[Plombium]

I have recently moved apartment and much to my dismay I am unable to run the 2 Now Broadband decoders (one in living room, one in bedroom) that I had in my previous apartment. The reason I am given is that the telephone cabling in my current apartment is too old to support 2 Now broadband boxes.

On this basis is there some electronic trickery I can perform to give me back my second TV with Now channels on it. I am prepared to consider that I may only get the same channel on both - but am lost for a way around this problem short of having the whole apartment block rewired.

PCCW are absolutely no help at all in this - even though I am prepared to pay for the second Now box.

[PDLM]

If the cables aren't there then they aren't there. So you'll definitely only be able to watch one channel at the same time (and need only one NOW box). Connecting the second TV to the NOW box (or even via the first TV depending on what inputs/outputs/ your TVs have) is simply a matter of getting the right cables of a suitable length.

[Plombium]

There is a network port in all of the rooms but the network apparently can't support more than 1 broadband box.

[PDLM]

It's the cable back to PCCW that is the limiting factor. If only one pair of wires is coming up through the building to your apartment then you're only going to be able to have one broadband connection / video stream running.

[timklip]

sorry double post

[timklip]

how would you change channels in the room without the NOW box? does NOW have an RF remote available? is there some kind of IR-RF-IR receiver/transmitter that could do the job, or just get a really long stick....

[beachball]

Originally Posted by timklip

how would you change channels in the room without the NOW box? does NOW have an RF remote available? is there some kind of IR-RF-IR receiver/transmitter that could do the job, or just get a really long stick....

There are many kinds of IR bridges/blasters available in places like SSP, Mongkok, and the computer centers in Wanchai (to name just a few).
In particular, there are also AV transmitters with IR bridges built in, so that you do not need to run AV cables from the NOW box to the second room.

[JohanSWE]

Well it should be an easy thing to fix.
All you need to do is move the main/prime outlet to a more suitable position and then draw branch sockets from there, any contractor should be able to do it for a few hundred.

As for AV transmitter and wireless image/sound i tried a few and all i can say is THEY SUCK!
The sounds was like a 1950's radio, the image was usually sharp but would more often show the picture in black and white! Even though its clear space between the transmitter and receiver at a distance of 5m give or take.
Thats all i got to say, if anyone wanna know what brands i used it was Philips, Trust and forgot the 3rd brand

[twlewis]

I am absolutely baffled that PCCW is not able to understand that people want to watch TV in two rooms. But save that rant for a brick wall...

Just to follow up, has anyone successfully managed to extend cable to a second TV and has the quality diminished ? Obviously the wireless transmitters are not worth it... but any feedback using cables ?

Generally, I've found longer coaxial cables do result in diminished quality. However, I am curious about what happens here with TV coming across telephony wires eg. ADSL lines. Have just moved in and am desperate to figure out how to do exactly what Plombium is talking about. Would it be best to get the NOW box plugged into a receiver that could then send it (cable or otherwise) to other TVs / devices ? Also, can anyone recommend any devices for remote remotes, eg. remotes for a second room that is far away from the NOW box ? Many thanks.

[Plombium]

Having pondered this for the last coupleof weeks I am coming to the conclusion that one solution maybe to run another network cable from the modem and then connect another NOW box.

This then leads on to the question do I ask this of NOW or is it possible to save myself a lot of heartache and wasted time (as well as cash) and ask if it is possible to get a "fake" NOW box in somewhere like Wanchai or Sham Shui po??