HD TV Receivers

[lllkrob]

It's my understanding that Direct TV and Dish receivers only output HD signals through the HDMI port. Does anyone know if they offer a receiver that will output the HD signal through the coax port. My receiver is located in the front of the coach and the tv is in the middle making for a very long and expensive HDMI cable run.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lllkrob It's my understanding that Direct TV and Dish receivers only output HD signals through the HDMI port. Does anyone know if they offer a receiver that will output the HD signal through the coax port. My receiver is located in the front of the coach and the tv is in the middle making for a very long and expensive HDMI cable run.

No, they do not. You will have the choice of HDMI or component (composite?) 5 cable connection to get HD. There is no current way to send the high quality data through a coax cable. What about an HD wireless transmitter? I have not looked into this possibility (and I am not sure that it is a good one) but you might want to see if such a thing is available.
As an aside, I am not sure that an HDMI cable run would be all that expensive as the price of the cables are coming down and the distance that HDMI cables can carry a quality signal is increasing.

[Route 66]

The prices sure have come down since the last time I looked.

Amazon has quite a selection of 50' cables in the $20-$30 range.

[HUGHP]

Monoprice.com is another great source for quality HDMI cables at great prices as well as other A/V parts.

[RickO]

Having just addressed this myself, I can tell you that Bill is right... as are those who say the price of HDMI cables are falling. After researching the options, I chose to buy a 50' HDMI cable (>$150) and run it from my entertainment center down through the floor, under the coach and back up into the bedroom slide to the TV. We chose this approach rather than have to deal with multiple receivers.

I still can't get my brain around how I can get HD OTA signals via coax but not HD from the receiver via coax... but it's something I've just come to accept on faith...

[Bill Adams]

You ARE receiving both the HD satellite TV and the HD over-the-air signal via coax. It is getting the decoded signal from the receiver to the TV that is the trick. That part is not necessary when the HD tuner is built into the TV.

[RickO]

Thanks Bill. So is the reason the HD receivers don't have coax outputs merely a matter of choice on their part? Are there technical limitations to passing a "decoded" signal over coax that don't exist for a decoded signal?

For example, I've read that the Winegard switch box "won't pass" an HD signal... yet my OTA HD reception is fine.

[Clay L]

If you have to exceed about 50 feet of HDMI cable there are booster amps available.
Here is one HDMI booster | HDMI repeater | HDMI extender but there are many more.
And yes the prices have dropped a lot - except for the terribly overpriced Monster cables.
Here is one article supporting that statement Brand-Name HDMI Cables: Are They Worth It? - Popularmechanics.com and there are more out there.

[Chief]

Might try mcmelectronics. Their prices are much less than storefronts. "repeater" (whatever that means) cables up to 100'. Their "800" number and customer support have always been very helpful to me.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO Thanks Bill. So is the reason the HD receivers don't have coax outputs merely a matter of choice on their part? Are there technical limitations to passing a "decoded" signal over coax that don't exist for a decoded signal? For example, I've read that the Winegard switch box "won't pass" an HD signal... yet my OTA HD reception is fine.

The difference is that these boxes cannot pass the decoded data through a coax. The Winegard is passing along the compressed data through your coax and through the Winegard switch box until it gets to the tuner. Now, from the tuner you could not output that signal to the TV through a coax but since it's already in the TV there is no need. There is just too much data to go through the single wire in a coax which is why you see HDMI and 5 cable component cables being used for the output from DVR's and HD satellite receivers. You can take the RCA connections from and HD receiver (Yellow, video and red/white audio) use an RF converter and send this non-HD signal through a coax to your switch box and then to any TV in the coach.

[floridaflash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lllkrob It's my understanding that Direct TV and Dish receivers only output HD signals through the HDMI port. Does anyone know if they offer a receiver that will output the HD signal through the coax port. My receiver is located in the front of the coach and the tv is in the middle making for a very long and expensive HDMI cable run.

HDMI is the way to go. only $8.50 plus shipping for a 33 foot cable from here.

Parts-Express.com:*HDMI Cable 10m (33 ft.) ATC Certified v1.3 | hdmi cable hdmi hdtv cable HDTV digital video 1080p 720phigh definition hdmi hdtv hi-def hd plasma lcd projector dlp 1080i flat panel ATCHDMI HDMICable110508

I have used a lot of their shorter cables and never had a problem.
David