[TelstraClear] Using Telstra cable for TV reception

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pwapwap

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Master Geek

#16769 26-Oct-2007 19:15

I have heard that you can plug your TV into TCL's cable and get great FTA TV reception (there is a hill between us and the TV transmitter and we get poor reception).

I was wondering if anyone knows if this is true, and if it is how easy it is to split the cable signal (I know that the cable runs directly under where our TV is on its way to our office where our cable modem sits).

I have always been good at cabling - but I have never worked with Coax before.

The otehr question is - If you can get TV reception through telstra cable - will the freeview terretrial signal come through when that all comes in march next year?

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Biddle Corp

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#92607 26-Oct-2007 20:09

Yes the FTA channels are carried unscrambled over the cable and you can plug this into a TV and receive the channels.

If your only service you receive from TCL is a cable modem then I would strongly urge you not to contemplate trying to split the cable yourself. Cable modems are quite sensitive to signal strength and you risk causing yourself dropouts or slower speeds if the cable modem signal level is lower than desired.

You also run the risk of injecting RF interference back into the TCL network if you use inappropiate coax (ie TCL only use quad shielded) and incorrect connectors. If you do this TCL will hunt you down.

mikeoneil

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Wannabe Geek

#92831 29-Oct-2007 08:01

I have just completed this process myself and it was pretty straight forward. DSE have the right coax that they advertise as the one used by telstra. They also have the hand tool for prepping the end of the cable for the connectors that DSE also sell (solderless ones also used by telstra) in packs of 4.

I took the cable for the TV back to the point where the Cable comes in from the street and put in a cable splitter right next to the termination point. Disconected the cable to the PC cable modem there, connected it to the splitter, then connected the splitter to the termination point.

By the time I got out from under the house and went to chect the PC, the cable modem was bck on line.

The TV cjannels on the Cable are on a different Mhz on the cable.

approx
TV1 113
TV2 120
TV3 127
C4 204
Maori 554
Prime 190
Christian 281
Weather 148

Unfortunately I cant find Trackside. Perhaps this is just not there?

Signal is much better for me compared to via arial on roof as I always get rain fade / weather interuptions for most of my channels .

Good luck

sbiddle

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#92841 29-Oct-2007 09:09

mikeoneil: I have just completed this process myself and it was pretty straight forward. DSE have the right coax that they advertise as the one used by telstra. They also have the hand tool for prepping the end of the cable for the connectors that DSE also sell (solderless ones also used by telstra) in packs of 4.

I took the cable for the TV back to the point where the Cable comes in from the street and put in a cable splitter right next to the termination point. Disconected the cable to the PC cable modem there, connected it to the splitter, then connected the splitter to the termination point.

DSE don't have quad shield RG6 - all of their RG6 is only double shielded. Those 4pk screw on RG6 connectors are also extremely poor quality and are not approved and are not the ones used by TCL which are RG6 radial connectors.

People just don't realise the implications of effectively hacking TCL's system..I'm not saying that your wiring is dodgy in any way and that it will cause problems but even something as simple as your screw on connectors shorting out or RF interference bleeding into your cable has the ability to cause problems to every customer on your node.

bcourtney

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#92845 29-Oct-2007 09:37

sbiddle: People just don't realise the implications of effectively hacking TCL's system..I'm not saying that your wiring is dodgy in any way and that it will cause problems but even something as simple as your screw on connectors shorting out or RF interference bleeding into your cable has the ability to cause problems to every customer on your node.

And if that node is the node that I'm on, then I will hunt you down!!

pwapwap

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Master Geek

#92863 29-Oct-2007 11:19

OK, as there seem to be people who don't like me doing this, are there contractors that I can use to do it for me?

I guess that ther ain't much point anyway as I will have to get goo reception via my roof for freeview anyway.

Does anyone know of good aerial contractors in wellington?

