chorus digital MMDS

coley

I've recently had chorus digital installed. All working ok so far although as others have said here some of the channels can be a bit blocky!
The box I got was the Sagem itd 60 (according to the sticker under the unit)- I've tried online to find the type of cable to transport the digital audio but it has me stumped. According to some of the tech specs I've found on this box it should only have one scart and no digital audio - but the back of this box has an aux scart and a socket for digital audio, according to manuals (on Sagem site) these aren't on the itd60.
OK while typing this up I've found out the cable is the same as a camcorder cable, 3.5mm jack to L/R/Vid with the video being used for the digital audio.
What kind of Hybrid box have I? and if I find one of these cables is it going to work - too late to go rooting in my box of cables!!

Thanks
Coley.

watty

It's not a "hybrid box" AFAIK, but a Digital Cable TV box. The web site (DVB-T) are not the same model as the OEM version Chorus has (DVB-C).

There is no value in the Digital Audio out as there is no special audio streams, only mono mostly and some stereo via the MP2 layer of the DVB stream.

It is probabily only the same case as an ITD 60 and specially supplied to UPC /Chorus. The MMDS signal is converted to cable TV frequencies by a kind of LNB built in to the dish stalk on newer dishes or a box behind the dish on older ones. If there are any analog channels, they will be phased out so as to increase the digial from 60+ to 120+ as in NTL areas (which have no analogue MMDS). There is probabily an RF loop out on the Cable in on the receiver which on Analog/Digital cable systems or MMDS with both has simply what is on the cable. I don't know if these boxes have a retrofitted (non standard) Jerrold decrambler for analogue fitted between RF in and loop out. If you get 11 analog channels as well as the digital (much noisier) then it is.

coley

yep figured alright it was some sort of OEM job. Out of curiousity I rang customer support to see what they would say - they didn't know what cable to use, their advice was just ask in any electrical shop - "they'd know"
Think alright it is just digital MMDS, it has a sep power supply for the aerial, there is an RF out too but I thought this was for daisy-chaining boxes for a multiroom install.
Pity about the audio - thought MPEG2 could have ac3 as an audio layer? so even if I got sky movie channels I'd get them in glorious stereo??:(

-Coley.

watty

Yes in theory. But in practice for Chorus/NTL very unlikely. On Satellite only some Sky Movies and some Box office has AC3. Nothing else.

Yes the RF can daisychain for multiroom. Or they more likely put a splitter.