Radio Collector's Afficionado's Resource

It is a fact of life that our lives are tardily but surely being ruled by TV, not that what we do is controlled by TV but that it is getting a feature of modern homes that there is a TV in each room.

For example in the Authors home we have a total of 4 TV’s located;

In the lounge – obviously.

In the kitchen – watched when cooking or cleaning up.

In the bedroom – watched in the morning and last thing at night.

In the kids room – as they don’t want to watch the same things we do.

The TV’s are driven by 4 types of content, Sky, Free view, DVD and Bluray all located at dissimilar positions around the home.

It is apparent that it would be desirable to view all content on all TV’s depending on which room the viewer is located. There are a heap of methods available in order to do this and this article has been written to talk about the pros and cons of each.

Wireless Video Senders (None Hi-Def)

This is always the method that humans undertake introductory with mixed results. They are in general made up of a sender and receiver which connects to the source (single) thru Scart and then wirelessly transmits the video and audio to the receiver (which is connected to the remote TV again by Scart). There are 2 flavours of wireless video sender which use 2 distinguished frequency ranges, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Generally the 2.4 GHz senders are much cheaper, for good reason. Unfortunately you in all probability already have a potpourri of widgets in the home using the 2.4 GHz frequency band including Baby Monitors, Door Bells and Wireless Networks. These will all interfere with the video sender making the picture unwatchable. The 5 GHz senders are better but still not perfect.

Wireless video senders (None Hi-Def) are utile as a quick repair but suffer from the following problems;

- Interference from other devices

- Low definition signal

- Generally Single Source

- Wireless Video Sender (High Definition)

High Definition Video Senders are comparatively new and as such still rather highpriced at the time of writing we could only find 2 models available in the UK;

Marmitek Gigavideo 800

Gefen Wireless HDMI Sender

Both of the above models have connections for various input appliances (so you may connect Sky HD, Bluray player etc at the same time.

The main problem with the above 2 gadgets is that they do not have a “pass through” for the local TV i.e. there is no way to connect the living room TV to the HD origins as well as the sender without further and added equipment, the only way to presently do this is to use a HDMI Splitter. This principally because these merchandise are designed to be applied in one room to connect the HD origins to a wall mounted TV or Projector where wiring would be a problem. Used in these scenarios the performance of the wireless HDMI video senders is very good and they do not suffer from interference like the low def senders above.

Cabled Install – Coax

This WAS in general the easiest method of disseminating video around the home (especially for SKY) as most homes have coax (aerial connections) in most rooms already. Using Sky Magic Eyes and the RF2 output on the back of Sky boxes it is possible to watch Sky programming in each room and be competent to modify the channel from the remote TV. The main problem with Coax is that it is very old engineering which has been phased out of innovative equipment, i.e. you will not find a Coax output on any DVD player let alone a Bluray player.

Cabled Install – HDMI

HDMI is without doubt the connection method of choice for High Definition Video Signals. It’s an traditionalisti engineering with a whole plethora of connection merchandise available such as;

- HDMI Switches – for connecting multiple roots to one HDMI Port.

- HDMI Splitters – for connecting multiple TV’s to one source i.e. lounge and kitchen TV to the same source.

- HDMI Switcher Splitters – which combine the functions of the switcher and splitter above.

- HDMI Matrices – These carry out the same function as the Switcher Splitter above but concede you to view dissimilar roots on dissimilar TV’s i.e. Bluray in the lounge, Sky in the Kitchen.

Using a combining of the appliances above it is possible to build any HD distribution system for your home.

There are notwithstanding a few troubles with HDMI;

Cable Length – The greatest or most complete or best possible realistic cable length for HDMI is in regards to 15m. For lengths over this HDMI Extenders ought to be used.

Cable Routing – It is not possible to put your own connectors on HDMI cables so you have to assure you buy the rectify length cables and route them with the connectors already attached. The other problem with HDMI cables is that they are rather fat and stiff (as they incorporate so a heap of person wires).

Cabled Install – CAT5/6

CAT5/6 cable is the same type of cable as applied by computer networks all over the world. It is much more comfortable to route that HDMI cable and there are faceplates and connectors freely available.

In order to route Hi-Def signals over CAT5/6 you need HDMI CAT 5/6 BALUNS these take HDMI in one end and then spit out a CAT5/6 compatible signal at the other end. At the other end of the cable run another BALUN converts the CAT5/6 back to HDMI.

The main problem with using CAT5/6 to disseminate HDMI signals is that it is a Point to Point solution and you can not exaggerate the number of receivers without running another length of CAT5/6 from the source.

Cabled Install – TCP/IP (also known as HDMI Over IP)

HDMI Over IP has the same vantages as CAT5/6 (i.e. it uses the same cables) but it is a one too some solution i.e. one transmitter may server various receivers. This means that the system may be expanded in the future without apparent effort and cost effectively.

