what is a bbc

[dparinisi]

I am new to this and the the teck talk so if some can tell me? Thanks

[Michael D'Angelo]

I am new to this and the the teck talk so if some can tell me? Thanks

:welcome_s to DBStalk

BBC=Broad Band Converter

They are the little gray boxes that go in between the SAT lines and the HR20 or H20. They allow the receiver to receive lower frequencies (Ka lo) that the new HD channels will be on.

[Tom Robertson]

Welcome to the forums, dparinisi! :welcome_s

The BBC is a small gray or more recently black box that connects to the HD receiver or DVR. It takes the satellite signals from the two newest satellites (or will when they launch and turn on) and converts them to a frequency the receivers can use.

If you tune to channel 499 and the BBC(s) is working correctly you should get a signal missing error, 771.

Cheers,
Tom

[Stuart Sweet]

If you don't get that "Searching for signal" message, call customer service right away! You don't want to miss out on the new channels.

[Kansas Zephyr]

I thought BBC stood for B-Band Converter.

[LameLefty]

I thought BBC stood for B-Band Converter.

It does. However, the functional explanations are correct. :)

[MikeR]

I am new to this and the the teck talk so if some can tell me? Thanks

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SUP-2400&xzoom=Large#xview

Directv will send them to you for free upon request. (http://directv.qrs1.net/bbc/bbcForm.jsp)

[Lord Vader]

OK, so I get off the phone today with a D* CSR to order a free HR20-700, and she tells me I need these converters for my current HR10-250's as well. So she places an order for 6 of these for those units. I asked her if these are usable on that model--I thought they worked only on the new HD DVR's--and she tells me that these will allow one to view the new HD channels on all existing HD DVR's, including HD TIVO's.

Huh? :confused:

[PoitNarf]

OK, so I get off the phone today with a D* CSR to order a free HR20-700, and she tells me I need these converters for my current HR10-250's as well. So she places an order for 6 of these for those units. I asked her if these are usable on that model--I thought they worked only on the new HD DVR's--and she tells me that these will allow one to view the new HD channels on all existing HD DVR's, including HD TIVO's.

Huh? :confused:

CSR was obviously confused. The only receivers that can receive the MPEG4 HD channels and will require the BBCs next month are the H20 and HR20 (H21 also, but these are not available for purchase yet).

[TheRatPatrol]

OK, so I get off the phone today with a D* CSR to order a free HR20-700, and she tells me I need these converters for my current HR10-250's as well. So she places an order for 6 of these for those units. I asked her if these are usable on that model--I thought they worked only on the new HD DVR's--and she tells me that these will allow one to view the new HD channels on all existing HD DVR's, including HD TIVO's.

Huh? :confused:
No offense, but I don't know where they get these CSR's from or where they train them at, if at all. :rolleyes:

No, you do not need the BBC's for your HR10 as it will not be capable of picking up the new HD channels from the new sats.

[JLucPicard]

By the way, I requested 4 through the website the other day. They sent me a total of 8 (maybe because all my MPEG4s are DVRs?). FedEx delivered 8 packages, each containing one BBC! :) You'd think for an outfit that seems to be more conientious about costs that they could work out something better than shipping multiple paclages to the same address when a single shipment would do. :D

[996911]

Here is a great link I have bookmarked. Somebody posted it for me when I asked what a specific acronym was.

http://www.dbstalk.com/acronyms.htm

[dwrats_56]

Big Boned Cow:D

[Cru Jones]

I am new-ish to DirecTV (within the past 6 months). I got an email from D stating that I needed to check for B-Band Converters on my HR-20. I followed their instructions and then checked the back of my receiver and did find 2 b-band converters hooked up however only one of them has a coaxial cable running into it. The other one is just hanging there. Upon further investigation, I noticed I only have one coaxial cable coming out of the wall. Am I missing a splitter/switch? Did my DirecTV installer forget to run another cable? Am I screwed (hahaha). I thought I'd try you guys out first before I called Direc since I can get a real, technical answer out of you guys. Thanks!!!

[Cru Jones]

I was just surfing some other threads and heard people talking about getting multi-line switches for single line installations. Will this work in my environment? HR-20 receiver wanting to take full advantage of all that DirecTV has to offer me. Thanks!!!

[davidrumm]

I am new-ish to DirecTV (within the past 6 months). I got an email from D stating that I needed to check for B-Band Converters on my HR-20. I followed their instructions and then checked the back of my receiver and did find 2 b-band converters hooked up however only one of them has a coaxial cable running into it. The other one is just hanging there. Upon further investigation, I noticed I only have one coaxial cable coming out of the wall. Am I missing a splitter/switch? Did my DirecTV installer forget to run another cable? Am I screwed (hahaha). I thought I'd try you guys out first before I called Direc since I can get a real, technical answer out of you guys. Thanks!!!

Yes you need a second line. This will allow you to record 1 program and watch another or record 2 programs at once. The SWM is not out yet but should be shortly. You do need to contact D* about the tech not installing the 2nd line. I hope it's not too late as I think they only warranty the install for 90 days.

[Cru Jones]

Thanks for the reply! I figured I was out of luck with installer not setting up a second line. Hopefully the SWM will be out soon and available to D* customers. I have a feeling running a second line will be a pain (which is probably why the installer didn't do it).

[Stuart Sweet]

I was just surfing some other threads and heard people talking about getting multi-line switches for single line installations. Will this work in my environment? HR-20 receiver wanting to take full advantage of all that DirecTV has to offer me. Thanks!!!

A multiswitch lets you have more than 4 lines in. At the moment, a dual-tuner DVR like HR20 or R15 needs two lines in, so if you want more receivers than that, you need a multiswitch.

[syphix]

BTW, why wasn't the BBC built into the H20 & HR20?? They knew that they were gonna be used with the new satellites and MPEG4, why wasn't it built in?? :confused:

[Kansas Zephyr]

BTW, why wasn't the BBC built into the H20 & HR20?? They knew that they were gonna be used with the new satellites and MPEG4, why wasn't it built in?? :confused:

Because they must be removed later when/if a SWM is installed.

[syphix]

Because they must be removed later when/if a SWM is installed.Ahhh......(I should have known that...I have an SWM)...but to reduce confusion, why didn't they just build an "ANTI-bbc" into SWM's?