DTV Converter Compatibility with Campground Cable

[TrailerFool]

I'm about to install a Winegard DTV converter (with analog passthrough) on my RV's TV. I'm wondering if such a digital converter box is compatible with cable TV OR if I'm going to have to install an A/B switch to remove the DTV Converter from the circuit when using cable at a campground that provides cable service. Anybody have experience with such a setup?

By the way, for anyone who is interested, there is now A DC POWER OPTION FOR WINEGARD's STANDARD DTV CONVERTER BOX. It consists of an optional cigarette lighter style DC power cord that is used in place of the 120V power cord that comes with the unit. Winegard has a battery pack option too, but I prefer not to have to deal with batteries if I don't have to.

[TrailerFool]

I'm about to install a Winegard DTV converter (with analog passthrough) on my RV's TV. I'm wondering if such a digital converter box is compatible with cable TV OR if I'm going to have to install an A/B switch to remove the DTV Converter from the circuit when using cable at a campground that provides cable service. Anybody have experience with such a setup?

By the way, for anyone who is interested, there is now A DC POWER OPTION FOR WINEGARD's STANDARD DTV CONVERTER BOX. It consists of an optional cigarette lighter style DC power cord that is used in place of the 120V power cord that comes with the unit. Winegard has a battery pack option too, but I prefer not to have to deal with batteries if I don't have to.

[GaryKD]

Mine works fine with Sat TV and CG cable TV. Just make sure the converter box is turned off, when using cable or Sat sourced TV.

[Bill Adams]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Just make sure the converter box is turned off, when using cable </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Unless the cable is digital as well.

[FlyingDiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Adams:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Just make sure the converter box is turned off, when using cable </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Unless the cable is digital as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know of any cable systems that use ATSC encoding over the wire. Do you?

joe

[Bill Adams]

I don't know what ATSC is but I do know that I have been in campgrounds where you needed to be able to access channel 4.1 etc., if you wanted to watch digital TV. Is that what you are talking about? If so, then Yes!

[FlyingDiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Adams:
I don't know what ATSC is but I do know that I have been in campgrounds where you needed to be able to access channel 4.1 etc., if you wanted to watch digital TV. Is that what you are talking about? If so, then Yes! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ATSC is the name of the spec for the OTA digital TV transmissions. NTSC is the old analog system.

Interesting about the campground. Do you recall if that was a real local cable company, or was the campground just using a master antenna and redistributing it to the sites? Were there any "cable" channels (like CNN)? I'm guessing it was a redistribution system, like cable was before the cable companies got their feed from satellites.

joe

[Bill Adams]

This had to have been cable cable as there were something like 80 analog channels and 80 digital channels. It took forever to let the TV program itself but when it was done we had full digital cable in the RV. There was no over-the-air TV available.

[SCVJeff]

Cable would be QAM anyway, but now we're into modulation formats and putting everyone else to sleep.

[Kablewizard]

The simple answer for your question is that the box converts digital over the air signal and converts it to analog so our old out dated TVs can recieve it. If you have a switch box for your TV, all yo do is connect the box between the in coming cable from your antenna then connect it to the box. when you switch from antenna to cable the box is out of the circuit.

[FlyingDiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SCVJeff:
Cable would be QAM anyway, but now we're into modulation formats and putting everyone else to sleep. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what I thought. Does QAM have sub-channels? Maybe that's why Bill's TV was showing 4.1 (or whatever it was). Unless it was a retransmit system, I don't see how it could be ATSC.

joe

[SCVJeff]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FlyingDiver:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SCVJeff:
Cable would be QAM anyway, but now we're into modulation formats and putting everyone else to sleep. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what I thought. Does QAM have sub-channels? Maybe that's why Bill's TV was showing 4.1 (or whatever it was). Unless it was a retransmit system, I don't see how it could be ATSC.

joe </div></BLOCKQUOTE>If Bill has a real DTV, it will receive QAM as well as ATSC. I have no experience in what cable does or does not pass. I know in Los Angeles they're not at all interested in carrying every 'dot' that the broadcasters come up with because it chews up bandwidth. To date they are taking the .1 (only) to the system. Don't know what the laws are on any of this.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Some park cable systems are merely community antennas, using a large antenna in the park to capture the OTA signal and then rebroadcasting it to the sites via coax cable. Hard to say what variations in signal format those systems may have.

[TrailerFool]

So I guess what I'm hearing is that I won't ever need to bypass the DTV converter. It may need to be turned off or it may need to be turned on depending on what type of cable service is being provided, but it will never need to be out of the circuit. Am I getting this right? If so, is this because of its capacity for analog passthrough or does that have nothing to do with it?