PIP with a cable box?

[Mr. Laz]

i got a time warner cable box(decoder)

television has picture in picture


the PIP doesn't work because the cable box messes with it (according to time warner)

anyway around this?


thanks

[KCTitus]

a second tuner (cable box)

[morphius]

Either you need two boxes, or you run a splitter before the box and you have regular cabe going in on one tuner and the digital on the other.

But those stupid digital boxes don't work with two tuner one input PiP. Why is beyond me and is one of the reasons I have refused to switch.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by morphius

or you run a splitter before the box and you have regular cabe going in on one tuner and the digital on the other.

This is what I had to do.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

This is what I had to do.

I have wondered if the cable card technology fixed this issue or not, but haven't read up anything on it.

[keg in kc]

Laz, my remote for my Cable Box (also TWC) has a PiP button on it, that the cable box itself does, rather than my TV doing it. Maybe it's because I have digital cable, I don't know, but it works fine. I didn't have to split or anything.


This is the box I have, fwiw, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR:

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Laz, my remote for my Cable Box (also TWC) has a PiP button on it, that the cable box itself does, rather than my TV doing it. Maybe it's because I have digital cable, I don't know, but it works fine. I didn't have to split or anything.


This is the box I have, fwiw, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR:

I have the same cable box and yes, the PIP provided by the cable box does work without splitting the signal. BUT, my 50" big screen has split screen viewing rather than PIP, a nice feature for the upcoming football season. I had to install a splitter, one feeding the cable box and the other feeding the coax input on the TV in order for the split screen to work.

[keg in kc]

That certainly makes sense. So, would you then be able to do split screen and then have the PiP window as well?

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

That certainly makes sense. So, would you then be able to do split screen and then have the PiP window as well?

Yes, I have both now. I'm really looking forward to the split screen during football season. I can even have one half in HDTV and the other regular cable.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

That certainly makes sense. So, would you then be able to do split screen and then have the PiP window as well?

Ooooh, I wonder if I can do a PIP inside one of the split screen windows?

Maybe that's what you meant in the first place?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Maybe that's what you meant in the first place?

Yeah, that was the idea.

[Mr. Laz]

thanks for the info guys...


i guess they don't really WANT it to work, they would rather have you pay extra for the special box.

[mcan]

Originally Posted by Laz

thanks for the info guys...


i guess they don't really WANT it to work, they would rather have you pay extra for the special box.

I don't think it's that...

The issue here is the type of signal that is being sent from the box to your tv. A coax/cable signal direct from a wall has a big signal with several channels on it. Each channel is assigned a wavelength. Then your TV (when you punch in the channel) filters out that specific wavelength. But the thing is, they are all right there in your TV.

When you have a cable box, the box filters out the right signal and send JUST that signal to your TV. So, if you have P-I-P on your TV it doesn't have that second channel to show you. (having already been filtered out by the box). But, if the P-I-P is on your cable box, it will send the appropriate two signals to your television. Splitting it again (like Keg was talking about) would require that your cable box send all three signals to your TV first. I'm guessing you would need a second box.


If enough people complain, or send in the suggestions, it wouldn't be too hard for a company to build a box that sends more than one signal. In fact, cable companies are always looking for ways to make THEIR product better than everybody else's. So, I would imagine that if you suggested it, there would be a version out in a year or less. The fact is, they are running out of ideas, and nobody ever cares about watching three shows at one time on their regular tv... Football viewers are pretty unique when it comes to stuff like that...


hope that helps...

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

That certainly makes sense. So, would you then be able to do split screen and then have the PiP window as well?

I tried this over the weekend and yes, it will work. I was watching the Masters in HDTV on one half of the screen and the Royals on the other. I was able to bring up a PIP on the Masters screen as well.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by mcan

I don't think it's that...

Your explanation is part of it. But the reason you only get one signal from the box is because it's digital cable. The old analog cable signal was compatible with the TV tuner, NTSC I think it is. So if you had a cable ready TV you might not even need the box, unless you had scrambled premium channels.
Digital cable sends out a decrypted signal that is not compatible with anything but [I'm guessing] channel 3/4 on the TV Tuner. The channel 4,5, 9 of the old analog days is nothing like the 4,5,9 of the digital cable box.
So you'd need the ability not only to decrypt and send two digital channels, but to assign those channels back to NTSC/analog UHF/VHF nomenclature. If that distinction makes sense.
Count yourself lucky. My HD Dish receiver only has S-Vid/Component/DVI outputs. No Coax out at all, which means I have to split my antenna to go into the satellite for OTA-HD content and into the TV for OTA-SD content. And I can no longer send my Satellite signal back to the computer through the miles of Coax I installed in the basement rafters last year.