Directv Box Connections

[Solittle]

I am in the confusing land of connecting a satellite Directv to my new HDTV and VCR/VHS combo. The wife wants to be able to record one channel on VHS tape and watch another. So I am looking for the GURU who knows the ins & outs of this stuff. If anyone would care to step up to the plate I will follow with the detail of what I have & what I want to do.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Directv Box Connections

If you have a basic Directv dish and reciever, with a single LNB and a single coax cable to the dish, you will not be able to watch one/record another.


The basic receiver can only select and output one channel signal.
dish - coax - receiver - vcr/dvd - tv.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Directv Box Connections

That is what I sorta thought.

What do I need then? If I exchanged the basic Directv receiver with the one with the disk drive could I record one channel and watch another? - - Also what is an LBN?

 

[PierBridge]

Re: Directv Box Connections

Definitely call Direc TV and tell them you want a DVR "TIVO" you won't be sorry and the little woman will be in heaven.

 

[i386]

Re: Directv Box Connections

We've got the DirecTV receiver with Tivo. Our dish has the dual LNB. With that, you can record one channel while watching another. You can also copy your recorded material over to VCR later. You may be able to copy it to a DVD burner too but I'm not sure about that.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: Directv Box Connections

- - Also what is an LBN?

Low Noise Block-downconvertor (so called because it converts a whole band or "block" of frequencies to a lower band).

An LNB sits on the end of an arm and faces the parabolic reflector ("dish") which focusses the signals from a satellite 24,000 miles away into the "feed horn" of the LNB (see pictures below).

The LNB converts the signals to a lower frequency and sends them out to the cable connector, which you connect to your satellite receiver via coaxial cable.

 

[DaleT]

Re: Directv Box Connections

You can transfer it to dvd, after recording to a set top dvr, thats what I do on a digital cable signal, but if your dvd burner is housed in a computer you will need some sort of video capture device, be it a card or some other way, there are surprisingly many. The V.C. card is the easiest way to go. Essentially you will be creating a P.V.R. (personal video recorder) on your computer and then converting it to a dvd, you will need a rather large hard disc as the space required to record the "shows" will need to be free. What I do is record them to a hard drive then burn them then "erase/delete" them from the hard disc. I haven't done this with any type of satelite signal but i assume the process is relatively the same as recording from my set top dvr box. Also the programs sometimes need to be compressed to fit on a dvd. If you search for pvr to dvd recordings you will find a wealth of info. Also, I will try to answer any questions you have. However, I don't really check in here but once every couple weeks. Best of luck.

Dale