Video Streaming

So you have something like a cable box but you want to send that to portable units and not your TV? Or you want to watch one program your TV and have others watch something else on their tablets?

One cheap way may be to put in a Chromecast (they are like 29 bucks) into the back of the receiver and then connect to an android device as you're not an apple fan. But you would still need a router. Its hard to figure out exactly what your requirements are from your description. What is it exactly you want to do?

 

If I understand correctly, you have a Wifi router and you have a receiver (aka some kind of box to get Video from a satellite and send video and audio to your TV via an HDMI port)

You may also have a receiver which allows several HDMI ports for input (like the Sat box, a Video Game, a DVD player, a Streambox, etc) BTW: TV's today also do this too but it gets messy with a lot of HDMI cords in the back.

Typically receivers have several of these inputs. These will let you INPUT images from these to your TV depending on which one of the HDMI inputs you choose.

What you are looking for apparently is OUTPUT from your TV sat box to mobile devices. You want to not have to watch your TV but instead want to watch things remotely without a cable in your space.

If that is the case, then you can look at getting a Slingplayer. This requires an internet connection to work. But your devices don't need to be connected to the internet -- just to the Wifi that has the Slingbox connected to it

Advantage: Any IOS or Android device or PC can view and control your cable / sat box remotely and be viewed. And if the signal is good enough, in full 1080p HD quad sound. Its really like watching your TV but it's thousands of miles away. Browse programs, use the DVR, etc.

Disadvantages: 1) the cost (they are like $200+ or more 2) and you can only stream one device at a time, 3) there can be some lag at times depending on the speed. Also, it does chew up power on the hand held devices. Don't expect them to last more than 2 hours in this mode without some power. 4) There's no app for Smart TV's to directly feed from a Slingbox. They want you to buy their hardware (duh!). But you can mirror from a tablet too your secondary smart TV using Chromecast.

So it goes like this: The sat box connects to the Slingbox. Output from the Slingbox goes to your main TV (or receiver) so you can still use your TV as normal. Then your portable device can connect to the Slingbox (which needs an internet connection but your portable doesn't) which can then send the signal to your portable which you can mirror to a TV using a Chromecast or Apple TV (whew!). I know it sounds complicated but its really not. I do use it a this way all the time in my home in Vegas. I just open the app, mirror my TV, and then watch.

I use my Slingbox for travel. I watch my TV at home on the road not much differently than I do when I'm at home. At my home I have used it to stream to a tablet and carry it with me around the house. And I also mirror my tablet playing from my Slingbox to a TV using Apple TV (or Chromecast). This way I only pay for one Cable TV premium service but use it in two different homes. Its not perfect but it gets the job done for when I need it.

I'm not exactly sure I've answered the question but for a remote viewing of your home TV cable box, Slingbox is the one I use.

 

How is this working out?