Receivers in the basement????

[pfan1981]

This past weekend we went through the "Parade of Homes", to get ideas on building our next house. Most of the houses had the DTV receivers in the basement. I'm sure they had a company do this for a great deal of money, but we are looking to save where we can.

So my question is..........how do I put my HR24, and H24 in our future basement to control our living room TV and bedroom TV?

Thanks, pfan

 

[harshness]

Most of the houses had the DTV receivers in the basement.

It would have been easier to understand if you had said that the receivers were centrally located.

The answer lies in an expensive custom install as you guessed. The distances involved are critical in considering something like this. Not only for the length of the HDMI connection but for the transmission distance of the remote controls.

Leviton and others make HDMI media converter wall plates that are relatively inexpensive (<$20 through monoprice.com) and run on a pair of dedicated CAT5E cables. I see now that they also offer one with an IR repeater built in for a few dollars more.

DO NOT buy into a system that uses component cabling as you'll likely lose access to some content in the future and you'll have to make expensive provisions for surround sound.

If you're inclined to use external storage, you have to figure out for yourself if you want to run to the media closet to swap out drives.

While the concept seems way cool, I think it may ace you out of cool options in the future (especially with regard to remote controls).

 

[skyviewmark]

Prepare your house.. Run all Dish Cables to the Basement.. Run HDMI cables from basement to the rooms you want Hi Def TV's In.. Run RG-6 cable to ALL rooms that need TV. Run Cat 5 Cable everywhere too.. Make sure all receivers you get are UHF controlled.. ALL DTV HD receivers are as far as I know

 

[dishrich]

Make sure all receivers you get are UHF controlled.. ALL DTV HD receivers are as far as I know

True, but the only problem is - the RF range on them sucks, at least compared to E* RF receivers.
In many of these type of installations, particularly in large &/or multi-story homes, you probably will need to add an IR repeater system, for the most reliable remote control functionality. In some of these type of distribution systems described above, the IR repeater is part of the system - but in others, it is NOT &/or requires another (cat 5/6) cable run.

Bottom line - you have to do your homework & ask these questions first.

 

[cparker]

Want to save money AND avoid headaches? When you're building your new house, just run smurf tubing EVERYWHERE. Don't pull wire. Don't guess about which cables you'll need to go where. Just pull smurf to a central location in the basement convenient to power. A lot of the pro's time is spent trying to pull cable. If you have smurf running to all locations you shave a TON of time off. Make sure it's big enough to pull an HDMI connector through because I don't think anyone is field-terminating HDMI.

Better yet, call a pro. TELL them you're on a limited budget and want to do some of the grunt work yourself and ASK them if they can work that way and get it all laid out beforehand.

You can get this to work as a DIY'er, but a pro is going to do a MUCH nicer job of it... assuming you hire a pro and not a trunk slammer.

 

[jdspencer]

Wouldn't it just be easier to put the HR24 in the basement (if it must go there) and then have H24's at the TV locations. Then use MRV.

 

[Andrewwski]

Any custom installed system with centrally located components is not going to use the OEM remotes. So don't worry about the RF remotes. That's when you use an RF universal that communicates with an IR base station.

 

[dishrich]

Wouldn't it just be easier to put the HR24 in the basement (if it must go there) and then have H24's at the TV locations. Then use MRV.

Sure it would, but what about larger (multi-story) houses that have TV's in EVERY, SINGLE room? Those extra receiver charges start adding up FAST!
Myself, I have over a dozen TV's - & I assure you I would NEVER have any intention of paying $6 for a receiver on EVERY one of those sets! Typically in installations like these, you have as many receivers (DVR's usually) as you do people (+ maybe 1-2 for guests, etc.) - instead of as many TV's you have.

 

[jdspencer]

True, about the costs involved with many receivers, but I was going with the two he mentioned.

It would still make sense to wire each room to a common equipment room in the basement.
Then these rooms could be patched in as needed.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Sure it would, but what about larger (multi-story) houses that have TV's in EVERY, SINGLE room? Those extra receiver charges start adding up FAST!
Myself, I have over a dozen TV's - & I assure you I would NEVER have any intention of paying $6 for a receiver on EVERY one of those sets! Typically in installations like these, you have as many receivers (DVR's usually) as you do people (+ maybe 1-2 for guests, etc.) - instead of as many TV's you have.

Before the economy went south the tract mansions had every room wired for some kind of communication system. How about a screen in the shower that could be switched from a Directv HD film to a color shot of someone at the front gate who wanted to make a delivery....with a PinP of the tag number?

There are customers who still do not ask how much things cost...just why is it not working NOW?

Joe