# Please Explain TV2 DVR Hookup



## ClevelandRob (Jun 22, 2006)

I am switching to E* on Sunday. I have 2 SDTVs & 1 HDTV. I ordered one standard receiver and a ViP622 to control both my HDTV and a SDTV in my bedroom (if I had an HDTV in my bedroom, I'd never leave!). I was looking at the back of the 622 and now I am confused.

I thought that I would be able to send a signal off of the 622 so I could enjoy live satellite (w/ DVR functionality) or play back recorded shows. I still think this is possible, but am I correct to say that you can only do this through RCA?!? I hope not, because this type of wiring would be very difficult and expensive. I already have a coax cable that runs from my bedroom to my current D* dish. This cable can easily be rerouted to my HDTV. I thought that I could then use that cable to send the signal to the bedroom.

I see that there is a coax for Home Distribution, but I don't think this is what I am looking for.

The solution I could come up with is to use an RF modulator, and send the RCAs into the modulator by the HDTV and out the coax back to the bedroom. My SDTV doesn't even have RCAs so I would need to use a RF modulator at some point anyways. Will this solution work? Has anyone tried this? Or do I have the whole thing confused?!?

Thanks in advance.


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## nlk10010 (Sep 18, 2004)

ClevelandRob said:


> I am switching to E* on Sunday. I have 2 SDTVs & 1 HDTV. I ordered one standard receiver and a ViP622 to control both my HDTV and a SDTV in my bedroom (if I had an HDTV in my bedroom, I'd never leave!). I was looking at the back of the 622 and now I am confused.
> 
> I thought that I would be able to send a signal off of the 622 so I could enjoy live satellite (w/ DVR functionality) or play back recorded shows. I still think this is possible, but am I correct to say that you can only do this through RCA?!? I hope not, because this type of wiring would be very difficult and expensive. I already have a coax cable that runs from my bedroom to my current D* dish. This cable can easily be rerouted to my HDTV. I thought that I could then use that cable to send the signal to the bedroom.
> 
> ...


CR:

I'm no expert, in fact I'm still confused by TV1 and TV2, but to show you what a no-brainer it is I actually have it sort of working. To send the output from TV2 in the 622 to another TV you use COAX, plugged into the Home Distribution port on the back of the DVR. That is, one COAX from the HD port to the jack on your wall, then another COAX from the jack in the other room to the RF input on your bedroom SDTV. The HD is like a little broadcast station and can be set to send the signal on a regular broadcast frequency (I think 2-13 or something like that) or on a cable frequency. I have my 622 set to send the signal on cable channel 75, and to get it on my SDTV I use the MAIN (coax) input tuned to channel 75. Works like a charm. My 622 is set to single mode, shared, because I have a separate tuner on my remote TV, I use only the DVR functionality. But, in any case, that signal is sent through COAX only. You can't do it through RCA, at least efficiently.

But I'll wait for an expert to chime in.

Good luck with your install.

=NLK=


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## ClevelandRob (Jun 22, 2006)

hmm.. Thanks for the input! I guess I misunderstood the Home Distribution.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

The Home Distribution output of the 622 is what you usually connect to one or more TVs (TV2). If you only have one additional TV you want to connect, a single coax run can be used. If you want to connect a small number of other TVs you can use a coax splitter to make several runs. If they are long runs or more than a few, you may need an RF amp to boost the signal. 

The sets connected to the Home Distribution will all get the same programming. With the 622 in dual mode they can watch any SD or HD sat channel or DVR program. HD content is downconverted to SD. You can not watch the OTA channels from TV2 directly, without recording it first.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

ClevelandRob said:


> hmm.. Thanks for the input! I guess I misunderstood the Home Distribution.


They call it home distribution because it's more than a simple RF out. Running in Dual Mode (which is what you'll be doing from the sounds of things) that single RF out can send out both the TV1 output and the TV2 output from the 622. You also can set the channels so they dont' conflict with any other stations, if you join this signal to say an analog cable or OTA signal.

Say you have this RF/Home Distribution port split to 2 other TVs in the house. If so, you could be watching one show in HD in the living room, that same feed down converted to SD in another room, and an entiring different show in SD in say the bedroom.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Rob Glasser said:


> Say you have this RF/Home Distribution port split to 2 other TVs in the house. If so, you could be watching one show in HD in the living room, that same feed down converted to SD in another room, and an entiring different show in SD in say the bedroom.


