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New member Username: Alm70Post Number: 5 Registered: Sep-04 | Right now I have digital cable and how it is set up right now I can only record what channel the digital cable box is on. I just signed up with this new provider to get my phone, internet and digital TV all together. Everything is fine except, I can't record one station and watch another. Is this a limitation of the digital cable box http://www.i3micro.com/i3web/moodbox.php or is it a limitation of my provider? Or is it just not possible with digital cable to split the signal that way? any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated... |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | The only way to record a different channel (than from one you are watching) is to use a signal splitter and split the RF cable signal before it reaches your STB and send one cable directly to your recorder. This will work as long as your recorder has it's own tuner. You will be limited as to what channels you can record to unscrambled digital, all analog and regular digital channels up to the limitatations of the tuner in your recorder. xvxvxvx |
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New member Username: Alm70Post Number: 7 Registered: Sep-04 | If I understand you correctly, you are saying to split the signal before it reachs the cable box? (Forgive me...I'm new at this and still trying to understand the terms.) My recorder is a Panasonic DVD recorder and I change channels on it so I assume it has its own tuner. The part I don't understand is that the incoming signal that plugs into the digital cable box is a CAT 5 (ethernet ) wire. It isn't coax. So how would I get that CAT 5, once it's split, to go into the DVD? All the DVD has for inputs is RF, S-video, and Component? again..thanks for any info...I love learning this new stuff.. |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | Hi Andy, After I responded to your post above I read another one where you specified that you have Cat-5 (first I ever heard of this btw) coming out of your wall into your STB. The only solution I see is to purchase a Panny E-100 which has a firewire input but first ask your cable company if your STB is firewire enabled. xvxvxvx |
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New member Username: Alm70Post Number: 8 Registered: Sep-04 | Thanks for your input. I definitely appreciate your time. It's definitely CAT5. That is where I keep running into my dilema. I checked out the back of the box and there isn't a firewire port. Definitley lots of ports, but no firewire. My service provider is so new they really aren't much help. I've learned more lurking in these forums. I like your idea above about having the cable (in this case CAT5) go right into the DVD. But is there a way to convert a CAT5 to a coax? And would I want to? |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | " like your idea above about having the cable (in this case CAT5) go right into the DVD. But is there a way to convert a CAT5 to a coax? And would I want to? " That was going to be my first suggestion but I believe the Cat5 signal is encoded and needs to be first processed by your STB before it is in a format useful either to your Display or your recorder. I also spent about 30 minutes searching for a CAT5 to RG6 adaptor and found nada. I suspect that is because there is no use for converting the two due to the difference in data transmission. xvxvxvx |
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New member Username: Alm70Post Number: 9 Registered: Sep-04 | I too spent some time searching for an adapter (thanks for your time by the way...I appreciate it) and here is what I found. Check this out scroll down the bottom and it says the VT-VBALVPS "converts CAT5 to coax" I have no idea what the other terms mean. It talks a lot about camera's? Any thoughts on this adapter? Besides being expensive. However, even if this adapter did work, and I think you already stated this above, wouldn't it be a gamble that the signal would be a useful one that would go to my recorder? Let me throw one more thing at you...The stations I want to watch (while I record another one) are local stations. Would it be better to invest in a good antenna to watch the local show I want to...and at the same time I assume I could be recording a cable channel. Technically I don't HAVE to be recording and watching two cable stations. I would settle to a watch a local and record a cable. Does that bring a simpler answer to my problem? thanks again.. |
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xvxvxvx Unregistered guest | I don't think you want to be sending power down into the cat5 input of your recorder (am reading what the adaptor does). Your solution for watching two channels will work depending on your TV. What model is it? xvxvxvx |
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New member Username: Alm70Post Number: 10 Registered: Sep-04 | The make of my TV is a Zenith. It has to be about 10 years old. The only model number see on it says Sentry2. Obviously being so old it just has a RF out, Video-In, and Audio-In. Ironically we are shopping around for a new tv which I'm sure will have a ton more hook-ups. As I mentioned above, I would settle for watching a local station (after getting a good reception somehow) and recording a cable station. |
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Bobconfused Unregistered guest | I have a DVR with TIVO service, and a digital cable input. I'm told that my DVR will accept ONLY analog imput for recording (even from a digital channel)and TIVO use. Is there any DVR which records from a digital signal but NOT an an analog input??? |