Television sets range from huge 60 inch HDTV behemoths capable of creating a cinematic experience in the living room, to small LCD screens perfect for a child\’s bedroom or even a kitchen. As owning multiple television sets has become increasingly commonplace in households, there is a growing need to distribute television signals throughout the home between many different sets. This requires sharing the input source, such as a digital box or satellite dish, with one or more output devices, such as the television sets. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to achieve this multi room system is by using a TV splitter.

A TV splitter is a small plastic or metal device which has several sockets. One socket receives a television signal, typically from a cable or digital set top box, via a coaxial cable. This signal (in) can then be routed to other televisions (out) so that multiple devices receive the same signal. This signal is routed to other television sets via coaxial cables. Infrared emitters, commonly referred to as \’magic eyes\’, can also be attached to multiple televisions so that viewers can control the set top box from any room in the house.

Although easy to install, TV splitters have disadvantages. Even with a strong signal, there can still be loss of picture quality sometimes caused by the quality of the splitter itself, the quality of the coaxial cable or the amount of devices attached to splitter. TV splitters also require coaxial wires linking each device to the splitter, which can result in wires trailing throughout the household. These reasons are why a Multi Room TV System can be considered a better choice.

A multi room TV System allows viewers to watch different signals on different televisions. Unlike a TV splitter, viewers can watch different channels in different rooms whilst still using the same input signal. This is achieved by splitting the input signal, such as a satellite dish, and feeding it into additional set top boxes. This way each set top box can be used independently from one another.

A satellite dish has a much stronger signal than cable television. It can feed several set top boxes without diminishing the signal, unlike a TV splitter which may show a weaker signal as more devices are attached to it. As the dish is external, wiring the set top boxes is typically easier than with a TV splitter as the additional wiring can go on the outside of the property.

A multi room TV system can also be achieved with a wireless TV transmitter. This device is attached to the SCART socket in the set top box and a wireless TV receiver is attached to the SCART socket in any other television in the house. This sends and displays the primary signal to any other television which the receiver is attached to. This can be easier than a TV Splitter as additional wiring is not required. However, only the primary signal can be watched on other televisions.

Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK suppliers of multi room TV systems.

Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (http://www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK suppliers of multi room TV systems.

Author Bio: Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK suppliers of multi room TV systems.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: television, TV, technology, audio visual, multi room, entertainment, HDTV