HDMI matrix

[dogman]

Has anyone fitted a networked HDMI matrix

 

Looked at a couple Blustream and CYP. Both cost circ £2k for the new HDCP2.2 versions (4k at 60hz)

 

Not really up on what is needed but will mean that all the boxes can be hidden away somewhere.

 

Have not looked at cheaper imported versions yet (Chinese copies)

 

help and recommendations welcome

[AliG]

I have a 4x4 HDMI switch at the moment. It is a few years old and I find it a bit slow changing between inputs/outputs.

 

My AV guy tells me the newer ones are much better.

 

It depends on what you want to do. I have various HDMI over ethernet solutions in the current house and they work fine, but I have decided to use Sky Q networked over ethernet in the new place as it is cheaper and simpler. However, currently you can only watch Q simultaneously on three TVs. A switch would allow you to watch simultaneously on more TVs but everyone has to watch the same thing or a couple of things if you connect two sky boxes to it. Everyone watching the same thing is what I had previously but I prefer the the Sky Q solution where people can watch different things in different rooms. The new Virgin V6 boxes allow this also and I believe they can also be networked using ethernet.

 

Sky Q ethernet switches cost around £15 versus £2000!

 

If you can give more detail on what you want to achieve it might help.

[dogman]

@AliG 

i will have 4 inputs that are hdmi 

Blu ray

cctv

Sky/freeview

Media box

 

between 4 and 6 tv points

We will have 1G fibre at property by the time we finish and the house will be wired in cat6 ftp minimum

As we want a clean look in living room all the 4 inputs will be either in a media cupboard( back of cloak room) and remote IR to control them

[AliG]

I don't know how much you have looked into it, so forgive me if I am repeating anything.

 

These boxes can route the outputs over Cat 5/6 or HDMI. Generally speaking if the distance is over 10M Cat 5/6 is recommended. In this case they do not use IP, they simply carry the HDMI signal over the Cat cabling. So you will need a point to point ethernet connection between the box and wherever the TVs you are outputting to are.

 

In thinking about the same thing for my house, I decided that for guests they could watch Freeview and that it was easier just to put an Amazon Fire or similar on each TV. Thus the only thing that needs distributing is Sky. I believe you can probably watch CCTV across an app also.

 

I decided there was no point in distributing blu ray as I would have to go to another room and put a disk in the machine.

 

If you went along this route then you can save a lot of cash on the Matrix.

 

I can see the attraction of having everything available everywhere though and all the boxes in one cupboard, it depends on how many people are in the house and how they use the equipment.

 

In this scenario, the matrix should work fine. I would still bring a coax cable to each point so people have access to Freeview and you don't all have to watch the same channel as well as an extra ethernet point for smart TV or WiFi extenders.

 

As to recommending a specific Matrix box I think it might be a good idea to ask on avforums.com where people are most knowledgeable on this stuff. It is quite a specialised box.

[Barney12]

In the past I've fitted Octava units. Very good quality and generally work (but HDMI can be a nightmare!).

I can recommend (TMF The Media Factory), no connection just a happy customer https://tmfsolutions.co.uk/. Joe is often found on the AV Forums as mentioned above.

Having seen the size of your house you'll almost certainly need to distro over CAT6 if you don't wan't grief.

 

However, I'm  NOT installing a Matrix in the new house, its become cost prohibitive:

 

CCTV: No real need for HDMI, consider IP based camera's instead. Price dropping all the time.

Blu Ray: Becoming obsolete and as you've said you'll have to go to the AV cabinet to change the disk anyway.

Media Box: Most SMART TV's are fully equipped with software onboard. If not the likes of Chrome/Fire TV etc are all available on low cost dongles.

Sky: Possibly the last "maybe" in terms of distribution but Sky Q is very viable now (Although I conceded the subscription is annoying).

 

You'll easily spend £2-3k on a solution that actually works and you could equip all of the above and pay for a few years Sky Q subs for that money without the grief of HDMI which as a standard is a PIA!

 

Technology really has moved on and I personally think HDMI distro (and whole house AV for that matter) is pretty much defunct. That's a big statement from me, a self confessed "geek" when it comes to the world of audio and AV distro in the last three houses I've done.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Barney12
Joe not John!

[Mikey_1980]

I looked into this for our house but in the end it was cost/benefit prohibitive.  I just put two wired network points in everyone room and whole house wireless with a 10 GB Ethernet Switch controlling everything (It was free).  Any DVD's I buy you get a free digital download on Amazon so can be easily viewed on a smart TV along with Netflix/I Player/Sky now, they all have built in browsers and along with my phone/tablet I can view our IP CCTV from Anywhere, and at present we have BT TV so IP TV with an extra subscription so can watch Sky channels in our two main rooms, however SKY are launching there IPTV service this year with no dish required so will probably switch to that and use that in more rooms as our kids get older.

