Solved! Multiple TV setup with same screen picture

[melcor]

Alright, this is a pretty confusing scenario I have here, so I will do my best to explain what I need. I also have a basic paint diagram I quickly made to make it a little less confusing. Here is the picture of what is basically going on;

http/postimage.org/image/1gqvt5pac/

OK, First what I have been trying to do is watch netflix movies from my xbox to all the tvs in my house. I can currently do this with directv and I have the main cable going from outside to the directv receive. From there it goes into my main tv through hd component cables and it goes back to the first room where there is a coax spliter. The signal gets split then it goes to 2 other tvs in different rooms, both with coax cables. Ok, currently this works really well, I have good image for all my tvs when I am just watching anything on DirectTv.

It is a pain however if I ever want to watch a dvd or watch something on netflix through my xbox because it is only connected to my main tv downstairs. I know it is possible to use 1 xbox to get video on 2 different screens. Basically the xbox that I have has 1 cable with both hd rca component cables (green/blue/red) and the standard rca component (red/white/yellow) and so what you do is just hook up the 2 seperate video cables to each tv. This works if the tvs are right beside each other but not for me because they are in different rooms.

So, what I thought I could do was hook up the hd rca component cable to my main tv downstairs (xbox is right beside it) and then get an rf modulater (rca component to coax converter http/www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/electronics/B00009MDBN ) Now, with my other set of cables on the xbox (the red white yellow) I hook those up to the modulater and then when I want to watch a dvd or netflix I simply unplug the coax from the directv receiver and connect it to the rf modulater. When I want to watch directv, I just reconnect the coax back to the receiever.

So far if you are not confused I congratulate you. I think up until this point, all of this will work (at least the video) but here is what I really am unsure about. How would I go about getting sound to all of the tvs when watching a dvd? I am not very familiar with the hd rca component cable but I was thinking I need to use 5 cables for me to get sound on my main tv* (using yellow white red blue green) but that would not leave me with any audio cables to plug into my modulater to get sound on my other tvs. I don't know if there is an audio splitter I could use for the yellow/white cable (my other tvs are hdtv but I dont care if its just ywr) and thus have it split to both my main tv and then to the modulater. Getting the sound would not be completely horrible because I have a zone 2 on my audio receiver that I could turn on and would get decent sound to each tv but would be nice having the sound come from each tv as well.



*note-I actually have my audio cables for my main tv sent to a big audio receiver that has a lot of speakers set up through out the house


Also, here is a picture of the xbox cable, in case you are not familiar with it;

http/www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http/electrogear.thorie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Xbox_360_cable_avance.jpg&imgrefurl=http/electrogear.thorie.com/2010/04/27/tips-on-buying-the-right-xbox-360-cables/&usg=__pA_GMvWLsg5MFe2Gec7qgRfcFvk=&h=465&w=600&sz=37&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=46pKJOngKBRpeM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=177&ei=QfSsTcaKGam10QGY9PifCw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dxbox%2B360%2Bcable%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1424%26bih%3D691%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=471&vpy=217&dur=1669&hovh=198&hovw=255&tx=184&ty=70&oei=QfSsTcaKGam10QGY9PifCw&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0


Alright, after reading all of this I just want to thank you. Now that you know my basic set up is there any way to get audio from my xbox to my main tv and then to the modulater which would then go to both of my other tvs? Also, if you do know anything about the xbox 360, does the way I am doing the multiple videos look like it would work as well. I know you can get 2 screens to show the same picture on an xbox when they are nearby (just use all 6 cables) but I don't know if it would work after I use the modulater to convert it to coax and then to both screens. Also, I don't know if I can get audio to all of the tvs. This set up is almost getting over my head so I would really like either some reassurance of someone that understands whats going on or some suggestions on what I could do instead of all this I guess. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this really really long post!

 

[ssddx]

i didn't exactly read all of it but heres my take:

try to keep the highest definitition cable type. ie: if you have hdmi or component cables on the xbox, dont swap to coax.

for splitting xbox video you should be able to use splitters similar to what you did for directv.

for getting audio, if the xbox doesnt carry an audio signal through its cables (ie, hdmi or component) you can use either a splitter box for its dedicated audio cable (but might need a booster?) if you want to use the tv speakers or hooking it up to your house-wide av receiver if you want to use your sound system. just look at how you solved the issue on your directv and compare.

keep in mind that xbox controllers/remotes have a maximum range. i'd make sure you can control it from every room before you spend money on cables, splitters, and equipment. the reason it might work for directv is the little "remote receiver" devices that connect back to the main unit. xbox doesn't have this so range is an issue.

 

[melcor]

Thanks for the reply ssddx. Just to be clear with the setup I have currently, I have all of the coax cable already set up through the walls. I do not have the modulater yet but am buying it today. It is a huge pain to rewire more cable through the walls, which why I am trying to just get by with converting the component to coax. Also, I do not really care a lot of about the picture quality (so long as it is reasonable) because I am mostly watching tv while working on other things.

Also, the way I split the directv was because the receiver box had 1 coax output and 1 rca component output so I basically have the rca going into my main tv then the coax going into a splitter in another room and 2 coax coming out to different rooms from there. The xbox basically has 2 rca components (6 actual cables) in the one connection so I will be running one set of rca into the main tv and then having the second set run into the modulator to turn it into coax. The coax will then run the same way it did for directv. (I am going to have to manually unscrew coax from directv to xbox every time I want to watch a movie but I do not mind doing this too much. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[ssddx]

if you don't mind the quality loss then coax will work fine. for standard definition you might be fine but i'm not sure if coax can handle a 720p, 1080i or 1080p signal.

sounds reasonable. would probably work the same way your directv does.

if you don't want to unscrew anything from the televisions you could try another splitter box but i'm not sure if this will downgrade quality even more or not.

did you look into xbox controller/remote range? i'll say it again because it is very important. if you cannot control the system from the new areas then hooking it up is pointless.

 

[melcor]

Thanks for the confirmation ssddx. As far as the controller range goes, it actually doesn't matter because this set up is just for when my family is watching is a movie at night and I am doing some work at my desk. The work I do has a lot of downtime because I run a lot of simulations and those usually take 3-5 min to run and in the meantime I'm just sitting there waiting so being able to have the same movie going (have a tv screen right beside my computers) that my family is watching will be nice. Since they are watching it too though, they have the controller with them, so the range isn't a big issue. I hate having to just sit and watch a movie (without doing something else) when I know I could be getting some more simulations run in the meantime, so this will be great if it works. Thanks again for your help ssddx.

 

[christinawhite099]

Nice forum
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