Streaming TV Question

[RKelly]

Hi There,
I am moving to an apartment where there are no tv/coaxial jacks in the bedroom. I would like to have TV in the bedroom and wanted to get some suggestions as to the best way to do it. We would have cable/satellite box in the main room. Is there a device (slingbox, apple tv, etc) that could wirelessly stream that broadcast into the bedroom tv? What's the best workaround? Suggestions? Thanks!

[yoda313]

Yes. However I would make sure whatever wireless device you get is a Wireless N type. THat is the fastest they make currently. THat is claimed to be the best for streaming video.

Dlink and Linksys make some devices for this. Also slingbox and appletv as you mentioned would be viable options.

One thing to consider is if you already have a xbox 360 and windows with MEDIA CENTER on it you are already to go. However I don't know if you can use a wireless N device on the 360. That may limit your video potential wirelessly to the 360. Now it should be just fine if you do it via lan of course.

Another option to consider is looking into a powerline network. THat is supposed to use the indoor wiring to carry the network signal. I don't have one so I can't tell you what advantages and disadvantages it has. But it would be the next best thing to having a fully wired lan setup since you just plug in the powerline adapters to your ac wall plugs.

[guns1inger]

Powerline networks only work over the same circuit, so they are dependent on the wiring. If the apartment has only a single circuit for AC then you will be able to hook in anywhere. If it is has two circuits then you must have both units on the same circuit. They work well, but are an expensive alternative to running a length of cat5/6.

[RKelly]

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking what might be the best option for me honestly is either (a) hire some guy to come run coaxial cable for me and do a professional job of it or (b) maybe go the slingbox/wireless N route. I think I read that slingbox now allows you to stream directly to a TV, therebye by-passing the pc. The only problem with that is if both people want to watch tv in both rooms you have to watch the same thing, correct?

[yoda313]

@rkelly - you probably would get the most flexibility by having a professional installation of lan or coax cables. Than you can do just about anything.

I am sure there are dual tuner slingbox models out there. Though I don't know for sure since I haven't done any serious research into them.

[RKelly]

Follow up on this:

Essentially this is what I'm trying to do: I am trying to wirelessly stream tv from a cable box in my living room to my tv in my bedroom. I'm not sure how to accomplish this and I'm looking for suggestions.

I am not able to run ANY cables to my bedroom (coaxial, Ethernet, etc), but I am setting up a wireless N network.

I was looking into slingbox and slingcatcher, but it looks like slingcatcher needs a wired connection? Any verification on this? The slingbox can have a wired connection (because it's in the living room) but again I'm not able to have any cables in my bedroom (slingcatcher location). Otherwise it would work perfectly if I could wirelessly stream from the wired slingbox in the living room to the wireless slingcatcher in the bedroom.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated! Are there any other solutions? What can I do? I'm perplexed! Thanks for your help!

[RKelly]

One follow up question:

Is it possible to stream a tv signal from slingbox or Hava directly to an xbox 360 with media center on it?

[Epicurus8a]

Can you use a simple TV transmitter?
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=TV6C

Or how about something like this:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-k1Q8OSwnomg/p_209LF30S/Terk-Leapfrog-LF-30S.html

[RKelly]

These products do exist! Fantastic and thank you, I think this is the way to go!

[Epicurus8a]

BTW, there are a lot of cheap/worthless transmitters on the market. So, before you buy one, be sure to research carefully.

[yoda313]

Also remember they may interfere with cordless phones. If you use a 900mhz, 2.4ghz, or 5.8ghz phone and then get a wireless sender type device make sure one or the other allows you to change broadcast channels.

[RKelly]

thanks for the advice everyone. I was looking at this model:

http://www.amazon.com/RF-Link-AVS-5811-5-8GHz-Transmission-Repeater/dp/B0002EXJ8Y

It seems to get decent reviews. Any thoughts or other suggestions?

We have no land-line (cell phones only), and the microwave, internet etc I believe are all on the 2.4 ghz band, so I'm optimistic this will work well!

[Epicurus8a]

It looks good to me. And as a bonus it includes an IR remote extender. If you buy one, please be sure to post your experiences with it.