Satallite PVR,Cable and DVD Recorder Hookup

[iscynical]

Hello everyone!! I'm new here but have used your site many time prior,and I thank you for having such an informative place to come to.
I have been searching this board(and others) for so long my eyes are bleeding.So,I think I have a valid new question to throw out there and I am praying for help.
I have a LITEON 5005 DVD Recorder and want to hook it up to my DishNet DVR 510.I also have Comcast Cable running through the 510.Now I will do my best to explain how the installer connected everything.There is some type of splitter where the cable and satellite come onto the house which puts them both on the main coax installed in the walls.Now,when the coax comes out of the walls it is split,one goes to satellite in,the other goes to cable/TV antenna on the back of the 510. Next a coax goes from TV set out(back of 510) to VHF/UHF on the back of my Sony KV-27V66 (5 years old or so).
The last connection is the audio and video cables from output 2 (510) to video 3 input (TV).
The LITEON recorder has VHF/UHF in and out,line in S,Line in composite,Line out Composite,Line out S and 2 digital out.Also a front facing line in and IEEE-1394 jack.
No matter how I hook the recorder up I only seem to get cable channels.There is a screen within a screen in the "tv tuner" menu which shows the "antenna,cable or auto" feeds.All three lines show only the cable feed.I even called DishNet.They were very nice but could'nt help me.
Now let me apologize for my confusing description and for being so stupid.I don't know who else to turn to.
Thank you in advance !!!!

 

[TyroneShoes]

It sounds like they used the in-house wiring for both cable and sat, possibly by multiplexing it together. That is indeed a legitimate approach to wiring, and makes a lot more sense than rewiring your house.

The DVDR will not accept sat signals directly, they must be demodulated to video/audio within the 510 first, and then connected by baseband audio and video (either composite or S-video) to the DVDR. I would simply switch inputs on the DVDR, depending on whether you want cable or DBS signals recorded there. IOW, there needs to be a set of inputs on the DVDR for DBS, and a separate set for cable, either by RF or baseband from the cable STB.

It is usually not practical to use the DVDR for directly recording DBS programs, anyway. I would recommend recording all sat programs on the 510 and dub them later, if you want a permanent DVD archive. If you DO wish to record the programs directly, you can set "autotune" recordings on the 510, but that is tricky, and if there is a problem you may end up with a coaster.

 

[iscynical]

Thanks for responding.After hours of many combinations,I seem to have found out how to view and record the DBS feed. Sattellite out to DVDR in,and DVDR to the TV.Easy enough,lol.But my problem all alond has been viewing and recording both DBS and Cable within the DVDR. I guess that means I need to use the RF jacks to view my Cable feed in the DVDR??That means I would need to split the coax a second time?I then need a special Satellite splitter,don't I.

 

[SimpleSimon]

The satellite/cable devices on your coax are called diplexers. They are a very special form of splitter/combiner.

To get your cable feed to your DVD burner, find the coax from the diplexer to the "antenna" input of the 510, and put a standard VHF/UHF 2-way splitter in that line. Cross your fingers and hope there's not too much loss from all the little boxes, then enjoy!

 

[iscynical]

Thank you Simplesimon for your help.I now can record Cable and Satellite!! But without pushing my luck,I have one more question.There is something in my Liteon DVDR that is called an Easy Guider.This seems to be where I can switch between all the inputs;DV,S Video,Input 1 and 2 for recording. But there is also a Setup channel menu and a Tuner where you can change channels within the DVDR. You can also fine tune these channels. It also has a auto tune feature like a TV that scans for on-air channels and eliminates channels that are snowy.There are Antenna,Cable and Auto buttons with a mini TV picture there. I only get Cable channels there and only on Cable and Antenna,nothing on Auto,and no Satellite feed on any.What is this for and why can't I get Satellite there?Is it for a RF feed only? Now the only reason I'm asking this question is because I have this need to know how things work and why.
Once again,thank both of you for responding to my questions.I have learned a lot.

 

[SimpleSimon]

"Is it for a RF feed only?"

Yes. You don't "tune" composite (RCA) or S-Video feeds.

 

[iscynical]

I understand.Thank you very much!!