We’ve converted our conservatory into a room we can actually sit in without melting or freezing (we’ve stuck a solid roof on it). We’re about to get the floor laid and I’d like to make a decision on cable routing a TV beforehand.

We have a Sky HD box in the front room and connect a TV in a second room via a Magic Eye. Because this only works through an RF cable it makes viewing on a HD TV pretty poor quality.

AFAIA, we have four options: 1) Magic Eye 2) Run a Sky cable off the dish to a separate HD box 3) Sky Q 4) No Sky and go Freeview with an aerial cable

I don’t fancy the first option for reasons explained. The second might be ok but at what cost and in comparison, the third option sounds so much more flexible (and wireless). Trouble is, it’s bloody expensive. Any ideas or solutions you’ve come up with yourself?

Now tv

Could always get an HDMI sender?

1) Magic Eyes are crap IME, the inclusion of one inline in the RF2 feed made it unwatchable. I thought it was the cable run at first, but removing the ME cleared it up.

2) You’ll need Sky Multiroom for that I believe.

3) Is, as you say, bloody expensive. Supposed to be good though, a mate’s just signed up to it.

What you could do, and in fact what I did, is run the (crappy) RF coax to a second set anyway, do away with the Tragic Eye, and use the Sky app on my phone to control the Sky box remotely.

Could always get an HDMI sender?

TBH, if I were doing it again I’d be looking at this sort of option.

Just watch freeview, or whatever its called now?

5) No tv. You have built a nice room with a view of the garden, use it to read, talk, experience. You already have a room with a tv to turn you into a zombie. My parents did this, cut the amount of tv they watch by about 80%, they are so much happier because of it.

If you’ve got it then I would run a cable off the dish. It’s a piece of cake to do as the LMB normally has spare ports. (most have 8 these days) if not, you can easily pick another on up. Grab some cable and run two lengths to the new TV point so you can use the pause/record functions.

I did three new points in our last house in a mornings work. And that was scambling behind walls and crawling under eaves.

EDIT: you don’t need multiform unless you want all the channels you subscribe to. Sky boxes will operate as a freesat box without a subscription card.

Sky boxes will operate as a freesat box without a subscription card.

I thought you needed something, like a Freesat card or some such? Is that not the case?

I thought you needed something, like a Freesat card or some such? Is that not the case?

Sorry, that’s probably not very clear. You still need a card but it doesn’t need an active subscription to view the freesat channels.

Great advice Stato!

for my kitchen Tv we went for
– hdmi splitter (£8 from eBay)
– hdmi cable

If your cable run would be long then you might need to add an HDMI extender and run it over CAT5 but that gives you all your sky channels, recordings and on demand in HD without paying Sky any more money. For remote control use the iPhone app or a remote extender.

Running a cable from your dish as well gives more options for the future

Have you looked at Sky Q, I have it and the additional boxes run over WI-FI so no need for any aerial’s. also the Boxes are a lot smaller and I have mounted mine on the arm behind the TV

A smart tv connected to you wifi – we can get live BBC, catch up ITV and C4 as well as Netflix and various other channels via the apps on the tv.

I have a slingbox with my virgin tivo and it works well for me at broadcasting the tv to my laptop or tablet.

To get it on a TV again would require an app, I think Roku and apple TV can do it.

I have the older 350 model

but there is an newer model – check the reviews.

I use a neet hdmi splitter followed by a neet hdmi to component box and that works for me.

” No tv.”

I’m with STATO…