NTL E Mids Carrier Frequencies

newbie007 · 23-06-2005, 16:06

Hiya all,

My first post but hopefully you guys will be able to solve a problem that has me tearing my hair out.

I have connected a MCE2005 media centre to my set top box by the RF out, however all of the channels that I am getting are black and white. Having asked around in several MCE forums it would appear that the frequencies that MCE2005 is tuning into may not be exactly the same as sent by NTL. There is an overide table but I would need to know the carrier frequencies for my region (East Midlands).

Is there anywhere that I can obtain this information from or does anyone have them ?

Thanks

A.

bmxbandit · 23-06-2005, 16:27

i assume you'll have been through this, but just in case... is your tv card set to receive PAL I signals? if it's set to NTSC that could be your problem.

shouldn't the computer be able to auto-tune to the stb output?
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oop, where are my manners.

newbie007 · 23-06-2005, 19:37

Hiya

Thanks for the reply,

Yes I have PAL I set.
MCE 2005 uses predefined frequencies for its channel selection based on location - for some reason they didnt implement frequency scanning !

bmxbandit · 23-06-2005, 19:44

from google, ntl boxes varously use ch54, ch52, ch65 depending on area. there are probably more too...

sorry if i'm asking another obvious question, but can you not connect via scart/svideo? would give a better picture quality as well.

newbie007 · 23-06-2005, 21:38

Hiya

Dont worry about obvious questions, at this stage any options are good options !

On the NTL box it only has an RF out - mmmm thinking out loud it does have a scart socket labelled VCR as I would be using the MCE box as a recorder I guess I could get a scart lead to go from VCR on the set-top box to s-video in ???

Sorry to be thick what do you mean by "from google, ntl boxes varously use ch54, ch52, ch65 depending on area."

Cheers

paulyoung666 · 23-06-2005, 21:44

if as you say it has a scart out then you can get an adapter the will go from scart to s-video and phono , if you have an aldi shop near to you they were doing a 10m kit that contained the adapter and 2 x 10 m cables , 1 s video and 1 phono , might be worth a look

jonifen · 23-06-2005, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

if as you say it has a scart out then you can get an adapter the will go from scart to s-video and phono , if you have an aldi shop near to you they were doing a 10m kit that contained the adapter and 2 x 10 m cables , 1 s video and 1 phono , might be worth a look

I got one of these kits a few months... an excellent pack for the price (only ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£5 believe it or not!). Complements the laptop perfectly

I would go the s-video route - but ensure the s-video on the media PC is in/out and not just tv-out as IIRC many are.

bmxbandit · 24-06-2005, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie007

On the NTL box it only has an RF out - mmmm thinking out loud it does have a scart socket labelled VCR as I would be using the MCE box as a recorder I guess I could get a scart lead to go from VCR on the set-top box to s-video in ???

precisely

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie007

Sorry to be thick what do you mean by "from google, ntl boxes varously use ch54, ch52, ch65 depending on area."

i meant that from searching on google, i found common channel numbers for STB RF output to be those channel numbers.

I'd forget RF if i were you... a couple of quid on a scart cable will simplify things no end

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jonifen

I would go the s-video route - but ensure the s-video on the media PC is in/out and not just tv-out as IIRC many are.

if it has RF in, i'd be willing to bet it has s-video in

(or at the very least, composite rca)

newbie007 · 24-06-2005, 07:32

I have two tuner cards, can a scart split to two s-video inputs ??

ian@huth · 24-06-2005, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie007

I have two tuner cards, can a scart split to two s-video inputs ??

The STB only has one tuner and can only send one signal through the scart. You can only send two signals to your media centre if you have a STB with analogue pass through. You could then send the STB output via the scart and the analogue pass through via RF.

I have a feeling though that you may be asking for the frequencies of each individual channel rather than the frequency that the STB outputs on. The frequency that the STB outputs on can be changed but it's a long time since I had NTL DTV so I can't remember how this is done. It may be different for the different models of STB that NTL use but wouldn't vary with the region you are in.

newbie007 · 24-06-2005, 12:13

You are correct I am hoping to find out the frequencies of each channel as I believe they are slightly off standard which is why I am seeing the channels in black and white rather than colour.

ian@huth · 24-06-2005, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie007

You are correct I am hoping to find out the frequencies of each channel as I believe they are slightly off standard which is why I am seeing the channels in black and white rather than colour.

If you connect the STB via scart to the media centre you should be able to receive the channels that you are subscribed to OK with channel selection being made via the STB.

If you have analogue pass through on the STB you should be able to tune BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five OK.