Long run to granny flat poor picture

[ahjohansson]

Im new to Directv, well Im returning from a long hiatus and lots has changed with SWM etc. I have the HR-34 Whole Home DVR with the 3 GENIE C-31 Clients. Dish to switch is about 30 feet. I moved one of the C-31s to the granny flat and its 250 run from the switch. I ran Steel center copper coated RG-6 and well the picture is not that great. Its to a brand sanyo 50" LCD my mother in law purchased. Its not horrible but not as good as the picture as the one in the main house. Its just looks really grainy.

So I have searched online for alternatives. Read lots about Rg-11, Solid copper Conductor Rg-6 and amplifiers. Some blogs say that since its digital you either get a picture or not and upgrading the cable wont help at all. Read stuff about how the signal runs on the outer area of the conductor not in the middle. Im super confused.

What would help in my situation? Any help appreciated.

AJ

 

[raoul5788]

A couple of things. First, you should use only solid copper. 250 ft is maybe too long, but using RG11 may allow you to do it. Lastly, if your MIL is in a separate apartment, she really should have her own service. What you are doing is called account stacking and isn't allowed.

 

[texasbrit]

Solid copper vs copper clad steel will not make any difference to the C31. Both cables have exactly the same signal attenuation, the only difference is in power losses and the cable to a C31 does not carry power. RG11 has lower signal attenuation than RG6, but the OP's issue does not sound like signal attenuation. Are you sure the C31 is sending HD to the TV? What resolutions are checkmarked on the C31? What resolution is the TV reporting?
And running a feed to a granny flat on the same property is not against the terms of service, you do not need a second account.

 

[Jimbo]

Solid copper vs copper clad steel will not make any difference to the C31. Both cables have exactly the same signal attenuation, the only difference is in power losses and the cable to a C31 does not carry power. RG11 has lower signal attenuation than RG6, but the OP's issue does not sound like signal attenuation. Are you sure the C31 is sending HD to the TV? What resolutions are checkmarked on the C31? What resolution is the TV reporting?
And running a feed to a granny flat on the same property is not against the terms of service, you do not need a second account.

This is what I was thinking too, as long as it's not got it's own address is how I look at it, but that might not technically be correct either, I don't know.

 

[raoul5788]

I agree it's okay if it's the same property. That's why I said if it's a separate apartment.

 

[ahjohansson]

Thanks folks. Yes its on the same property.

I have all the resolutions checked and the C-31 says its sending HD. Just looks pixelated like playing a horribly compressed DVD copy. When I'm a few feet away peoples skin looks bad. Could it be just a crappy TV? Perhaps a bad HDMI cable ? I really dont want to carry my Samsung over there to compare but i may have to to see if it makes a difference. Again thanks for all the advice keep it coming if you got anything else. Thanks.

AJ

 

[ahjohansson]

Update I tried a different HDMI cable in both inputs on the TV. Still looks like really compressed copy of a DVD. YOu can really tell in peoples faces up close like at 5 4-5 feet. Back where the couch is not so bad but I can tell. Wondering if im just loosing data along the 250 foot run. I know I dont need power but could i be loosing some data causing a poor picture? Gonna carry her tv over to my house and compare.

 

[texasbrit]

Yes, try a different TV.Also, what channels are you watching??

 

[Lanarian]

Sounds more like a resolution issue.. just to double check, hit the format button on the remote (Top left hand corner) and (assuming its an HDTV that supports 1080) makes sure it says 1080i, original format. If it doesn't, then hit the button repeatedly until it does. Also, check a couple different channels. They have different quality's.
Might also check the Sharpness setting on the TV itself.. that will bring out "Graininess" also.

 

[moghedien14]

Update I tried a different HDMI cable in both inputs on the TV. Still looks like really compressed copy of a DVD. YOu can really tell in peoples faces up close like at 5 4-5 feet. Back where the couch is not so bad but I can tell. Wondering if im just loosing data along the 250 foot run. I know I dont need power but could i be loosing some data causing a poor picture? Gonna carry her tv over to my house and compare.

If you have some rabbit ears lying around you could hook them up to the Sanyo's tuner to see if there's any difference. That way you could eliminate the Sayno itself being the problem...

 

[Liquidforce88]

Yeah you have to do the format button. I would bet its set to 480i and cropped format and the TV is stretching the picture to fill screen.

 

[efbrune]

What does your grandmother (granny) have to do with the video?

 

[Joe Diamond]

What does your grandmother (granny) have to do with the video?

You'll see,

First the kids move out....they go to college & establish themselves elsewhere....then you need a place to hang out so you can continue emptying cans for your beer can collection............ you move into the space above the kid's garage; the granny flat. Builders sheet rock & wire these places for guest rooms and displaced relatives; grannys.

Anyhow, how about a second dish for this rig? Two hundred & fifty feet is a long run even for a cable company. There is no limit to the number of dishes on an account and they are designed to be spiked in where they are needed.

Joe

 

[ahjohansson]

Thanks for all the replies.

Cant check the TV with antennae because Im way to far from Los Angeles. I dont get any OTA reception at all. Thanks for the advice though.

