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From: jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland)
Newsgroups: net.video
Subject: Re: Laser and Vcr stuff
Message-ID: <391@tekcbi.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Nov-85 19:18:36 EST
Article-I.D.: tekcbi.391
Posted: Wed Nov  6 19:18:36 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 21:58:09 EST
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Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 58



Will says:
> 
> I would say yes. The signals they get to record. If you don't have
> cable, off-the-air signals are often too poor to be worth recording. 

Not where I live.  In eastside Portland, we are served by Rogers cablesystems
(Basically a Canadian company with franchises around the U.S.).  They
use the Zenith Z-TAC converter box.  The video is noisy and sometimes
not watchable.  I have an excellent picture off my outside antenna and
prefer it to cable for watching the locals.  And the cable company tells
me that I have a good signal level.

> I live in St.
> Louis city, and get ghosts and color flicking in and out on just about
> all channels, using both an attic antenna, coax fed, and rabbit ears.

What is your antenna doing in the attic.  I am not surprised that you have
ghosts and problems.  Put it outside above your roof where it belongs
and you will probably see some improvement.  Attics are for insulation,
house wiring, pipes(exhaust vents), spiders, and other bugs.  not antennas.
Who knows what reflections and attenuations you are getting from your
attic.   

>
> 
> I understand from people who have cable (not due in my area for some
> years yet) that it is no magic solution to these problems, either.
> Cable signals are often poor, also.

And then Ken says:

>Cable signals also are often too poor to be worth recording.  I have an
>A/B switch on all of my equipment because my antenna receives excellent
>signals, but the cable is true garbage.  I am at the end of about 20 miles
>of coax with  knows how many amplifiers and  knows
>how many taps, each introducing noise or echoes.  

See above.  I understand the problem for me may be in the Zenith box.  
Everything is scrambled.  When you select a channel, it determines if
you have paid for it and then descrambles it and demodulates audio and
video.  then they remodulate it to CH3 or CH4.  If they supplied you with
audio and video out it would not look bad.  However, The Zenith modulator
seems to be a piece of cheap junk.  Anybody else have this problem with
Zenith Z-TAC???  Because our system is two way interactive, there are no
repeaters or amps between the front end and myself - 15 miles by crow,
who knows by cable???  Doesn't seem to matter as people within one mile
of headend have same problem.

>
>That is why I had looked forward to DBS!  Think of it; a quality signal
>beamed directly to your home, without the thousands of echoes 

Ah yes, satellite TV.  Actually the best quality signal you can get    
for broadcast.  Nice until they are all scrambled.

jim