Tater said:
Can you help me to understand what is needed to set up a second set off a single reciever? I had this done by an installer at my old house and would like to recreate here. Can you tell me/describe "schematic"? (I.e., a single receiver that would be showing the same channel on 2 different TVs in different rooms.)
I'm assuming that the receiver is hooked to your main TV using audio-video cables. On the back of the satellite receiver, there should also be an RF out (normally used for TV's with no A/V inputs), and if the second receiver is at some distance then the easiest thing is to just run a piece of standard cable wire (RG-6) from the back of the receiver to the second TV. You'll need a way to crimp plugs onto the cable after it is run.
If your primary TV is using the receiver's RF output, and doesn't have A/V inputs, then you may need a standard coaxial cable splitter to split the signal. Otherwise, if it does have A/V inputs, just hook them to the receiver's A/V outputs (using a standard A/V jumper cable) and use the RF output to feed the second set.
The only drawback to this is you won't get stereo sound on the second set. If that's important to you, you can run a long A/V cable to the set but then you will need an A/V Distribution Amplifier (such as the Radio Shack #15-1172) to split the signal to your two sets.
So basically there are two ways to connect a receiver to a TV - the A/V connections (stereo sound and better picture quality) or coaxial cable (easier to run for long distances, more readily available than long A/V cables). You can connect one set one way and the other set the other way and all you need is the cables, or you can connect both sets the same way in which case you will need an appropriate splitter and additional cables.
If you still can't figure it out, ask almost any high school student, especially the one that annoys you with his blaring stereo!
