Saorview and cable tv

tommy89

Hello

I have just bought a saorview ready tv and I have a few questions regarding having saorview and keeping my cable tv.

So would I just need a uhf antenna to get the saorview on the tv.

Also is there a connection I could buy so that I could have the areal and the cable tv plugged into the tv at the same time so I wont need to be changing back and forward between the two

Thanks

seamus

First question yes, second question I don't think so. If your TV at present comes straight from the wall on a coax cable, then I don't think there's anything that could splice the two signals together. My suspicion is that there would be frequency overlap/interference, but those more in the know can tell you.

If you currently have a box with your cable TV (e.g. for digital), then you can run the two concurrently since the cable TV comes in through SCART.

tommy89

seamus wrote: »

First question yes, second question I don't think so. If your TV at present comes straight from the wall on a coax cable, then I don't think there's anything that could splice the two signals together. My suspicion is that there would be frequency overlap/interference, but those more in the know can tell you.

If you currently have a box with your cable TV (e.g. for digital), then you can run the two concurrently since the cable TV comes in through SCART.

Yes it does come from the wall on a coax cable. I guess I will just have to switch between the two. Only really want the saorview for the HD champions league on RTE2 anyway.

Thanks for your help

The Cush

I'd try a simple and cheap Y splitter. Try it out and see if you lose any of your existing cable channels.

Where are you located?

Similar thread here recently.

Murrayer22

Hope u can help me :rolleyes:
I have a UPC digital box in my living room but just annalogue cable in the bedrooms... Can I buy a set top box for the bedrooms and use the annalogue cable to get more channels or do I need an ariel put outside???

Lydia

Peter Rhea

You'll need some kind of an aerial for Saorview & a means of distributing the signal to the rooms in question, without interfering with the cable tv signal.

coylemj

Murrayer22 wrote: »

Hope u can help me :rolleyes:
I have a UPC digital box in my living room but just annalogue cable in the bedrooms... Can I buy a set top box for the bedrooms and use the annalogue cable to get more channels or do I need an ariel put outside???

Lydia

I think what you're saying is that the house is wired with multiple TV spots, downstairs you have a digital box but upstairs the same feed is going directly into a TV so you can just get the 14 or so channels and now you'd like to get the full set of channels in the bedroom.

If that's the case then you need to ask UPC for 'multiroom', they will give you a small digital box which cannot record programs but will give you all of the channels you have downstairs. That box will come with a SCART cable, it's easy to do a self-setup, they give you a special self-install phone number so you can call for help if you're having any issues.

if you're looking for the Saorview channels in the bedroom then you'll need an aerial but I doubt if it would be worth it. For starters you'd lose all the UK channels in the bedroom because Saorview is an Irish service only.

Sam Russell

What you need to do is to split the UPC cable prior to it going around the house and insert the saorview signal. For Dublin, Saorview is on Ch 54 and Ch58, so a 2 way grouped combiner will allow this. Triax make a TFC 3537 which will allow the Saorview aerial signal on one leg and the UPC signal on the other. Every TV connected to the 'analogue' cable will then get all the old channels and be able to tune in Saorview (if they can). An aerial (probably amplified to allow distribution) will be required for the Saorview signal, best mounted outside.

The TFC 3537 should cost about €20 or so, (plus a few F plugs) and an aerial from €10 up. Fitting would be extra, but DIY would be easy.

watty

You can't put Aerial signals on a UPC cable. ALL the channels are in use for a mix of Analogue, Digital and Modem downlinks.

maxg

You can filter digital cable and broadband with a combiner and combine only the lower range from UPC with the higher UHF range from a saorview aerial.
Digital cable is scrambled anyway and makes no sense at a TV. Analogue TV from UPC is based in the VHF (band III) range, superband, hyperband and the lower UHF range.

Sam Russell

watty wrote: »

You can't put Aerial signals on a UPC cable. ALL the channels are in use for a mix of Analogue, Digital and Modem downlinks.

If you split the cable after the broadband take off, then the combiner will work with no effect on any part of the signal.

The Dublin signal is above the highest analogue channel used by UPC. UPC could add the two muxes onto the end of the analogue channels then every one of their customers could avail of Saorview, and RTE 2 HD in particular.

watty

UPC *WILL* use up to 872MHz.

No-one puts DVB-T down a cable network. If the so called "extra channels" are are added it will be properly via DVB-C or DVb-C2. Nor is UPC a charity to distribute Saorview.

It's just asking for trouble and given the poor isolation of cheap splitters re-radiating Cable channels (which can be at x100 power level of an aerial signal) on the aerial is likely.

Only a professional distribution system with properly engineer filters is "safe" to combine Aerial and Cable. Even then there will in time be conflicts. Satellite IF and Cable TV can be combined on one cable. Not Aerial signals.

maxg

@watty

You didn't understand the question in the first posting. The OP want to combine analogue cable TV with saorview. He don't want anything above UHF channel 34 (575.25 mhz) from UPC because there is only digital TV and broadband in the higher range. Digital cable TV at a normal TV makes no sense because the digital channels are scrambled.
Beside that the triax TFC 3537 suggested by Sam Russel has a pass filter.

Sam Russell

watty wrote: »

No-one puts DVB-T down a cable network. If the so called "extra channels" are are added it will be properly via DVB-C or DVb-C2. Nor is UPC a charity to distribute Saorview.

As Garret said, I know it works in practice, but does it work in theory? Of course the signals can be merged, the Saorview signal is added after the other signals are taken off, and all that is of interest is the analogue channels, which are all below ch 35. The combiner filters out from channel 35 up so no harm done.

UPC are not a charity, they charge for their analogue service, and by adding the Saorview signal, which they would get for free, they increase the attractiveness of their service. Not bad for free.

watty

maxg wrote: »

@watty

You didn't understand the question in the first posting. The OP want to combine analogue cable TV with saorview. He don't want anything above UHF channel 34 (575.25 mhz) from UPC because there is only digital TV and broadband in the higher range. Digital cable TV at a normal TV makes no sense because the digital channels are scrambled.
Beside that the triax TFC 3537 suggested by Sam Russel has a pass filter.

I do understand.

But it's really a bad idea though it seems to work. You need really professional head-end gear. The isolation isn't enough with ordinary splitters. You re-radiate cable signals on Aerial system and pollute cable system reducing Digital TV and Modem SNR margins.

maxg

@watty
You don't need professional gear. You need a diplexer/combiner with enough out of band rejection. A pass filter is working in both directions.
Btw the theme is a TFC 3537 from triax not a ordinary splitter.