[KSteiner]

I was shopping at BestBuy this weekend, and noticed that the HD TV's were being fed an HD signal via COAX.

But the Signal was from the BestBuy DTV channel. So while the image was showing DTV info. The TV was showing that it was tuned to channel 81.1 and was tuning a 1080i signal. The PQ was fantastic on some of the TV's.

So it seems that BestBuy is using a Digital Modulator for HD. I WANT ONE !!!!

My house has been modulated for my TIVO for years. But when I went to HD in the theater room, the usability factor for TIVO viewing went away.

I don't mind that I am distributing only one channel to all my TV's.

Anyone know who makes this Modulator Device, and where they can be purchased ?

Thanks

 

[Drewg5]

I think what your looking for can be found here http://www.gefen.com/kvm/htda.jsp

 

[paul01463]

I think what your looking for can be found here http://www.gefen.com/kvm/htda.jsp

I think the OP wishes to modulate a carrier with an HD video and its companion audio and allow that modulated carrier to be distributed via coax. None of the products listed will perform that task.

I've looked for an HD modulator, but short of building what would essentially be an HD TV station less the power amplifier stages and antenna, I have not found a solution.

 

[old7]

I was shopping at BestBuy this weekend, and noticed that the HD TV's were being fed an HD signal via COAX.

But the Signal was from the BestBuy DTV channel. So while the image was showing DTV info. The TV was showing that it was tuned to channel 81.1 and was tuning a 1080i signal. The PQ was fantastic on some of the TV's.

So it seems that BestBuy is using a Digital Modulator for HD. I WANT ONE !!!!

My house has been modulated for my TIVO for years. But when I went to HD in the theater room, the usability factor for TIVO viewing went away.

I don't mind that I am distributing only one channel to all my TV's.

Anyone know who makes this Modulator Device, and where they can be purchased ?

Thanks

Ask the BB drones what they are using. Even they can copy down brand name and model number. Well, maybe.

 

[Drewg5]

I think the OP wishes to modulate a carrier with an HD video and its companion audio and allow that modulated carrier to be distributed via coax. None of the products listed will perform that task.

I've looked for an HD modulator, but short of building what would essentially be an HD TV station less the power amplifier stages and antenna, I have not found a solution.

I thought of that, the products listed there allow for HDMI, it was the closest I could find.

 

[lubo]

To modulate HDTV or DTV signal onto a carrier you need either QAM or 8VSB modulator. Unfortunately those are still not meant for the end user, because of price and input signals.
Currently most of them accept only parallel MPEG streams, ASI or SDI signals.
Most likely Best Buy is using a commercial grade SAT receiver with ASI output, which is feeding a QAM modulator and then the signal is up-converted to ch.81

=Cheers=

 

[KSteiner]

I have seen a few products that can take component video to ethernet (CAT5) and audio too...has anyone used a product like that.

I was jsut hoping I wouldn't have to run any more cables....

Thanks

 

[rirwin1983]

as a former "BB Drone" i can say that it is not a cheep setup, a few thousand dollars when my store was remodled and that it was an outside vendors propitaty technology that was being used. i'd be suprised if you can convince anyone to tell you.

 

[laxcoach]

I use a component video balun (component->cat5) for one of my setups. It also can carry digital coax, but I have no reason to feed my television with audio.

The baluns are great. My entertainment components are at least 75' of wire away from the the HD plasma. The video quality is the same as my bedroom which has an HR20 next to a HD tv.

http://www.smarthome.com/7805hd.html
You need 2. One for the HR20 side, and one for the tv side.

If I had the heart for it at the extra $, I would have pulled another cat5. There are hdmi->cat5 baluns, but they require 2 cat5 wires.
http://sewelldirect.com/Intelix-HDMI-balun.asp

 

[mortega31686]

I was shopping at BestBuy this weekend, and noticed that the HD TV's were being fed an HD signal via COAX.

But the Signal was from the BestBuy DTV channel. So while the image was showing DTV info. The TV was showing that it was tuned to channel 81.1 and was tuning a 1080i signal. The PQ was fantastic on some of the TV's.

So it seems that BestBuy is using a Digital Modulator for HD. I WANT ONE !!!!

My house has been modulated for my TIVO for years. But when I went to HD in the theater room, the usability factor for TIVO viewing went away.

I don't mind that I am distributing only one channel to all my TV's.

Anyone know who makes this Modulator Device, and where they can be purchased ?

Thanks

I actually work at Best Buy and can say that it is DEFINITELY not a cheap setup. We get an internal satellite feed sent to the store around the 1st and the 15th of every month and it gets stored onto an HD DVR of sorts that transmits it to our HDTVs in ATSC format. Some stores the channel is 8.1, others 14.1 or 15.1 . From the output of that box, the signal is split about 100 times and then fed around the store. Then for some of our TVs that are just monitors, the ATSC feed is fed into a Samsung ATSC tuner to convert it to component video and then that is split about 100 times as well. I can definitely agree that the ATSC feed is far better than the component feed we have since component can have more interferrence even though its HDTV. Plus our ATSC feed in the store also allows us to change all TVs hooked up to it from HD to SD to show the difference. I don't work again til Friday but I'll take a look before our store opens to see if I can get you any info.

