Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Having SKY installed this Tuesday and wondering if the installer can tag the outside cable from the dish onto the existing Virgin cabling inside the house instead of laying new cables?

Is this possible as it would save them (and me) some work!!

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

They should use new cables as they are not supposed to use other companies cables plus if you get a new cable then you can be assured that the should be no issues as the old cable may be suffering from water ingress and would degrade the signals.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Yes, but you need two feeds for sky+

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

The Virgin cabling inside the house is sound, has been for years, it's just they are hidden behind wallboards and under carpets and pulling up carpets and removing wallboards would cause major problems and some damage unfortunatley.

Unless they can connect the new cable onto the old and pull the cable through I can't see them laying new cabling that's hidden.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

It won't be their job to hide it, they will install new cable as you will need 2 feeds as stated for Sky+ to work, will be up to you to hide the cable if you want it hidden.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

But they do have an obligation not to make a mess and make the job neat though even if they can't hide the cables. Will have to see how accommodating they are when they arrive.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

All they will do is tack the cable to the skirting boards, they will bring the feed in via which ever wall is the most convenient and then run it round to your telly. With a bit of luck they may be able to drop it straight through behind your television.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Sky just use black cable straight through the wall into your STB, where as Virgin only install white cable inside and isolate it at point of entry making for a neat job IMHO. Also as already stated for Sky+ to work you need 2 cable feeds into the STB not one like Virgin's!!

:)

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

In the end they both use 50ohm co-ax (likely to be RG6 or very similar..)

So yes you can re-use the cable but as already pointed out if you're getting anything above the base level (i.e.. Anything that can record like Sky+) then this needs two cables from the dish to the STB

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Right, I believe we're having 2 HD boxes with 3D so looks like 4 cables are needed, this will be interesting then!

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Easier to go with virgin IMO

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Quad LNB on dish, 2 cables in via the same hole in each room that a box is in, shouldn't be too untidy as they will look to bring the cable in directly behind where the Sky boxes will be sited.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

The problem is the boxes will be in the back rooms of the house and the dish will be on the front of the house so cables are going to have to be routed through 2 groundfloor rooms to get to one box and through the loft to get to the other.

Virgin routed their cables first into the cellar, then put a splitter on so they could route one cable into the living room and then the other went from the cellar up into the stairwell by following the heating pipes into the loft and then accross the loft and down into a bedroom, hope the Sky installer can do the same!! Plus the front/back of the house has just been re-rendered and painted so we don't wnat any damage to the rendering!!

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

This will be classed as a non std install, personally I feel that whatever the engineer will do on the day won`t satisfy you (bit like watching a car crash in slow mo is this thread) :td:

If your worried about cabling etc why not make the runs yourself and leave enough for the guy to connect to the dish?

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

No worries, we'll see what happens on the day as we're just speculating! Until they see where the boxes are going and what needs doing we're just guessing what they'll do. The Virgin installers didn't seem to mind routing the cables where we wanted them.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

The installer will route throgh the cellar if it make his life easier

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Do they call you to confirm the appointment as the rep said they would? I've booked tomorrow off work as that's the date we were told by the rep the installation woul be but no ones called us yet?

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

They can call up to late evening so don't panic just yet.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

4 cables, so does that mean four holes? With that many holes - I hope the Sky installer doesn't do what they did to our brother, they drilled through a wall (nothing wrong with that, as expected) and just slightly caught a water pipe that was embedded in it, causing a slight leak - the problem was, the leak went undetected for a couple of months until the floor boarding near the wall was having a serious damp issue which was then traced back to this leak in the pipe caused by a hole drilled in the wall for the Sky cable. oops:

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Nope they use figure of 8 type cables on some installs these days but either way it would only be one hole per location as they will feed both cables through the same hole.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Installer rang about an hour ago, coming between 10am and noon.

At worst two of the cables can go over the roof and drop down the wall to the groundfloor room, the other two can go through the cellar and follow the existing cable into the loft and down into the bedroom. We have a marble hearth with a gas fire in the way, so no way will they touch that to route cables behind.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

He's gonna love you

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Well, installer has been (had a trainee with him) and we're up and running and was easier than expected :) We've only had 1 HD box and a Standard Box, must have got confused about the 2 HD boxes, something to query with the rep!!

Anyway, he's put the dish on the chinmey, didn't even ask for it go there he just put it there so was happy with that. The HD cable he's dropped from the dish down the rear wall, tacked it in place and fed it into the groundfloor room and put that plastic cover on to hide the entry hole so that was pretty straightforward.

The other cable was taped to an old aerial cable that fed into the loft so all they did was feed it into the loft from outside and I just pulled it through and routed it myself from the loft down into the rear bedroom, they just tacked the cable to the bedroom wall and setup the box!!

So, all that speculation and it was nowt to worry about! One thing they never mention is they have to drill a hole in your wall to temporarliy put in an eye bolt so they can secure their ladders while working!! They did plug it up and it's under the window ledge so wasn't too miffed at that, just wasn't expecting it, but it had to be done for them to continue.

Overall the 2 guys were very understanding and didn't complain. So big :tu: to Sky and the installers. Now to wait for September 1st for the BT line to be installed and see how good their broadbad (sic) is!

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

wow a sky installer putting a dish up on the roof with out being asked very rare was he in a sky van on a plain white one

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

He wasn't a Sky installer, he mentioned Northgate vans (it was blue I think) and the card he left mentioned digital-world.uk.com and AVC group.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

yeah he was a subby then specail heights thats why there was 2 of them and y he put it on the roof

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Yep, did mention Working at Heights/Health and Safety etc, but the guy with him was a trainee and did say he's going out on his own installs in a weeks time and said he was trained for working at heights too!!

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Please let us know, how you get on. Currently I am working on a new house, where the client can not make his mind up, as which service he wants that is sky or virgin. Is it possible to wire the house in co-ax, and bring it to common point, say a hub. Then when the client has made his mind up all the service provider has to do is make the connection in the hub.

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Only if you use really good coax

Re: Can SKY use existing Virgin Media cabling?
 

Generally, I believe both VM and Sky will only install cabling to their own boxes. This is probably because as far as they know, the cabling they are being asked to use may or may not be good, and if the customer finds a fault, they won't blame the existing cable, they'll blame Sky or Virgin who will then have to send an engineer out again to fix the problem.