Why do I need a VCR to get a signal from Comcast STB using HVR-1950?

[bradlewa]

I have 2 Comcast STB's. The main one (with on demand and whatnot) is attached to the TV, and is NOT part of the SageTV setup. Then I have another Comcast STB, a smaller one that can only tune channels 1-100 or so.

The small STB works fine when hooked up directly to a TV using a coaxial cable. But when I use the coax out on the STB and hook it up to my Hauppauge HVR-1950 USB tuner, it no longer tunes any channels (as assessed by using the preview in the Setup Video Sources wizard).

Sadly, the only way I can use this setup is by using the coax out on the STB and hooking it up to a VCR. Then setting the VCR to channel 3, and using composite out RCA jacks on it to connect to the HVR-1950. At the end of the day, it works, but I'm sure there's signal degradation along the way.

Does anyone know why I can't just use coax out from the Comcast box and plug directly into the Hauppauge HVR-1950?

[davephan]

Originally Posted by bradlewa

I have 2 Comcast STB's. The main one (with on demand and whatnot) is attached to the TV, and is NOT part of the SageTV setup. Then I have another Comcast STB, a smaller one that can only tune channels 1-100 or so.

The small STB works fine when hooked up directly to a TV using a coaxial cable. But when I use the coax out on the STB and hook it up to my Hauppauge HVR-1950 USB tuner, it no longer tunes any channels (as assessed by using the preview in the Setup Video Sources wizard).

Sadly, the only way I can use this setup is by using the coax out on the STB and hooking it up to a VCR. Then setting the VCR to channel 3, and using composite out RCA jacks on it to connect to the HVR-1950. At the end of the day, it works, but I'm sure there's signal degradation along the way.

Does anyone know why I can't just use coax out from the Comcast box and plug directly into the Hauppauge HVR-1950?

The Comcast DTA boxes only have channel 3 or 4 RF output. It looks like the single tuner HVR-1950 can receive NTSC analog TV, so you should be able to hook up the DTA RF output to the HVR-1950 directly. The HVR-1950 would then need to be fixed to the analog channel 3 or 4, depending on which channel is selected on the DTA box. A USB-UIRT is used to change the channels with SageTV.

I have the HVR-2250 dual tuner capture card. I have two DTA boxes hooked up to the HVR-2250 single RF input connector. I tried connecting the two DTAs to a simple splitter, then to the HVR-2250. Both channel 3 and 4 RF signals cancelled each other out, leaving me with nothing. I then tried an inexpensive 'signal combiner' box which allows the HVR-2250 to pickup the channel 3 and channel 4 signals on both tuners at once.

The video and audio quality of the Comcast DTA box is lousy compared to a HD cable box. Comcast gives you two DTA boxes, but they are really not good enough for recording programs after you get used to the HD cable box quality level.

Dave

[bradlewa]

Thanks for the reply. Really I was looking to see if there's a reason why what I was trying wouldn't work. But it seems like it should, so I guess I'll play around with it some more. I have it working now by using the VCR as a go-between, and the USB-UIRT changing channels on the STB - I just need to see if I can remove the VCR from the loop.

I agree the Comcast box gives a crappy signal, but I'm fine with that. If I had more money, I'd up to their HD service, or switch to FIOS, but for now, it'll have to do.