In the Authors opinion the best current way to disseminate video around your home is to use HDMI connections for close constituents (i.e. in the lounge) and then use HDMI Over IP systems for the longer runs.

An example of such a system may be found in the author’s home please see beneath for an example.

Lounge

Bluray Player -> HDMI Switcher Splitter

SKY + HD -> HDMI Switcher Splitter

HDMI Switcher Splitter -> TV & HDMI Over IP Transmitter

Kitchen

HDMI Over IP Receiver -> TV

Bedroom

HDMI Over IP Receiver -> TV

Kids Bedroom

HDMI Over IP Receiver -> TV

This system allows any TV in the house to display what is being shown on the Living Room TV. The HDMI Over IP solution likewise allows remote control signals to travel back along the network which means we may modify channel from the bedroom etc.

In the future we may upgrade the HDMI Switcher Splitter to a HDMI Matrix which would concede us to watch dissimilar origins in dissimilar rooms.

If you want to install this or any other scheme please visit HDMI4U for easy to follow guides and all the latest engineering science in Audio and Video distribution.

Rocketfish Universal Wireless Sender Receiver

Transmit audio wirelessly from an audio device or equip your home theater or audio element system for use with wireless speakers using this wireless audio sender/receiver that features Rocketboost engineering science for crisp, low-interference sound.What’s Included * RocketfishTM Wireless Sender/Receiver * 6′ 3.5mm auxiliary cable * 6′ 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA audio adapter * Remote * Power supply * Owner’s manualCompatible with most powered speakers, audio elements and home theater schemes with 3.5mm or stereo RCA audio connectivity, permitting you to receive pleasure from wireless audio anyplace in your home. Wirelessly connects speakers to your home theater or audio factor system for expanding your home theater setup. Also supports transmitting audio from an audio device to a wireless-enabled system for enjoying your bestloved tunes. Rocketboost technologydelivers immersive, low-interference audio and supports most audio formats, including high-definition Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Auxiliary audio input and output concede easy connection to 2 speakers using the included 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA audio adapter or to an MP3 player, CD player or other audio device. Remote allows you to control sound levels from throughout a room.

Rocketfish Universal Wireless Sender Receiver Photo

Rocketfish Universal Wireless Sender Receiver Pic

Rocketfish Universal Wireless Sender Receiver Photo

Rocketfish Universal Wireless Sender Receiver Image

Most helpful client reviews

4 of 4 humans found the following review helpful.
just what I’ve been looking for….
By DH12
I’ve been looking for a way to play music allround my home, garage and patio. I applied to listen to my bestloved classical FM stations on cable, and it worked well; but when cable went digital it required a cable demodulator/channel-selector box at each device and there was dissimilar lag at each box, so the sound wasn’t cohesive.

Now, I’ve installed three of these Universal Wireless Sender/Recevers and I am VERY PLEASED!!

Let me clarify some details in the Product Description… this device has a remote control, and the remote does have volume buttons, but the remote is RocketFish’s generic remote, also use for receivers, and the volume control works for the receivers, this unit has line output only. And I think that the line output is a good thing. It sort of normalizes the output, so there is no power bias towards the high frequency end of the spectrum — I plugged this into the aux port my 30 year old Sansui receiver and turned the tuner’s selector knob from phono to aux and didn’t have to adjust anything else. The frequency response was fabulous!

- also, the Product Description says a 6′ 3.5mm-to-stereo cable is included, but it is genuinely 6″ long – the 6″ 2RCA/stereo adapter plugs onto the end of the 6′ cable to go from the wireless sender/receiver to the stereo tuner/amplifier. Works perfectly.

I’ve got my computer in the den sending music to the stereo in the living room and the home theater system in the family room. Nice!

The included creative writing of recognized artisti value says “Up to 9 rooms of audio entertainment,” and the remote has a channel selector, so I think that it is possible to have more than one transmitter in the group of 9 transmitter/receivers. Possibly could have the computer in the den playing iTunes, the home theater scheme in the family room playing the kids’ favored movie and a football game on the TV in the garage, each one connected to one of these devices, and an individual in their bedroom could choose which channel they want to listen to. Kind of mind boggling.

oh, as I write this, my wife came home. She, too is enjoyably surprised. Loves having soft classical music playing allround the house.

Enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
These things work great!
By Joel
If you want music in each room of your home, this is the way to go! One source; multiple ‘zones.’ I purchased two and hooked one up to the output of my receiver as the ‘hub’ and hooked the other one up as my ‘receiver’ to another stereo. No loss in quality, even with an 802.11g wireless network. I use it for my Zune with the hone a/v dock. VERY SIMPLE TO SET UP! It’s like having your own personal radio station!

You must recognise that you will still need a stereo/amp to power you speakers with this.

See all 2 client reviews…