If you want to watch cable TV, you no longer have to set up your TV near the cable socket. Because there are now routers with an integrated DVB-C tuner that can distribute the TV signal wirelessly in the house.
Some of you are probably familiar with the problem: In the apartment or in your own house there is only a cable socket at certain points through which the television signal is routed to the TV. The TV signal cannot be distributed otherwise so easily. If the TV is not in the immediate vicinity, a cable may have to be laid, which is cumbersome. However, there is one way that makes cable TV at home much more flexible: streaming via your own Internet router. TECHBOOK reveals how it works.
Router with DVB-C
Instead of just connecting a television to the cable socket with a coaxial cable, the TV signal can also be distributed wirelessly throughout the home with the right router. Users can then even stream the free-to-air TV program onto a tablet, smartphone or PC. They are therefore independent of the cable socket.
The Fritzbox manufacturer AVM in particular offers cable routers that allow the streaming of the TV signal. In the somewhat older Fritzbox 6490 Cable and the Fritzbox 6590 Cable, the integrated DVB-C tuner is enabled right from the start. For models such as the Fritzbox 6591 Cable and the Fritzbox 6660 Cable, AVM has now added the function via an update. The current Fritzbox 6690 Cable also offers the function. If you don’t have one of these cable routers, you can use DVB-C as an alternative to the Fritz!WLAN Repeater to distribute the TV signal in your home.
This is how the TV signal can be distributed in the house
All of these devices work according to one principle – they prepare the DVB-C signal, i.e. the TV signal from the cable socket, and distribute it wirelessly in your own home via WLAN. Thanks to the integrated quad tuner, the cable boxes allow up to four different TV channels to be transmitted simultaneously to different devices in the home network. With the repeater, thanks to the dual tuner, there are only two different programs.
Step 1: Connect cable router to TV socket to distribute TV signal
Plug a classic coaxial cable, also known as a TV cable, into the cable socket and connect it to the coaxial connector on the back of the router. If you also want to distribute the TV signal directly via cable and route it to a television, even though there is only one output on the cable socket, you can use an adapter. These are available under the designation 2-way TV distributor or T-adapter for a few euros in electronics stores. Televisions connected directly to the cable socket receive the TV signal in the usual way. The cable router, on the other hand, streams the signal into the home network.
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Step 2: Install software on receiving device
The channels streamed in this way can be received not only on TVs that support Sat-over-IP technology (SAT>IP). Users can also receive classic television programming via mobile devices and computers. Smartphones and tablets require the “Fritz!App TV” application for playback, which is available free of charge for both Android and iOS. For Windows PC and Mac, VLC Media Player is best for playback.
Step 3: Channel search via router interface
Once you have connected the router and provided your receiving devices with the appropriate software, you must set up the TV channels on the interface of your Fritzbox in the last step. You can find this at http://fritz.box. Now do the following:
- In the menu on the left, click DVB-C and then click Live TV. Now click on “Activate live TV”. Attention: The router then restarts.
- After the restart, go back to the router interface to start the channel search. You can find this in the “DVB-C” menu item.
For further reading: How to receive television over the Internet
Once you have completed this step to distribute the TV signal, you should be able to see the public and private channels. However, only the public service programs are available in HD quality at no extra charge. In addition to the actual programs, the stations also transmit teletext, subtitles, alternative soundtracks, the EPG program guide and program information.