Thread: How many OTA tuners on VIP722?

According to the spec sheet it looks like I should only have 1 OTA tuner on my VIP 722 (this is not the 722K).

But I'm able to record two OTA channels at one time as selected from the OTA channels in the program guide. One thing I notice is that I get the antenna symbol with one of them.

Could the DVR be rerouting the local channel from the satellite feed?

Only K has 2 OTA tuners.

OTA recording appeares in guide in yellow, it must be recording a sat feed

You must have the local package with your dish subscription.

The channel listing that shows the antenna logo is the signal you're receiving over the air, and as mentioned in the previous post, will show as yellow (it will also show you a signal meter to show the strength of the signal). The other channel listing is the satellite signal.

The 211 with the external DVR option will allow you to record/watch a satellite signal and an over the air signal at the same time. It will not allow for two satellite or two OTAs at the same time.

I have the VIP211 that I also have my antenna hooked up to. Whenever possible I prefer to record or watch the OTA signal because it isn't compressed like the satellite signal. The picture looks better to my old tired eyes.

Well, that OTA signal is compressed, but not nearly so much. The nature of MPEG (in this case, -2 for OTA) requires at least a minor amount of compression. So it's not compressed "like" or as much, as a satellite signal.

I'd say the best sources for PQ are OTA & Blu-ray.

That might in part explain why I thought my TIVO did a better job recording OTA than my 722. I was probably comparing a recording off of satellite and thought it was the OTA feed.

Originally Posted by navychop

Well, that OTA signal is compressed, but not nearly so much. The nature of MPEG (in this case, -2 for OTA) requires at least a minor amount of compression. So it's not compressed "like" or as much, as a satellite signal.

I'd say the best sources for PQ are OTA & Blu-ray.

I always record local channels with my EHD via OTA instead of satellite. I do think the PQ is a little better.

Originally Posted by gjh3260

I always record local channels with my EHD via OTA instead of satellite. I do think the PQ is a little better.

The local NBC OTA isn't as good as the one I get off sat to the place I "moved".

Quality is dependant upon how many sub-channels a local is pushing. If they are doing two in addition to the main HD channel, you will see a significant decrease in quality.

@whatchel1, I would be interested to know the sub-channel count for your local NBC vs. the one you moved to.

Originally Posted by cditty

Quality is dependant upon how many sub-channels a local is pushing. If they are doing two in addition to the main HD channel, you will see a significant decrease in quality.

@whatchel1, I would be interested to know the sub-channel count for your local NBC vs. the one you moved to.

That's not entirely true. It depends on which encoder they're using. On the better ones, its extremely difficult to tell the difference.