RF Modulators....

N

nickbrace

Guest
Hey gang,

I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice as to how to use RF Modulators?

If you had a HDD/DVD Recorder without in-built RF Modulator then how would it work - ie, would the modulator come 'before' or 'after' the loop in and out of the machine? I am guessing that 'RF out' goes to the RF Modulator from the recorder and then from Modulator to wherever it was going in the first place???
 
I have to confess I have no idea what your last paragraph means. :confused: Anyway, you would feed the modulator with composite video and audio from the DVD recorder. You would take this from a SCART or phono output, as available... :cool:
 
nickbrace said:
Hey gang,

I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice as to how to use RF Modulators?

If you had a HDD/DVD Recorder without in-built RF Modulator then how would it work - ie, would the modulator come 'before' or 'after' the loop in and out of the machine? I am guessing that 'RF out' goes to the RF Modulator from the recorder and then from Modulator to wherever it was going in the first place???
The RF modulator would be connected to the DVD recorder / player via a scart (or phono's), and the RF input to it would be from the RF loop-through "out" on the DVD.

It could go before the DVD, but there would be no point in doing that, and its liable to partially block one of the DVD recorders channels if not carefully set up.

This is one type, but Maplin also sells them.

http://www.simplydigital.co.uk/acatalog/Leads.html?ref=www.kelkoo.co.uk
 
JB38 said:
The RF modulator would be connected to the DVD recorder / player via a scart (or phono's), and the RF input to it would be from the RF loop-through "out" on the DVD.

It could go before the DVD, but there would be no point in doing that, and its liable to partially block one of the DVD recorders channels if not carefully set up.

This is one type, but Maplin also sells them.

http://www.simplydigital.co.uk/acatalog/Leads.html?ref=www.kelkoo.co.uk

This makes sense to me - thanks.......so its simply the following:-

DVD Recorder>RF Modulator>TV or other units within loop........

If there is a RF out to the RF Modulator then why must it be scarted as well?
 
nickbrace said:
This makes sense to me - thanks.......so its simply the following:-

DVD Recorder>RF Modulator>TV or other units within loop........

If there is a RF out to the RF Modulator then why must it be scarted as well?

Because a scart using RGB or S-Video gives a much better pic quality, stereo sound and widescreen auto-switching
RF gives none of these.
 
nickbrace said:
This makes sense to me - thanks.......so its simply the following:-

DVD Recorder>RF Modulator>TV or other units within loop........

If there is a RF out to the RF Modulator then why must it be scarted as well?

Why do you need an RF modulator if you already have RF out?

A modulator transforms a video signal from a source such as a DVD player or VCR via the scart socket or phono sockets to an RF signal via an aerial lead.

If your DVD player/Recorder only has an RF loop through i.e. you pass through your normal aerial lead but it doesn't output a signal from your DVD player then to get a signal via the aerial lead you need a modulator but you need an input signal from your scart or phono sockets.

Regards,

Martin
 
whatdoiknow said:
Why do you need an RF modulator if you already have RF out?

I think from another thread he has a DVDR without an RF mod and he needs to feed a remote TV.
No doubt he'll report back.
 
nickbrace said:
This makes sense to me - thanks.......so its simply the following:-

DVD Recorder>RF Modulator>TV or other units within loop........

If there is a RF out to the RF Modulator then why must it be scarted as well?
There isn't an RF out to the modulator, as only VCR's have modulators.

The modulator has two RF sockets for the aerial to loopthrough plus "inject" the new modulated frequency into the RF out socket, exactly the same as Digiboxes do.
 
whatdoiknow said:
Why do you need an RF modulator if you already have RF out?

A modulator transforms a video signal from a source such as a DVD player or VCR via the scart socket or phono sockets to an RF signal via an aerial lead.

If your DVD player/Recorder only has an RF loop through i.e. you pass through your normal aerial lead but it doesn't output a signal from your DVD player then to get a signal via the aerial lead you need a modulator but you need an input signal from your scart or phono sockets.

Regards,

Martin

JayCee replied very well for me already :D He was quite right in that I am getting a dvd recorder without RF Modulator installed and I am feeding all the TV's upstairs (via amp), hence I must have an RF Modulator of some sort, ie - internal or external...

Thanks for your reply and help.
 
A person cannot really choose whether to get a DVD recorder fitted with with a modulator or not, as none have them, that was purely something fitted as standard in the VCR's domain, which unfortunately seems to have gone by the wayside in DVD equipment, possibly to save costs, but people will still want to watch a DVD on a 14" bedroom mono-TV just the same as they would from a VCR etc.

This may of course be understood, and I am possibly misinterpreting the explanation of what was meant!
 
JB38 said:
A person cannot really choose whether to get a DVD recorder fitted with with a modulator or not, as none have them, that was purely something fitted as standard in the VCR's domain, which unfortunately seems to have gone by the wayside in DVD equipment, possibly to save costs, but people will still want to watch a DVD on a 14" bedroom mono-TV just the same as they would from a VCR etc.

This may of course be understood, and I am possibly misinterpreting the explanation of what was meant!

