Vu+ 4k SE: channels missing and crashes too

[digitl]

Can you please draw a diagram showing all the cabling, receivers and TVs connected to the satellite signal directly.You said you had 8 cables from the multi switch, I'd like to see where they go. Please also include the unicable one. I would like to know if it goes near the multi switch.

The outlets for the cables, are they diplex plates or just f plug sockets.

Sorry, I've been out all day so I'm afraid the diagram is very much a quick sketch. All of the feeds from the multiswitch terminate in triplexer plates. The Unicable goes directly to A on the FBC tuner. The Zgemmas are on the same gigabit LAN as the Vu+. The dishes are around a metre away from each other.

Have I given you what you asked for? Does it help?

 

[abu baniaz]

I was looking for the rooms too so that I could see where the 8 wires go. I am guessing that you have two wires going to 4 rooms.

 

[digitl]

I was looking for the rooms too so that I could see where the 8 wires go. I am guessing that you have two wires going to 4 rooms.

Ah, each wire goes to a different room. The only one that has two (plus the Unicable) is the Living Room. When I ran them I ran them to cover as many rooms as I could and used triplexer plates to future-proof them. For that reason, other than the Living Room, only three other rooms, two downstairs and one upstairs, have a device on the end of them.

 

[abu baniaz]

Please redraw the diagram indicating wires so I don't make a hash of this by guessing. Also state which outlets make use of the Aerial and Satellite, which just use aerial

Depending on your cabling, you can:
Use the Zgemmas with just one tuner for satellite. They can use fallback tuner if they run out.
Feed the unicable signal back up a cable and resplit it without having getting extra multi-switch. You will just need splitters.
Add a unicable switch to where the other one is and send the signal out.

 

[digitl]

Please redraw the diagram indicating wires so I don't make a hash of this by guessing. Also state which outlets make use of the Aerial and Satellite, which just use aerial

Depending on your cabling, you can:
Use the Zgemmas with just one tuner for satellite. They can use fallback tuner if they run out.
Feed the unicable signal back up a cable and resplit it without having getting extra multi-switch. You will just need splitters.
Add a unicable switch to where the other one is and send the signal out.

Fingers crossed:
- All of the lines represent cables
- All of the outlets are triplexers and carry aerial and satellite but only the satellite connectors are used. None of the aerial connectors are used.
- It's been a long time since I installed the cabling but I'm fairly sure there is a cable back up to the multiswitch from behind the Vu+.

If the Unicable signal can be sent back up to the loft are you suggesting that an eight-way splitter in the loft could be used to feed into the current multiswitch and so provide feeds to both FBC and legacy tuners? If the cable to the loft exists, then that sound like a plan!

 

[abu baniaz]

> All of the outlets are triplexers and carry aerial and satellite but only the satellite connectors are used. None of the aerial connectors are used.

This does not make full sense with me. One of your picture shows you using the aerial connector.

Anyway, lets go with what you are saying...
If you are not using your aerial on the other devices, this is not the best option. I think you should not even consider it.

Use a splitter where the Vu+ is.
One wire will go to the VU.
One wire will go to where the splitter is.

Add another splitter there, and send to the other rooms where you want. You would then use more splitters to provide both Zgemma tuners with satellite signal.

It's a bad option and a waste of time. I shouldn't really have bothered with editing your diagram. You are better off just using the Zgemma with one satellite tuner enabled and one Aerial tuner. Enable the fallback tuner to use the Vu+ when required. The TVs can still use the aerial.

 

[abu baniaz]

The proper option was to replace the switch. There is no need at moment. See here as an example:
https://www.inverto.tv/multiswitch/...ut-and-4x-dcss-scr-legacy-terrestrial-outputs

 

[digitl]

> All of the outlets are triplexers and carry aerial and satellite but only the satellite connectors are used. None of the aerial connectors are used.

This does not make full sense with me. One of your picture shows you using the aerial connector.

Anyway, lets go with what you are saying...
If you are not using your aerial on the other devices, this is not the best option. I think you should not even consider it.

Use a splitter where the Vu+ is.
One wire will go to the VU.
One wire will go to where the splitter is.

Add another splitter there, and send to the other rooms where you want. You would then use more splitters to provide both Zgemma tuners with satellite signal.

It's a bad option and a waste of time. I shouldn't really have bothered with editing your diagram. You are better off just using the Zgemma with one satellite tuner enabled and one Aerial tuner. Enable the fallback tuner to use the Vu+ when required. The TVs can still use the aerial.

