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Thread: Xantech - HDMI - CAT5 - HDMI

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  1. #1

    Default Xantech - HDMI - CAT5 - HDMI

    Good morning. I have gone through the threads already on here, but couldn’t quite find a thread that had my particular problem, so I thought I would give it a go.

    I have recently bought a house and moved in. Afterwards when the Sky man arrived, we realised we had trouble. There is a Xantech (MRC88) system in the loft space with CAT5 cables all over the house and speakers in the ceilings. It works well and I was mildly amused for a while until I got tired of the pixilated images and decided to upgrade to HD without replacing it with a HD Xantech system (if there is such a thing). I’ve tried various combinations of RCA to HDMI converters and then extend the signal via a HDMI extender down the CAT5 cable and then ultimately to the TV. The picture is always a little pixilated and the sound has a lag in some cases. I was hoping there would be an all in one solution. I have found a Xantech HDMI distribution switch but that’s not going to extend over CAT5 and I cant see how to use that with my existing mrc88. I’m looking for something that can convert RCA to HDMI and extend over CAT5 in one appliance.

    UNLESS I can het a Xantech HDMI replacement for the MRC88 which I cant find on the internet?

  2. #2
    Automated Home Guru Vangelis's Avatar
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    Have a look at Wyrestorm products... I know they do HDBaseT

    Why are you wanting to go from Composite to HDMI?

    Also check if your cabling is Cat5e (as opposed to Cat5) as you may be experiencing bandwdith limitations.

    Vangelis

  3. #3
    Automated Home Legend TimH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vangelis View Post
    Why are you wanting to go from Composite to HDMI?
    Seconded...

    I'm not too familiar with the Xantech box but a quick google revealed it is an AV distribution amp?
    What Sky box have you got? and what connections on the back does it have?
    I presume you want to locate the sky box in the loft too? Be careful with the summer heat if it is housed there.

    For your main room I'd suggest sending the Sky box output (HDMI presumably) over a set of these:
    http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/revie...er-review.html
    I do something similar with a freesat box and it works perfectly; excellent picture on HD, no lag/lip sync issues.
    The extender set also includes IR return.

    You can connect the Sky box scart output to the Xantech box for secondary TVs.

    I've also been thinking about one of these for the VCR - we still have some old tapes - and using the HDMI out from this to go into the HDMI over cat5 unit above, so that both boxes (freesat and VCR) can go via the one extender set. Have not bothered yet, as I could always just move the VCR for the few times we use it.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/SCART-HDMI-c.../dp/B0092IAA3I

    HTH,
    Tim.
    Last edited by TimH; 10th November 2014 at 06:23 PM. Reason: IR return for extender set added

  4. #4

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    thanks both for responding

    Basically the system that’s in this house is currently a composite system and I thought that the HDMI output from the Sky Box would be better and give us a better quality picture. The problem is that it goes from HDMI from the Sky box to RCA into the Xantec distribution and then I have to convert it to HDMI out of it again and then extend this over CAT5e. As you can imagine with all the downscaling and upscaling and extending over CAT5e, I’m losing some quality. I’m not particularly emotional about keeping the Xantec system, but the house is wired with it in and also the handy control units in the walls are quite handy. You can also have music follow you around in the house and I can check the CCTV and all 4 sky boxes in every room with a TV.

    I have looked at the Xantech HDMI system you are referring to, but its not the same thing as the MRC88 system I have now. I did email Xantech and they don’t currently make a HDMI equivalent of the one I have.

  5. #5
    Automated Home Legend TimH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jchristiaanh View Post
    I’m not particularly emotional about keeping the Xantec system, but the house is wired with it in and also the handy control units in the walls are quite handy. You can also have music follow you around in the house and I can check the CCTV and all 4 sky boxes in every room with a TV.
    Not sure if this comment was directed specifically at me...

    It would be a shame to ditch the Xantech system if you find you use its other features.
    I was meaning to suggest you bypass the Xantech unit for the Sky feed to the main TV and use something similar to the HDMI-Cat5 extender I linked to.
    At the back of your main TV you plug the HDMI from the extender.
    If you have other sources (CCTV?) connected to the Xantech unit that you want to view on the main TV you send those separately, and use a separate input on the TV to view those. It's perhaps not as convenient as using a single input on the TV for everything, and using the Xantech remote for control but it would maintain the Sky (picture) quality.

    To watch the sky box output on other TVs you could connect the composite and audio RCA outputs to the Xantech box and distribute to those TVs as composite.

    The only other solution I can see to keep everything down one cable to the main TV is to again bypass the Xantech unit with the Sky HDMI output, separately upscale the Xantech box to HDMI (you may already have a converter?), connect Sky HDMI and upscaled Xantech HDMI into an HDMI switcher and then use an HDMI extender down to the main TV.
    The scart to HDMI upscaler I also linked to in my previous post has a "switcher" in it as well (accepts 1x scart and 1x HDMI and outputs onto a single HDMI) but I'm not sure how the switching is controlled.
    Switching sources with this solution looks a bit more complicated than the "separate inputs" option above (need a separate remote for the HDMI switcher), but it may work for you.

    HDMI switchers are available of course, but I don't think you'd get the same functionality for your other sources as you currently do with your Xantech unit, and they are ££££.

    HTH,
    Tim.

  6. #6
    Moderator toscal's Avatar
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    Marmitek do something called the MegaView61 which is an HDMI plus IR extender over cat 5.
    Another company is Tripplite.
    Have you searched on Ebay.
    IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
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