No you are wrong dude - all the Panasonics have RF Modulators and also the top 2 Sony's - 710/910 I think they call them?!

There is a third make with RF Modulators on some of them but I cannot for the life of me remember the make!!!
 
JB38 said:
A person cannot really choose whether to get a DVD recorder fitted with with a modulator or not, as none have them, that was purely something fitted as standard in the VCR's domain, which unfortunately seems to have gone by the wayside in DVD equipment, possibly to save costs, but people will still want to watch a DVD on a 14" bedroom mono-TV just the same as they would from a VCR etc.

This may of course be understood, and I am possibly misinterpreting the explanation of what was meant!

Panasonic DVDRs have an RF modulator but it is switched off by default.
 
JayCee said:
Panasonic DVDRs have an RF modulator but it is switched off by default.

Thats what I love about this forum - I have done loads of research on the EH-60 (Panasonic) and I didnt know that, so you have to go into the menu and switch it on once it all plugged in? Why on earth would they have it turned off by default, ie - who would want it turned off???
 
nickbrace said:
Thats what I love about this forum - I have done loads of research on the EH-60 (Panasonic) and I didnt know that, so you have to go into the menu and switch it on once it all plugged in?

Just press and hold "Functions" for 5 secs, use up/down arrow to select channel and "Enter" to store.

nickbrace said:
Why on earth would they have it turned off by default, ie - who would want it turned off???

Someone who wants the best possible picture and stereo sound.:cool:
 
nickbrace said:
JayCee replied very well for me already :D He was quite right in that I am getting a dvd recorder without RF Modulator installed and I am feeding all the TV's upstairs (via amp), hence I must have an RF Modulator of some sort, ie - internal or external...

Thanks for your reply and help.

Hi Nick,

In a previous post you asked why would the RF modulator need to be scarted I assumed you meant from the DVD recorder as the RF modulator transforms a video and audio signal to an RF signal so you would need to connect from the DVD recorder to the modulator by scart to phono I assume, as my RF modulator is, then take the RF signal out to booster/splitter then you can feed all around the house as I do.

Anyway glad your sorted. :clap:

Regards,

Martin
 
whatdoiknow said:
Hi Nick,

In a previous post you asked why would the RF modulator need to be scarted I assumed you meant from the DVD recorder as the RF modulator transforms a video and audio signal to an RF signal so you would need to connect from the DVD recorder to the modulator by scart to phono I assume, as my RF modulator is, then take the RF signal out to booster/splitter then you can feed all around the house as I do.

Anyway glad your sorted. :clap:

Regards,

Martin

Yep - I did mean from the DVD Recorder, nice to hear from someone who will do the same as me (thats if I dont get the Panasonic with inbuilt modulator!).

Thanks

Nick
 
I have 2x Sony RDR-HXD710 DVD/HDD recorders in my loft, feeding the whole house. Each machine is connected to a seperate RF modulator via it's video & audio phono sockets.







The RF modulator are £29.99 each here

Because these are dedicated modulators, they are better quality than what is fitted to an average vcr.

In case anyone is wondering, both machines are also connected via RGB scart - feeding the lounge & main bedroom tvs. Having them in the loft gives them a cleaner feed from the aerial, which is only 1 metre away.
 
I have 2x Sony RDR-HXD710 DVD/HDD recorders in my loft
I'd be a bit concerned about the wide range of temperatures and the humidity you can get in a loft. The spec in the manual probably specifies limits. You could mount a max/min thermometer alongside the recorders to keep an eye on the temperature. Monitoring the humidity isn't quite so easy. I would be tempted to 'push' the recorders through the loft floor into a bedroom (preferably north-facing), so they're in a friendlier environment. The cabling could all come down from and go back up into the loft.

Neat installation by the way.
 
If you must use a rf modulator, don't forget all vcr's have these as standard, and even if the heads are worn out on an old machine you can still pass through a scart signal in video quality and achieve an RF out from the vcr which will be as good as most convertors.

I use one to feed a freeview box output in the lounge around all the other sets in the house as it does not have an rf out. Also allows me to record widescreen to video on the odd occasion when the dvd recorder is recording from the skybox.
 
maldonian said:
I'd be a bit concerned about the wide range of temperatures and the humidity you can get in a loft. The spec in the manual probably specifies limits. You could mount a max/min thermometer alongside the recorders to keep an eye on the temperature. Monitoring the humidity isn't quite so easy. I would be tempted to 'push' the recorders through the loft floor into a bedroom (preferably north-facing), so they're in a friendlier environment. The cabling could all come down from and go back up into the loft.

Neat installation by the way.

Not to mention the insects and dust !
 
Nick_UK said:
Not to mention the insects and dust !

There's actually very little dust (if any) in our loft, and I've yet to find a creepy crawley up there.

I used to have 2x Tivos in the loft - hence the twin telephone socket. When I took the lid off these machines to replace the hard drives, there was no dust inside whatsoever.

It's rare that I need to copy onto disc, but yeah it's a bit of a chore climbing up a ladder to do so.
 

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