Building new home and I have questions

[mhutsell3]

I have D* now and wish to have 2 HD receivers in the new home when we move. The people that wire the house for Comm and TV and such are telling me that I only need two cables to the dish and that this is all they provide.

I am having a tough time convincing them and need to find someplace that I can get this information so I am turning to the people here to help.

Any advice help is appreciated.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

If you have a SWM dish (which are being installed more commonly now) you only need a single cable. These dishes will support up to 8 tuners but only the newer models. Otherwise you should have 4 cables from the dish going to a common point where you can locate a multiswitch. If you have a SWM system you only need a single cable going to each receiver but for the older systems, two cables are needed for each DVR.

Also plan on installing CAT-5 or better ethernet cable so you can network your DVRs for On Demand, Media Share and MRV (coming soon).

 

[harshness]

If you have a SWM dish (which are being installed more commonly now) you only need a single cable.

Are you sure? Some time last week, SWMLine installs were still on hold.

 

[mhutsell3]

If you have a SWM dish (which are being installed more commonly now) you only need a single cable. These dishes will support up to 8 tuners but only the newer models. Otherwise you should have 4 cables from the dish going to a common point where you can locate a multiswitch. If you have a SWM system you only need a single cable going to each receiver but for the older systems, two cables are needed for each DVR.

Also plan on installing CAT-5 or better ethernet cable so you can network your DVRs for On Demand, Media Share and MRV (coming soon).

Currently I have these two receivers:

DVR - R15 - 100
HDDVR - HR20 - 100

With a 5LNB dish. I am assuming when we call to do the movers thing in July they will give us the latest dish?

Also I am running Cat5E to all of the TV locations in the house as well as the distribution area where my Satellite equipment (Receivers) will reside. I will be running IR over the Cat5E as well as HDMI.

So is this new Dish something I will have to request when they come out to install? Will I have to upgrade my receivers?

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[mhutsell3]

Ok one other question, I have been away from the boards for a while. What is "MVR"?

 

[harshness]

The R15 will keep you with the same setup you have now. You would have to move to a R16 or higher to be able to use SWM effectively.

MRV is "Multi-room Viewing" where content on one DVR may be viewed on another capable device. At this point MRV is in testing and is only available using selected MPEG4 receivers networked to MPEG4 DVRs such as your HR20.

 

[jdspencer]

Just tell the installers that for future expansion you want four coaxes run from the dish. You may have to pay for the additional two lines. Have them run to a central location for later use. But, the discussion on SWM is also valid.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Are you sure? Some time last week, SWMLine installs were still on hold.

I thought that was only for the WNC LNBs (and maybe only in colder areas).

 

[dishrich]

Also, I would AT A MINIMUM, wire at least 3 coax runs to your "primary" TV locations. (den, living room, etc) This will allow you to use non-SWM dishes/switches on your receivers & being able to run BOTH tuners in DVR's. The 3rd coax you might find useful for uses such as backfeeds of your receivers to other secondary sets, OTA antenna or cable feeds, etc. Truthfully, I'd make it an even 4 feeds, for BOTH backfeeds & incoming OTA/cable.

I would ALSO do at least 4 feeds to the dish location, plus maybe an extra feed for a future OTA antenna - you might be surprised what you can pull in from your locals that DBS is NOT carrying.

Coax cable is cheap & it's just as expensive (labor-wise) to pull 4 cables NOW, instead of wishing you HAD done it after the walls are covered up later! I've done ALL my pre-wires like this for the past several years & my clients are very grateful after they see what can be done with their system after the fact - such as being able to watch ALL their DVR's on ANY TV at once!

 

[JosephB]

Who is runnnig this wiring? Is it a contractor that you have working on your home? If so, they should provide whatever you want. If you're paying them and they tell you they only provide one or two runs, then I would get tough. You're the customer.

As an existing customer when you call directv and setup a mover's connection install, you'll get a new 5LNB dish. You won't get a SWM setup. In this case your minimum runs need to be two RG-6 and a cat5 to each DVR and one RG-6 to non-dvr locations. I'd at least do two RG6 runs to every tv regardless. You'll need 4 lines from the dish to your wiring panel, or wherever all of those RG6 runs terminate.

If you want to really future proof, I'd run 2 cat5/6 to each location along with 3 RG6. that would allow you to do dual tuners without SWM along with OTA or backhauling signals without having to use diplexers.

 

[deepdishchad]

FWIW, I had my builder put 2 coaxes and 1 cat5 in everyplace I expected I might want HD-DVR access (family room, great room, bedroom) and single coax with cat 5 to the rooms where I don't have DVRs (den, guestroom). In the family room I had them run an extra 5 coax lines + power from the family room wall up to the family room ceiling. I use those to get component signal and sound from the HD20 to the projector/overhead speakers.

When my DirectTV guy showed, he put in an 8x multiswitch and we maxxed it. Haven't had a moment's problem with it yet.

I think it cost me an extra $250 to run all those lines; it's worth 50 times that to not have to worry about going into the walls myself. I haven't fully explored all the potential of the cat5 lines, but it's early yet.

If you choose to take a tack like this, be reeeeeeallly thorough in your pre-drywall walk through. Make sure everything goes where you want it to before they start plastering.

As a side note, the three people that went on the pre-drywall walk-through with me (builder, sales rep, electrician) all ended up doing the exact same setup when they built their homes in the same subdivision. The sales guy has his projector setup such that he has a 120-inch diagonal projection (yup, ten feet). The largest my wife would let me go was 88-inches.