Using MCE with a satellite TV signal...

[Fraggable]

We just got satellite TV here and I'm trying to figure out how to set it up on my MCE laptop.

I have a HP Expresscard tuner that came with my laptop - I don't think it does QAM, whatever that is. It's not a HD tuner.

They set it up with one set-top box for 2 TVs. One of them is on the ground floor (the one with the set-top box), the other is in my room on the second floor. My TV communicates through the coax cable to the set top box, maybe a 100 foot cable. The image quality is not what I expected, this might be why.

I tried to plug the coax cable into my laptop's tuner, but it didn't find a signal. Is QAM why?

I tune my TV to channel 60 to get the satellite signal. If I manually set up my TV signal in MCE, it only gives me the option to tune to 2,3,and 4. Maybe that's why it can't find it?

Ideas? I can have a second box set up for another $6 a month if you think it would help the image quality any, but the signal's still going to have to travel the 100' coax to get to the box in my room.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

is a splitter used on the coax, or is the other tv connected with RCA plugs? did you perform the cable installation yourself, or did the sat installer do it?

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, QAM64, QAM256, VSB-8- modulation schemes used to transport digital video streams. no this isn't a concern for you, the sat box is spitting out NTSC CH 3/4. that CH 60 business tells me your tv's tuner may not be long for this world.

you definately have low levels reaching your room. too low for the computer, just enough for the analog tv to cling to it's remnants. even under ideal conditions, you'll have a weak signal to tune to (2-way splitter -4 dBmV, quad-shielded RG-6 -1.7 dBmV / 100'. call it a loss of 6 dB. that means best case scenario the final output is 25% of the input power, and it's likely yours is not a best case scenario). look for loose or damaged connectors and any damae to the cable. if that doesn't do it, look into a dual LNB installation (1 dish, 2 separate boxes) and have a new cable installed.

i don't simply suggest you get an amp because 1) garbage in, garbage out 2) it's tough to find a decent one 3) the purchase price of an iffy amp can go towards the installation instead.

 

[Fraggable]

The way the cable runs is this:

1 coax cable comes in the wall on the ground floor at TV1 - there is a splitter on it. The coax cable runs in one end, the other end has 2 inputs and the second TV runs into the second input. This means that the cable that comes in the wall is carrying the signal from the satellite as well as the signal up to my room.

I didn't do the installation and I wasn't there when it was done. If we had a second box set up for my room, they would charge $6 a month. That's fine with me if it will improve quality. Would they need to run a new cable for that? The other thing I don't like about the current setup is that channels take a while to change on TV2, but they don't on TV1.

My tuner probably isn't the limitation on my laptop, it's MCE that wants to find the signal on channel 2,3 or 4. I can't make the satellite box change the channel to any of those 3, it only goes down to channel 27. Another benefit I would have from getting a second box.