Dish HD DVR and "modulated" OTAs via cable

[Lars]

OK, here's a question for everyone. I had Voom along with my Charter cable for a year and really miss the Voom channels. I had thought about getting Dish with the Voom channels for a while, but since I can't get the HD OTA's where I live, I needed to keep Charter cable- I thought.

So here's the question: I found out that Charter provides the HD locals in the clear so an OTA tuner will pick them up but it is not on their regular OTA channel designation- they are "modulated" to a frequency of Charter's choosing. Could I get a dish box and pick up the locals from Charter via the OTA tuner in the Dish receiver? Would there be any way to record these (even if by time manually like a vcr) if I got the Dish HD DVR? Just wondering......

 

[TuxCoder]

That's an interesting question. They're likely to be QAM though and I think the E* HD-DVRs can only do 8VSB. But hopefully someone else knows for sure.

 

[riffjim4069]

I doubt it since almost all cable companies use QAM (standard cable protocol) to encode/compress their channels into a 6Mhz RF. Although the network affiliates broadcast their channels using the ATSC standard 8-VSB, QAM is a much more efficient delivery method for cable...so it repackaged at the cable headend and sent down the line in QAM. Many of the larger HDTVs being sold today come with an integrated QAM/8-VSB tuners, which decode OTA HD and digital cable channels sent in-the-clear. I don't recall the specifics, but I believe there was an FCC Order stating that all cable MSOs send digital/HD locals in the clear...so all you needed was a digital TV.

The Dish and VOOM receivers do not have a QAM tuner, just an 8-VSB tuner or add-on module for receiving OTA HD. Therefore, you will need to subscribe to cable "Lifelife" service (anywhere from $10 to $35 based on your cable company and local franchise agreement) and have one of the following in place:

1. An HDTV with an integrated QAM/8-VSB tuner. (all 3 of my HDTV have one...even my 3 year old set)
2. If you don't have #1, then you will need a stand-alone HDTV receiver (LG, Samsung, Zenith, etc.) that does both QAM and 8-VSB.
3. Rent an HD receiver from your cable company.

This is probably not the answer you were looking for...anyway, is there anyway you qualify for distant locals. Dish provides one or two and I'm sure they will offer more in the near future. Also, why can't you get your local digitals? Have you tried an OTA antenna?

Hope this helps.

 

[boba]

OK, here's a question for everyone. I had Voom along with my Charter cable for a year and really miss the Voom channels. I had thought about getting Dish with the Voom channels for a while, but since I can't get the HD OTA's where I live, I needed to keep Charter cable- I thought.

So here's the question: I found out that Charter provides the HD locals in the clear so an OTA tuner will pick them up but it is not on their regular OTA channel designation- they are "modulated" to a frequency of Charter's choosing. Could I get a dish box and pick up the locals from Charter via the OTA tuner in the Dish receiver? Would there be any way to record these (even if by time manually like a vcr) if I got the Dish HD DVR? Just wondering......

That sounds like a good question to ask Tech Support 3 or 4 times to get a possibly correct answer.

 

[riffjim4069]

Just wanted to add that while I have Dish for our video service (love that 942!), we still maintain Adelphia since they are the only broadband provider (monopoly) in town...until Verizon Fios boots them out of town...but I digress. Anyway, since we have broadband service they have to allow certain RF frequencies into our home (for downstream and return path date). Since we do not have video service, they typically place an RF filter that blocks all RF frequencies that carry the unencrypted analog channels. They do not block any of the RF frequencies used for digital because a) they are encrypted and b) the frequencies are so muddled that placing additional filters on the line would prevent our broadband internet from working. So in a nutshell: even though I do not pay for video service, I am receiving 6 local digitals (HD) in-the-clear. I have two antenna and certainly don't need them, but they are still there. Perhaps this may apply to you as well.

 

[chastulsa]

Why not just buy a new TV that has the right Tuner and sub to Dish. Or buy a HD standalone box. But I would go with the new TV, LOL!

 

[Grandude]

So here's the question: I found out that Charter provides the HD locals in the clear so an OTA tuner will pick them up but it is not on their regular OTA channel designation- they are "modulated" to a frequency of Charter's choosing. Could I get a dish box and pick up the locals from Charter via the OTA tuner in the Dish receiver? Would there be any way to record these (even if by time manually like a vcr) if I got the Dish HD DVR? Just wondering......

You can't get the HD channels from cable with a Dish receiver. You can with a HD digital receiver like the LG LST-4200A. Or you can do what I did.

I subscribed to the basic cable from Comcast and added their HD receiver for a total of $20.19/month. Now I get all the local channels in HD plus a few extras.

I don't know if Charter has anything similar but worth looking into.

I could, if I desired, use the signals to feed a VCR but not in HD. I don't have a HD VCR. I also could get a HD DVR from Comcast but that would cost a bit more money. I'm spending too much already....don't tell my wife

 

[DarrellP]

Interesting enough, I ran a checkswitch on my 811 after the new software downloaded and it has a QAM option in the satellite setup. I have no idea what it's for. On my 6000, it had an option in the OTA setup for off air or cable and the cable had 3 different settings and I could tune in my unscrambled cable signals using one of these. I haven't looked at the 811 to see if it has the same options, but you could always try hooking your cable to the OTA input on the HD box and play around with it and see what you get.

 

[Grandude]

Interesting enough, I ran a checkswitch on my 811 after the new software downloaded and it has a QAM option in the satellite setup. I have no idea what it's for. On my 6000, it had an option in the OTA setup for off air or cable and the cable had 3 different settings and I could tune in my unscrambled cable signals using one of these. I haven't looked at the 811 to see if it has the same options, but you could always try hooking your cable to the OTA input on the HD box and play around with it and see what you get.

Shucks, I didn't know that the 6000 could do that. I have one and will give it a try.

 

[riffjim4069]

You can't get the HD channels from cable with a Dish receiver.

This is not entirely true. A Dish 811, 942, etc. should (with should being the operative word) be able to decode broadcast digital locals (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, etc.) if your cable company passes them through the cable headend in their unmodified 8-VSB format. All cable companies have this option, however very few elect to do this since it is not an efficient use of bandwidth...so the broadcast signals are repackaged sent down the cable in QAM. The other day I noticed that my 811 has Off-Air/QAM option too...but I don't know what it is used for.

 

[wilme2]

Is anyone succesfully using their 811 in sat mode (not QAM) for satellite and QAM (meaning cable company) into the antenna feed? I would really prefer not to have to have another box (like a Comcast leased received) to get local HD, but I have exhausted my antenna options. Just too much &%#$ multi-path....