cable modulation

nate12o6 · 2007-03-28, 23:53

Hey guys i have dish network and i was wondering if it was possible to recieve the signal with mediacenter and have dual outputs. One to hi def TV and another that modulates the dish network signal into CCTV so that i can feed the rest of my house? Any info on this is apreciated. Thanks!

Marcusb · 2007-03-29, 04:25

yep, this is easy to do as long as your gfx card has an RCA output.
You need a UHF modulator. you can get these pretty easily. They are made to do things like convert Xbox/dvd signals etc for TVs that don't have an AV input.

Make sure you get a UHF one, as then you will be able to watch all the usual FTA channels and pipe the MP output in as well. Cheaper ones make you manually switch between the two signals.

You'll lose a little bit of sharpness, but for regular TV is thouldn't matter too much.
You may notice it on the MP screens though.

nate12o6 · 2007-03-29, 05:47

Thanks for the reply! But i was thinking more along the lines of actually modulating all the channels like the actually cable service does. Convert all the channels to analog and then modulate them to channels 2- whatever. So that if it fed the rest of the house, each room would be able to watch whatever they want individually.

Marcusb · 2007-03-29, 17:42

Sorry, but I don't think this is feasible.
I don't have Dish (or even cable) but my understanding is this:

1) you can have the signal split to multiple locations and all can recieve all channels, but each location needs a cable box to decode the signals.
2) you can use the TV server with external control to change channels, then any PC on the network can theoretically watch any channel, but only the one dish channel at a time (again, unless you have multiple dcoder boxes).
3) you can do what I suggested above, but again, only one channel at a time, all controlled by the main PC.
4) as you say decode all channels and modulate to regular UHF. You'll still need one decoder box and one modulator for each channel you wish to distribute so again it's not very practical.

Hope this helps or am I on the wrong track again?

BTW, Option 4 is what large hotels do to distribute cable throughout. In the basement they have a giant cabinet full of cable boxes and modulators.
They also have the same thing for movies on demand, a cabinet full of VCR's playing porn. Newer systems use hard disks though.

nate12o6 · 2007-03-29, 20:33

that is exactly the question i was asking! thanks for the reply.

Marcusb · 2007-03-30, 06:15

No problem. It's always nice to help someone who is polite and understands forum etiquette ;-)

Welcome to the MP forums, by the way.

2007-03-28, 23:53	#1 (permalink)
nate12o6 Portal User Join Date: Mar 2007 Age: 23 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	cable modulation Hey guys i have dish network and i was wondering if it was possible to recieve the signal with mediacenter and have dual outputs. One to hi def TV and another that modulates the dish network signal into CCTV so that i can feed the rest of my house? Any info on this is apreciated. Thanks!

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2007-03-29, 04:25	#2 (permalink)
Marcusb Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,936 Thanks: 67 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts Country: My System	yep, this is easy to do as long as your gfx card has an RCA output. You need a UHF modulator. you can get these pretty easily. They are made to do things like convert Xbox/dvd signals etc for TVs that don't have an AV input. Make sure you get a UHF one, as then you will be able to watch all the usual FTA channels and pipe the MP output in as well. Cheaper ones make you manually switch between the two signals. You'll lose a little bit of sharpness, but for regular TV is thouldn't matter too much. You may notice it on the MP screens though.

2007-03-29, 05:47	#3 (permalink)
nate12o6 Portal User Join Date: Mar 2007 Age: 23 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the reply! But i was thinking more along the lines of actually modulating all the channels like the actually cable service does. Convert all the channels to analog and then modulate them to channels 2- whatever. So that if it fed the rest of the house, each room would be able to watch whatever they want individually.

2007-03-29, 17:42	#4 (permalink)
Marcusb Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,936 Thanks: 67 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts Country: My System	Sorry, but I don't think this is feasible. I don't have Dish (or even cable) but my understanding is this: 1) you can have the signal split to multiple locations and all can recieve all channels, but each location needs a cable box to decode the signals. 2) you can use the TV server with external control to change channels, then any PC on the network can theoretically watch any channel, but only the one dish channel at a time (again, unless you have multiple dcoder boxes). 3) you can do what I suggested above, but again, only one channel at a time, all controlled by the main PC. 4) as you say decode all channels and modulate to regular UHF. You'll still need one decoder box and one modulator for each channel you wish to distribute so again it's not very practical. Hope this helps or am I on the wrong track again? BTW, Option 4 is what large hotels do to distribute cable throughout. In the basement they have a giant cabinet full of cable boxes and modulators. They also have the same thing for movies on demand, a cabinet full of VCR's playing porn. Newer systems use hard disks though.

2007-03-29, 20:33	#5 (permalink)
nate12o6 Portal User Join Date: Mar 2007 Age: 23 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	that is exactly the question i was asking! thanks for the reply.

2007-03-30, 06:15	#6 (permalink)
Marcusb Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,936 Thanks: 67 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts Country: My System	No problem. It's always nice to help someone who is polite and understands forum etiquette ;-) Welcome to the MP forums, by the way.