trying to cut the cord

[LocutusOfBorg]

I have 2 cables that I have to run across a floor or up a wall then across the room that I want to get rid of. I'm looking for suggestions to help find a way to go wireless. One cable is for satellite and the other cable is for OTA. The cable lengths are about 100 feet. The OTA cable comes off a splitter in the basement while the satellite cable connects the Gbox (located in the basement) to the MicroHD (located under the LCD TV). I'd like to find a way to stream the video from the basement to the TV. In order to do so, I'd have to relocate the MicroHD to the basement and connect it to a HTPC along with the OTA cable. I'd have to find some way to remote control the MicroHD and the PC TV card and be able to select the appropriate stream. An indoor antenna for OTA is not a possible solution with most of the TV transmitters being 40 miles away (already tried with poor results). It would be nice to find a cheap solution but it never works out that way. Tearing out the drywall to run cables is another solution but I don't want to "go there". Too bad they don't build houses that are scalable. At work we had "computer floors" and "false" ceilings to route cables but I guess that's not appropriate for residential homes.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Are there any FTA boxes that can be remote controlled via the LAN (wired or wireless)?

 

[N6BY]

Yes, my U4 Quad has an Android app called 'HiTVRemote' which creates a full touchscreen interface to the receiver. You can do everything on it -- as if you were at your box.

It also claims to be able to do UHD, but it does not do 10-bit High Dynamic Range or anything over 30 FPS without stuttering. But it works fine for regular 1080P HD.

 

[Jim S.]

The Amiko Alien2 and Alien3, and any (?) box that runs the third-party Enigma2 OS, can be controlled to one degree or another via a web interface. (The A3's is particularly nice in that you can do anything you can do from the normal interface, including scanning. Most others just let you select a channel to watch.) The Amiko boxes, along with some other boxes that don't have a web interface, also have Android apps.

 

[. Raine]

I use one of these to change the remote for my MicroHD from IR to RF, so I can have the MicroHD in our living room and be able to change the channel upstairs in our bedroom, or anywhere else in the house, with the original MicroHD remote.

Amazon product ASIN B000C1Z0HA
I use agile modulators to modulate different satellite channels onto our OTA setup, these ones, they come in 1, 2, 3 or four channel. There is cheaper ones available, but I haven't tried any of them. The MicroHD output is modulated onto channel 64, 121W fixed onto 55, etc, etc, so we can watch the satellite stuff on any TV in the house.

Amazon product ASIN B00026C4GA
The picture is SD, not HD, but I'm darn near blind, so it doesn't matter to me. There may be some that do HD, don't know.

 

[waylew]

Is the basement finished?Are you just running to the first floor?
It's not that hard to fish a couple of wires up into a wall and put an "outlet"box in.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Is the basement finished?Are you just running to the first floor?
It's not that hard to fish a couple of wires up into a wall and put an "outlet"box in.

The basement is 50% finished. There's a ceiling installed where I need to go. I'm considering trying to fish the cabling through the air ducts but I'm not sure if the cabling would survive the heat.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

I've heard that one could stream video with chromecast. I'll have to look into that also.

 

[waylew]

The basement is 50% finished. There's a ceiling installed where I need to go. I'm considering trying to fish the cabling through the air ducts but I'm not sure if the cabling would survive the heat.

Okay,I'll assume the sheetrock is attached directly to the floor joists and the joists aren't running in the direction you need to go.
The heat shouldn't really bother the coax,after all it's made for being out in the hot sun on hot roofs.Can you get close using the cold air return instead?