Hotel satellite distribution

[bammy]

Some time ago I installed a system for a friend running a small guesthouse in France, consisting of dish + quad lnb + 4x digiboxes + 4x Magic eyes + 4x televisions. The magic eyes were employed so that the digiboxes (with freesat cards) could all be located centrally away from the thieving guests

The system works ok but now he's looking at adding more rooms and I'm wondering what equipment larger hotels emply to transmit maybe 10-15 channels on different RF frequencies (thus removing the need for magic eyes and having to have a separate digibox for each room), simply use the tuner in each television to capture each channel in the same way a normal terrestrial broadcasts.

If anyone understands what I'm on about and could point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

 

[Hejira]

I understand your needs, but I'm not familiar with the equipment!

I've seen a unit that does this, but it wasn't cheap as I recall, I'll try to have a conversation and get a name for ya if I can.

How many outputs(TV's) are we talking and how many channels ( I think UHF will have a limited number you can use)

MATV
Master Antenna Television Systems provide Terrestrial television and radio reception for Multi occupied dwellings.

MATV Systems allow the distribution of analogue and digital terrestrial signals.
Although no satellite I.F. signals are distributed Terrestrial Freeview Set Top Boxes can be installed to provide an additional 70 channels provided the system conforms to current C.A.I. standards.

SMATV
Satellite Master Antenna Systems are as MATV Systems with the inclusion of predetermined Satellite or Freeview channels.

These systems are usually installed in commercial premises such as hotels, hospitals and holiday parks.

Selected channels are processed at the system head end and remodulated to RF frequencies to allow the direct tuning of televisions.

DIY Method:
Some of these:
h**p://www.dastv.co.uk/Labgear_AV_Modulator_MOD111_46.php

 

[rawsy]

its not as complicated as that. all you need is as many satalite recivers as you want channels. eg sat1 bbc1 on rf 21 sat2 bbc2 on rf27 sat3 itv on rf34 and so on if all the sats are then rf'd to each other a normal disribution amp will feed as many rooms as you need.

 

[digidude]

the best way to do this would be a reciever for each channel as has been said, the hard bit is getting a clean picture to every TV

1st off, dont use sky digiboxes unless you really have to (chan 5 etc)

use a cheap reciever, like the bog standard technomate, as these reset to the last channel viewed in the event of a power cut, youd have to decide what RF channels to use to stop any interference, this is easier once you know how many channels you want.

setup your recievers, then DO NOT link all of the RF loops together like a big chain, youll be lucky to have 3 channels like this, instead, get a 1 in and 12 out (or 6, 8, 16 whatever) splitter, run the RF out from each reciever to one of the OUTPUTS on the splitter, once all plugged in run a cable from the INPUT (which is now being used as an output) to a distribution amp in the attic, then run a lead from that amp to each room and tune in the TV sets

 

[Hejira]

the hard bit is getting a clean picture to every TV

IMHO this is key and I would add a clean picture of every channel!

Given you have channels between 21 and 68 under normal circumstances, you would assume that you have a max of 48 possible channels, but you will find this is not the case! (I wish I could find the bookmark of a page I found when I was doing this for myself, it explained in great detail how to calculate the possible channels that could be used)

Each sat box will be picking up stray noise via it's UHF IN which will affect certain channels and can bleed over to the channel either side. (I found this affect worse when trying to integrate 3 cable boxes, not an issue in this setup)

It has been said that this setup is in FRANCE I don't know what is broadcast that might interfere but I would check what channels are already taken up.

This is a great DIY project but I would say you really need to do your homework and planning, dependant upon the amount of channels you wish to have, distribution of the final mix is straight forward with current distro amps, as quoted getting each channel of a quality you are happy with is key for me which is what @digidude is doing I think with his method of connection.

Actually I agree with what @digidude is saying - lol - I'm just thinking of the amount of channels you currently have access to in each room and the amount of kit you would need to replicate that using this method DIY.

I haven't managed to have a conversation as yet about pro system is this still an option you are considering?

 

[digidude]

start on channel 21 then make sure every channel 3, 5 and 9 is clear, ill work it for you tomorrow, but you can have about 27 channels i think it is, all crystal clear

 

[crofty05]

the best way to do this would be a reciever for each channel as has been said, the hard bit is getting a clean picture to every TV

1st off, dont use sky digiboxes unless you really have to (chan 5 etc)

use a cheap reciever, like the bog standard technomate, as these reset to the last channel viewed in the event of a power cut, youd have to decide what RF channels to use to stop any interference, this is easier once you know how many channels you want.

setup your recievers, then DO NOT link all of the RF loops together like a big chain, youll be lucky to have 3 channels like this, instead, get a 1 in and 12 out (or 6, 8, 16 whatever) splitter, run the RF out from each reciever to one of the OUTPUTS on the splitter, once all plugged in run a cable from the INPUT (which is now being used as an output) to a distribution amp in the attic, then run a lead from that amp to each room and tune in the TV sets

that sounds complicated but very interesting when you say run a cable from the input which is been used as an output do you mean from every box

 

[lincsat]

The best way to combine the signals is with an equaliser, basically multiple input and single output with level adjustment for each channel - you can also add in terrestrial channels off an aerial. It will filter out unwanted frequencies too. Then use a good distribtion amp and make sure you don't over-drive it.

You can use Sky boxes, there is a global device that will restart the boxes and tune them to the correct channel in the event of a power failure.

A trade supplier like satellite solutions or SCC will point you in the right direction.

 

[digidude]

a cost of a non-subsidised sky box is approx £130 each, plus £20 per card (if needed) and a global resetter is approx £280 for a 5 box system

so for bbc1, 2, itv, ch4 and five that makes it £970 before installing and adding any distribution amps and other channels. from march 4 and 5 will be available as part of the freesat service, and with any luck will be forced to go FTA, which would then mean 5 recoevers that reset themselfs would cost less than £300, saving more than 2/3 compared to sky equipment prices

the splitters when used 'backwards' will equalise the channels (but not adjustable) more than adequately for a small distribution system like this.

the terrestrial signal being added hasnt been mentioned, will they want the french terrestrial signlas run to the rooms as well? or just english via satellite? as when planning a channel map you would need to know any local transmitter frequencies

ill explain your PM in a bit more detail later tonight m8

 

[ailbek]

Hi,

I setup a similar system like that for my home. I have 5 digiboxes, 4 terrestial channels and 2 baby monitor camera signals modulated on to rf, giving a total of 11 rf channels!
The problems I encountered was the nearer the box to the start of the chain the poorer the signal. I put the least popular channel here for this reason (bbc news 24) as the signal was not critical. I see now that daisy chaining the boxes was the wrong thing to do and I should use a splitter in reverse, so I will try this and see how it works.

The terrestial aerial brings in a lot of interference. If I disconnect the aerial from the system and just have the boxes an their own then the signal from each is near perfect. I tried a group filter on the aerial but this only slightly improved the signal. I thought of a way of taking the channels off air and making the system closed circuit but it was just too complex and expensive, it involved a seperate tuner and modulator for each terrestial signal. I abandoned this idea.

I got around the boxes having to be setup after a power failure by using a computer UPS. They are quiet cheap now, but I did have to get a bigger battery for it to keep the system running for a couple of hours in the event of a long power outage. Still much cheaper than the global programmer.
ailbek