[AliG]

Joe at The Media Factory did my current cinema room and they are doing all the media in my new place.

 

Currently I have Octava HDMI over Cat 5 but as you say @Barney12 HDMI distribution is a pain/expensive and I am trying to avoid it in the new place.

 

Previously it saved on Sky Multi room subs, but Sky Q doesn't charge extra for multiple rooms so I have moved to that and cheap Fire TVs

 

[reddal]

Hi,

 

I have an Octava 4x8 HDMI Matrix switch (one of these - about 5 years old - discontinued now but they do newer versions). It is installed in a central comms room and has 4 HDMI inputs (SatTV, CCTV, Media streamer and Blu Ray) and distributes the video/audio and IR over CAT6 throughout the house. It was bought from https://tmfsolutions.co.uk/ as above - and I'd also recommend them if you are looking for something similar.

 

It works pretty well - and avoid us having to have lots of extra boxes in each room. Particularly we get the full range of sources in rooms where we wouldn't have bothered otherwise - like spare bedrooms etc - which is cool. It doesn't work for Games consoles as the controllers need to be near the screen.

 

If planning to install one of these - be a bit careful about the cabling - particularly if the length of your runs is long (over 30m) - as the HD video distribution over CATx is more sensitive to any noise than typical IP applications. i.e. avoid using patch panels and wall plates - terminate both ends of the cables with RJ45 plugs so you can get a direct connection from device to device.

 

As others have said, the industry is moving away from this kind of solution - though I think the alternatives are still a bit immature so a video distribution system could still make sense for someone that doesn't want to go that way yet.

 

Even if you decide not to go down the video distribution route, I would probably recommend to lay some extra cable runs of CAT6+ of from a central point in your house to each TV point. You can always reuse the cable for IP/ethernet at a later point (in 10 years time new TVs might only have IP inputs - and wireless solutions have their limits). It costs hardly anything to lay a few cables during a house build, but retrofiting cable runs in a completed house is a nightmare.

 

- reddal

[Barney12]

2 hours ago, reddal said:

Even if you decide not to go down the video distribution route, I would probably recommend to lay some extra cable runs of CAT6+ of from a central point in your house to each TV point. You can always reuse the cable for IP/ethernet at a later point (in 10 years time new TVs might only have IP inputs - and wireless solutions have their limits). It costs hardly anything to lay a few cables during a house build, but retrofiting cable runs in a completed house is a nightmare.

 

- reddal

 

Would definitely +1 this point.

4 x CAT6 to each TV point is a no brainer and provides cheap future proofing.

[TerryE]

1 hour ago, Barney12 said:

 

Would definitely +1 this point.

4 x CAT6 to each TV point is a no brainer and provides cheap future proofing.

 

And my darling wife calls me anal for putting 1×Cat5E into every room (except my live-in son has two).  

[Barney12]

18 minutes ago, TerryE said:

 

And my darling wife calls me anal for putting 1×Cat5E into every room (except my live-in son has two).  

 

I wouldn't call you anal.

 

But.......... "he speaks with forked tongue"..............well yes.

 

(To much? Too soon? I'll get me coat )

[worldwidewebs]

I'm about to put a 4x4 matrix in. This one:

http://store.aclasstechnology.com/essentials-4x4-hdbaset-matrix-with-4-receivers---4k2k-version-1670-p.asp

 

I'll be routing 3 cat6 plus 2 co-ax to each TV point. 1 cat6 for HDMI, 1 cat6 for smart TV and 1 cat6 as a spare. The coax will allow a direct aerial/satellite signal to be sent, if ever needed. The HMDI Cat 6 will go direct to the matrix whereas the other 2 will go to a patch panel and then on to a switch

[dogman]

The main thing i need on each TV is the CCTV feed. I could use a modulator and use analogue but as the cctv box has a hdmi 1080p out it made me think a matrix was the way forward.

The cctv is IP based and can display true 1080p via HDMI, its just the cameras that are connected via IP

Tv is currently a humax  freeview play recorder as i lost sky when house was demolished. Probably will not go back to sky.

Wife does not like lots of boxes under the TV

[dogman]

Can you claim the VAT on a matrix? is it built in?

Part R building regs might be an argument for it.

[worldwidewebs]

12 minutes ago, dogman said:

Can you claim the VAT on a matrix?

 

No chance!