Satellite socket in flat - single feed with splitter

[TheVoice]

I viewed a flat today that had a single satellite feed on the socket (along with TV etc) but connected to that was a silver splitter device with two connectors on. Not being familiar with communal satellite systems, does this mean Sky+ would work properly (i.e. watch one channel while recording another), or would it just mean watching/recording one thing at a time?

Thanks.

 

[Caged]

You can't split satellite feeds in that way.

It's possible that it's a destacker as opposed to a splitter.

 

[Captain]

It won't work, you need 2 cables from the LNB in order to use sky+ services.

 

[lude1962]

IIRC you sure it wasnt a virgin splitter?

 

[lucid]

There's a lot of possibilities. Some of them depend on the sort of head-end kit feeding the flats and others depend on the signals being used. At this stage I wouldn't rule out something as simple as 'the householder got it wrong' and is trying to split satellite with a simple 1:2 splitter.

At this stage if you're serious about the flat then the best thing to do is ask either the vendor or the letting agent to confirm precisely what's going on with the signals.

FYI, it is possible to use Sky+ features with just a single LNB feed -it's called 'Single LNB mode and is available from the engineer's menu- but there are some restrictions about what's then possible. Satellite signals come in 4 different "bands" if you like. As long as you are recording and watching channels within the same band then the Sky+HD box will be quite happy and both tuners will work without issue. It's when you want to have channels from two different bands that the problems occur.

 

[Jez]

It won't work, you need 2 cables from the LNB in order to use sky+ services.

Why reply if you dont understand how satellite systems work

It probably will work, i very much doubt its a splitter at all, its probably a destacker and will work just fine.

 

[lucid]

Why reply if you dont understand how satellite systems work

It probably will work, i very much doubt its a splitter at all, its probably a destacker and will work just fine.

To be fair to Clov!s, unless someone knows about Single LNB Mode and sets the menu option accordingly then two cables are needed for Sky+ services to work.

 

[Jez]

To be fair to Clov!s, unless someone knows about Single LNB Mode and sets the menu option accordingly then two cables are needed for Sky+ services to work.

He doesnt need to use single LNB mode, he probably has 2 feeds to his flat right there via the destacker which he can connect to a Sky+HD box as usual (assuming that it is a destacker, they are very common in communal dish systems which were originally not designed for dual feed requirements)

 

[lucid]

He doesnt need to use single LNB mode, he probably has 2 feeds to his flat right there via the destacker which he can connect to a Sky+HD box as usual (assuming that it is a destacker, they are very common in communal dish systems which were originally not designed for dual feed requirements)

You're shooting of at a tangent. Yes, I agree that with a Stacker/destacker then the box doesn't need to be run in Single LNB mode. But that's not the point that Clov!s raised and that I responded to after your reply to him.

You're also assuming it is a stacker/destacker; which it might well be, but no one really knows at this stage. It could equally be that the householder added a splitter thinking thats how satellite signal can be split. The fact is that we are all shooting in the dark until there's some clarification from TheVoice. All we can do is illustrate some possibilities so that if the flat enquiry gets serious then TheVoice can ask the appropriate questions.

 

[TheVoice]

IIRC you sure it wasnt a virgin splitter?

It said SAT on it and there's no Virgin in the area.

You're also assuming it is a stacker/destacker; which it might well be, but no one really knows at this stage. It could equally be that the householder added a splitter thinking thats how satellite signal can be split. The fact is that we are all shooting in the dark until there's some clarification from TheVoice. All we can do is illustrate some possibilities so that if the flat enquiry gets serious then TheVoice can ask the appropriate questions.

Not much clarification to offer I'm afraid, it was just a small silver splitter-looking thing with two connectors on it, and a short cable on the other end connected to the SAT socket on the wall. It wasn't a large box or anything, no mains power. Doubtful that it was left by the previous resident as all the flats have just been refurbished and decorated and they all (or at least, the three I was shown) have them.

In hindsight I should have had a closer look or taken a photo with my phone but I was thinking about other things than TV at that point!

