View Full Version : Multi analogue channel freeview?
MowerMan42
06-10-2008, 21:02
Hi everybody
I understand that a standard Freeview STB will recieve whatever Freeview channels are vailable in my area, and output the selected channel on analogue UHF channel 38 (or whatever) so my standard analogue TV can recieve it.
I am after a STB that will recieve the Freeview channels, and output selected channels to DIFFERENT UHF channels, so that (after set-up) the STB box could be forgotten about (left down the back of the TV or whatever), and the TV will operate as it does now IE BBC1 will get DIGITAL BBC1, via the STB, which has mapped it onto the UHF channel that BBC1 occupies at present. Same for BBC2, ITV, etc. Unused analogue presets on the TV would then be used to get a user-selected sub-set of Freeview channels on the old TV.
From a technical point of view, this should not be difficult, and would mean that people such as my elderly parents would not have to re-learn how to operate their TV (let alone re-tunng their VCR.....)
Does such a box exist?
Most Freeview boxes I know don't output on UHF but instead via SCART.
kryogenik
06-10-2008, 21:41
Ditto that.
If it's got a UHF output, is there no frequency trimmer on the back (looks like a screw)?
If so, you can change the output channel this way.
Might be one on the inside tho - but I don't recommend you open it up if you're not sure what you're doing.
:)
MowerMan42
06-10-2008, 21:48
Thanks kryo - but the point is to have multiple channels available IE BBC1 on 38, BBC2 on 40 etc.....
Got 3 STB's that have SCART and UHF.
Opening the box not a problem. Gonna build what I want the hard way if I have to, but I don't want to spend time on it only to walk into Tesco next week and find the same thing on sale for £29.99....
For it to work, at the very least, you'd need multiple MPEG2 decoders, and a way of encoding multple RF signals on different frequencies.
kryogenik
06-10-2008, 22:06
Thanks kryo - but the point is to have multiple channels available IE BBC1 on 38, BBC2 on 40 etc.....
Got 3 STB's that have SCART and UHF.
Sorry chief - went back and re-read your post.
Sounds a tall order to me.
Surely any TV with inbuilt Freeview is easy to use. i.e press 1 for BBC 1, 2 for BBC 2 etc. You don't have to go fishing around in the EPG if you don't need to.
MowerMan42
06-10-2008, 22:18
Stuart C - Agreed. Would need to decode a number of channels simultaneously, and combine them into a single UHF feed.
Ben - true - but I was hoping to avoid replacing 4 TVs and 4 VCRs.
Easy: multiple Freeview receivers with RF feedthrough - one for each channel.
There is this box http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/products/f2-foxt.asp that has an RF modulator (rather than just a passthrough), but it is £60!
---------- Post added at 22:36 ---------- Previous post was at 22:31 ----------
Apparently can do the following , so I assume you could tune each box to a seperate RF channel
- Modulator
RF/Loopthrough Input/ 75 D, IEC 169 - 2
Output Connector
Frequency 47 MHz ~ 862 MHz
Output Channel CH 21 - 69 for modulator
TV standard PAL B/G/I selectable by menu
Not quite sure how you would combine the signals, probably need several splitters in reverse
sounds like you want something that won't be an off the shelf consumer item you'd find in your local argos.etc
It wouldn't surprise me if such a thing existed (A DVB decoder with multiple inputs and Multiple UHF outputs) but I suspect if it did then it's aimed at the commercial market (E.g Hotels.etc where they need to take a feed and send it around multiple rooms). Probably wouldn't be cheap either.
There is also this one from Humax that has an RF modulator (thought might have been replaced by the one above)
http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/products/mg-tu1.asp
sounds like you want something that won't be an off the shelf consumer item you'd find in your local argos.etc
It wouldn't surprise me if such a thing existed (A DVB decoder with multiple inputs and Multiple UHF outputs) but I suspect if it did then it's aimed at the commercial market (E.g Hotels.etc where they need to take a feed and send it around multiple rooms). Probably wouldn't be cheap either.
I did find a few, but didn't post links as they had no prices (they wanted to quote), which in my experience, usually means they are expensive.
MowerMan42
07-10-2008, 00:15
Thanks, guys.
I had thought of the multiple box with passthrough solution, but even the cheapo boxes at £15 each make for an expensive solution - and not sure if any of them have RF AND adjustable frequency output.
I hadn't thought about the commercial solutions - but I suspect they will be even more expensive!
If anybody knows of a better way, let me know!
Sorry but why can;t you just detune the TV's, wire in a freeview box each (they're only £15 from Asda, Tesco or Sainsburies)
My mother and mother-in-law can use a freeview remote and they're both major technophobes
MowerMan42
07-10-2008, 18:40
Sorry but why can;t you just detune the TV's, wire in a freeview box each (they're only £15 from Asda, Tesco or Sainsburies)
My mother and mother-in-law can use a freeview remote and they're both major technophobes
Thanks for that but....what about the VCRs? And the inevitable "How do I record BBC1 and watch ITV" type questions? And the TV with no SCART connection?
Whatever I do, it has to address ALL these - just to avoid junking perfectly good equipment, AND a major learnng curve.