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#92890 29-Oct-2007 13:48

Get sky installed and they'll stick a dish in, use that till you can cancel it, then use a freeview STB

Curiously, I have an unused dish as i'm on TCL, I wonder if there is a market for unused dishes now...

pwapwap

103 posts

Master Geek

#92898 29-Oct-2007 14:15

Waiting for land based. Want HD :)
Going t use my HTPC as a tuner

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Nety

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#92901 29-Oct-2007 14:30

The sky dish sitting on your roof is still owned by Sky and they reserve the right to come and take it away if they wish. So if you sold it you would be selling stolen property.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

pwapwap

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Master Geek

#92950 29-Oct-2007 17:43

The sky dish on my roof is abandoned property.

mikeoneil

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#93003 30-Oct-2007 07:27

bcourtney:
sbiddle: People just don't realise the implications of effectively hacking TCL's system..I'm not saying that your wiring is dodgy in any way and that it will cause problems but even something as simple as your screw on connectors shorting out or RF interference bleeding into your cable has the ability to cause problems to every customer on your node.

And if that node is the node that I'm on, then I will hunt you down!!

I dont recall the Telstra Clear technician doing any testing for RF interference on the cable he installed from the house entry point or the components he installed or even testing the cable connections. I defy anyone to show me a differnce in quality between the connectors supplied by DSE and those used by Telstra. All both parties do is source them from an international supplier (who is probably the same for both) and DSE simply add packaging. The criticism of DSE components sounds a bit like someone who has an interest in protectionism.

What on earth does "hunt me down " mean? I take that as a threat. Where is the moderator?

lurker

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#93008 30-Oct-2007 07:54

mikeoneil:
bcourtney: ...

And if that node is the node that I'm on, then I will hunt you down!!

....

What on earth does "hunt me down " mean? I take that as a threat. Where is the moderator?

I think the winking smiley indicates he's joking...

freitasm

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#93009 30-Oct-2007 08:20

mikeoneil:
bcourtney:

And if that node is the node that I'm on, then I will hunt you down!!

... components sounds a bit like someone who has an interest in protectionism.

What on earth does "hunt me down " mean? I take that as a threat. Where is the moderator?

Take what sbiddle says about components as a good advice, not protectionism. He doesn't have any interest on TelstraClear or DSE.

As for the "threat" it is a joke, meaning that if you do things like this you are risking bringing problems to everyone on that network node.

sbiddle

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#93012 30-Oct-2007 08:58

mikeoneil:
bcourtney:
sbiddle: People just don't realise the implications of effectively hacking TCL's system..I'm not saying that your wiring is dodgy in any way and that it will cause problems but even something as simple as your screw on connectors shorting out or RF interference bleeding into your cable has the ability to cause problems to every customer on your node.

And if that node is the node that I'm on, then I will hunt you down!!

I dont recall the Telstra Clear technician doing any testing for RF interference on the cable he installed from the house entry point or the components he installed or even testing the cable connections. I defy anyone to show me a differnce in quality between the connectors supplied by DSE and those used by Telstra. All both parties do is source them from an international supplier (who is probably the same for both) and DSE simply add packaging. The criticism of DSE components sounds a bit like someone who has an interest in protectionism.

I don't have any interest in DSE or TCL whatsoever. I do have a pretty good knowledge of TCL's network and of issues that have caused problems in the past and am merely pointing out the problems that can easily occur with DIY wiring modifications.

I am assuming you purchased screw on F connectors from DSE rather than radial compression connectors? Screw on connectors are considered by most people to be very poor quality and don't offer the same level of quality and protection from RF ingress that compression F connectors offer, hence TCL (and Sky) only use compression connectors for all their F connectors.

Whoever installed your cable (whether it be Astute, TCL or one of their other installers) also do perform signal checks with a handheld meter on every jackpoint that is installed.

If you're just hooking up a TV aerial on your roof up to your TV then issues such as RF ingress aren't necessarily going to cause problems. The piece of cable running through your house is directly connected to the coax that supplies the whole node in your area, any wiring issues have the potential to cause huge problems particularly with the cable modem platform.

ZollyMonsta

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#93013 30-Oct-2007 09:14

lurker: ....

I think the winking smiley indicates he's joking...

Yes, but TCL management and employees are watching this thread...

gwoollett

27 posts

Geek

#93021 30-Oct-2007 09:44

My Mum had TCL Analog pay TV. I remember being rather unimpressed by the picture quality. Maybe it was TCLs way of getting people to go digital...
I got her set up with freeview instead. It's not worth the risk screwing up TCL's cable network for an inferior picture.

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