While Free-to-Air TV and Foxtel have had plenty of competition in recent times, the chart below indicates that Foxtel subscribers are remaining loyal. This means that if you’re a domestic TV installer or MATV installer, you’ll need to know about Foxtel and the changes that are afoot.
Foxtel in Domestic jobs
Last year Foxtel released their very impressive IQ4 box. Like the IQ3, this box will only work with Satellite signal, so no cable input. Foxtel has relied upon Telstra’s cable network since its inception in 1995, but in 2023, this agreement expires, so pretty soon, every Foxtel subscriber will need to be on satellite. While subscribers like the reliability and performance of satellite, there are cabling considerations.
We thought we’d draw a few “overly simplistic” pictures to describe various ways of cabling for IQ4 boxes in a domestic environment:
Single Foxtel Box
The most basic install involves connecting the IQ3 or IQ4 directly to the 2 outputs of the LNB. Foxtel’s approved dish & LNB are the Aussie made Hills dish (FF200020) & sharp LNB (BC49165).
FF200020 – 65CM KU BAND OFF SET DISH
2 Foxtel Boxes & 2 TVs
Foxtel transmit their signal on both a horizontal & vertical polarisation, so a standard TV splitter won’t work. Instead, you can split the signal at the LNB (quad LNB) or use a dual LNB into a multiswitch & then to the 2 IQ4s.
MS2X4 – MULTISWITCH 2 WIRE 4 OUT
Single Foxtel Box & Multiple TVs
Many houses have loads of TVs, yet subscribers only want to pay for one box. For this modulation is ideal.Once the modulator is connected, the TVs in the house need to be retuned. From there, Foxtel will appear within each TV’s channel list. To control the Foxtel box, use IR targets (RL-RF210) with each TV.
KT-FX1, KT-FX1DA – SINGLE INPUT FOXTEL APPROVED MODULATOR
RLRF380 – 3-IN/8-OUT COMBINER/AMPLIFIER
Retrofit Foxtel Box & TV
Recabling for Foxtel can be expensive, though fortunately the IQ4 has a trick up its sleeves. Using a multistacker & a diplexer, the house can be cabled simply with little expense.
Large Domestic Foxtel Install
One issue with high frequencies is that there’s greater loses (attenuation). Using Kingray’s super broadband amplifier, you can boost up signal levels to account for the loses down the line.
DSB38F – SUPER BROADBAND AMPLIFIER
KT412F – 4 WAY 12DB TAP 5-2400MHZ
Foxtel in Commercial Jobs
We commonly work on pubs and clubs and apartment blocks, so here are a couple of illustrations:
Small Pub
KT-FX4, KT-FX4DA – 4 INPUTS FOXTEL APPROVED HD MODULATOR
Large pub, Club or Venue
STHC12G – 12 PORT PASSIVE COMBINER
8 Story Apartment Block
KSP4FRPP – 4 WAY 5-2400 MHZ SPLITTER
PSK124F – 12V 2A POWER SUPPLY FOR KMS-F1
We’ll generally split the signal from the multistacker and run them into power injectors. The PSK124 is a 2amp power supply. We again split the signal using a reverse power passing splitter, so that we can power the active taps.
By Michael Swann
This write-up first appeared in our Mar 2019 newsletter.