How much is included in basic installation?

[commodore_dude]

Hey all,
While I've had DirecTV for almost a year now, my parents are thinking about getting it and they had a couple of questions about the installation process that I couldn't answer since I'm in an apartment. They have very haphazard cable wiring throughout their house, I doubt there's much RG-6 so most of it will probably have to be replaced. How much wiring can the installer do for 4 TVs? They would be spread across 3 floors, I think the most ideal situation would be if the multiswitch could be located in their attic so that in the future we could run wires to more bedrooms, so there would have to be 3 drops to the basement ceiling from above the 2nd floor and then 2 of those would be run back up to the 1st floor and 1 to the basement. Would it cost extra to have the wiring done for that, or with the SWM can older wiring that is spliced who knows how many times be leveraged? Also, I know that the first Mpeg4 dishes were too heavy to put on a roof, is that still the case? Trees make it unlikely that a dish installed on a pole in the ground would be able to get a clear signal, they previously had a dish on the roof several years ago that worked fine from there though.

 

[iwc5893]

Hey all,
While I've had DirecTV for almost a year now, my parents are thinking about getting it and they had a couple of questions about the installation process that I couldn't answer since I'm in an apartment. They have very haphazard cable wiring throughout their house, I doubt there's much RG-6 so most of it will probably have to be replaced. How much wiring can the installer do for 4 TVs? They would be spread across 3 floors, I think the most ideal situation would be if the multiswitch could be located in their attic so that in the future we could run wires to more bedrooms, so there would have to be 3 drops to the basement ceiling from above the 2nd floor and then 2 of those would be run back up to the 1st floor and 1 to the basement. Would it cost extra to have the wiring done for that, or with the SWM can older wiring that is spliced who knows how many times be leveraged? Also, I know that the first Mpeg4 dishes were too heavy to put on a roof, is that still the case? Trees make it unlikely that a dish installed on a pole in the ground would be able to get a clear signal, they previously had a dish on the roof several years ago that worked fine from there though.

That setup goes way beyond a basic installation. You're talking about wall fishing cables from the attic to the basement of a two story house. If you really want the cable run that way, you will be farther ahead to do it yourself.

A SWM may be a viable option, but the number of splitters in line may make that an issue.

The KaKu dishes can be mounted on the roof, provided that they are anchored into the roof joists and properly braced.

 

[Joe Diamond]

I would mount the dish on the roof above the electric meter. All cable would come down that wall and enter each floor from that vertical run. The line with the ground wire attached would go through the ground block before entering the first floor or basement.

At that point you could be close to using up all the free cable. The FREE installation includes drilling one wall and this would require four holes.

But who knows.......HSPs (DTV in house company) have been known to give all kinds of things away.

Joe

 

[spaceghost]

It depends on who you get as a tech and how complicated it is to run those cable runs. Unfortunately w/out a site survey, its hard to determine what is acceptable as custom charges and what isn't. Your description sounds like a lot of work, but sometimes its easier than what is described.

Go ahead and schedule an appointment. If it goes in w/out a problem, great. If its on the complicated side, see if the tech will wire your house on the side for a reasonable price.

 

[Zynergi]

If you want the 2-3 floor wall fishes you may want to contact an electrician/av company first and get a quote as many if not most techs are not equipped to properly do a 2 floor fish.

You could have the runs run from outside to the rooms directly (Black/White/Gray cable is avail and can be painted) which would be a minimal cost if not free. The install company may charge extra if you need a 40' ladder to reach the roof.

You may also want to call and get a quote from a local D* retailer/sub as far as custome charges and order through them if your satisfied so they get the sale.