TV Signal distribution and remote STB control

[deewee]

Ok I will try and keep it short!
I live in Southsea, an ex CWC area, my STB is DI 4000-N series WITHOUT RF passthrough.
I have a terrestrial aerial and NTL RF signal distributed throughout my house via a proprietry distribution amp in loft, with normal aerial cable feeding the required rooms.
( the only problem is I can't get get terrestrial TV in lounge because I only have one aerial cable in the wall which is used to feed the NTL signal TO the loft amp!!)

Q1.
Does my digital NTL signal also carry analogue RF?

Q2.
Can I get some sort of splitter to allow me to feed analogue RF from the NTL cable directly to my TV? And if so, where from?

I would like to control my STB from the bedroom (lazy, esp at night!!). I have read about the 'DigiEye Irda remote extender' (http://www.irdasender.net/) which means buying a second NTL (or compatible) remote control, and have also heard of the 'Red-Eye remote translator' (http://www.redremote.co.uk/) which can be used with a compatible remote and standard IR sender.

I personally fancy the DigiEye with a second NTL remote, but . . .

Q3.
Has anybody got experience of either of these remote extenders?

Q4.
And finally, if I go on to eBay to buy a second NTL remote, which type do I need for my DI 4000-N?



--
I used to be confused, now I'm just not sure . . .

[Mike Harrison]

Originally Posted by deewee

Ok I will try and keep it short!
I live in Southsea, an ex CWC area, my STB is DI 4000-N series WITHOUT RF passthrough.
I have a terrestrial aerial and NTL RF signal distributed throughout my house via a proprietry distribution amp in loft, with normal aerial cable feeding the required rooms.
( the only problem is I can't get get terrestrial TV in lounge because I only have one aerial cable in the wall which is used to feed the NTL signal TO the loft amp!!)

Q1.
Does my digital NTL signal also carry analogue RF?

Q2.
Can I get some sort of splitter to allow me to feed analogue RF from the NTL cable directly to my TV? And if so, where from?

I would like to control my STB from the bedroom (lazy, esp at night!!). I have read about the 'DigiEye Irda remote extender' (http://www.irdasender.net/) which means buying a second NTL (or compatible) remote control, and have also heard of the 'Red-Eye remote translator' (http://www.redremote.co.uk/) which can be used with a compatible remote and standard IR sender.

I personally fancy the DigiEye with a second NTL remote, but . . .

Q3.
Has anybody got experience of either of these remote extenders?

Q4.
And finally, if I go on to eBay to buy a second NTL remote, which type do I need for my DI 4000-N?



--
I used to be confused, now I'm just not sure . . .

Q1 - yes. They are on different UHF channels to broadcast, and you may need to change the STB UHF output channel if combining with the STB UHF output to avoid interference. You might try asking NTL for an extarnal bypass unit - I don't kow if they still supply these.

Q2 - if all you want is to pull the uhf off the cable feed, you can use standard splitters (e.g. Maplin QQ69A) - 2 of these can often also be used to do an external bypass, depending on signal level.

Q3 - either would work - see the question "All I want to do is control my Pace STB from another room... " on the Red-Eye FAQ page for pros and cons of each solution. Red-Eye is likely to be more reliable, but then I would say that as it's my product - there are comments from other users on this forum, as well as forums at Digitalspy.co.uk and remotecentral.com.
The Philips OnDigital remote for use with Red-Eye goes for 5-10 quid on ebay, and can also control TV and VCR basic functions. Only the new style NTL remote will do TV control.


Q4 - You need the black NTL remote - either the old type with the round glow-in-the-dark OK button, or the new style (pics at top of front page of on red-eye site)

[deewee]

Mike,
Thank you for your clear and concise answers. It's nice to hear about the RedEye translator from the horses mouth so to speak.

Armed with your info I shall investigate further. Maplins here I come!

[deewee]

Just to follow up my previous post, everything was overtaken by events.

I found silver ntl/telewest remote controls on eBay for £2.50!! So decided to go down the digiEye route rather than RedEye.

I didn't need the extra functionality of a programmable remote, and the silver one also controls TV volume.

Sorry Mike!! but I'm sure your product is also v. good. :o

My problem of getting RF signals via the cable connection was solved by a VERY HELPFUL forum member!

Thanks Ntltech32 it's really good to get help when you need it.

[ntltech32]

Originally Posted by deewee

Just to follow up my previous post, everything was overtaken by events.

I found silver ntl/telewest remote controls on eBay for £2.50!! So decided to go down the digiEye route rather than RedEye.

I didn't need the extra functionality of a programmable remote, and the silver one also controls TV volume.

Sorry Mike!! but I'm sure your product is also v. good. :o

My problem of getting RF signals via the cable connection was solved by a VERY HELPFUL forum member!

Thanks Ntltech32 it's really good to get help when you need it.

Thank you deewee! it was no problem at all !! if you nee anything else do let me know =) happy to be of service !!!