# High-definition distribution to multiple TVs



## mvgossman (Jan 9, 2007)

I have 4 HR20's thoughout the house, each one connected via HDMI cable to one TV in the same room. I also have each HR20 connected to an RF modulator to send, in standard definition, signal over my coaxial cable network for each of the roughly 6 other standalone TVs to view programming.

Well now I need another high-def set in a new room I'm adding. I'd rather not add another HR20 (that's another subject - is that doable without getting another satellite dish in parallel?) since I don't really need it so what I am seeking is a way to distribute the high-def signal from one of the HR20 to the new TV. I'd prefer some sort of HDMI->RF device that modules an ATSC high-def signal to broadcast to the digital off-the-air tuner in the new TV. However, I could also, if necessary, use some other solution that works with coaxial cable with a device at either end, or even string some cable, or perhaps there's a wireless solution that won't raise hell with my Wi-Fi or hog Wi-Fi bandwidth.

A less desireable solution would be to utilize some sort of HDMI splitter to share the signal coming from a single HR20, but this is less desireable because I'd rather have the ability to view the high-def signal from any of the HR20's and also because the nearest HR20 to the new room happens to be my wife hwo maintains a death grip on the channels there!

Having lots of trouble finding a solution for what must be a common issue - any suggestions?


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

Most new HD tvs will have 2 HDMI and 2 component inputs. I would find a way to run 2 component cables from 2 of the dvrs and set a remote to RF for both. Or run the component from the wifes box for HD and use the coax SD from another box


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## mvgossman (Jan 9, 2007)

Dumb question: Does component deliver HD signal as well as HDMI?

Not so dumb question: Does an HDMI -> digital ATSC signal modulator exist outside of a broadcast studio and within the $ realm of mere mortals?


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

mvgossman said:


> Dumb question: Does component deliver HD signal as well as HDMI?
> 
> Not so dumb question: Does an HDMI -> digital ATSC signal modulator exist outside of a broadcast studio and within the $ realm of mere mortals?


Yes, but not the dvr's 1080p, only up to 1080i. As to the second, I have never had a reason to research it. I am only now starting to use the hdmi cables.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

mvgossman said:


> Dumb question: Does component deliver HD signal as well as HDMI?


Yes


> Not so dumb question: Does an HDMI -> digital ATSC signal modulator exist outside of a broadcast studio and within the $ realm of mere mortals?


No


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## JeffTex42 (Sep 14, 2007)

If you can settle on driving your one extra HD set from one specific HD-DVR, utilize the HDMI output and component outputs simultaneously - they're both active at the same time. I drive the LCD in my bedroom with HDMI and have the component + optical outputs going to the living room.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

You do not need another dish to add more receivers to your system. I assume you have a WB68 eight-port multiswitch that is full with four HR20’s? You can actually add another multiswitch. In my setup, I have each of the four lines from the dish split going into two WB68’s so I have a total of 16 ports. They also make a 16-port switch that would be a drop-in replacement for your 8-port.


Of course if you don’t want to go to the trouble and expense of adding another switch and receiver, do what others have suggested and use the analog component video cables to drive a second TV from one of the existing HR20’s. There may be some time in the future when the content owners (i.e. “Hollywood”) will demand that D* downgrade their programs to 480p over analog component video, but that has not yet happened. Unfortunately, in today’s world of copy protection, you can’s split an HDMI output (although you could switch it, but that means only using one of the two TV’s at a time).


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## Cmnore (Sep 22, 2008)

Try a component to CAT5e/6 setup. Try these:

smarthome.com/7829DA2/Intelix-Component-Video-Digital-Audio-Balun-Pair-AVO-V3AD-PAC-F/p.aspx


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

mvgossman said:


> Dumb question: Does component deliver HD signal as well as HDMI?


Yes, at present it does, but this is the "analog hole" that brings nightmares to the MPAA. They are sprending a great deal of their lobbying money on trying to get that hole closed. I would expect that over time they will win out and component will be limited to 480P at best.


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## n6nfg (Feb 1, 2008)

That would be catastrophic for my main viewing TV. I have an older Mitsubishi HD ready rear projection that only supports component for HD input. It doesn't have any form of digital inputs. 480P max for component would be unacceptable!


