Dish Network: Poor video quality using coax cable. Dish techs at a loss!

**highdefjeff** · 12-26-2009 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by abarkl

Tried all those; no change.

If you used a short cable and directly connected "TV2 out" coax to TV1 and still get ghosting,

and if while connected to TV1,

you've tried lower channels than 60 air, like 22, 23, etc - (checked them all)

and

you've tried cable 73 and the other cable channels (80 has worked well before in overcoming similar issues routed through a modulator)

and you still have the issue,

then you have a bad TV2 output.

When you use a short cable to connect to TV1 (from TV2 output) you bypass any hidden splitters or compromised cables. If after trying all of the channels available (air and cable) then TV2 out is bad.

This has been done, correct?

**abarkl** · 12-26-2009 02:29 PM

Yes, to the previous post.

Dish techs are at a loss for a fix. Now it's wait and see if their affiliate GM will "pay the cost" for two single receivers as a "solution". "He's on vacation until Wednesday and will call then."

I will report back...

**dishcomm** · 12-26-2009 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by abarkl

Yes, to the previous post.

Dish techs are at a loss for a fix. Now it's wait and see if their affiliate GM will "pay the cost" for two single receivers as a "solution". "He's on vacation until Wednesday and will call then."

I will report back...

These are the kind of issues that I love to try and tackle.
This one is a real headscratcher for sure.
Ok..
one more thing...try this.
Go to menu 6-1-5( modulator setup) set to cable ch 116
Now, run a channel scan on the tv in question.
Ch 116 is a default channel on dual tuner receivers. Weird.
See if that cleans it up a bit.
on which tv is the interference worse, the flat panel or the one you used as a test tv?

**whatchel1** · 12-26-2009 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by dishcomm

These are the kind of issues that I love to try and tackle.
This one is a real headscratcher for sure.
Ok..
one more thing...try this.
Go to menu 6-1-5( modulator setup) set to cable ch 116
Now, run a channel scan on the tv in question.
Ch 116 is a default channel on dual tuner receivers. Weird.
See if that cleans it up a bit.
on which tv is the interference worse, the flat panel or the one you used as a test tv?

I have 722k and have never changed the coax out since I don't use it. It is set to air ch 60. So how can ch116 be the default?

**adidas5482** · 12-26-2009 09:30 PM

air 60 = cable 116

**dishcomm** · 12-27-2009 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by whatchel1

I have 722k and have never changed the coax out since I don't use it. It is set to air ch 60. So how can ch116 be the default?

see above

**whatchel1** · 12-27-2009 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by dishcomm

see above

Not blind I saw it.

**highdefjeff** · 12-27-2009 06:06 PM

Air 22 = cable 73

**navychop** · 12-28-2009 12:45 PM

Here

is a chart comparing the various cable frequencies used, versus OTA broadcast frequencies, by channel.

And
here

is similar info, with some added explanation and FM/CB info.

Not all cablecos are interchangeable, as far as how they transmit. Some do odd things to their signals (I think that's mostly phased out now, for cable card etc), plus they have options (HRC IRC, etc.). I believe there's still at least one out there actually using NTSC OTA standards across their cable. And there used to be double thorax cable in the Northern VA area, plus quirky signal modification, before Cox bought out (Media General?).

**mjstraw** · 12-29-2009 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by abarkl

I've had both sets in the same room with the original and a replacemnet receiver and changed the cables from one to the other; no change.
I have a VCR I've connected to the second set and the picture is not ghosted.

The comment about the VCR is interesting. Some tuners are unable to deal with very low or very high level/power signals. The VCR tuner may be better able to handle the
signal level from TV2 output better than the Vizio's

The default signal level on TV2 is pretty high, designed to feed into a home distribution system where splitters will drop the level.

Dish receivers come with either a hardware (a little larger than an f81 barrel connector) or software (as in my 722k) attenuator that will reduce the signal level to the "standard" for television inputs (between 10 and 15dB IIRC).

With both sets in the same room as the sat receiver, try different combinations of attenuator/no attenuator and sets and see if there is any difference.

Mark