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ockel

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Uber Geek

#178509 18-Nov-2008 08:37

You could try these guys in NZ.

http://www.rapalloav.co.nz/products.php?cat=22

Online sales only and, again, not cheap.

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eXDee

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#178577 18-Nov-2008 14:06

stuzzo:HDMI can be split no problem. HDCP handshaking is done from source to each display.

Wha?
So i can split my HDMI cable from my Mysky and run it to both the TV upstairs and the one its plugged into downstairs?
Not sure how that works with HDCP, but if its possible i'm absolutely amazed.

normsmith

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#178585 18-Nov-2008 14:23

Thanks for all your posts.

What I was actually after was an IP based solution i.e. capture hidef content from sky decoder, and stream via my network to media extenders around the house.

Since it's the compressed hidef data I'd be transferring I would only be using a fraction of the bandwidth.

sbiddle

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#178589 18-Nov-2008 14:55

normsmith: Thanks for all your posts.

What I was actually after was an IP based solution i.e. capture hidef content from sky decoder, and stream via my network to media extenders around the house.

Since it's the compressed hidef data I'd be transferring I would only be using a fraction of the bandwidth.

I hope you have a good budget

What you want to do can't be done simply or cheaply. There is no way to take HD content from an existing Sky box and send it to media extenders.

There are ways of doing it but they probably are well outside your budget and would involve replacing everything yoo have and switching to a PC based solution in the loung as the extenders.

Dingbatt

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#178597 18-Nov-2008 15:53

eXDee:
stuzzo:HDMI can be split no problem. HDCP handshaking is done from source to each display.

Wha?
So i can split my HDMI cable from my Mysky and run it to both the TV upstairs and the one its plugged into downstairs?
Not sure how that works with HDCP, but if its possible i'm absolutely amazed.

I have seen this

http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=5592

and have been considering it for my setup.

“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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#178618 18-Nov-2008 17:52

sbiddle:
normsmith: Thanks for all your posts.

What I was actually after was an IP based solution i.e. capture hidef content from sky decoder, and stream via my network to media extenders around the house.

Since it's the compressed hidef data I'd be transferring I would only be using a fraction of the bandwidth.

I hope you have a good budget

What you want to do can't be done simply or cheaply. There is no way to take HD content from an existing Sky box and send it to media extenders.

There are ways of doing it but they probably are well outside your budget and would involve replacing everything yoo have and switching to a PC based solution in the loung as the extenders.

This.
Not to mention you'd have to use component as mentioned, or to capture HDMI you have to illegally strip the HDCP and then buy an expensive capture card and thats not even getting into the streaming part.

One way however of doing it would be to ditch the Mysky HDI box for a HTPC, and use DVB-S2 cards to pull the content yourself off the satellite while using your sky smartcard + NDSCam to decrypt the content. This however is not 100% stable and would still cost a fair bit.

Dingbatt:
eXDee:
stuzzo:HDMI can be split no problem. HDCP handshaking is done from source to each display.

Wha?
So i can split my HDMI cable from my Mysky and run it to both the TV upstairs and the one its plugged into downstairs?
Not sure how that works with HDCP, but if its possible i'm absolutely amazed.

I have seen this

http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=5592

and have been considering it for my setup.

Interesting, but at $200 without a $80 10m HDMI cable im glad we ran component cable since it was already lying around. Movies are downscaled but thats not a big deal. For a new house/setup or a lot of HDTV's that might be a good option - but for two, i think not.

sbiddle

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#178621 18-Nov-2008 18:08

Jaycar have 4 way HDMI splitters now as well. They aren't yet on their website (new product) but they are in their Nov flyer and were around $130ish from memory.

JaBZ

404 posts

Ultimate Geek

#178705 18-Nov-2008 22:47

I use these CAT6 extenders with this HDMI Splitter came to approx $170 works great.

My opinions and ideas expressed in posts are solely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer in any way..

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