# Wireless Cable TV...possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465 "2008-10-31T17:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/1 "2008-10-31T17:46:28Z")
So here’s the situation: I recently moved into a new apartment (well, actually, it’s quite _old_…). This apartment only has a single cable outlet in the living room. There’s no practical way of drilling a hole from the living room to other rooms to run cable because the bathroom lies between the living room and the closest bedroom. Running cable along the walls and/or floor isn’t really practical, either. Management, for whatever reason, isn’t keen on letting anyone drill new holes or run new cable along the roof or whatever they’d have to do. I would like, however, to watch TV in one of the bedrooms. Is there a way to do this wirelessly? I’m not interested in watching multiple shows with only a single cable box or anything like that, so I can’t imagine any legal issues so long as the signal is secure. I’d just like to be able to use the one cable outlet I have to watch TV in _either_ the front room, or the bedroom. What with this being the 21st century and all, surely such a thing is possible, right? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/2 "2008-10-31T18:33:41Z")
You could use a [Slingbox](http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox) to put your cable tv online, and then a [Slingcatcher](http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingcatcher) to watch that content on your bedroom TV. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/3 "2008-10-31T18:37:05Z")
Hmmm. A system where TV signals are wirelessly transmitted through the air. Nope. Never work. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/4 "2008-10-31T18:39:40Z")
Could you lift a floorboard in the living room and one in the bedroom and then fish a cable through that way? If you don’t mind only watching in the bedroom what’s on the TV in the living room you can get a wireless video sender for a lot less than the cost of a slingbox. ---
**Author:** ![gumpy3885](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@gumpy3885](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gumpy3885)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/5 "2008-10-31T18:45:09Z")
I have never used this but had it bookmarked cause I thought I might need it. Does exactly what you want. [http://pcpowerzone.com/ancawicatvki.html](http://pcpowerzone.com/ancawicatvki.html) ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/6 "2008-11-01T01:50:21Z")
I use an older version of this for exactly the situation you describe: [http://www.x10.com/promotions/vk82a\_ed\_lr\_ps79\_large\_burst.html](http://www.x10.com/promotions/vk82a_ed_lr_ps79_large_burst.html) Mine (which is an older version) is a little prone to interference from cordless phones, wireless networks, etc. But a little playing with the channel it uses (4 to choose from on mine) and moving the little antennas around will get me a perfectly good signal. I don’t know if the newer one is less persnickety, but they are cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-cable-tv-possible/470465/7 "2008-11-01T01:56:56Z")
> [@gumpy3885](#): > > I have never used this but had it bookmarked cause I thought I might need it. Does exactly what you want. > > [http://pcpowerzone.com/ancawicatvki.html](http://pcpowerzone.com/ancawicatvki.html) Looks like that product is no longer made. Try this instead: [http://pcpowerzone.com/cableextender.html](http://pcpowerzone.com/cableextender.html) I have used the slingbox and it works well. It’s only a one-to-one design, not a broadcast solution, however. I tried an RF video sender (the $50 kind) once and the quality was poor. The slingbox concept (thru an Ethernet and/or Internet connection) was much superior.