Will a Sky magic eye work on a digital TV?

[alan333]

Hi,

I currently have Sky+ in the lounge and a Sky-compatable amplifier/splitter running 2 upstairs TV's from the co-ax output, both using Magic eyes. The system works perfectly and I'm happy with the marginally reduced quality of picture etc.

Does anyone know if/how a Sky Magic Eye will work if I replace one of my analogue upstairs TV's for a new digital TV which will probably only have a digital tuner?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TheVictorian]

Yes, the magic eye is seperate to the TV and would work if it was just plugged in to the coax cable with no TV at the other end.

However, the output from the skybox is analogue so although you would be able to change channel, if your TV does not have a digital tuner you won't be able to see anything.

I have a 15m HDMI cable linked to a telly in the second reception room via a HDMI splitter and use a magic eye on coax to control the Sky box.

 

[alan333]

Hi and thanks for the quick reply.

I understand that the magic eyes will still operate the sky box but I want to know if it would be possible to tune a new digital TV to receive the signal from that co-ax.

I never thought of your idea tho - if I've got it correct then you have split the HDMI from TV 1 and taken it to TV 2, and also have a co-ax with a magic eye at TV 2 to change the channels? My problem is that there is only a co-ax cable running behind the wall and it would be quite a hassle to run another cable.

 

[TheVictorian]

Yep that's exactly what I've done, it was easy for me as I've got a suspended floor in one room with a pipe underneath to run cables through and a cellar under the other room.

I'd strongly recommened running a HDMI lead if you have any way to do it, and also a couple of cat5 cables while you're at it just for the sake of it.

 

[ChrisFrost]

I understand that the magic eyes will still operate the sky box but I want to know if it would be possible to tune a new digital TV to receive the signal from that co-ax.

The coax cable isn't really the issue. It's that your new TV only has a digital tuner and that won't be compatible with the analogue signal that the Sky box uses for its own "Sky via RF" signal.

If you want to still use the analogue output from the Sky box with the new TV then you need an analogue compatible tuner.

Having been there, done it, and with a wardrobe full of T-shirts for clients in the same boat then the conclusion so far has always been the same.... The cheapest and neatest solution is to buy a TV with both digital and analogue tuners built in. However, if you feel you really must investigate the alternative options then I can offer you some short cuts to picking up analogue TV signals or getting the Sky box signal without extra wiring:

* old VCR or DVD recorder

* Video sender

You'll also spend some time searching for a cheap analogue tuner box. What you'll find is a lot of PC tuners, but obviously without a PC then they are no good. You might then search for RF modulators or demodulators as a work around. Have a look at the Global DTA and Triax Unilink adapters. LINK

Ultimately you'll probably come to the conclusion that it's better to spend a little extra on a TV with an analogue tuner as well as the digital one.

 

[alan333]

Thanks very much for all the info - I suppose it confirmed my suspicions.