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

I’d like to know who is lobbying *against* closing he analog hole. I’d like to send them my support. I think it is ridiculous that Hollywood is trying to make things difficult for millions of consumers that pay their profits all so they can protect themselves for a few months until the handful of bad guys figures a new way to get around the mousetrap.


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## broncosaddict (Aug 3, 2007)

I use a hdmi matrix switch I got from monoprice for about $80 bucks. This allows you to have upto 4 hdmi sources attached to 2 tv's which can watch any of the 4 sources. The tv's can watch the same source or 2 different sources.

I have 2 hd dvrs, a media center and an xbox 360 hooked up. I have a projector in the living room and plasma in bedroom. If my wife is watching something I don't want to, I go in the other room and watch one of the other sources. I also have a pair of harmony 890 to control everything (as it's all stuffed in a closet). 

The switch also comes with an ir remote control. They aren't always in stock, you just have to keep your eye out or have them notify you when they are in.

I can't post the link because this is my first post. However if you look at their switches, there is only 1 4 X 2 matrix switch.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

rudeney said:


> I'd like to know who is lobbying *against* closing he analog hole. I'd like to send them my support. I think it is ridiculous that Hollywood is trying to make things difficult for millions of consumers that pay their profits all so they can protect themselves for a few months until the handful of bad guys figures a new way to get around the mousetrap.


I am pretty sure the EFF is still against it. Probably some electronics industry folks also, due to backlash from owners with nothing but component. Of course they will not be very vocal about it as they want to keep hollywood happy also.

There is a device called the HD Fury that will supposedly give you a digital input for those old Mitsubishi sets. They advertise on AVS a fair amount. I may have even seen an ad or 2 on this side also. http://www.hdfury.com/ I pulled my 2001 Mits set out of my main system last year because my wife just could not stand the big box any more so she insisted we get a 58 inch Panasonic Plasma set.


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## waltonjj (Jun 8, 2006)

So just to confirm, with the DirectTV HD DVRs we can push signal to 2 different TV's? One through HDMI and then run another coax cable out the back of the receiver to another TV in another room? Is this the same on the new HR22 as well?

Thanks for replying.


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## krock918316 (Mar 5, 2007)

waltonjj said:


> So just to confirm, with the DirectTV HD DVRs we can push signal to 2 different TV's? One through HDMI and then run another coax cable out the back of the receiver to another TV in another room? Is this the same on the new HR22 as well?
> 
> Thanks for replying.


Not quite. There are no coax outputs on the HR2x units. You can output HDMI and Component at the same time. And both TV's will be showing the same channel.


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## waltonjj (Jun 8, 2006)

right so same signal to 2 different TV's is what I'm trying to accomplish, so if the HR2x does not have a coax output can I convert component/signal to a coax cable since that's the only cable I have running to other room in the house?Thanks


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

n6nfg said:


> That would be catastrophic for my main viewing TV. I have an older Mitsubishi HD ready rear projection that only supports component for HD input. It doesn't have any form of digital inputs. 480P max for component would be unacceptable!


You should begin exercising so you can reach your ankles now as the train is coming. It may not be a for a few years yet, but it is coming and nobody will be able to stop it.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

waltonjj said:


> right so same signal to 2 different TV's is what I'm trying to accomplish, so if the HR2x does not have a coax output can I convert component/signal to a coax cable since that's the only cable I have running to other room in the house?Thanks


No. As was pointed out previously in this thread, consumer ATSC modulators are a dream; one that will likely never be realized.

Until the analog hole is closed, you should be able to run another four RG6 and do component video and audio, but the sound will be two channel stereo. When the analog hole closes, you'll need an HDMI switch and a really long HDMI cable or media converters with a couple of CAT6 cables.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

waltonjj said:


> right so same signal to 2 different TV's is what I'm trying to accomplish, so if the HR2x does not have a coax output can I convert component/signal to a coax cable since that's the only cable I have running to other room in the house?Thanks


You can convert composite video/audio (yellow/red/white) to standard def modulated signal and send it over a single coax. That will be SD, not HD.

You can run multiple coax (3 for video, 2 for audio), or a very long component video cable, to get the component signal to another room. That will get you HD.

