Hiding AV equipment in cupboard.....what about sky box?
Hiding AV equipment in cupboard.....what about sky box?
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Discussion

IceBoy

Original Poster:

2,455 posts

245 months

Monday 30th January 2017
quotequote all
Hi All,

Apologies for the questions of late! LOL

So I will be going for a multi-room audio system as discussed before, amplifier, switches in cupboard under the stairs, control via ipad, mounted all the wall with cieling speakers and subs.

There will be two main rooms with TV's.....should the sky box go with the TV (underneath) or should both sky boxes go under the stairs?

Pros and cons please, if in cupboard then I would use the IR extender thingys.

IceBoy

KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Monday 30th January 2017
quotequote all
I have my Sky Q boxes under the staires.

Connects in to my AV amp which connects to my TV via HDBaseT extenders and use the IR extenders to control it.

Works perfectly.

Andehh

7,511 posts

230 months

Monday 30th January 2017
quotequote all
100% under the cupboard!

I ran HDMI cables to each TV (15m long IIRC), then used a HDMI splitter to split the signal out. I then also ran 3 CAT6s cables to each TV in case HMDI cable has issues/future proofing.

I then used an 'HDMI IR Injector' to send the IR signals via the HDMI cable.

Next time I would probably bin off the HDMI cable and just run 4 CAT6 cables, terminate them into sockets then use a HDMI over single CAT6 box to do it.

HDMI cables are pretty fragile & much more bulky then a CAT6.


VEX

5,259 posts

270 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
Andehh said:
100% under the cupboard!

I ran HDMI cables to each TV (15m long IIRC), then used a HDMI splitter to split the signal out. I then also ran 3 CAT6s cables to each TV in case HMDI cable has issues/future proofing.

I then used an 'HDMI IR Injector' to send the IR signals via the HDMI cable.

Next time I would probably bin off the HDMI cable and just run 4 CAT6 cables, terminate them into sockets then use a HDMI over single CAT6 box to do it.

HDMI cables are pretty fragile & much more bulky then a CAT6.
For our installs we rarely use HDMI cables unless all in the same room and put in at lest a pair of cat6 cables.

Especially now that the next gen of HDMI has been announced (http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_2_1/index.aspx)

V.

IceBoy

Original Poster:

2,455 posts

245 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
This is going to be a silly question/thought.....

.....So if I put the sky box in the under-stairs cupboard and then run a cat 6 from the sky box to the TV.....do both sky boxes and modern televisions have the cat 6 connection on them?

Does this cat 5 or 6 cable run the picture and sound in full HD or 4k as well....apologies...I've not updated any of my AV equipment in years and years.....this time the house is getting renovated....I want to make sure I have the correct cable runs.

Do I need some sort of cat 6 to hdmi converter at each side? Help...just read up....do you have to run 2 cat6 or would 1 cat6 cable work per TV?

IceBoy

Edited by IceBoy on Tuesday 31st January 12:03


Edited by IceBoy on Tuesday 31st January 13:14

chasingracecars

1,697 posts

121 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
IceBoy said:
Do I need some sort of cat 6 to hdmi converter at each side? Help?!

IceBoy

Edited by IceBoy on Tuesday 31st January 12:03
Yes you will need a CAT5/6 Converter, HDMI-Cat5 by the Sky Box, then CAT5/6-HDMI at the TV. They will need power at both ends. Some only need power at one end but plan for power at both ends.

KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
You will need something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HDBaseT-Extender-Single-b...

It will carry audio and video.


You will get some 4K, but not all, due to the limitations of HDBaseT.

So with Sky Q, you can only get 2160p at 8 bit.

If you want full fat 4K + HDR, then you will not get that with a CAT cable. But it is possible with HDMI cables if you are willing to put money in to it.

Also, make sure you run 3 or 4 cables.

chasingracecars

1,697 posts

121 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
KamSandhu44 said:
You will need something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HDBaseT-Extender-Single-b...

It will carry audio and video.


You will get some 4K, but not all, due to the limitations of HDBaseT.

So with Sky Q, you can only get 2160p at 8 bit.

If you want full fat 4K + HDR, then you will not get that with a CAT cable. But it is possible with HDMI cables if you are willing to put money in to it.

Also, make sure you run 3 or 4 cables.
KamSandhu44 at it again!!!! DON'T GIVE ADVICE YOU DON'T KNOW!!!!

