can I use cat5 instead of coax?

[seandarcy]

I've been on uverse. But now want to switch. With uverse I've been using cat5 to reach my 3 tv's. 2 also have coax, which I've connected to an antenna for OTA. The 3rd only has cat5.

If I switch to DTV, must I have coax to each tv? Can the DTV STB's use cat5? While uverse stinks, it's great to be able to switch to OTA when available.

sean

 

[rad]

No, DirecTV must have coax from the dish/switch to each set top box. If you get HD receivers (except the H20, if they try to give you one of those tell them you want a H21 or H23 or forget it) they can use a network connection to access other functions.

DirecTV will do all the wiring for you but it may not look neat, they'll do the quickest/cheapest way, if you want custom work like a wall fish they'll do it but will charge for it.

 

[charper1]

work? coax to CAT5 converters

 

[Jimbo]

work? coax to CAT5 converters

$ 60 a piece ????

WOW.

 

[harshness]

A single strand of CAT5e has about 350MHz of bandwidth.

RG6 offers about 3,000MHz of bandwidth.

DirecTV uses a little under 2,200MHz of bandwidth (legacy) and from 974-1790 for SWiM.

In the example that charper1 offers, CAT5 begs for two strands to simulate a single "up to" 900MHz coaxial cable.

 

[seandarcy]

harshness,

sorry for being so clueless, but what is SWiM?

But in any case the answer is that unless I want the installer to do a bad job installing a second coax, I've got to use the existing coax, so I won't be able to see OTA if I install DTV.

sean

 

[jtwex]

harshness,

sorry for being so clueless, but what is SWiM?

But in any case the answer is that unless I want the installer to do a bad job installing a second coax, I've got to use the existing coax, so I won't be able to see OTA if I install DTV.

sean

SWM stands for Single Wire Multi-switch & lets you use only one coax cable instead of two for your cable runs. Many variants of this product floating around out there but I'm using an SWM8 multiswitch that lets you use three older legacy machines as well as diplexing your OTA into the switch so you get the best of both worlds at your receiver. It will also supply data to 8 tuners from the newer machines. Just make sure your diplexers are SWM compatible & you'll be fine. You can also try getting DTV to include this stuff on your order depending on your location & amount of DVR's/Receivers you will be running. Otherwise, use one of our sponsors to help you out; I used weakknees & everything went smoothly.

 

[charper1]

# Cat 3: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B, used for data networks using frequencies up to 16 MHz. Historically popular for 10 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.
# Cat 4: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Defined up to 20 MHz, and was frequently used on 16 Mbit/s token ring networks.
# Cat 5: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Defined up to 100 MHz, and was frequently used on 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks. May be unsuitable for 1000BASE-T gigabit ethernet.
# Cat 5e: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. Defined up to 100 MHz, and is frequently used for both 100 Mbit/s and 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networks.
# Cat 6: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. Defined up to 250 MHz, more than double category 5 and 5e.
# Cat 6a: Currently defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10. Defined up to 500 MHz, double that of category 6. Suitable for 10GBase-T.
# Cat 7: An informal name applied to ISO/IEC 11801 Class F cabling. Defined up to 600 MHz. This standard specifies four individually-shielded pairs (STP) inside an overall shield.
# Cat 7a: An informal name applied to Amendment 1 of ISO/IEC 11801 Class F cabling. Defined up to 1000 MHz.

If I were the OP I would utilize that CAT able for my home network and simply run RG6. Which is what I assume Harshness was saying to.

 

[harshness]

You can also try getting DTV to include this stuff on your order depending on your location & amount of DVR's/Receivers you will be running.

DIRECTV will do little to aid customers in diplexing (remember that they recommend against it) nor will they provide an SWM8 as part of the standard professional installation.

That being said, there are ways to do it and diligent use of the search feature here at SatelliteGuys will help you find it.

 

[Jimbo]

DIRECTV will do little to aid customers in diplexing (remember that they recommend against it) nor will they provide an SWM8 as part of the standard professional installation.

That being said, there are ways to do it and diligent use of the search feature here at SatelliteGuys will help you find it.

I agree with the diplexing part of your comment, but disagree with the rest.
IF you call D* and they are setting up SWiM in your area, why would they NOT use the proper switches to accommodate your job.
IF your home and current set up requires a SWiM 8 MS then thats what they should be putting in. They should know this ahead of time by looking at the recvrs that are activated and or being activated on your account.

