DVB-T card and STB

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Hi, I have read the FAQs, and searched the forums, But I am still unclear on a couple of points.
I do not own a TV (apart from an old dusty analogue portable)
I have a PC with a dual tuner DVB-T card, with an RF only input, and a widescreen monitor with VGA and DVI inputs.
Unfortunately the signal is not strong enough to use both tuners.
I was going to upgrade the aerial.
Then I found out that as I have 4Mbroadband and telephone from VM anyway, I could get an STB.

The questions are as follows:
Is the RF output from the newer set top boxes analogue only? i.e. will I be able to use the RF passthrough and the output from the STB. over RF?

On the other hand
If I went for a V+, could I just feed the output from the HDMI port to the DMI (via adaptor) on my Monitor, and the audio to my Hifi?
Would there be any DRM problems with doing so?
Would the RF passthrough still work, even if the RF output is disabled by using the HDMI?
How much would it cost?

Ideally, I would go for 2M broadband ( I don't need 4M, really), telephone and basic TV, or possibly V+
Thankyou in advance for any replies.

Hi and

The signal from a Virgin (or Sky) set top box is not compatible with DVB-T cards, Freeview is only available using a suitable aerial.

I'm not sure about the DVI socket on the monitor being compatible with being fed directly from the HDMI port on a V+ box, but the RF socket is definitely disabled if you use HDMI, the V+ box has no passthrough, or combiner, afaik.

I guess it is a case of which channels you want, if you are happy with the Freeview selection your best bet may be the aerial upgrade, unless someone can confirm your monitor will be ok fed directly from a V+ box??

DRM 'shouldn't' be a problem, provided your monitor is compliant.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Originally Posted by homealone

Hi and

The signal from a Virgin (or Sky) set top box is not compatible with DVB-T cards, Freeview is only available using a suitable aerial.

I'm not sure about the DVI socket on the monitor being compatible with being fed directly from the HDMI port on a V+ box, but the RF socket is definitely disabled if you use HDMI, the V+ box has no passthrough, or combiner, afaik.

But why then does the V+ box have an RF input as well as a cable in and an RF out? I was hoping that I could feed my aerial into it and use the freeview as well as (not instead of ) the STB - I didn't expect to get freeview from the STB.
So this means that the cable box only outputs an analogue RF signal?

I guess it is a case of which channels you want, if you are happy with the Freeview selection your best bet may be the aerial upgrade, unless someone can confirm your monitor will be ok fed directly from a V+ box??

I am more than happy with Freeview, I watch very little TV, mainly terrestrial, which is why I dumped cable TV 4 years ago, just thinking if I can get it free, why not?
So it seems that I can't use cable without a scart socket, an HDMI socket, or an analogue RF TV socket.

DRM 'shouldn't' be a problem, provided your monitor is compliant.

Very few are, so it is unlikely that mine is.

Oh well, I was thinking of dumping cable altogether,anyway.

Thanks for the clarification.

Originally Posted by wyliecoyoteuk

But why then does the V+ box have an RF input as well as a cable in and an RF out? I was hoping that I could feed my aerial into it and use the freeview as well as (not instead of ) the STB - I didn't expect to get freeview from the STB.

oops, my bad, the V+ does have a combiner when using the RF in/out sockets, sorry for any confusion, the various info & links in this article

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...855-v-faq.html

explain far better than I can

- but afaik you would still need an analogue TV card, as well as the DVB-T, for both the STB & Freeview to work using RF connections?