Which RG-6 Satellite cable features are important, and which are not?

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retirede said:
No - I haven’t had a landline for years and I can order from my receiver.
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Then your receiver must be connected to your internet connection by Ethernet or WiFi. The receiver only receives data from the dish. It can NOT send data so must have an additional phone/internet connection to send data.
 
True that satellite receivers only receive, but cable and fiber are 2-way.

I was merely pointing out that a single conductor does not mean 1-way.

I have two 2-tuner DVRs, and I can watch any recording on any tuner.
 
LarryFine said:
True that satellite receivers only receive, but cable and fiber are 2-way.

I was merely pointing out that a single conductor does not mean 1-way.

I have two 2-tuner DVRs, and I can watch any recording on any tuner.
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In a related story...

For many years I got around the signal loss from splitters by using an 8 output video distribution amp (VDA) on the incoming cable TV signal, but then came on demand programming, where the cable box has to talk back to the mother ship. My system didn't work for that.

Without knowing that such a thing even existed, I googled "bidirectional video distribution amplifier"; lo and behold, it does! I replaced the old one-way amp with one of these gizmos and I was back up and running.
 
ggunn said:
In a related story...

For many years I got around the signal loss from splitters by using an 8 output video distribution amp (VDA) on the incoming cable TV signal, but then came on demand programming, where the cable box has to talk back to the mother ship. My system didn't work for that.

Without knowing that such a thing even existed, I googled "bidirectional video distribution amplifier"; lo and behold, it does! I replaced the old one-way amp with one of these gizmos and I was back up and running.
Click to expand...

It's not just "on-demand". Cable boxes today constantly communicate with the "mother ship". If you were to lose the return channel the box won't let you see anything.

You have to be careful with anything that affects the return signal. Most bi-directional house amps are passive in the return direction but there are some that are not. You don't want to create a situation where you inject a too high level return signal because that can actually wipe out other peoples service. In that case, if you aren't home for a knock on your door they will disconnect your drop and tell you to call them- or maybe just disconnect your drop and let you figure it out. This is why I don't recommend that DIYers mess with their cable wiring. Hell, I used to sub for a cable company many years ago and I think I know what I'm doing. But it's not cost effective to have the test equipment you need now if I'm just fixing my own. So I just call the cable company like anybody else when there is a problem and say "fix it". All of the time the problems have been outside my house anyway.

-Hal
 
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