If you own a Sky box, you may be wondering if you can watch Sky in two separate rooms on different TVs. The good news is you can, sort of. The bad news is, you can’t actually split a Sky signal over two different TVs in practical terms.
Splitting the Sky Signal Can Cause Issues
One thing people wonder is if they can split their LNB (Low Noise Block) into one that has two separate outputs. However, there is no longer a twin output on Sky mini dishes. If you choose to fit one or more signal splitters, you’ll find that both will compete for the Sky signal and one will always win on top of the other. Therefore, you cannot split the Sky signal over two TVs in your home. Furthermore, splitting your signal into two or more will cause the signal of the winning receiver to work at a lower percentage as it competes for the signal with the other. This means your Sky signal will likely drop in and out.
In summary, you cannot split your Sky signal to two TVs.
But read on to understand why, an the alternatives available.
Can’t I Just Split The Cable?
Depending on which channel you pick, the receiver will send commands up the LNB to alter between a quarter of the channels at any one time. Each of the four quarters is called Vertical Low, Vertical High, Horizontal Low, Horizontal High and the receiver altering the supply voltage between 13V and 18V will change the LNB request from Vertical to Horizontal and a 22KHz tone will alter between a high and low band.
Essentially, one signal is still acting as the master and the other the ‘slave’ so you’re still finding yourself in a situation where one signal is out-competing the other, making the weaker signal stop altogether. It is not advised to mess with your Sky mini dish and instead, you should look for other ways to watch Sky TV on two different TVs.
If you want to watch Sky TV on two separate TVs, you only have two viable options. The first is the closest thing to splitting a Sky signal over two TVs.
- Connect Two TVs With A Separate Aerial Cable
The first thing you can do is use an aerial cable to connect your Sky box to your separate TV. Most people have these laying around the house or stuffed in the back of their drawers. This method won’t require you to buy another Sky box which is good news. All you need is the cable.
There are however significant drawbacks to splitting your Sky signal with an aerial cable. The first is that you will have to run a cable through your house because both ends need to be connected at the same time. The second drawback is that you cannot watch different shows on the two different TVs with this method. The TV with the Sky box will have access to different channels and the second TV will have to watch the same thing. This kind of defeats the point of having two Sky signals in different rooms.
The cable needs to run from the Sky box to the second TV’s aerial port.
To do this method;
- Once you have the aerial lead in place, on the back of the Sky box, you will find two aerial output sockets, labelled RF1 and RF2. Connect one end of your aerial extension lead to the RF2 socket and the other end to the second TV set.
- With the connection in place, the last step is to tune the second TV into the output of the Sky box. By default, your Sky box should be broadcasting on Channel 68, so tune a spare preset on your telly to that channel, and you should be in business.
2. Upgrade To Multiscreen
The second option you have is to upgrade your Sky subscription to Multiscreen which will allow you to watch different shows in different rooms. This is the only official way to have two separate Sky signals on multiple TVs. To gain access to Multiscreen, you need to have a Sky box in each room you want to watch Sky in. This comes in the form of a Sky Mini box.
Each Sky Q Mini box will set you back £50 including the activation fee and then you can expect £15 to be added to your bill each month for the multiroom service.
How To Set Up Sky Q Mini Box
Once you’ve received your Sky Q Mini box, it’s easy to set it up yourself.
- Plug the pink end of the HDMI cable into the pink port of your Sky Q Mini box and the other end into your TV.
- Plug the power cable into the blue port of your Sky Q Mini box and plug the other end into the mains.
- Switch your Sky Q Mini box on at the mains; on-screen messages will advise the box is starting up.
- After the messages have disappeared, press Home on your Sky Q remote to switch your box on.
You can then sync your Main Sky Q box with your Mini box over Wi-Fi.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, you cannot physically split your Sky signal over two TVs but you can use your main Sky box as the source for other TVs by using an aerial cable or by upgrading to Sky Q and purchasing a Sky Q Mini box. To get the full multiroom experience your only option is to upgrade to Sky Q multiroom so each member of your family can watch different shows at the same time.
