Running Coax in new construction

[adampahl]

I am building a new home this spring and wondering about running coax. Is it preferable to run 2 lines to each tv (one for uhf/vhf one for sat.). Or can you just use a diplexer. Also I know my dvr takes 2 lines itself so maybe I need 3 for possible future dvr locations. I am unfamiliar with the whole house dvr setup. Is this the best way to go? How many wires does this require? I never use my ota antenna except for tv's in rooms that are seldom watched and I don't want to pay for another box. Is there a good way to get sat to these rooms without leasing more receivers? Buy extra infared remotes? Also, will direct tv install all of this in-wall cable for me??
Sorry for so many questions, just want to do it right and be somewhat future-proof before the drywall gets hung. Looking for suggestions on what you would do

Thank you so much for any help

ps. do you think I am crazy for not running any cat5?

 

[raoul5788]

I think all of the new mrv setups are swm types, meaning you only use one cable to each dvr. I would run two to each location anyway, just in case. You might want to run a third for ota use. If you want to pay, Directv will fish the cable, but it's not cheap. That's something you can do yourself for a lot less money, just the cost of the cable. If you run an hdmi cable to the room without Directv service, you can connect the tv that way since all outputs are live, but you can only watch what is on the first tv.

 

[Jimbo]

I would check with a local contractor in your area for what you need to have done.

 

[dishrich]

I think all of the new mrv setups are swm types, meaning you only use one cable to each dvr. I would run two to each location anyway, just in case. You might want to run a third for ota use.

+1 At the BARE minimum, run at least 3 coax runs (I do 4 myself these days) in all of your "main" viewing rooms &/or where you might be actually putting a receiver. (living rm, master bed, media rm, etc.) If you want to to "backfeed" of these receivers to secondary TV's where you don't want to spring for a receiver, (kitchen, guest rm, etc.) you can put a modulator at each of your receiver locations, then backfeed them all on that 3rd coax, into where all your coax drops run & terminate to. You can then combine & split it back TO those locations. Of course, it will ONLY be in SD, but if you only have SD sets, then it's not a big deal. It's much easier & more reliable to use separate coax runs instead of messing with diplexing.
Also, DON'T forget to also run at least 2 CAT5/6 cable to these locs as well - one for a landline & one for home networking. (do it even if you DON'T have a landline now - you or a future homeowner MIGHT later...)

Extending HD from receivers out to other locations is kind of tricky &/or costly now - frankly the most cost-effective way IS using DirecTV's MRV service. But if you don't want to do this, you should probably consider running another pair of CAT6 cables, as there are devices out there now that you can switch, split & extend HD signals out on CAT6 cabling - Google it & you'll find plenty of info on how that works.
Another thing you can do that I've done several times, is run either bulk or pre-made component cabling (it actually contains 5 separate wires for the 3 component video & the L/R audio signals) from a sat receiver loc to a secondary loc. (eg: from a bedroom to a bathroom TV) But it is kind of bulky to work with & it's not that cheap; you also need special tools to terminate connectors on the bulk cabling. But if you only need it to extend HD for a couple of locs, it might work for you - here is an example of it:

http://www.av-cables.net/Bulk-cable/component-cable.html

The nice thing about running comp cable, is that on all D* HD receivers, the HDMI AND Comp outputs ARE active all the time, (except for 1080p stuff) so you don't have to mess with needing an HDMI splitter to run more than 1 HD set off the same box.

As far as the secondary locs, I'd still do at least 2 coax & 2 CAT5/6 to those locs as well. Again, the extra cabling cost NOW is minimal & it takes the same amount of labor to pull 4 cables as it does 1. You WILL appreciate having those extra runs AFTER you start setting things up in your new house, & later on down the road as technology & your needs change.

One thing about doing this is, if you do start utilizing all these capabilities in your new house, it does spoil you! I am doing a pre-wire right now for a friend that is building an addition on their house for his mother in-law to live in with them. Of course right now, they are all set up with 3 D* receivers, ALL backfed throughout the house now. In the new upstairs living rm, the wife thinks they should do a TV loc on ALL 4 sides of the room - which for their setup now WILL mean at least 3 coax's & 1 phone jack at EACH loc. When I told her she's adding quite a bit of extra work (ie: costs & labor) to this project, she summarily says "well, it's all YOUR fault"! When I said "huh", she said "well it's because of ALL the things you've done to allow us to watch WHAT we want, WHERE we want in the house, YOU'VE spoiled us all now & we can't possibly NOT have it all now"! (she was joking, in a way anyway... )

Anyway, sorry for the long message; might be more than you wanted to know, but with all the new technology HD, etc., everything is just changing so rapidly - go luck on your house.