Carl


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## d max82 (May 23, 2007)

harsh said:


> No. As was pointed out previously in this thread, consumer ATSC modulators are a dream; one that will likely never be realized.
> 
> Until the analog hole is closed, you should be able to run another four RG6 and do component video and audio, but the sound will be two channel stereo. When the analog hole closes, you'll need an HDMI switch and a really long HDMI cable or media converters with a couple of CAT6 cables.


By running the four RG6 lines you would be able to run component video over 3 RG6 lines and DD audio over the fourth, assuming you have a -100 model with the coax out, or the fairly inexpensive Toslink to Coax adaptors (check monoprice)


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## n6nfg (Feb 1, 2008)

harsh said:


> You should begin exercising so you can reach your ankles now as the train is coming. It may not be a for a few years yet, but it is coming and nobody will be able to stop it.


My only hope here is there is a paragraph in the Mitsubishi owners manual that states something like "if in the future this TV is not able to receive HD programming due to a technology change, then Mitsubishi will provide whatever is necessary to allow the consumer to continue to operate said tv in HD mode". I suspect this was put in to try and eliminate technical obsolescence for the early adopters such as myself.

Hopefully by the time this becomes an issue, the TV will have died by itself  I refuse to spend money on a new one as long as the old one still works. To this day it gets a real nice picture.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

I can tell you that you will get no satisfaction from Mitsubishi over that clause. IT was called the "Mitsubishi Promise" and they used it extensively to get people to buy their TVs in teh early days. Sometime in 2002 , they changed it to just encompass firewire even as DVI was just emerging as the standard, then about 3 or so years ago, they decided to push on with only a Firewire input in spite of hte fact that DVI was well entrenched and HDMI was just coming out and they sold the module for about $1000 IIRC. They basically hosed people who thought they would be helped out. Search around places like AVS Fourms and Home Theater SPot and you will see plenty about it.

You best bet is the HD Fury as it actually does what the Mits promise purported to do. Allow you to see HD over the latest technology and realitively inexpensively.

As far as dricing multiple TVs off an HR20, I meant to put this in my earlier post, but upstairs I have one HR20-100 that runs 2 TVs over Component using a plain old splitter ($5-10 from Monoprice IIRC) and a third TV over HDMI. This is definitely a huge advantage of the HR20 over the HR10 as you could not use all the inputs at the same time.


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## Cmnore (Sep 22, 2008)

Here's something else I just stumbled across:

https://www.techtoolsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3276

How cool is THAT???


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## njohnson (Aug 11, 2007)

Someone above asked if one exists outside broadcast. Another member said YES and another said NO.

The answer is NO and the HDMI/HDCP license specifically prohibits it so there won't be one to handle HDCP encrypted HDMI - at least not a legal one - unless they change the license terms which seems unlikely.

The closest thing currently is the ZVee 150 and 250 which accept HD component and output QAM to your existing RG6 (or 59) coax which "cable ready" TV's accept. The ZV150 is 720P and the ZV250 is 1080i and they are $1000 and $2500 (about) respectively.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Adding another HR2X DVR will be your simplest solution even if you do have to upgrade your multiswitch. With MRV this is the way to go so you have more space to record shows and you can set it to any channel you want.

You didn't explain why a Simple Solution like this would not be the way to go.


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## jaguar325 (Jan 2, 2006)

Perhaps the simplest way to accomplish what you want is to use the component out (as another poster suggests) but don't forget this means running audio too. The only limitation this places on you is lack of 1080p support for the times you may want that. If you have the DVR (the one this new room is connected to) set up with MRV, you can access programming on the remaining DVRs assuming they are all network connected. 

If you want to go with HDMI splitters, I have plenty of experience with that. It wouldn't limit your access to remaining DVRs assuming you have MRV turned on. If you plan to use baluns (running HDMI or component + audio) over Cat 5e/6 cable, make sure the arrangement you use for that provides plenty of bandwidth. The really good quality ones want a lot of headroom to work properly.

Good luck.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

I wonder if njohnson knows he replied to a 17 month old thread?


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## PokerJoker (Apr 12, 2008)

Cmnore said:


> Here's something else I just stumbled across:
> 
> https://www.techtoolsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3276
> 
> How cool is THAT???


Not really all that cool.

You can now get these that only use one cable, not two like the one you linked to.

Also, I hope everyone that sees these things understands that you can't run both a network and HDMI over the same wire . . .

Keith


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