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View Full Version : How do most of you connect the OTA for your 622?

kktk
08-09-07, 02:27 PM
We have an input for the OTA on the 622 and we could also connect it directly to the TV.

Which way is better?
What's to be gained by going one way or the other?

Logically I would connect the OTA antenna to the receiver and then the output from the receiver from the HDMI is already connected to the AV receiver.

What say folks?
Stewart Vernon
08-09-07, 02:54 PM
If I had the option, I would do both. Connecting to your ViP622 allows you to then record those digital OTA channels so you can record up to 3 different channels (2 satellite and 1 OTA) at the same time.

Connecting also to your TV, gives you a 4th viewing option as you could be recording with your receiver one OTA, then watching a different OTA channel using your TV's tuner.

My HDTV does not have a built-in tuner so I do not have that option, but if I did, I would.
kktk
08-09-07, 02:56 PM
So we would need some splitter that would send the OTA signal to the 622 and the TV?
garys
08-09-07, 03:34 PM
So we would need some splitter that would send the OTA signal to the 622 and the TV?

Any standard inexpensive splitter works. I picked mine up at Radio Shack for under $5.
skyviewmark1
08-09-07, 03:59 PM
Any standard inexpensive splitter works. I picked mine up at Radio Shack for under $5.

$5.00 for a splitter.. I'm in the wrong business. I should have been a Radio Shack. If you are paying more than a buck for them you are paying to much. My cost is only about 29 cents apiece.. I usually get a buck for em.. But then then I am not in business to sell them.. I just install em..
garys
08-09-07, 04:03 PM
$5.00 for a splitter.. I'm in the wrong business. I should have been a Radio Shack. If you are paying more than a buck for them you are paying to much. My cost is only about 29 cents apiece.. I usually get a buck for em.. But then then I am not in business to sell them.. I just install em..

Needed two short pieces of coax with it.
skyviewmark1
08-09-07, 04:09 PM
Needed two short pieces of coax with it.

Well.. That makes all the difference in the world.. :)
garys
08-09-07, 06:44 PM
Well.. That makes all the difference in the world.. :)

It does to me!
Bill R
08-09-07, 08:34 PM
If I had the option, I would do both.

That is what I do.

We have four boxes or TVs that have a ATSC tuner. We have a master TV antenna system with a 4 port distribution amp. If, for some reason, a channel isn't being received on one device (usually because the PSIP data is messed up by the station) I check one of the other devices to see if the station is available there. It looks like the DISH receivers only "look" at the PSIP data when you scan for the local channels so sometimes the DISH 622 receives a channel when one of the other tuners won't.
BFG
08-09-07, 10:32 PM
wish my tv had a digital tuner or I would be doing the same ....
ssmith10pn
08-10-07, 05:28 AM
Keep in mind a 2 way splitter kills 3.5 db per side. A 3 way splitter kills 2.5 db on one leg and 7 db on the other 2. It doesn't take long to wipe out an OTA signal.

A signal amp will be needed for anything over a 2 way splitter.
garys
08-10-07, 06:41 AM
Keep in mind a 2 way splitter kills 3.5 db per side. A 3 way splitter kills 2.5 db on one leg and 7 db on the other 2. It doesn't take long to wipe out an OTA signal.

A signal amp will be needed for anything over a 2 way splitter.

With lower signals, Radio Shack has a four-way amplied splitter.
kktk
08-10-07, 01:04 PM
So with these "splitter" suggestions...I am basically taking the OTA signal from the antenna outside the house.....splitting it to go to my 622---and then sending the other run to the 50PZ700U plasma direct?

Correct?
do I have to worry about the run of the cable? The cable run to the TV is going to be about 40 ft.
Stewart Vernon
08-10-07, 01:19 PM
do I have to worry about the run of the cable? The cable run to the TV is going to be about 40 ft.

There will be signal loss over the length of the cable.. and the splitter will introduce more loss. Ultimately, you kind of have to try it out and see how it works for you. If you are receiving strong signals where you live, then the loss over 40 ft + splitter may not result in any noticable problems.

If you have any problems, you can always try an inline VHF/UHF amplifier to boost the signal.

I always recommend buying these kinds of components at Radio Shack, since they have a liberal return policy and if you find the configuration doesn't produce desirable results, you can get your money back on the splitter, aplifier, and/or antenna and try something else.
Bill R
08-10-07, 07:01 PM
If you have any problems, you can always try an inline VHF/UHF amplifier to boost the signal.

And remember that having too strong a signal is just as bad as having too weak a signal. Generally, a 3 or 6 db amp will be fine on a run under 50 feet.
Stewart Vernon
08-10-07, 09:22 PM
And remember that having too strong a signal is just as bad as having too weak a signal. Generally, a 3 or 6 db amp will be fine on a run under 50 feet.

Agreed... which is why I recommended trying first without an amp. In my configuration I've found that some amps seem to make no difference at all, while others actually amplify the multi-path and make things worse.. so always best to try different configurations to see what works best.
isuzudave
08-11-07, 09:57 AM
So with these "splitter" suggestions...I am basically taking the OTA signal from the antenna outside the house.....splitting it to go to my 622---and then sending the other run to the 50PZ700U plasma direct?

Correct?
do I have to worry about the run of the cable? The cable run to the TV is going to be about 40 ft.

Just to be clear. You would split the OTA signal inside the house behind your
622. Also, by running the OTA signal through the 622 you get the guide information for those channels.
kktk
08-13-07, 02:24 PM
Just to be clear. You would split the OTA signal inside the house behind your
622. Also, by running the OTA signal through the 622 you get the guide information for those channels.

Ok...just to be 100% sure....split it going into the 622? or coming out of it?
lpmiller
08-13-07, 06:33 PM
i run the OTA into both dish and the TV. I have about a 40 foot run, then the OTA and dish cable are combined outside the house, split inside the house, and the OTA is split again for two sources. So even if I'm recording 3 channels, I can still watch TV.

I don't have any real signal loss, but then, I'm using way more antenna then I need. But the flintstone antenna look fits my house.