Digital cable audio signal via coax to A/V tuner? (1 Viewer)

[chrisxx]

Hi All... My first time on HTF so please be gentle if I stray from the unspoken "rules."


My cable provider, (MetroCast) just converted to digital broadcast from analog. Before the conversion, I received video AND AUDIO via the coax cable from the wall, to DVD player, then to an A/V tuner with RCA connections (from the DVD player to the tuner) (like the old VHS connections). The RCA TV (Mod 20F424T with QAM tuner) has no audio output jacks so before the cable co. digital conversion, video AND AUDIO were coming through the coax cable from the wall with no need for signal compression/conversion. SINCE the digital conversation, the new DIGITAL AUDIO is not being received through the DVD player... only video. The only audio I get is on the TV so the DVD player doesn't like the audio digital signal and won't carry it to the A/V tuner. I KNOW it's confusing. Is there a way to convert the digital audio signal to analog so that the DVD player will process it without going through a cable box, sat box, etc...? Is there a way to do it with some type of cable adaptation?


Hope someone will be kind enough to assist!


Thanks sincerely!


Chrisxx

 

[Robert_J]

Yes, it is confusing. Please provide a make/model for the DVD "player" because I have never seen a player with inputs. I have a DVD recorder with inputs. Also, what is your A/V tuner? Is it an A/V receiver?

But it sounds like you need a cable box.

 

[chrisxx]

Robert...Thanks! The Tuner is an Onyko TX-SV515Pro II A/V Control Tuner Amplifier. The DVD "player" is actually a cheesy Emerson VHS Cassette Recorder/DVD Player model EWD2204 which DOESN'T have inputs except for a coax tv cable. That is what I meant by "to the DVD player." Before the digital conversion, I was receiving the video AND AUDIO through that coax cable. Now, the player will only process the video...NOT the new digital audio signal along with it. When I was receiving the old analog audio and video to the player, I was able to use it's audio OUTPUTS to run it through the Tuner. Now, that signal won't happen.


Thanks again...I hope this helps!

 

[Robert_J]

I'm surprised you are getting any video. The switch to digital cable requires a true QAM tuner and that isn't always a good idea since cable companies will move their channels around. Every time they shuffle channels you will need to re-scan to see them.


Since you can't tune in the audio now using the VCR as the tuner, there is no upgrade you can do to it to get the audio. You need a cable box or a TiVo box with a cable card.

 

[chrisxx]

Robert...Thanks again! That's what I was afraid of which defeats the purpose of the TV's internal QAM tuner. I thought that perhaps there was a way to convert the original cable signal as received via coax by adapting the cable company coax to a digital coax cable somehow. If that were possible of course it would require adapting an RF connection to a composite connection. Of course then, there's still no "tuner" function in between the two cables.


Thanks so much for your help and rapid response! Guess I'll have to suck it up and get a box.

 

[Robert_J]

If they have less than perfect cable boxes, TiVo will work.

 

[chrisxx]

Robert... What is the technical term for a "cable box?" Also, is there an RF modulator with in & out RF male jacks on the market and would THAT work?


Thanks!

 

[Robert_J]

No. An RF modulator takes an analog composite connection and converts it to RF. Those are about $10 to convert RF to channel 3 or 4. Frequency agile modulators all you to assign the channel number up to channel 99. The most common model of that is the Channel Plus 3025.


You need a cable box. It has to have the ability to decode (not only convert) digital TV to analog TV. It has to be controllable by the cable company because they are always tweaking things in the background. If I try and watch my local CBS station in HD with a standard QAM tuner, I will see it one day as channel 234. They next day it may be channel 345. The only way I find it is by running a scan with my TV again. I don't want to do that all of the time. The cable box handles that for you.

 

[chrisxx]

Robert,


Thanks again for all your help....most informative! Incidentally, I noticed you're in Southhaven. I'm in Starkville....small world.