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Distributing Digital Cable

post #1 of 3
8/20/07 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 
I'm not sure if this is the right area to post this, but this is what I'm looking to do:

I have digital cable with 1 cable box. I have 4 televisions in various places in the house, I can get basic cable on all of the tv's, and digital only at the tv with the box. I also have cable internet access. I would like to be able to get digital cable content on all of the tv's - and I don't want to rent a box for each tv. At this time, it's very unlikely that I'd need to view different digital cable channels on more than 1 tv at a time, but I would like to be able to view a basic cable channel on tv#1 while a digital cable channel is being viewed on tv#2 (i.e. not all tv's tuned to the same thing, understanding that only 1 digital channel can be tuned to at any time).

What I "think" I need to do is:
Split my incoming cable 3 ways (cable modem, cable box, Channel Plus 3025)
Move my digital cable box to where my "coax distribution area" is (mainly for convenience)
Install a low pass filter on the input of the Channel Plus 3025 (or other RF modulator)
Install some IR targets and an emitter
Make sure that any splitters that I use downstream of the CP 3025 are IR passing

I haven't done this before, and I'm sure that several people on the forum probably have - Is my plan a good plan, or am I way off base? Is there a better way to do this for about the same amount of money?

Thank you!

By the way - I haven't purchased the Channel Plus 3025 - if there is a better way (that isn't much more money), please let me know!
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post #2 of 3
8/20/07 at 11:50am

Re: Distributing Digital Cable

I used the Sony MRD-D1 (a 3025 clone) on analog cable with no filter needed. The 3025 has more channels available so you may not need the filter.

The quality of the picture will not be as good as a connecting the TV to the cable box via composite or s-video.

-Robert
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post #3 of 3
9/9/07 at 8:19pm

Re: Distributing Digital Cable

Just buy a digital Modulator use the video and audio out from the digital cable box to the modulator and make that say Channel 120 (cable freq). Split the incoming cable with a 2 way splitter. Send the full signal to the new digital cable box. Install your low pass filter on the other side. Then on the rf out from the Modulator use another splitter (backwards as a combiner) and connect the modulated signal (channel 120) from the modulator to the Out (now the in on the second splitter) and the output from the low pass filter to the other Out (again now the in) on the same second splitter. The In on the second splitter now is now your "OUT" to the whole house. Split that out to your respective cables throughout your house with lets say a 4 way splitter from the "out" we just created. You will get your basic cable throughout the house and all your digital from the digital box will be on channel 120.

If you are going to use IR injectors and use the cable for distribution back to the cable box you shouldn't have any problems. (xantech IR injectors) I've got the exact same setup here at my house but have also included a 4 input digital modulator and have channel 105 for my zone2 out throughout the house, 110 satellite, 115 canadian satellite, 120 HD Satellite, oh yeah and a second 2 input modulator for my outdoor security camera's on channels 86 and 95. and then basic cable is on all the other lower channels. Piece of cake! LOL

ps without having a RF meter in hand at your house I don't know how "hot" your cable signal is. My incoming is about +10db and I'm going to 6 tv's throughout the house so before distributing throughout the house after going through all the splitters and combiners my signal was down to about +1 so I added a powered +10 db splitter and have all the tv's in the house on that giving me about +8db on all tv's throughout the house.
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