 

[jtwex]

DIRECTV will do little to aid customers in diplexing (remember that they recommend against it) nor will they provide an SWM8 as part of the standard professional installation.

That being said, there are ways to do it and diligent use of the search feature here at SatelliteGuys will help you find it.

I purchased my own SWM8 switch & did the install myself (am running 6 receivers, 2 legacy, 2 dvr & 2 H21''s) but got compensated by DTV when I soon ordered another DVR & told them what I had purchased & the installer wouldn't need to run any cables. I only added the part about diplexing in the OTA to show that it's possible & not to say they would do it; a good installer properly tipped is going to do everything I said as long as the equipment is on the truck. By the way, the main reason they recommend against it is the same reason there is no OTA input on the new receivers (forcing us to purchase AM-21 boxes); they want you using their locals broadcast over the sat's & not your antenna.

 

[harshness]

IF your home and current set up requires a SWiM 8 MS then thats what they should be putting in. They should know this ahead of time by looking at the recvrs that are activated and or being activated on your account.

Tell it to DIRECTV.

They don't install SWiM where legacy will be present and the don't install SWM8 at all in residential installations. They will hook them up, but you won't see one on a workorder.

 

[harshness]

By the way, the main reason they recommend against it is the same reason there is no OTA input on the new receivers (forcing us to purchase AM-21 boxes); they want you using their locals broadcast over the sat's & not your antenna.

I doubt this. I suspect that the overriding reason they recommend against diplexing is that to do it right with MPEG4 equipment, you have to place the BBCs where customers can't easily find and replace them when they fail.

 

[jtwex]

You have probably done more than me; I dont have one single BBC connected to my system off any of the new equipment & the older ones off of legacy have them right at the TV; hard to miss.

 

[Jimbo]

You have probably done more than me; I dont have one single BBC connected to my system off any of the new equipment & the older ones off of legacy have them right at the TV; hard to miss.

Are you sure ?

It's the newer HD Recvrs that need the BBC's (except the H23 series.) The BBC's allow you to get the signal to see the 99 and 103 sats .
The older recvrs won't see them anyways.

 

[jtwex]

Are you sure ?

It's the newer HD Recvrs that need the BBC's (except the H23 series.) The BBC's allow you to get the signal to see the 99 and 103 sats .
The older recvrs won't see them anyways.

Pretty sure, Jim, I pulled all the BBC's per the instructions when I installed my SWM8 multiswitch & splitter. I get the Premiere package & every channel comes in just fine with 90+ across the board. I left one on a Samsung Mpeg-2 (HD - SIR-TS360, last owned unit) that I never use & surprisingly have one on what I thought was a standard Mpeg-2 receiver (for the kids) but Tech support just told me it was indeed Mpeg-4 & the Samsung (though it has a few HD channels) was the one I should replace & not the standard kids receiver (Standard - D11-100). What do you think I'm doing wrong here by pulling the BBC's with an SWM configuration besides not needing one on the D11?

jtwex

 

[harshness]

In an SWM system, all BBCs come off. The legacy side of the switch doesn't pass the signals that need to be translated. BBCs are not required for non-MPEG4 boxes.

 

[seandarcy]

OK, went to the weaknees site to look at some wiring diagrams. So I get that you connect the OTA feed and the DTV feed into the SWM8. Then SWM8 to Power Inserter.

Now I get confused. Let's assume I only have one HD-DVR. Do I just connect IRD from the Power Inserter into the HD-DVR? Will the OTA channels show up separately?

Or do I run connect the IRD to a "diplexer" which gives me two cables - one for the ATSC tuner on the TV and one for the receiver? Then to watch OTA, I'd do like I do now and switch sources on the TV.

How much of this stuff does DTV provide? Or is it all after-market?

sean

 

[jtwex]

You need the SWM dipexer at the TV to separate the OTA from the Sat signal but most of us combine the receivers with the AM-21 (OTA receiver that feeds HR-20's & up); once separated, feed the OTA coax into the AM-21 & the receiver sees everything without the need to change inputs. If you also get the DTV Sat locals, you end up with multiple CBS's, ABC's, Fox's, etc.......that all show up in the DTV guide & can be recorded as such.

 

[jtk557]

in fact diplexers will not work on the swim side. as it requires a 2mhz fsk channel which the diplexer will cripple. the ota is for legacy side only