Unfortunately the type of system your lookign to implement would probably actually end up costing more than "junking perfectly good equipment"
Also Personally I find Freeview PVR's a Lot easier to work than a VCR.
Maybe Buy them a cheapo freeview box to start with and see how they get on, just try and get them to play around for a bit.
Worst that can happen is they accidently de-tune the Freeview box and even that could be sorted fairly easily
iain_herts
07-10-2008, 20:17
something like this
http://www.satsol.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?itemno=C31424
Does such a box exist?
No.
The nearest you would get would be something similar to what Iain Hearts has just posted, but that sort of kit is intended for redistributing TV round hotels and will be expensive.
I'm afraid if you want to watch Freeview and only worry about a single remote control, then an integrated Freeview TV is the only practical solution.
iain_herts
07-10-2008, 20:40
yeap this bit of kit is for commercial use and retails at £499 +VAT there is no other options apart from 5 freeview recivers with a UHF out each box will then have its own out put channel.
eg bbc1 channel 22
bbc2 channel 24
itv channel 26
and so on
Unfortunately the type of system your lookign to implement would probably actually end up costing more than "junking perfectly good equipment"
Also Personally I find Freeview PVR's a Lot easier to work than a VCR.
Maybe Buy them a cheapo freeview box to start with and see how they get on, just try and get them to play around for a bit.
Worst that can happen is they accidently de-tune the Freeview box and even that could be sorted fairly easily
True, just bought myself a cheap 80Gb twin tunre PVR and totally easier to use than the VCR.... Not bad for £39.99 delivered
True, just bought myself a cheap 80Gb twin tunre PVR and totally easier to use than the VCR.... Not bad for £39.99 delivered
They are getting cheaper all the time :)
kryogenik
08-10-2008, 19:31
True, just bought myself a cheap 80Gb twin tunre PVR and totally easier to use than the VCR.... Not bad for £39.99 delivered
Kymmy - was that an online deal thing you can share?
No worries if not. I've been considering one myself and our local Netto have some 160GB's in for about £60 but 160GB's way more than I need.
:)
www.pvrempire.co.uk
I was gonna buy a digihome PVR80 (currently nearly £80.00 in argos) off them for £39.99 plus £8.00 delivery on ebay but decided to check thier website and got the same box for £39.99 free delivery (ordered Monday got it Wednesday) I presume they save on ebay fees.
It's a 80Gb (nearly 38 hours), twin tuner, Picture in Picture, Timeshift (pause live TV), 7day EPG but it won;t let you record 2 channels at once..but there is firmware on the internet that will allow you to do that at the expense of memory for the EPG... (firmware upgradable via serial cable)
They also do a 160Gb system for about £10 more..
I only bought it as the DVB change meant our ECHOSTAR was useless :(
kryogenik
08-10-2008, 20:39
Thanks mate.
:)
King Of Fools
10-10-2008, 13:28
yeap this bit of kit is for commercial use and retails at £499 +VAT
It is no wonder since it has a NICAM encoder in it!
---------- Post added at 13:28 ---------- Previous post was at 13:26 ----------
there is no other options apart from 5 freeview recivers with a UHF out each box will then have its own out put channel.
eg bbc1 channel 22
bbc2 channel 24
itv channel 26
and so on
You would need a Freeview box that has a UHF pass-through and UHF modulator that can be set to different channel outputs. That way you could daisy-chain the 5 STBs and output 5 individual mono analogue channels.
The OP could probably use a series of these:
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2008/10/50.jpg
Only £17.57 each from here:
http://cpc.farnell.com/AV17636/audio-video-tv/product.us0?sku=tvonics-prism-slv
It includes connections for Scart and RF out (which, intriguingly, it labels as RF loop-thru) and the power consumption is a measily 6.2W (active) / 5.5W (standby). User manual, such as it is, available here:
http://www.remote-controls-shop.co.uk/freeview/user-manual-pdf.aspx?brand=TVonics&model=TVOSTB100Prism&display=file.pdf
If the loop-thru doesn't work then you could use a distribution amp to divide the signal from the aerial to all the tuners and a splitter, wired in reverse, to combine all the outputs.
I'd still be tempted to ditch the VCRs and replace them with PVRs. More channels and more versatile. However, it may be difficult to find one with an RF output.
Some cheap options here:
http://www.tvonics.com/
The OP could probably use a series of these:
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2008/10/50.jpg
Only £17.57 each from here:
http://cpc.farnell.com/AV17636/audio-video-tv/product.us0?sku=tvonics-prism-slv
It includes connections for Scart and RF out (which, intriguingly, it labels as RF loop-thru) and the power consumption is a measily 6.2W (active) / 5.5W (standby). User manual, such as it is, available here:
http://www.remote-controls-shop.co.uk/freeview/user-manual-pdf.aspx?brand=TVonics&model=TVOSTB100Prism&display=file.pdf
If the loop-thru doesn't work then you could use a distribution amp to divide the signal from the aerial to all the tuners and a splitter, wired in reverse, to combine all the outputs.
I'd still be tempted to ditch the VCRs and replace them with PVRs. More channels and more versatile. However, it may be difficult to find one with an RF output.
Some cheap options here:
http://www.tvonics.com/
If its only a loop through then it will only o/p the incoming signal and not modulate it's own O/P onto an RF channel.
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