I will try that format on the remote, but I did go into resolution setting on the C-31 and I checked all the boxes and have it set to native so i would think its sending out the HD program. I have been looking at my local affiliate news shows that are typically crystal clear at my house and look bad at the granny flat. I have not checked on the actual TV to see what it shows I am recieving from the box. On my other tvs Samsung, vizio and panasonic everytime I change channels it pops up in the corner the resolution heck even the old cheapy 13" polaroid tv I have at work does that and will flash 1080i. I will have to check out the Sanyo settings to find that info.

Interesting about the extra dish. I never knew it worked that way. However I would need another high def reciver and dvr and those aint cheap. The beauty of having this is we get HD and DVR back there for 6 a month and Im such a nice son in law I dont even charger her! ; Is there a cheap way to get a HD dvr?

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[Joe Diamond]

Thanks for all the replies.

Cant check the TV with antennae because Im way to far from Los Angeles. I dont get any OTA reception at all. Thanks for the advice though.

I will try that format on the remote, but I did go into resolution setting on the C-31 and I checked all the boxes and have it set to native so i would think its sending out the HD program. I have been looking at my local affiliate news shows that are typically crystal clear at my house and look bad at the granny flat. I have not checked on the actual TV to see what it shows I am recieving from the box. On my other tvs Samsung, vizio and panasonic everytime I change channels it pops up in the corner the resolution heck even the old cheapy 13" polaroid tv I have at work does that and will flash 1080i. I will have to check out the Sanyo settings to find that info.

Interesting about the extra dish. I never knew it worked that way. However I would need another high def reciver and dvr and those aint cheap. The beauty of having this is we get HD and DVR back there for 6 a month and Im such a nice son in law I dont even charger her! ; Is there a cheap way to get a HD dvr?

Thanks again for all of your help!

Assuming you can find one...used & that works.....know that Directv will charge you another $20.00 for a new access card before they will activate used equipment. So you don't want to pay much for the used equipment. You can do ok with used dishes. Just mount and tune the dish. Connect your HD DVR when needed. Tailgate party guys do this every weekend.

Joe

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for all the replies.

Cant check the TV with antennae because Im way to far from Los Angeles. I dont get any OTA reception at all. Thanks for the advice though.

I will try that format on the remote, but I did go into resolution setting on the C-31 and I checked all the boxes and have it set to native so i would think its sending out the HD program. I have been looking at my local affiliate news shows that are typically crystal clear at my house and look bad at the granny flat. I have not checked on the actual TV to see what it shows I am recieving from the box. On my other tvs Samsung, vizio and panasonic everytime I change channels it pops up in the corner the resolution heck even the old cheapy 13" polaroid tv I have at work does that and will flash 1080i. I will have to check out the Sanyo settings to find that info.

Interesting about the extra dish. I never knew it worked that way. However I would need another high def reciver and dvr and those aint cheap. The beauty of having this is we get HD and DVR back there for 6 a month and Im such a nice son in law I dont even charger her! ; Is there a cheap way to get a HD dvr?

Thanks again for all of your help!

How about moving the TV from the Granny Flat back to your set up and see how it looks ?

I'm thinking maybe the Coax your using is bad somewhere OR too far away.
If the TV is good (you said it's new, so I would expect it to be fine on yours, I'd go with Joe's option, throw up another dish so the run is much shorter and go from there.

 

[Joe Diamond]

How about moving the TV from the Granny Flat back to your set up and see how it looks ?

I'm thinking maybe the Coax your using is bad somewhere OR too far away.
If the TV is good (you said it's new, so I would expect it to be fine on yours, I'd go with Joe's option, throw up another dish so the run is much shorter and go from there.

As an afterthought to A H & Jimbo,

IF that granny room has a separate electric panel & service it would be a best practice to hang the second dish for another reason. As a minimum, having a receiver running in one building and being electrically connected to a system at a different ground potential in another buiulding could produce noise (sometimes called a ground loop I think) IF something shorts out or there is a lightning strike nearby the damage to both locations could be worse than two independently bonded buildings.

Joe

 

[Liquidforce88]

The C-31 wont work without a HR34 (Genie). So a second dish wont do any good unless you are going to get a receiver like an H24 that is stand alone. The 250 run from the Granny flat to the C-31 is not the issue. It would give you signal problems not picture problems.

You have to set the output with the format button. Like I said it is probably on 480.

 

[Jimbo]

The C-31 wont work without a HR34 (Genie). So a second dish wont do any good unless you are going to get a receiver like an H24 that is stand alone. The 250 run from the Granny flat to the C-31 is not the issue. It would give you signal problems not picture problems.

You have to set the output with the format button. Like I said it is probably on 480.

Good point, if he sets up a separate dish, he'd need the HR34 there as well and that would really mess up the overall set up of the place ...
Getting a H/HR24 would probably be a good idea.

 

[ahjohansson]

yeah im remembering from back in the day that i can add another dish so yes if i go that route an hr/24 on ebay would work. I wont be home for another day and will try the format thing. However what is it that I set in the resolution setting and putting it on native? I checked all the boxes , seems like that would do the same thing as the format. Just trying to understand the output thing better. thanks for everyones help.