in wall tv and speakers - amp?
Discussion
Im rejigging things about a bit at home and as part of that in the kitchen I'm going to put a slim false wall panel up with tv and speakers sunk in.
I have already done this in the past and have some great RBH 616 in wall speakers to use.
My question is, in my living room, I have sky hd feeding to a Yamaha amp and kef egg speakers, this also feeds to a set of speakers in the kitchen (from same amp) so I can presumably take a feed from those into these new speakers to get sky sound.
Can I also take any sort of a feed from my sky box so i can get HD in the next room also?
And, as an aside, i'd like these speakers to play music from an ipod dock, if i do that, will i need another amp for them?
Itsnot a hugely elegant solution but Ive almost confused myself with it a bit!
I have already done this in the past and have some great RBH 616 in wall speakers to use.
My question is, in my living room, I have sky hd feeding to a Yamaha amp and kef egg speakers, this also feeds to a set of speakers in the kitchen (from same amp) so I can presumably take a feed from those into these new speakers to get sky sound.
Can I also take any sort of a feed from my sky box so i can get HD in the next room also?
And, as an aside, i'd like these speakers to play music from an ipod dock, if i do that, will i need another amp for them?
Itsnot a hugely elegant solution but Ive almost confused myself with it a bit!
Depends on your amp, what is it BTW?
Some amps have a 2nd speaker output that will simply allow extra speakers to play what you are already playing in the main room. Normally the 2nd outputs are switchableOften this will limit the main speakers to stereo as well when you use speaker B (I presume your amp is a surround amp)
Some higher end amps will have a 2nd zone where you can use the amp to play other sources in a different room, Normally you would assign the unused channels of a 7.1 amp used with 5.1 speakers to be zone 2 instead of the extra surrounds. (Some amps have the extra zone feature but its unamplified via RCA outputs and would still need an amp in zone 2 to use)
Additionally this would limit the zone 2 to analogue inputs only, so in the case of your Sky box I presume you use the optical/coax to get get Dolby Digital from Sky HD. In that case you'd also need an ana;logue connection for sound from the sky box.
If you want HD in the 2nd room then you'll need an HDMI splitter and either a long HDMI cable or some sort of extender (These have a small box at each end that connects to HDMI and then 1 or 2 Ethernet cables linking the boxs together. HDMI gets marginal and very expensive over 10m or so. Even at 10m results can vary depending on sources and cables used
Another alternative to a splitter would be a Matrix switch, commonly 4 in 2 out, these let you switch between the 4 inputs independently so you could watch the same OR different HDMI sources in the 2 rooms. These can be pricey though starting at around £100 and going up from there.
Another option would be to use a scart lead from your Sky Box, it wont be HD but could still be more than acceptable depending on the screen size, I ran with scart for a while on my 32" LCD in the kitchen/dining room and even with scart the HD channels are obviously better than SD channels (bit weird that but true)
Personally I have a Matrix switch in my lounge feeding my 2nd TV in the kitchen (With Sky HD and My PS3) and then a seperate stereo amp connected to the audio outs on the TV feeding my in wall speakers. I also then then have a local source (in my case a squeezebox but could be your ipod/dock) connected to the stereo amp
Some amps have a 2nd speaker output that will simply allow extra speakers to play what you are already playing in the main room. Normally the 2nd outputs are switchableOften this will limit the main speakers to stereo as well when you use speaker B (I presume your amp is a surround amp)
Some higher end amps will have a 2nd zone where you can use the amp to play other sources in a different room, Normally you would assign the unused channels of a 7.1 amp used with 5.1 speakers to be zone 2 instead of the extra surrounds. (Some amps have the extra zone feature but its unamplified via RCA outputs and would still need an amp in zone 2 to use)
Additionally this would limit the zone 2 to analogue inputs only, so in the case of your Sky box I presume you use the optical/coax to get get Dolby Digital from Sky HD. In that case you'd also need an ana;logue connection for sound from the sky box.
If you want HD in the 2nd room then you'll need an HDMI splitter and either a long HDMI cable or some sort of extender (These have a small box at each end that connects to HDMI and then 1 or 2 Ethernet cables linking the boxs together. HDMI gets marginal and very expensive over 10m or so. Even at 10m results can vary depending on sources and cables used
Another alternative to a splitter would be a Matrix switch, commonly 4 in 2 out, these let you switch between the 4 inputs independently so you could watch the same OR different HDMI sources in the 2 rooms. These can be pricey though starting at around £100 and going up from there.
Another option would be to use a scart lead from your Sky Box, it wont be HD but could still be more than acceptable depending on the screen size, I ran with scart for a while on my 32" LCD in the kitchen/dining room and even with scart the HD channels are obviously better than SD channels (bit weird that but true)
Personally I have a Matrix switch in my lounge feeding my 2nd TV in the kitchen (With Sky HD and My PS3) and then a seperate stereo amp connected to the audio outs on the TV feeding my in wall speakers. I also then then have a local source (in my case a squeezebox but could be your ipod/dock) connected to the stereo amp
Edited by JimbobVFR on Thursday 20th September 22:53
Hi Jimbob, thanks for the reply.
I'd need to check the model no of the amp but it has hdmi connections and yes has 3 zones, at present I use zone 2 as the garden so have a 3rd spare.
Its about a 7m run between the skybox and the new tv in kitchen so and hdmi lead run outside the house (house on stilts so can hide underneath) would work.
I dont think zone 2 currently will play the sound from the skybox source through the amp, maybe because its digital?
I'd need to check the model no of the amp but it has hdmi connections and yes has 3 zones, at present I use zone 2 as the garden so have a 3rd spare.