This sounds a little misleading. I understand what you mean but it could be taken the wrong way.

The Home Distribution output can be used to view either the TV1 program or the TV2 program, using two different channel numbers. Rob's example is having one of the remote TVs watching the TV1 output which is down converted to SD. And, then the other remote TV is watching the TV2 program. Don't think that every remote TV connected to the Home Distribution can have its own unique output. All sets tuned to the TV2 output channel will see the same output and all sets tuned to the TV1 channel will see the same output as TV1 is currently seeing.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

ChuckA said:


> This sounds a little misleading. I understand what you mean but it could be taken the wrong way.
> 
> The Home Distribution output can be used to view either the TV1 program or the TV2 program, using two different channel numbers. Rob's example is having one of the remote TVs watching the TV1 output which is down converted to SD. And, then the other remote TV is watching the TV2 program. Don't think that every remote TV connected to the Home Distribution can have its own unique output. All sets tuned to the TV2 output channel will see the same output and all sets tuned to the TV1 channel will see the same output as TV1 is currently seeing.


Sorry, the fact that there are only 2 discrete TV outputs was assumed. I shouldn't have done that so, yes, there are only 2 channels of unique programming, if in dual mode, on this home distro./RF output.


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## ClevelandRob (Jun 22, 2006)

I believe I understand. With one HDTV hooked up to TV1 (HDMI) and one SDTV hooked to the Home Distribution.

The HDTV will be able to watch live TV off of either Sat tuner, OTA tuner or a pre-recorded program.

The SDTV will be able to watch live TV off of either Sat tuner or a pre-recorded program.

As long as the DVR is not recording on both Sat tuners the SDTV can watch either a live or recorded program.

If the DVR is recording on one Sat tuner and the HDTV is watching something on another Sat tuner, then the SDTV can only watch recorded programs (or whatever is being recorded or being watched on HDTV).

Does the DVR give warning messages or block channel changing when all tuners are used?

Will the DVR override what is being watched on SDTV (TV2) if HDTV (TV1) wants to record something? (I hope that's not too confusing)


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## HarryS (Mar 6, 2005)

If you have the record priority set the TV2, then a recording will interrupt the live broadcast on TV2. And yes, it will give a warning IIRC.


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## zdman (May 26, 2006)

Too bad it will not let you pick which tuner to record on. If you go to the guide and do this, it defaults to TV (as configured). However, if you are watching a show live, it always gives you the option to record on TV1 or TV2. It would be nice when tagging shows for recording in the future if there was at least an option to force the recording to one tuner or the other.


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## lbeck (Jun 27, 2006)

I just got my 622 yesterday and have found the installation to be one of the most complicated things I've encountered. I've wired my home for several TVs and sound hookups, and have the ability to send signals to my computer, etc. So I'm not about to hire a professional (as recommended in the 622 owners manual) to complete the installation of my 622.

My main problem is understanding the instructions for hooking up the remote TV. What I have is:

•	Outdoor TV antenna - Coax into house (downstairs home entertainment center) and split to 2 additional TVs upstairs.
•	622 with downstairs TV as TV1

Right now I have a length of coax strung up the stairwell to one of the TVs. I figure that once I get it right on one TV, I can patch into the outdoor antenna splitter.

I have found the discussion in the owners manual of "Connecting to the Remote TVs" (P 101) to be very confusing. It provides a 25-step procedure that can be short-circuited in the middle. I'm mostly confused with the instructions:

****************************************************************

3. Find 3 channels next to each other on one of your remote TVs that do not pick up signals from off-air or cable broadcasts. These channels must fall in one of the 2 ranges below&#8230;

4.	Pick the channel in the middle of the 3 that you selected in step 3 (I selected ch. 60)

5.	&#8230;If you are using these instructions for TV1 and TV 2 , pick different channels (I chose Channel 60 for TV1 and 64 for TV2)

7. Tune all of your remote TV(s) to the channel(s) that you wrote in step 5. This is the channel you will use to receive your satellite programming.
****************************************************************

Note the disagreement in number (channels and channel) in step 7. Then I think I understand steps 8-12. At step 13 I am instructed to:

"a. Under TV2 out (or TV1 out) Select either air or cable" (I select air).

