TV Switching

[Dennis Crawford]

Folks,  This will be a long post.  I have a friend with a Country Coach.  He still has the analog TV and does not want to switch it just yet.  He has a fairly sophisticated video switch box.  His satellite is fed directly to the TV and works fine.  The output from this switch is one cable going to the TV.  If he uses TV, the output cable goes to the converter box and then to the back of the TV.  This also works fine.  If he is in a situation where satellite is not working and the campground has cable, this is where the trouble begins.  If he selects cable on the switch box....of course the only output is going to the converter box and then to the TV; we have a problem.  I am pretty good at this, but can only think of splitters and switches.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dennis

[Edward Buker]

You could try a two set splitter in reverse after the converter box. Take the cable feed and put it on one of the two positions and the converter box on the other. The TV gets the single side what was an input now used as an output. When using the cable feed turn off the converter box power so there is no converter box channel feed when using cable.

Later Ed

[Joel Weiss]

With more and more CG's going to digital cable he's going to come up against situations in which the CG's signal needs to go through his converter box and some where it doesn't.  You can't simply assume that the cable signal doesn't need a convert.

It's going to be a nuisance because no single cable approach will work all the time (not unless he wants to add buttons for other situations) and he won't know what the situation is until he connects and tries to use it.

IMHO it's time to buy a new TV.  Digital TV's have been on the market for nearly a decade; they're no longer expensive so it's easier to to switch than wrestle with these sorts of problems, JMO.

[Joel Ashley]

He could consider getting a Pass-through converter box.  It can pass an analog NTSC signal straight through to the TV, and may be a solution, though I wish I could gaurantee it in your friend's configuration.  The Dish Network DTV Pal would be a good option if it is still available.  I have it on the bedroom TV in the coach.  

This Philco is the one I put in my coach in 2008 for the 32" analog Sharp in the front cap, and I've had no problems getting available signals from any source:   http://www.amazon.com/Philco-TB100HH9-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B000YC8NYY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_4    .   The automatic pass-through may be one reason why.  Shop around first.

Admittedly, if it didn't cost thousands to convert our cabinets (been there, priced that), I'd just as soon chuck the extra converter remote in favor of an ATSC 36-40" 1080p Smart TV.

-Joel