 

[spaceghost]

Forget running a bunch of backup cable. Either run conduit down the wall or take an extra 2x4 and place it 3-4" beside one of the studs and make sure that entire space remains free for you to easily fish down any type of cable, including HDMI. Technology is always changing so having something you can easily fish makes it a whole lot easier for future upgrades. You could do this with all four walls in case you want to rearrange the room in the future.

 

[cparker]

New construction?

INSTALL SMURF PIPE!

Smurf pipe is that corrugated, flexible conduit for low voltage. If you install it to enable fishing through floors and walls NOW, then even if you decide you want some other carrier in there (like another coax or cat5 or even fiber), you have an easy fish. Smurf is cheap and I wouldn't even consider new construction without it. You don't have to run conduit from one place to another. You use the smurf only for where you're making penetrations and runs that will be inaccessible when everything is closed up. Use it ONLY for low voltage.

Don't rely on wireless connectivity. Run cat5 or cat6. To each TV location I would run 2 rg6, 2 cat5 (or cat6) as a minimum. Both Dish and Direct now have single coax to each receiver. Adding a third coax isn't a bad idea, even if you just leave it coiled in the wall cavity. If you use the smurf pipe, then even if you want to push component cables back through to take to another TV, you'll be able to. I didn't run any phone wire. I ran cat5 everywhere. All network wiring goes to a patch panel. If I want a wall jack to be for the phone, I patch it to the phone. If I want it as network, I patch it to 24-port gigabit switch that I got on a great deal.

BIGGEST piece of advice from this post...

INSTALL SMURF PIPE

...you will NOT be sorry you did. Guaranteed.

 

[charper1]

Forget running a bunch of backup cable. Either run conduit down the wall or take an extra 2x4 and place it 3-4" beside one of the studs and make sure that entire space remains free for you to easily fish down any type of cable, including HDMI. Technology is always changing so having something you can easily fish makes it a whole lot easier for future upgrades. You could do this with all four walls in case you want to rearrange the room in the future.

+1

Exactly what I do..

 

[egnlsn]

+1 At the BARE minimum, run at least 3 coax runs (I do 4 myself these days) in all of your "main" viewing rooms &/or where you might be actually putting a receiver. (living rm, master bed, media rm, etc.) If you want to to "backfeed" of these receivers to secondary TV's where you don't want to spring for a receiver, (kitchen, guest rm, etc.) you can put a modulator at each of your receiver locations, then backfeed them all on that 3rd coax, into where all your coax drops run & terminate to. You can then combine & split it back TO those locations. Of course, it will ONLY be in SD, but if you only have SD sets, then it's not a big deal. It's much easier & more reliable to use separate coax runs instead of messing with diplexing.
Also, DON'T forget to also run at least 2 CAT5/6 cable to these locs as well - one for a landline & one for home networking. (do it even if you DON'T have a landline now - you or a future homeowner MIGHT later...)

+1 AND smurf tube alongside the cabling.

 

[Liquidforce88]

One thing I can tell you is Directv WILL NOT prewire your house for you.

 

[dishrich]

And you probably would NOT want them to anyway...

 

[adampahl]

Thanks for the input

Thanks for all the input. I will definitely run 2 lines and consider coiling more in the wall. The good thing is that I will have an unfinished basement for a few years to fish more cable from. As for the cat 5/6, I have 2 friends that have built houses in the last 5 years and neither have used 1 foot of the probably thousands that are in their houses. Do you really think that we will go back from wireless technology?? Also, how long do you have to be away from dtv to get a new customer offer? Has anybody had any luck talking them into new free equipment as a current subscriber? I only have one receiver now and will want more in the new house.

 

[cparker]

Wired network is more reliable and faster than wireless. You start streaming and you want the fastest and most reliable physical media for transport. All that cat5/6 can also be used for phone AND you can use baluns to use it for audio/vidio over cat5/6 if the need arises. I have wireless for laptops and other devices, but I maintain a wired network for staticly placed equipment.