Hiding Cable boxes

[parinshah]

I am going to have a media room where there is going to be a closet. I would like to put all my cable boxes for the house in that closet. Are there devices that would allow me to hide my cable box there and change channels for the master bedroom or family room TV?

I considered a cable card, but i don't believe they allow on demand programming.

I also will be needing something for audio distribution (1-2 sources for 4 different zones). I am leaning towards the Sonos system because all my music is on my mac and can be streamed easily throughout the house via my iphone. I mention this because if there is an easy way to tie the cable boxes and audio distribution together without getting too pricey (Crestron), I may be interested.

 

[highfigh]

You can use a remote control with an RF repeater, which has IR emitters to control equipment that is hidden. IR repeaters are prone to problems from sunlight, plasma TVs and florescent lights. The RF units are much more dependable. If the cable box is Scientific Atlanta, leave it on unless your cable provider has programmed them for discreet ON/OFF. Also, some have a setting that causes them to turn off if it doesn't receive a command for a certain amount of time.

You can use a Sonance, Russound, ReQuest IQ or other system for distribution. Crestron is the king but the others work well. The ReQuest has 4 zone output, can store .wav and FLAC full data files as well as MP3 for streaming on as many computers as you want, from any location that's online. I have the N1.200 server and since I have it connected to three amps, it lets me listen to the .wav audio, but after opening a port in the router, I can stream it or control it from my laptop (wireless), desktop (hardwired) or a remote location outside of the house. I have enabled IR reception, so I can use one of my universal remotes or the one that came with it, too. It has an IR jack on the back, which accepts signal from an RF extender/repeater via a cable with mini plugs. If you decide to use a controller that uses RS232, it works for that, too. It has on-screen display in different modes (NTSC/PAL, Composite, S-Video or component) and the new models have the ability to connect to a NAS, so hard drive size isn't vendor specific. You can create playlists, edit, play random/shuffle/continuous/repeat modes. The sound quality is better than any other server I have listened to.

If you want a lot of flexibility, lower price, discreet commands and decent power, consider buying a separate receiver and an Airport Express for each zone. That way, you can stream to each zone, control them from any computer, listen to various sources, 4 different radio/XM/Sirius channels and with assignable IR outputs, there's no reason to worry about one zone inadvertently controlling another.

 

[BMXTRIX]

You are kind of getting into the area where a low-end Crestron control system may make some sense.

Understand that Crestron is first and foremost the best darn universal remote on the market. They sell some pricey stuff which can cost an arm and a leg, but I know when I do Crestron for my personal business, I get good gear via eBay and pass the price savings on to clients. Do you really need a brand new piece of gear which is 2 years old and will last 30 years? Are you gonna miss that two years?

Anyway, there are some RF remote options they have which will work 100% reliably throughout your home for well under $500. The programming will take a bit of work, but multiple cable boxes to mulitple zones isn't to crazy for programming. Maybe a day of work.

If you have HD cabling run everywhere, you may want to consider video matrixing and using fewer cable boxes possibly. Audio distribution can be done via Sonos, but there are more traditional methods which may or may not be appropriate for your situation. Good speakers in each room, plus discrete amplification for each room, and a preamp to control volume and some RF remotes give you true independent room-by-room control which is really close to 100% reliable all the time.

Except if those darn cable boxes don't have discrete on/off control.

 

[parinshah]

My builder suggested I go with the Universal MX980 remote for each TV and then place all the cable boxes in one area....is this a good idea for a remote with RF compatiibiity? Is this remote with RF base station overkill or is there a cheaper, comparable alternative? Or are the Xanatech RF products any better?

Thanks!

 

[parinshah]

I just found out that some of these remotes only have a 100' range...and my TV will be in the family room and the cable box will be in the media room closet.

Is there any way to extend this range by 10 fold? If not, is the only other option to get some sort of Niles or Xanatech cat5 wired product?

 

[BMXTRIX]

I just found out that some of these remotes only have a 100' range...and my TV will be in the family room and the cable box will be in the media room closet.

Is there any way to extend this range by 10 fold? If not, is the only other option to get some sort of Niles or Xanatech cat5 wired product?

If you house is more than 200' wide, then I would be looking for a quality solution that matches your environment and lifestyle instead of the cheapest possible solution.

The bottom line is that while there are some very good products out there, very few of them are going to offer excellent reliability under normal use. IR repeater systems are directional and can miss commands. Consumer RF systems often are designed for one single room usage and can often get interference from local A/V gear which cuts range down dramatically.

If you speak to the right people, you could probably spend $2,000 or so and get a Crestron RF system which could do close to what you want... including the long distance RF reception, and remote controls for the rooms.