TV PIP
Napa21
Newbie

Has anyone figured out how to use Picture in Picture ,I have Fios TV with a QIP7100 cable box.

0 Likes
1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: TV PIP
Justin46
Legend

There is no PIP in any of the current FiOS STBs. If your TV has PIP built-in, and you can deliver two different inputs to the TV, like one from FiOS and one from an antenna or maybe a DCT-700 digital adapter, then you could use the TV's PIP that way.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416-P1, IMG 1.7C, Build 09.83
Keller, TX 76248

View solution in original post

Re: TV PIP
Justin46
Legend

There is no PIP in any of the current FiOS STBs. If your TV has PIP built-in, and you can deliver two different inputs to the TV, like one from FiOS and one from an antenna or maybe a DCT-700 digital adapter, then you could use the TV's PIP that way.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416-P1, IMG 1.7C, Build 09.83
Keller, TX 76248

Re: TV PIP
Napa21
Newbie

Thank you so much.I have two of the DCT-700 Boxes,I got them for my analog TVs.This is going to work great your the first person that `s been able to solve my problem.

                                           Thanks Again

0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
Metalhead
Newbie
The PiP issue is NOT solved as far as I am concerned. All of the answers I get suggest that as far as Verizon in concerned, if they ignore the PiP issue long enough, it will go away. They want to push DVR as the WAY to watch TV. I use PiP every day with my very nice Sony XBR SDTV, but it is not easy. As stated below, none of the STB's allow you to actually use the dual tuners in the DVRs to hook up to TV's with PiP. That would be the nice way to address the PiP issue. In the old days, you could take the analog cable signal and split it. One signal you would send to your auxiliary (PiP) input, and the other to the STB, which would then go to "video in". You can still split the signal. I got an HD converter box with QAM tuner and could still get nothing from the AUX signal. Evidently, the QAM tuner in the HD converter box couldn't even decode the basic channel set. I HAD to get a DC700 to convert the signal and decode it before feeding to my AUX input, because the signal is ENCODED. Not only that, but the DC700 (and all Verizon STB's) use the same IR frequency for the remote, so I have to hide it inside the TV cabinet so the STB's do not interfere. Yes, there is a solution to the PiP problem, but it is very user UNfriendly. I'm not trying to flame anyone, but Verizon is just not meeting my needs as a user, and I get the sense that I am not alone.
0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
Justin46
Legend

@Metalhead wrote:
The PiP issue is NOT solved as far as I am concerned. All of the answers I get suggest that as far as Verizon in concerned, if they ignore the PiP issue long enough, it will go away. They want to push DVR as the WAY to watch TV. I use PiP every day with my very nice Sony XBR SDTV, but it is not easy. As stated below, none of the STB's allow you to actually use the dual tuners in the DVRs to hook up to TV's with PiP. That would be the nice way to address the PiP issue. In the old days, you could take the analog cable signal and split it. One signal you would send to your auxiliary (PiP) input, and the other to the STB, which would then go to "video in". You can still split the signal. I got an HD converter box with QAM tuner and could still get nothing from the AUX signal. Evidently, the QAM tuner in the HD converter box couldn't even decode the basic channel set. I HAD to get a DC700 to convert the signal and decode it before feeding to my AUX input, because the signal is ENCODED. Not only that, but the DC700 (and all Verizon STB's) use the same IR frequency for the remote, so I have to hide it inside the TV cabinet so the STB's do not interfere. Yes, there is a solution to the PiP problem, but it is very user UNfriendly. I'm not trying to flame anyone, but Verizon is just not meeting my needs as a user, and I get the sense that I am not alone.

The current Verizon STBs do not support PIP. So Verizon cannot implement it, period. Now sometime in the future they might, with new STBs, but for now, it isn't going to work.

Now, if your TV has a QAM tuner (or you have the external QAM tuner), you most certainly should be able to split the coax coming from the wall, one branch to the STB, one to a TV input (or input on the external QAM tuner). You would then need to switch the TV (or QAM external tuner) to that input and do a channel scan, and it should find some (not many) channels - your locals, the PEGs, and I think the music channels. (In my view, this is pretty much useless, as you would not get very many QAM channels, but there should be some). PIP should now work.

Now, using the DCT-700 is a (less-than-user-friendly) solution. But there is somewhat of a workaround for the issue of the remote controlling both the DCT-700 and your DVR at the same time. The DVR suppoorts the User Guide of the IMG, the DCT-700 does not. So:

1) Use the remote to directly enter the channel number of one of the channels you want in the PIP. Both STBs will tune to the same channel.

2) Use the IMG Guide to find the other channel you want to watch, then select that channel from the Guide. The DVR will tune to it, the DCT-700 will not.

3) Now use the PIP function built into the TV to switch between them, etc.

Not elegant, but should work.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416-P1, IMG 1.7C, Build 09.83
Keller, TX 76248

0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
Hubrisnxs
Legend

aren't there IR solutions out there for this exact thing.   for example a lot of business's have Tv cabinet's in different rooms, and they run an ir deal to the unit and the tv, and can change channels individually.     you can probably find something online that will satisfy that problem if you look hard enough.

0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
Metalhead
Newbie

Justin, I really appreciate the acnowledgement that PiP is an valid issue for some users, one that doesn't have an elegant solution.  I also really appreciate your suggestion to use the channel guide feature as a workaround to the IR remotes being on the same frequency so I don't have to get off my rear and change the DCT-700 channel.  In fact, I may be able to use that feature a little more effeciently.  If I press channel guide first, then the channel I want for the DCT-700, the DCT-700 will change channel, but the STB will only change the channel guide and I can just press exit.  Similarly, if I bring up channel guide on the STB and press "Last", the DCT-700 will change to the previous channel and then I can just exit the channel guide on the STB, while remaining on the initial channel.  Thank you for that tip.

I still hope that one day the dual tuner STB's will be able to switch between tuners.  For now you have provided the best solution to the problem.  Thank you.

0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
Justin46
Legend

Metalhead,

You are welcome.

Nice improvement on the "not-so-elegant" solution I described. Smiley Very Happy Thanks for sharing.

By the way, I cannot take credit for that technique, someone posted it here probably a year or more ago and I just thought it was a neat way to circumvent the problem so I remembered it.

There are rumors (and some not-so-crisp statements from Verizon) that there will be some new STBs coming in early 2010. Supposedly from Scientific Atlanta (Cisco), I am pretty sure some of their STBs do implement PIP. So there is, or at least may be, hope for the not too distant future.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416-P1, IMG 1.7C, Build 09.83
Keller, TX 76248

0 Likes
Re: TV PIP
tightlines2
Enthusiast - Level 3

No PIP from Verizon FiOS was an unfortunate compromise I made when switching from Cox Cable to Verizon FiOS. 

Cox uses SA STB's which provide PIP as a standard offering and it couldn't have been easier to use. 

Let's hope Verizon supports PIP in the not too distant future.

0 Likes