-Mike :grin:

 

[Tom Robertson]

I actually work at Best Buy and can say that it is DEFINITELY not a cheap setup. We get an internal satellite feed sent to the store around the 1st and the 15th of every month and it gets stored onto an HD DVR of sorts that transmits it to our HDTVs in ATSC format. Some stores the channel is 8.1, others 14.1 or 15.1 . From the output of that box, the signal is split about 100 times and then fed around the store. Then for some of our TVs that are just monitors, the ATSC feed is fed into a Samsung ATSC tuner to convert it to component video and then that is split about 100 times as well. I can definitely agree that the ATSC feed is far better than the component feed we have since component can have more interferrence even though its HDTV. Plus our ATSC feed in the store also allows us to change all TVs hooked up to it from HD to SD to show the difference. I don't work again til Friday but I'll take a look before our store opens to see if I can get you any info.

-Mike :grin:

Mike, welcome to the forums. :welcome_s

And thanks,
Tom

 

[KSteiner]

Mike....thanks for the update on Best buy...Look foward to see how your store is setup...

Laxcoach...thanks for the info too..

 

[mortega31686]

Mike....thanks for the update on Best buy...Look foward to see how your store is setup...

Just to give you a hint of how complicated it is, lets just say that the HD DVR is in the front of the store in our Comm. Room and the Home Theater department is all the way in the back of the store where it leads to another Comm. Room full of commerical splitters and LOTS of coax.

-Mike

P.S. Kinda unrelated but does anyone know any hints for getting NYC locals in HD on D*? I've been trying for the past 4 months but they still are giving me and my landlord the run around about getting the waivers and our locals aren't budging and the 5lnb is taking forever.

 

[btmoore]

None of this is new or expensive, we have all just been cut off from it because of the content Nazis over at the MPAA and RIAA.

Many many years ago, EchoStar sold a box called the 5000, there was an optional unit that contained a 8vsb modulator that converted the DISH HD content into a ATSC 8VSB modulated RF signal. Cool Eh. You could then route that through your standard coax RF distribution. This was also very cool because you could use a standard HD ATSC 8VSB PC card to make digital copies of what was on E*. But you cant have it, because you all are not to be trusted because you are all pirates, and pirates only get HDCP interfaces. Thus ended the days of easy home based central distribution of HD content all because you all are untrustworth cheating content pirates.

Here is a way back link to the year 2000 for you.
http://www.coolstf.com/mpeg/HDTV/index.html

There are days I feel like I am from the Jurassic HDTV era.

 

[k2ue]

None of this is new or expensive, we have all just been cut off from it because of the content Nazis over at the MPAA and RIAA.

Many many years ago, EchoStar sold a box called the 5000, there was an optional unit that contained a 8vsb modulator that converted the DISH HD content into a ATSC 8VSB modulated RF signal. Cool Eh. You could then route that through your standard coax RF distribution. This was also very cool because you could use a standard HD ATSC 8VSB PC card to make digital copies of what was on E*. But you cant have it, because you all are not to be trusted because you are all pirates, and pirates only get HDCP interfaces. Thus ended the days of easy home based central distribution of HD content all because you all are untrustworth cheating content pirates.

Here is a way back link to the year 2000 for you.
http://www.coolstf.com/mpeg/HDTV/index.html

There are days I feel like I am from the Jurassic HDTV era.

You are exactly correct -- I designed an greatly less complex ATSC Modulator Chipset (and filed a Patent Disclosure on it) that could be sold for less than $100.00 in quantity as a home modulator, but we didn't complete the silicon design because none of the STB manufacturers had interest -- one told me candidly that the program suppliers would simply not tolerate an HD output without content control. We thought it would be a slam-dunk -- one coax and you have full-fidelity picture and sound, but no. . .

 

[lubo]

You are exactly correct -- I designed an greatly less complex ATSC Modulator Chip set (and filed a Patent Disclosure on it) that could be sold for less than $100.00 in quantity as a home modulator, but we didn't complete the silicon design because none of the STB manufacturers had interest -- one told me candidly that the program suppliers would simply not tolerate an HD output without content control. We thought it would be a slam-dunk -- one coax and you have full-fidelity picture and sound, but no. . .

What type of inputs did you have on your device?
In they were either digital or analog A/V you need to real time VBR MPEG-2 encoder combined with re-multiplexing board which will allow you to rebuild the map tables and PID's, the manufacturing price of of equipment like this is well above $1500.
You do not need expensive encoder only if you have MPEG-2 input signal which you can not get from a commercial STB.

=Cheers=

 

[k2ue]

What type of inputs did you have on your device?
In they were either digital or analog A/V you need to real time VBR MPEG-2 encoder combined with re-multiplexing board which will allow you to rebuild the map tables and PID's, the manufacturing price of of equipment like this is well above $1500.
You do not need expensive encoder only if you have MPEG-2 input signal which you can not get from a commercial STB.

=Cheers=

You're thinking available hardware -- I'm an RF & Mixed Signal IC designer, and this was a full custom IC solution. It was a 2 chip set if MPEG2 was available (one digital chip to create the stream, and a second mixed-signal to modulate, filter & convert). A third chip was an mpeg2 encoder with 2 versions, one from digital DVI video & audio, and a second mixed-signal version also supporting component video and analog audio. The RF & Mixed signal chip was actually simulated with all the patentable circuitry done at the transistor level in 0.18u CMOS, and the balance in veriloga. The companion digital chip can actually be done in an FPGA, which we would do to support the RF/Mixed-signal development, while executing a custom digital chip at dramatically less cost. The digital-to-MPEG2 chip can also be prototyped as an FPGA, again to be done as a custom to reduce cost. The RF/Mixed signal chip was my personal responsibility, the digital chips were being handled by able and experienced digital guys. All of the guys were 10+ years experience. I did my first CMOS custom RF chip in 1977 in first generation self-aligned Si-gate. Full custom chips like these are only about $5-10 bucks each in large quantity if there are no IP royalties, which we strove to avoid.