How-To Home Distribution?

[cparker]

Is there a How-To for setting up Home Distribution?

For example:
If I have a 622 and want to feed 2 more TVs using home distribution, does the 622 have to then be in dual mode? It is currently just feeding one HD TV.

I realize the home distribution would only allow SD.

If you use that distribution output, how do you feed 2 TVs?

And can each of those 2 TVs be watching different channels?

I'm gonna Google this some more, but thought I might find a quick answer here as to whether or not this is worth pursuing.

thanks

 

[KAB]

Yes, the 622 would have to be in dual mode if you want to be independent of TV1. You would feed two tv's with a 2-way splitter. No, they would both be fed the same channel.

 

[vegassatellite]

622 only ever outputs two channels, one for TV1 and one for TV2. You can go to Menu 6,1,5 and turn on the modulator for TV1 so that you can have a two channel lineup going to your home distribution, however one of those will be a mirror of what is going on at your HDTV.

As far as distribution goes, a simple splitter will do. If you activate the modulator for TV1, you won't have to do anything different other than to flip channels on your remote TVs depending on what feed you want.

 

[cparker]

Ok I guess I had a different idea of "home distribution".

That "home distribution" is nothing more than the TV2 output, which can be modulated over coax and you can set which channel is being used. You set the remote TV to that channel to watch satellite. The UHF remote would be used to control the Tuner#2 and if you have more than one TV connected to TV2 out using modulated output, they both have to watch the same thing.

Right?

If that's the case I'm not going to bother with it. I'm better off the way I am.

 

[haertig]

I have one main HD TV and three secondary SD TV's, one 722 and one 322. I have the RF-modulated outputs (three of them) combined onto a single home distribution coax for the secondary TVs. Any of the secondary TVs can change channel to pick up any of the SD tuners, including the one for the 722 (so they have access to the DVR functionality).

After setting all that up (it was trivial really), I find we never use it. Each secondary TV just sits on their assigned channel normally. One problem is the remotes. While it's easy to change the channel on the secondary TVs, finding the correct remote (UHF) to use with the channel you've tuned to is a hassle. Also, we just don't watch that much TV. One TV, one show, 95% of the time. Two TVs, two shows, 5% of the time. Anything more than that - and it is very rare - I just record on the 722 (three shows at a time: two sat tuners and one OTA tuner). I plan to dump the 322 soon.

Would I set up a "home distribution" deal again? No. It's not that it cost much at all or took much work, it's just that it's not needed. It might be different if we could get two HD feeds out of the 722, but you can't do that. Only one. You wouldn't be getting HD down a coax home distribution set up anyway. I'm waiting to hear more about that 722-with-integrated-Slingbox unit to see if that helps in the "two HD TVs" scenario.