Thread: Change SlimLine to SWM - off-air question

Originally Posted by yorktown

You must have missed the very first sentence of the thread -
I have four HR20s but existing SlimLine 5LNB is too limited for all the dual tuners.

I did miss that. So just add a WB68 multiswitch. That will give you eight connections. Or add an SWM8 stand-alone multiswitch, that will give you eight tuners plus give you the abilty to grow beyond eight.

Originally Posted by texasbrit

I did miss that. So just add a WB68 multiswitch. That will give you eight connections. Or add an SWM8 stand-alone multiswitch, that will give you eight tuners plus give you the abilty to grow beyond eight.

If it was me I'd get the SWM system so I didn't have to run any more wires inside or outside the house. It would be one wire from the SWM LNB on the dish to the SWM splitter in the house someplace, then one wire from the SWM splitter outputs to each DVR.

Originally Posted by yorktown

If it was me I'd get the SWM system so I didn't have to run any more wires inside or outside the house. It would be one wire from the SWM LNB on the dish to the SWM splitter in the house someplace, then one wire from the SWM splitter outputs to each DVR.

Decision based on situation I guess. I would hate to be maxed out on the SWM tuner count and then for something to happen that means I needed a ninth tuner. Not that it's on the horizon right now, but if DirecTV brought out a four-tuner DVR like ATT then you would be completely stuck. Using four cables from the dish (that already exist in the OPs installation) and then using an SWM8 to give you single-wire capability inside the house would IMHO be a much better solution.

Gosh, I think I hit a gold mine of info - really appreciate the inputs but now wish I understood all I know. Although one IRD has two lines already connected, I do not have two lines to the other IRDs and trying to avoid the tedious task of snaking more RG-6 in near-impossible paths to get to the IRDs. Hence, the lure of a SWM approach. As I understand the latest info, I would need a multiswitch (SWM8), power inserter and a four-way splitter to feed one RG-6 to each IRD. I currently have separate RG-6 lines from a garden variety splitter to an antenna for the off-air function. The illustration for the SWM8 indicates an off-air input but maybe that's not needed? BTW what's a MDU?

Thought this was going to be a cinch but if I can use the existing LNB to accomplish the end result (and cheaper) then its a better option. Thanks to all for your help.

Originally Posted by bgcarl

Gosh, I think I hit a gold mine of info - really appreciate the inputs but now wish I understood all I know. Although one IRD has two lines already connected, I do not have two lines to the other IRDs and trying to avoid the tedious task of snaking more RG-6 in near-impossible paths to get to the IRDs. Hence, the lure of a SWM approach. As I understand the latest info, I would need a multiswitch (SWM8), power inserter and a four-way splitter to feed one RG-6 to each IRD. I currently have separate RG-6 lines from a garden variety splitter to an antenna for the off-air function. The illustration for the SWM8 indicates an off-air input but maybe that's not needed? BTW what's a MDU?

Thought this was going to be a cinch but if I can use the existing LNB to accomplish the end result (and cheaper) then its a better option. Thanks to all for your help.

Take the four cables from the dish, connect to an SWM8 stand-alone multiswitch. Take a cable from one of the two SWM outputs from the SWM8, connect to an SWS4 splitter, take one cable to each DVR. Put the power inserter on the cable from the power-passing port on the SWS4 to one of the DVRs.
You can also use both SWM outputs from the SWM8 and put a two-way splitter on each output instead of a four-way splitter on one output.
The SWM8 can also accept an off-air signal and pass that down the same cable; you then need diplexers at each DVR to split out the off-air signal. But if you already have off-air over separate cables I would stick to that if I were you.
An MDU is a MultiDwelling Unit like an apartment building. Newer MDU systems are based on using multiple SWM8 multiswitches.

Been doing a lot of head scratching and it would seem that my best option would be to go with the SWM3 lnb (which is easy to get at and not all four cables go to a central point so rewiring would still be necessary.) The SWM8 would give me some future additional capability but quite sure the four cables from the 4-way splitter would be adequate. Also, I would assume there is some additional attenuation of the signals with something more than a 4-way splitter. Some pricing research indicates the SWM8 plus power supply plus splitter would cost more than the SWM3 lnb plus power supply plus 4-way spitter. Unless I'm missing something, anybody disagree?
Thanks to all the inputs - I learned a lot in the process.