mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

I have just this week had FIOS installed with 1 digital lcd tv plus hd settop box. I expect to add another tv in the near future buy had thought that I might simply connect the coax directly to the new digital ready tv without a box to receive just the unencrypted channels. But, with the current setup I bypassed the settop box and connected the coax cable directly to my current tv (which has both digital & analog tuners & can receiver over-the-air channels well from rabbit ears). To my surprise (& disappointment) the tv set does not receive any signal.

Is this what happens when your service includes a settop box? Is it really so that you cannot have one set connected via a verizon box and another directly connected? Or am I do something stupid and missing some simple step?

Any/all comments/suggestons welcome.

Alan

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

Stig:

Thanks!!! I thought I was being stupid (although I hoped it wouldn't be that bad). I do have the manual but of course I wasn't reading it (Y chromosome at work). And I just totally missed the antenna/cable line.

So now all is fine – more channels than I want/need.

Thank you indeed for taking the time to check for the answer.

Best ... Alan

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
jkiv
Contributor - Level 1

@AlanLinde wrote:

I have just this week had FIOS installed with 1 digital lcd tv plus hd settop box. I expect to add another tv in the near future buy had thought that I might simply connect the coax directly to the new digital ready tv without a box to receive just the unencrypted channels. But, with the current setup I bypassed the settop box and connected the coax cable directly to my current tv (which has both digital & analog tuners & can receiver over-the-air channels well from rabbit ears). To my surprise (& disappointment) the tv set does not receive any signal.

Is this what happens when your service includes a settop box? Is it really so that you cannot have one set connected via a verizon box and another directly connected? Or am I do something stupid and missing some simple step?

Any/all comments/suggestons welcome.

Alan


Do you have a QAM Tuner and do you have a seperate connection for it, and is that where you connected.   Having a STB has no effect on connecting direct to the TV.

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yes the set has a QAM tuner (& analog). I removed the coax input to the settop box & connected to the coax input on the tv set; same connection used for rabbit ears that receives digital broadcast signals. And of course, I switch the tv input to the 'antenna' setting as I did for the broadcst signal. With the rabbit ears, a scan finds many analog and digital channels; with the fios coax a scan finds zero.

My expectation was to find the unencrypted channels so I hope I'm missing something.

 Alan

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
jkiv
Contributor - Level 1

@AlanLinde wrote:

Yes the set has a QAM tuner (& analog). I removed the coax input to the settop box & connected to the coax input on the tv set; same connection used for rabbit ears that receives digital broadcast signals. ...


There is more then 1 type of Digital Tuner.  Over the air digital broadecast that you will pick up with rabbit ears are ATSC not QAM, so if you are connecting FIOS to the same connection as the Rabbit Ears, then how are you sure it handles QAM or that this TV even has QAM?

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

The set certainly has qam; it gets the digital signals from 4-1, 4-2 ..., 5-1, 7-1,.. etc. The specs of the set are quite clear & even with broadcast one cannot get digital channels without a builtin qam tuner. It does also have ntsc.

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
prisaz
Legend

@AlanLinde wrote:

The set certainly has qam; it gets the digital signals from 4-1, 4-2 ..., 5-1, 7-1,.. etc. The specs of the set are quite clear & even with broadcast one cannot get digital channels without a builtin qam tuner. It does also have ntsc.


The channels you see with an antenna are ATSC digital broadcast and will display as you have stated. But QAM is for digital cable. They are two different type of transmission. Even if your TV says it can receive QAM channels, it may not unless you have a cable card, and your TV is Digital Cable Ready (DCR). I would look to see if your TV is able to receive in the clear unencrypted QAM. I guess it would depend on the TV configuration and or firmware. I hope this information helps.
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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
I_Am_The_Stig
Newbie

Alan,

My experience on some TVs I have used is if you scan with the "Antenna" setting, it will only use the ATSC tuner, hence no channels from the FIOS input.

Do you have a "Cable" setting?  If so, scanning using this setting should bring in the unencrypted channels as it will use the QAM tuner.

Hope this helps

Message Edited by I_Am_The_Stig on 02-08-2009 09:10 AM
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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

OK, thanks. But the set (vizio sv470xvt) has a qam tuner builtin Also analog (ntsc?) and atsc. The literature with it says it can receive cable channels without a box; it is not cablecard ready so presumably that's not an issue. I've searched on the web and all sites I've found with info confirm that. There is another thread (started earlier than this one, but I did't see it until later) in which many people say that they've had real problems with getting the unencrypted cahnnels; it appears that Verizon moves them around?!

I've tried several times both using the search menu and manually entering some (although not a lot) of some channels. The highest channel number allowed is 135; could that be a problem?

  I_Am_The_Stig: your message came in after I started this but my set has options to search for analog/digital or either alone (I've tried both combined & digital only) but nor a 'cable'setting. Since the literature with the set claims it can receive cable signals I would assume it searches with all tuners. But still I don't get any channels found.

Alan

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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
I_Am_The_Stig
Newbie

Alan,

Thanks for providing the make and model of your TV.  If you don't have your manual handy, it can be viewed/downloaded at http://www.vizio.com/assets/0/92/94/118/de070116-91ba-4d18-b436-f3c168e03b53.pdf

Please refer to page 32 of the manual.

During Initial setup, you have to choose between "Antenna" or "Cable".

If you use the default of "Antenna", the TV will use the built-in ATSC tuner.  If you choose "Cable", the TV will use the built-in QAM Tuner.

I believe you can get to this option by choosing the Menu Option - Tuner Setup. See page 52.

Good Luck

Message Edited by I_Am_The_Stig on 02-08-2009 09:56 AM
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Re: mix settop box and direct connection to tv
AlanLinde
Enthusiast - Level 3

Stig:

Thanks!!! I thought I was being stupid (although I hoped it wouldn't be that bad). I do have the manual but of course I wasn't reading it (Y chromosome at work). And I just totally missed the antenna/cable line.

So now all is fine – more channels than I want/need.

Thank you indeed for taking the time to check for the answer.

Best ... Alan

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