There are many devices that will do full fat 4K how do you think they can get 4k in the industry without distribution techniques.

http://atlona.com/product/100cer-poe-ext/

Only buy from Amazon if you want cheaper older stuff that will not guarantee the cable lengths at certain resolutions.


KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
chasingracecars said:
KamSandhu44 at it again!!!! DON'T GIVE ADVICE YOU DON'T KNOW!!!!

There are many devices that will do full fat 4K how do you think they can get 4k in the industry without distribution techniques.

http://atlona.com/product/100cer-poe-ext/

Only buy from Amazon if you want cheaper older stuff that will not guarantee the cable lengths at certain resolutions.
So the product you have linked will do full fat 4K HDR at 4:4:4 10 bit?

IceBoy

Original Poster:

2,455 posts

245 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
Thanks for your help all.

There is still one thing that is unclear....some of the little box of tricks only need 1 cat6 cable in/out....others need 2.

I guess to be on the safe side, I should run 2 cable for just the tv only?

IceBoy

chasingracecars

1,697 posts

121 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
12 Bit 4:4:4 (read the spec), don't advise as above if you don't know!

There's already higher resolutions out there 8k has been around for a few years now. As consumers you will probably never see it as we will jump 8K.

KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
IceBoy said:
Thanks for your help all.

There is still one thing that is unclear....some of the little box of tricks only need 1 cat6 cable in/out....others need 2.

I guess to be on the safe side, I should run 2 cable for just the tv only?

IceBoy
Single cable extenders are HDBaseT, they are the ones to go for. It is the current standard.

I would run 3 or 4 cables to each TV. Don't forget interet connection for smart TVs and the extra cables are for future proofing.

KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
chasingracecars said:
12 Bit 4:4:4 (read the spec), don't advise as above if you don't know!

There's already higher resolutions out there 8k has been around for a few years now. As consumers you will probably never see it as we will jump 8K.
So are you saying, those extenders can do 4K 4:4:4 12bit even though HDBaseT is limited to 10.2Gbps.

Edited by KamSandhu44 on Tuesday 31st January 13:38

IceBoy

Original Poster:

2,455 posts

245 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
quotequote all
Thanks All.
IceBoy

OldSkoolRS

7,085 posts

203 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
For the OP: I've been using the TBase HDBT lite box by Neet linked above. I've had it working over a 15 metre CAT7 cable run but only at 1080p since the TV out there isn't a 4K one. I've also had my projector working over a 7 metre CAT7 cable into the Neet box at 4K30p (this is the highest I can upscale from my video processor and the highest 4K input my projector will accept).

Hopefully I'll be able to change the boxes in the future if I want go to an 18.2Gbps solution (assuming I ever upgrade to a full 4k projector anyway).

Moving my AV gear out of the room was definitely worth it. I have zero ambient light when using my projector now (it's surprising how much those LED displays/power lights can shine on the screen). Also I have two external subwoofer amp (the ugly ones in the picture below) and they have quite noisy fans when running fully, so I can't hear this noise with the rack out of the room.

Gratuitous shot of my rack as it currently stands. I won't show the back because it's a mess. I'm getting a separate ring main run soon, so that will be my cue to tidy up all the wiring when it goes back in.



All controlled by a Harmony hub/remote which sends RF from the remote so we don't have to 'aim' the remote in any particular direction.

KamSandhu44

277 posts

192 months

Thursday 2nd February 2017
quotequote all
OldSkoolRS said:
For the OP: I've been using the TBase HDBT lite box by Neet linked above. I've had it working over a 15 metre CAT7 cable run but only at 1080p since the TV out there isn't a 4K one. I've also had my projector working over a 7 metre CAT7 cable into the Neet box at 4K30p (this is the highest I can upscale from my video processor and the highest 4K input my projector will accept).

Hopefully I'll be able to change the boxes in the future if I want go to an 18.2Gbps solution (assuming I ever upgrade to a full 4k projector anyway).

Moving my AV gear out of the room was definitely worth it. I have zero ambient light when using my projector now (it's surprising how much those LED displays/power lights can shine on the screen). Also I have two external subwoofer amp (the ugly ones in the picture below) and they have quite noisy fans when running fully, so I can't hear this noise with the rack out of the room.

Gratuitous shot of my rack as it currently stands. I won't show the back because it's a mess. I'm getting a separate ring main run soon, so that will be my cue to tidy up all the wiring when it goes back in.



All controlled by a Harmony hub/remote which sends RF from the remote so we don't have to 'aim' the remote in any particular direction.
I wish mine looked this neat.