Its about a 7m run between the skybox and the new tv in kitchen so and hdmi lead run outside the house (house on stilts so can hide underneath) would work.
I dont think zone 2 currently will play the sound from the skybox source through the amp, maybe because its digital?
Yes you would need an extra analogue audio connection to the amp. An RCA (AKA Phono) lead from sky to amp will be fine, as long as your box has Red and White audio sockets on the back. I've not seen the newest boxes but presume they still have the analogue outs.
Its also worth mentioning that unless things have changed very recently Sky are quite annoying in that the HD box only outputs stereo audio via the HDMI lead, to get proper Dolby Digital surround you also need a separate digital audio connection. (optical or co-ax depending on whats available on the box and amp) If you are just using HDMI to the amp then you'll actually only be getting Stereo audio, which your amp will output as Dolby Pro Logic 2, It'll still sound good but you will be missing out on proper DD audio.
The other thing is (again depends on the amp) that most surround amps will have 7 discreet amplifiers, now all 7 would be used if you have 7.1 speakers but if you only have 5.1 speakers the 2 spare can be re-assigned, in your case I would guess to drive zone 2. This may mean there's no amplifiers left to drive Zone 3, The Zone 3 may be a line level output designed to be used with another stereo amp in zone 3. Certainly this is the way it works with my NAD amp. Although in my case I've assigned the 2 spare channels to Bi-Amp my main floor standing speakers with good results. This means my amp would need amplification for zone 2 and 3, neither of which I use as I prefer a seperate amp in the other room anyway
Its also worth mentioning that unless things have changed very recently Sky are quite annoying in that the HD box only outputs stereo audio via the HDMI lead, to get proper Dolby Digital surround you also need a separate digital audio connection. (optical or co-ax depending on whats available on the box and amp) If you are just using HDMI to the amp then you'll actually only be getting Stereo audio, which your amp will output as Dolby Pro Logic 2, It'll still sound good but you will be missing out on proper DD audio.
The other thing is (again depends on the amp) that most surround amps will have 7 discreet amplifiers, now all 7 would be used if you have 7.1 speakers but if you only have 5.1 speakers the 2 spare can be re-assigned, in your case I would guess to drive zone 2. This may mean there's no amplifiers left to drive Zone 3, The Zone 3 may be a line level output designed to be used with another stereo amp in zone 3. Certainly this is the way it works with my NAD amp. Although in my case I've assigned the 2 spare channels to Bi-Amp my main floor standing speakers with good results. This means my amp would need amplification for zone 2 and 3, neither of which I use as I prefer a seperate amp in the other room anyway
Glad I could help. Let me know if there's anything else.
Oh and by the way I should mention, but I didn't earlier, running an HDMI outside should be fine. However I'd recommend running in trunking or conduit as the PVC cover will be susceptible to UV and will deteriorate, it may be OK in a sheltered location but just to be sure.
Oh and by the way I should mention, but I didn't earlier, running an HDMI outside should be fine. However I'd recommend running in trunking or conduit as the PVC cover will be susceptible to UV and will deteriorate, it may be OK in a sheltered location but just to be sure.
CraigVmax said:
can i use the splitter to another room as well as the kitchen and would it cause any degradation in signal?
I presume you mean the HDMI splitter?If so the answer is yes you can and it wont cause signaql degredation if you use a decent splitter. By that I mean a powered one. You can get some awful cheap crap, some of which steal power from the HDMI itself and can cause issues.
The only thing to bear in mind if using a splitter is that both/all TVs must support the same resolutions, wont be an issue with Sky as thats 720P or 1080i max anyway. In my setup my 42" plasma is 720P and my 32" LCD supports 1080p which means I normally run my PS3 at 720P so it works to both rooms. I'm not sure I can tell the difference on the 32" anyway.
I've used www.hdcable.co.uk for this sort of stuff and they've been excellent, I lost a remote for my matrix and asked on AVF if anyone had the codes for use with my Pronto Remote, HDCable sent me a new remote FOC, can't say fairer than that. They since changed their site to www.hdconnectivity.com
For splitters they do a 2 way for £40 or a 4 way for £90, I'm sure you can get cheaper but TBH the customer service is worth it
http://www.hdconnectivity.com/splitters.html
Edited by JimbobVFR on Thursday 27th September 12:00
Another thought, getting a Matrix switch meaning I could watch all of my devices in both of my roooms was a brilliant idea
http://www.hdconnectivity.com/matrix/4x2-hdmi-matr...
Only 2 outputs but either zone can watch and control any of your devices, not just Sky but your BluRay, PS3, X Box 360 etc etc.
http://www.hdconnectivity.com/matrix/4x2-hdmi-matr...
Only 2 outputs but either zone can watch and control any of your devices, not just Sky but your BluRay, PS3, X Box 360 etc etc.
Ok so... It's all done, pics to follow but.. The tv signal in the rest of the house is suffering.
Set up is thus..
I have an Amsterdam sky hd box, I've always outputted from it direct to the room it's in via hdmi but also gone out from its rf, into my wall co ax socket which sends my terrestrial aerial signal through the rest of the house. Both with a great picture.
I just plugged th hdmi splitter into the skybox so I can send an hd feed to the kitchen as discussed. This worked fine but I've noticed that the terrestrial signal in the rest of the house is worse. Any help appreciated.
Set up is thus..
I have an Amsterdam sky hd box, I've always outputted from it direct to the room it's in via hdmi but also gone out from its rf, into my wall co ax socket which sends my terrestrial aerial signal through the rest of the house. Both with a great picture.
I just plugged th hdmi splitter into the skybox so I can send an hd feed to the kitchen as discussed. This worked fine but I've noticed that the terrestrial signal in the rest of the house is worse. Any help appreciated.
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