It doesn't mean that there is an OTA tuner in the D12. This is a holdover from the days when:
---(1) TVs that only had a single coax input.
---(2) Directv didn't offer locals in many markets.
The coax passthru allowed people to get locals and Directv channels without having to switch out the coax or installing an A-B switch. I had this setup on a D10 in the pre-SWM days, but I don't think it would work on a SWM system...
Many older low-end tv's have only a single antenna/cable input. Early basic D* boxes included a built-in RF modulator to output your satellite programming to channel 3 or 4 so that you could view it on such tvs. When not watching satellite programming, you could switch the box to just pass any cable or antenna signal you connected to the "Off Air In" jack through to the tv.
Many older low-end tv's have only a single antenna/cable input. Early basic D* boxes included a built-in RF modulator to output your satellite programming to channel 3 or 4 so that you could view it on such tvs. When not watching satellite programming, you could switch the box to just pass any cable or antenna signal you connected to the "Off Air In" jack through to the tv.
Correct, except the box automatically did that switching. When the sat receiver was on, the signal to the TV was the modulated output of the sat receiver. When the sat receiver was off, the signal to the TV was whatever was connected to the off-air input. That input was just passed directly through to the TV.
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