Sorry, long day, late at night, brain fade, I forgot the aerial connection to the Vu+. Though it's connected to the tuner, I only use the FBC tuners.

Just to be sure of what your diagram is telling me:

in the Living Room, disconnect the Unicable which connects the LNB to the Vu+, connect it to a 1 > 2 splitter, one output to the Vu+, the other connected to the unused cable from the multiswitch

in the Loft, disconnect the other end of the newly Unicable enabled cable from the multiswitch and connect it to a 1 > 3 splitter

disconnect the multiswitch > Bedroom 1 cable and attach it to one of the two splitter outputs

disconnect the multiswitch > Kitchen cable and attach it to one of the two splitter outputs

in Bedroom 1, connect the newly Unicable enabled cable to a 1 > 2 splitter and connect both outputs to the Zgemma

in the kitchen, connect the newly Unicable enabled cable to a 1 > 2 splitter and connect both outputs to the Zgemma
​

I don't mind doing all that and, to this currently-being-educated eye, it appears to offer the most complete option on each box but you say it's bad. Is there a significant signal loss with each splitter?

In terms of the cascade switch:

in the Living Room, disconnect the Unicable which connects the LNB to the Vu+, connect it to a 1 > 2 splitter, one output to the Vu+, the other connected to the unused cable from the multiswitch and, in the Loft, connect it to the cascade's Unicable input (I can't see one on the unit's illustration)

disconnect the Quattro and legacy feeds to the existing multiswitch and connect them instead to the cascade's inputs

reconnect the existing multiswitch to the cascade's Quattro and legacy outputs

connect the rooms needing the Unicable feed to the cascade's Unicable outputs, connect the other rooms to the multiswitch's legacy outputs.
​

Again, I'm more than willing to do whichever gives me the best, most flexible result. While I'm happy to learn, Management is a real technophobe and so all of this needs to be hidden/transparent. For her, it's a case of just turn the TV on, select a recording or live broadcast and watch!

Thanks yet again for your help and patience.

 

[abu baniaz]

I said it's a bad idea sending the unicable signal back up to the loft and then redistributing it. Sorry, if I didn't mention it before, but you would lose aerial signal unless you added diplexers in loft too. The TVs are connected to the aerial I presume.

To recap, my recommendation is: use existing hardware, use one satellite tuner and an aerial tuner on both Zgemmas. On both Zgemmas, add the fallback tuners to use the Vu+.

As an aside, you should really use the Aerial tuners on your receivers. With just one tuner, you can view and record all of BBC 1 HD, BBC 2 HD, ITV 1 HD, Ch 4 HD, Ch 5 HD. As well as stream to other devices.

 

[digitl]

I said it's a bad idea sending the unicable signal back up to the loft and then redistributing it. Sorry, if I didn't mention it before, but you would lose aerial signal unless you added diplexers in loft too. The TVs are connected to the aerial I presume.

To recap, my recommendation is: use existing hardware, use one satellite tuner and an aerial tuner on both Zgemmas. On both Zgemmas, add the fallback tuners to use the Vu+.

As an aside, you should really use the Aerial tuners on your receivers. With just one tuner, you can view and record all of BBC 1 HD, BBC 2 HD, ITV 1 HD, Ch 4 HD, Ch 5 HD. As well as stream to other devices.

Thanks for the recommendation. As you're now very aware, this technology is all very new to me but I'm willing to learn and that leads to some 'exploring' which led to me being interested in the cable to the loft options and getting as much as possible out of the Unicable signal and the FBC tuners without bothering about the effort or the cost.

All of our TVs have satellite connections so we never use the terrestrial signal. I only plugged it in on the Vu+ because the tuner was there but I haven't used it: if I had known what I know now when the Vu+ I would probably have opted for a second dual FBC card.

 

[abu baniaz]

Do you TVs support unicable or better still JESS/unicable 2

 

[digitl]

Do you TVs support unicable or better still JESS/unicable 2

No, sadly not, just checked. I would be relying on the FBC tuners in the three boxes.

 

[abu baniaz]

I have mentioned this a few times already, your Zgemma do not have FBC tuners.

There is no gain at the moment by changing your hardware configuration. At the moment, your Zgemma's have one tuner with a satellite signal wire as well as aerial. I hope you have setup the fallback tuner, so they can use the Vu+ when required.

 

[digitl]

Apologies, I know that.Posting without thinking is never good!

Zgemmas are now set up with one satellite connection and one terrestrial plus Fallback tuner. :thumbsup:

I'll spend some time now watching TV!