 

[Jez]

You're shooting of at a tangent. Yes, I agree that with a Stacker/destacker then the box doesn't need to be run in Single LNB mode. But that's not the point that Clov!s raised and that I responded to after your reply to him.

You're also assuming it is a stacker/destacker; which it might well be, but no one really knows at this stage. It could equally be that the householder added a splitter thinking thats how satellite signal can be split. The fact is that we are all shooting in the dark until there's some clarification from TheVoice. All we can do is illustrate some possibilities so that if the flat enquiry gets serious then TheVoice can ask the appropriate questions.

No I'm not.

It's pretty clearly going to be a stacker, they are common in flats and the last post pretty much confirms it.

Clovis post was misleading as he obviously hasn't seen a stacker before

 

[lucid]

No I'm not.

It's pretty clearly going to be a stacker, they are common in flats and the last post pretty much confirms it.

Clovis post was misleading as he obviously hasn't seen a stacker before

Look, I don't want to see this blown out of proportion but I do have to disagree with you on a couple of points. Clov!s might not have seen a stacker/destacker but that's no reason to suggest he was misleading. I think he gave the best information he had based on his experience, as I think we all try to do. I am aware that others may have greater depth of knowledge than me, so I am open to learning so long as the advice is offered in a constructive way.

The second point (and now corroborated by TheVoice's 17.54 post) is that it may not be a stacker/destacker. From his description of the device and from the information that the flats have been recently refurbished I now think that it's very unlikely to be a destacker. My guess is that the local electrician thought he knew something about TV and Satellite distribution and bought some wide band splitters from Screwfix for a few Pounds each thinking they would do the job. or whichever In my experience sparks make lousy AV installers. So, no matter how common destacker are in occupied flats, it doesn't automatically follow that this is one here.

You might still decide that you want to disagree. That's up to you. My advice stands though; until there's a serious intent to buy the flat then this is all just discussion about possibilities.

 

[TheVoice]

Not buying, I'm renting. Just wanted to know whether I'll be able to keep using Sky+ as I do now or if I'll need to change my habits a bit. Guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

 

[lucid]

Not buying, I'm renting. Just wanted to know whether I'll be able to keep using Sky+ as I do now or if I'll need to change my habits a bit. Guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

If the thing you saw looked a little like this then its a basic "TV Aerial" splitter. This fits quite well with your description of "small silver thing"

If it looked more the grey box marked up as De-Stacker then it's what Jez is saying has to be there.

As far as your Sky goes, if there's a single satellite feed to the room and it's without the benefit of a Stacker installed in the service equipment area feeding your flat then you'll have to switch to single LNB mode and just plan your recordings carefully to avoid clashes. The Pause Live TV feature will still work though, just so long as you're not recoding a channel from a different 'band' at the same time.

 

[TheVoice]

Thanks for that, it was more akin to the first one, wasn't anything fancy like the second picture and didn't have any mains connection or anything. Seems odd they'd have installed splitters though, can't see any practical use for one in this case if it just achieves the same thing has having one cable connected to the Sky box.

 

[lucid]

Like I said, it's more than likely the electrician's doing. Their wholesales sells aerial gear, so automatically many assume it wires-up in a similar fashion to mains circuits and satellite must be able to be split the same way. The landlord probably doesn't know any better to challenge this either.

 

[garak112]

Alternatively it could be a satellite and aerial coupler/decoupler. I used one of these in my flat when I moved everything round so I'd only have to run a single cable from the old av point.

 

[Fluke?]

We have the same setup in my flat where they just put in the basic splitter. I tried to get the management company to look at the stacker/destacker but didnt get very far.
Tbh though I really dont miss it now that On Demand is so good I can catch up that way or just record on the sky box and switch to the tv freeview to watch something else.
Oh, and to confirm, all other sky+ features work fine on single lnb.

 

[TheVoice]

Thanks, that does sound like the same sort of set-up in this case. As you've said, as long as I can get a decent internet connection I can use on-demand to keep up with anything I can't record.

Thanks all.

 

[Captain]

Why reply if you dont understand how satellite systems work

It probably will work, i very much doubt its a splitter at all, its probably a destacker and will work just fine.

It was late and my post was really vague, i should have made a more descriptive post.