"b. Under TV2 out (or TV1 out) change the modulator channel to the one you wrote down in step 5" (I select 60).

I'm having problems with the "or" in the instructions. Should it be "and?" I tried setting everything to channel 60, then saw from step 5 that TV2 channel should be set to 64

Please either confirm or correct. Should I:

1.	Set TV1 for 60 _only_ or for 60 and 64?
2.	Set TV2 for 64 _only_ or for 60 and 64?

What I did late last night is to add both channels 60 and 64 to both TV1 and TV2. I then get 2 separate satellite programs on TV2, one program on channel 60 and a different program on channel 64. TV1 works fine but I don't watch it through a "channel." I use a separate AV selection that is for component video.

Should I set ONLY channel 60 for TV1 and ONLY channel 64 for TV2?

Maybe things are operating as they should, but I don't think so. For one thing, I thought that I could use PIP to switch between the programs and it didn't work for TV2. Maybe I was in dual mode or something. I have an additional problem of my UHF remote doesn't appear to be working, so I did a lot of running up and down the stairs to see what was being received on TV2. After about 1:00 am my brain was mush so I decided to post this to the forum and see if I can get some clarity from any of you experts.

Thanks


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Set the 622 configuration for "air", TV1 channel to 60 and the TV2 channel to 64. Then, in dual mode, you can watch independent programming for TV2 by tuning it to channel 64. If you want to watch the same content on TV2 as currently being viewed on TV1, tune TV2 to channel 60.

You can use a coax splitter turned backward to connect both the RF output of the 622 and the UHF antenna connection on the back of the 622 into a single coax run to TV2. Then in that room, use another coax splitter to split the cable into two. Connect one cable to the TV2 input and put the RF antenna on the other splitter output. This will bring the UHF antenna into the same room with the TV and makes the UHF remote work much better.

Edit: Forgot to add, you can only use PIP in single mode, not dual mode. However, (I never run in single mode) I understand that you can use PIP on TV2 when tuned to the TV1 distribution channel (60 in your case).


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## lbeck (Jun 27, 2006)

> Set the 622 configuration for "air", TV1 channel to 60 and the TV2 channel to 64. Then, in dual mode, you can watch independent programming for TV2 by tuning it to channel 64. If you want to watch the same content on TV2 as currently being viewed on TV1, tune TV2 to channel 60.


Thanks. Sounds simple enough. So it doesn't matter that I'm not tuning "channels" on my TV1. Recall that I watch HD on a different AV setting (Component Video) on TV1. If I want to watch "channels" I select out of the Component Video setting.

Thanks also for the tip on the splitter configuration.

*Added Later*

I think I'm beginning to see the error in my logic. TV1 doesn't communicate with TV2. The satellite receiver communicates with TV2 (and TV1) so it doesn't matter what mode TV1 is in when I watch it.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Right. TV1 never communicates to TV2. The 622 communicates to all outputs independently and all outputs are hot at the same time.


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## lbeck (Jun 27, 2006)

> Set the 622 configuration for "air", TV1 channel to 60 and the TV2 channel to 64. .................


Your explaination was much clearer and worked great. Part of my problem was working too late night before last, but the DN book just didn't make sense to me.

I was up late again last night, but this time playing with my new receiver -- much more fun than reading the user guide and setting things up. If I'd known that the 622 was as great as it is I'd have bought it years ago  (I know it just came out this year).

I've been operating a legacy JVC DVHS receiver that was state of the art when I bought it but is antique now.

Thanks,

Lee


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## tnmg (Apr 4, 2006)

Wow this is making my head hurt.


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## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

the initial setup of my 622 was quite confusing at first - air/cable, modulators, single/dual views, pip, etc... I spent a good 3 or 4 days just playing with the zillions of settings in the machine and getting the setup correct. As with anything I believe you can never truly learn much from a manual - it all requires hands-on work with the unit and finding out for yourself what works and what doesn't. I think I now have a good handle on the 622 itself; 5 months after the install (self install btw).


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