Cabling Question

[MelThorpe]

I have a couple newbie questions.

1) What is this and what do I need it for? Can I use DTV with whole home and DVR without it?



When DTV came and setup the TV they used this connection instead of the wireless version. An old girlfriend of mine had the wireless version moved to my place when she moved in and worked fine, but the installer went with this version when she moved out and took her equipment with her. Can I just swap this out with the wireless version? If so, what model would I need?

I dont have an ethernet connection next to where the TV is now so I cant use this. My other though is adding another wireless access point next to the TV and just extend my wireless network so my receiver would think its plugged into a standard ethernet port. I would rather not buy another access point though.

2) Is there a how to page/site out there that walks through the different equipment (splitters, "connected home adapters", receivers, etc) that I could get up to speed on what equipment I have in my house and how it should be connected?

Thanks!

 

[cwahl]

What model receiver do you have at this location ( i am going to assume it is not a hr24 or a genie (hr34)). The equipment you have there is 1. coming out of the power passing side of the splitter you have the Broadband Deca (bbdeca) its power supply and the ethernet cable that needs to be plugged in to your router so that you will have internet access to your whole system. 2. coming out of the non power passing of the splitter is a receiver deca ( the hr24 and hr34 has these built in now, reason for me assuming you have a h/hr23 or older receiver) which this receiver deca is what allows your receivers to communicate with eachother and allows you to do whole-home.

So to answer some of your other questions, the receiver deca you need on your system, so this cant really be eliminated.
Now I am taking it you are not connected to the internet right now because you said you dont have a ethernet cable from your router at this location, so your options are run a ethernet cable from your router to the bbdeca, the other option is to get the wireless deca (wcck), and then you can "rewire" your setup abit.

If you end up getting the wcck here is how you can rewire, coax from the wall or the power supply connected to the wcck on the towards lnb port, on the wcck port labeled to receiver you will connect to the receiver deca, the receiver deca will connect to your receiver swm coaxial input and to the ethernet port on your receiver.

 

[MelThorpe]

I have a h25-700 in a bedroom and the HR23-700 DVR in the living room.

Is there a specific wireless DECCA that I need to get or will anyone work?

Right now its disconnected and I can record and watch TV as I always have. The guide works, etc. Is the cabling in the pic just for whole home stuff?

 

[cwahl]

basicly yes, the receiver deca is for whole home, the bbdeca is for internet connectivity.
This is the wcck you would need http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...w-wireless-deca-cinema-connection-kit-(cck-w)

however you might could find a wireless router or a ethernet cable long enough to run this cheaper, or you could might get lucky and call directv and they send you one free after you explain the situation

 

[BobStokesbary]

Mel,
To answer your second question first, there used to be a lot of diagrams on the various vendor sites but over time they seem to have disappeared. So now it is really difficult to find any. From time to time people on this and another forum will post pictures, but it is usually in reference to a specific setup the have. And that is one of the current problems with DirecTV's offerings. There are so many combinations it is difficult to provide really meaningful diagrams for all combinations.

As to you first question, I am really not sure what equipment I am seeing in your picture. One of the pieces is on it's side so it is really difficult to see what it is. And the block on the top of the photo sort of looks like a PI, but none I have seen have a green label on it. And your setup would not be working if you did not have a PI in line already. So, it is a little unclear as to what that box is.

You don't say if you have Whole Home DVR. If you do, you need to have a DECA box in the line to your HR23. That would be one of the black boxes with the blue wires attached. You just run the coax from your source into the end with just the coax connector on it and hook the coax next to the internet cable to your receiver. Next you put the internet connection into the internet port on the back of your HR23. That should get your MRV working fine. (This assumes you have MRV authorized and are paying the $3/month charge for it.)

Now for the internet. If you don't have a DirecTV internet account set one up. Check available upgrades and see if you qualify for a Wireless Cinema Connection Kit. If so you will find it at a much better price than outside vendors. (I would be glad to give more detail on the but right now D*'s website is refusing to let me login.) Along with that unit comes an instruction sheet on how to hook it up. This is for on-demand content only. Your MRV will work just fine without it.

Hope this helps,
Bob

 

[BobStokesbary]

OK, I was finally able to long on to my DirecTV account. You can get the wireless for $25 plus $7 for shipping. That seems like a better option than going to a third-party vendor.

Just a note of caution, I could not get the page to work with my firefox browser, but it worked OK with the chrome browser.