NEW HOUSE WIRING

[maxfischersweet]

Ok so i am building a new house and need to run the coaxial for satellite. we will have directv. I am going to be running rg-6 quad sheild solid copper core. that is if i can ever find any.

anyways. i will also be running cat5e or cat 6 for net and phone and another coax for dvr to each drop.

ok so heres the set up.

i want directv in 4 rooms, however in two rooms i have 3 drops each and in the other 2 rooms i have 4 drops in each. so that is a total of 14 drops, but with dvr thats 28 drops. (theres really only going to be like 6 receivers, the rest our just conveniance locations for furniture rearranging and so forth)

so i will be running all the coax i can from the satellite to the central location, (which i guess is only 4 cables?) then from there i will distriubte to each room.

so how do i distribute it as in multiswitches and so on?

should i have one large multiswitch in the central distribution location. or would i need 2, do they even make them that large.

or should i run one coax too each room directly from the satellite, and have smaller multiswitches located in those rooms (like in closets)

any equipment recomendation would be appreciated.

 

[Jimbo]

Welcome to the site

Get as many HD DVR's as you want, they only charge the DVR fee once, so it's not a addl. fee for each one.

I would run 4 lines of coax to any room that may have a dvr in them.
Chances are you'll get the SWM set up that only requires one line, but you never know for sure.

Make sure you label them as you go, both ends.
I would run 4 lines from the dish to the central location and drops accordingly to each room from that point.
If you don't have the SWM set up, a DVR reqires 2 coax lines to function properly.
Run 2 for the DVR, 1 for a possible antenna feed (you never know) and 1 for a spare.

Have the multiswitch in the Central Location.

Jimbo

 

[jdspencer]

Will all of those receivers/DVRs be needed at the same time? If not, think about sharing one or two for the other rooms.

Your smaller multiswitch in each room suggestion is not possible, because the multiswitch requires all four lines from the dish to be connected.

I would suggest that you try to get an SWM installation using multiple SWM8 modules connected in parallel to the dish. Each SWM8 can operate 8 tuners (DVRs count as 2). Don't get an SWMLine dish as then you are limited to the 8.

 

[maxfischersweet]

ok so heres the deal. i will have spray foam insulation with no attic so i want to make sure i run enough wire.

what im understanding so far is:

i should get a swm dish.

(do the swm 5lnb dishes have a input for a tv antenna if so does that mean i still only need one coax to the closet from the dish)

run one coax into my closet.

hook up the swm8 multiswitch.

run one coax to each drop (because you only need one coax instead of 2 for a dvr with the swm dish and multiswitch? correct?)

now i know ill have 14 drops, but only a max of 5 dvr tuners will be used at once. so ill have all the coax labled so i can just go into the closet and attatch the coaxes that will be used. in the future i can just get a bigger multiswitch if needed, but i doubt ill have more than 5 reicevers/tuners hooked up at once.

so its a little easier understood ill explain it like this:
lets say my tv in one room is on wall A, however i start rearranging the furniture so i can put the tv on wall B, i already had coaxial ran to both spots. however only the coax on wall A is attatched to the multiswitch. so now i go to the closet and unplug wall a coaxial and plug in wall B coaxial.

is this a dumb idea. i mean how much more would i have to shell out just to have them all hooked up all the time.

 

[jdspencer]

The SWM 5LNB dish only has one output. And doesn't support an OTA input. In your attic would be the SWS8 splitter (not a multiswitch). This will give you a maximum of 8 tuners.

If you need OTA then you should install the Slimline 5LNB 4 output dish. In the attic connect the four lines to the SWM8 module (which I believe does have an input for OTA). Then one drop for each room with again a maximum of 8 tuners.

The idea of only connecting the wall outlets that are needed is a great idea. I've suggested that before.

 

[iwc5893]

Jimbo's idea, while more expensive, gives you more flexibility in the future. Why wire for a SWM when you're not even sure you'll get one...and what happens in the future if you go over 8 tuners?

If you run wire for legacy equipment, you will have enough for SWM and any future technology.

To add to Jimbo's comments, I would run 6 coax from the central location out to where the dish will be mounted. This will allow for wing dishes and/or OTA in the future. I would also run 2 CAT5e or CAT6 to each location, in addition to wiring 4 outlet electrical boxes at each location.

Now's the time to do it right...although I wouldn't worry about running quad shield. Standard RG-6 should be just fine for prewiring.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I'm involved in a similar situation with my dad's new condo, as I've posted about here. The house is being installed with pre-installed Cat-6 lines to allow for easy access if we were to use cable, as basic cable could be passed to various rooms with it. The installer claims that this would also work with D*. We have 3 HD boxes that would be using Cat-5 cables from an equipment room, and then we have 3 rooms that would be using SD service. In theory, would we be able to run wire from the dish to the "control room" where it connects to a SWM, which could then connect to all the wires that connect to the individual rooms, correct?

Also, are the SD receivers RF compatible, and if so, for what distance?

 

[DTVTECHNP]

The best way to set it up is for the swim installation. That way you only have to run one coax to each dvr, and it allows to obtain more if you like. The swim 1x8 switch would be the best, well because it has 8 outputs or even a Swim switch 8 output would work. That is how I would go about it.

 

[jdspencer]

What's a Swim?