atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Digital Cable TV

The client has a motel that presently has analogue cable TV.

When he called the company to have 2 extra telephone lines, they stated that within a year they're going to have to change to a digital TV system anyways, so the company wants to push him into converting the whole motel now.

They of course don't do this for free. The new digital decoders will cost him $3.00 per room. He only wants 3 decoders (2 for his residence and 1 for his son's apartment).

The regular rooms don't need to have all the channels, just the basic ones.

I know that my mother has 1 digital decoder and gets all the channels that she wants in the living room, but has 2 other TV's that don't have the decoder and that suits her fine.

Is there a way to push the analogue signal to his 12 remaining rooms?

Tell Mr. Patel it's time to replace those 15 year old TVs with new ones. They have tuners that are capable of handling the digital signals.

-Hal

I only subscribe to basic cable so I use my HD TV tuners. They also get the unlisted QAM channels!

I also have one basic Comcast converter that was provided at no cost for my last analog TV. But that converter is the channel changer and that means the only analog signal you could extend would be the one that the converter is tuned to.

If $45 per month is going to break Mr. Patel, he surely has many more things to worry about!

Like Hal said, time to upgrade those TVs. I'm sure if he went to a place that has commission-based salesmen, he could surely cut a deal for 15 units.

Perhaps the other problem he will face is if his existing coax is of satisfactory quality or RG59.

There are ways to take say a dozen popular channels off the cable, convert them onto analog channels 2 through 12 and put them on the existing system. But that's going to cost quite a bit and you know how Mr Patel is. Probably cheaper to buy new TVs. I also don't think much of putting set top boxes in each room. Kinda tough to nail down. I don't know what to say about the existing wiring without seeing it and the system. I'm leaning towards thinking that if it is working now it should be fine since digital is pretty forgiving.

-Hal

Has the idea of satellite TV been entertained? One antenna and the proper equipment, he can offer the same service he has now without a STB at each TV. His existing coax will work fine. The upfront cost will be about the same as with the cable company, but his monthly fee will be less. We have several hotels/motels around here that have this kind of arrangement and the reason they went this way was to be able to use in place equipment and just add head equipment.

Rcaman

This is easy and is done by many hotel chains.

You use the same set-up as you would if you were installing Directv or Dish, but instead of the Sat receivers you use digital to analog converters with each set to a different channel that you want to offer. Good part of this method is use can still use old RG-59 cabling from the equipment closet to each room. Down side is it's as expensive as adding Sat, but without the roof dish.

To know about the latest in antenna technology checkout https://sydneyantennas.com.au/

That is what I was describing but if I know Mr. Patel he isn't looking to part with a dime.


Yeah well maybe the latest for you. I had a company like that back in the 80s. Then cable took over and then the government outlawed using the airwaves for TV so no more antennas. You are supposed to pay the cable and sat companies who in turn donate to the politician's campaign funds. Ain't America wonderful?

-Hal

The problem with a headend style system is that it needs one tuner per channel. These work great when you have hundreds of rooms, but for a 12 room motel I can't possibly see a cost justification. You would end up using more boxes to build your headend than if you just put in one box per room.

So yes, you can send analog to the rooms, but it is going to cost a lot more than just paying the cable company $36 per month.