Did I damage my HD tuner?

[ljlove]

The Summer Games inspired me to finally upgrade to HD. I just replaced my old Dish Network 4000 with a Dish 811 unit, and Dish 500 hardware upgrade using the existing RG6 feed from the dish. All signals are good - '110 signals are at 100, and my local Phoenix HD NBC station is at 85%.

I flipped back and forth between NBC OTA and the Dish Olympic feed on Friday and Saturday. Both looked great. Then on Sunday, I read that the RG6 should be rated for 2150 GHz, so I pulled in a new run with the proper RG6. The cable was 50' long and only long enough to reach the faceplate opening in the wall. I used a barrel connector to connect another 6' cable to the SAT IN of the 811. Except I first connected it to the ANT IN for about 5 minutes before realizing that it was connected in the wrong place.

Now everything is working again, but I am worried that I may have damaged the 8VSB or whatever HD tuner is in the 811. I may be imagining, but my local NBC HD seems to show a bit more motion artifact than the same exact programming on the Dish Olympic channel.

And the 2 channel sound for that (Sony I think) commercial with the guy at his window talking to all the people below is not the same - it sounds like a center channel only and you can barley hear the people. On Dish you can hear all the sounds on the 2 tv speakers.

Also, should my feed cable be a home run to the Rx, or is one barrel connection OK for a 60' total distance?

Thanks, LJ

 

[SimpleSimon]

LJ: Welcome aboard!

Rest assured, you did NOT damage anything. The OTA connection does not provide any power, so the LNBF at the other end of the cable was 'asleep' anyway.

I'm not sure about your audio issues, except that there are numerous reports of 811 audio problems. Try rebooting your box and see what happens.

And it's no problem to have a barrel connector - especially for such a short run. In general, you should make sure it's rated for 2150MHz (blue center) - but if you've got good signal strength, and no video dropouts, don't sweat it.

Also read the 811 forum: http://www.satelliteguys.us/forumdisplay.php?f=46

Note that you probably should've posted this there - not a hit, just for future reference.

 

[OdiOdin]

Nope, it's in your head

and your cabling sounds much better then mine (100ft+ with barrel connection outside/attic/and wall plate)

 

[ljlove]

Thanks guys. Now I can relax a bit. Happy viewing.

 

[goaliebob99]

LOL.. sorry but that was a good laugh.. you didnt damage anything.. little embarrissed is all but you should be all good..

 

[BOYCOTT26]

ljlove welcome aboard,
I live in Glendale and with my 811 and my 6000 channel 12 and all of
my OTA channels have a lower audio level than the satellite channels.
So I would'nt worry about that either.Enjoy your 811 and the Olympics.

 

[ljlove]

Great news! Thanks for the info Boycott26. The L-R A/V1 and A/V2 outputs don't have any surround modes do they. They just put out 2 channel sound - right? I should be able to plug them into the tvs speakers for basic listening as opposed to the digital optical out.