SLM Technology with Dish Network

Roger Sanders

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Sep 14, 2010
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Iowa
Does Dish have the same or a similar technology as DirecTV's SLM (single line multiswitching) that allows multiple receivers on a single lnb cable from the antenna? I have existing in house cable wiring and don't want to add an additional cable for each receiver.
 
Dish does not have SWM like directv. But their are only 2 receivers for most homes. Untill SWM Dish was always more flexible than Directv. You should not have to add any wires with Dish technology.
 
Does Dish have the same or a similar technology as DirecTV's SLM (single line multiswitching) that allows multiple receivers on a single lnb cable from the antenna? I have existing in house cable wiring and don't want to add an additional cable for each receiver.

Dish just needs one cable to each TV, so why do you believe you would need to add an additional cable?
 
Directv SWM = one wire from dish to switch. The receivers get fed from that switch to the receivers.

Dish Network DPP = one wire for every receiver. Dual tuner receiver would only require one wire run to the seperator. If more than one receiver is needed then two wires from the dish is still needed to feed a second receiver. Each receiver can do up to two rooms so two wires may be required to do up to three or four rooms.

Directv needs one less wire on three to four rooms and two less wires on five to six room installs than Dish Network.
 
While there was a DirecTV Slimline reflector, I take it your mean DirecTV's SWM (sometimes referred to as "swim"), Single Wire Multi-switch system?

DirecTV's SWM is a Channel Stacking Switch (CSS) technology.
It has both advantages and disadvantages compared with DishPro systems.

DishPro is a Band Stacking Switch (BSS) technology.
It has advantages and disadvantages compared with DirecTV's SWM systems.

They are NOT compatible.

Neither the CSS nor the BSS is, objectively, better than the other. However, Dish and DirecTV chose the system that, subjectively, seemed the better for its situation.

All tecnology is about compromise: if you want something, you will have to give-up something else. There is a compromise to having the advantage of the single wire from the reflector to the switch, while DishPro pays for its consistently simple bandwidth advantage by requiring a wire per satellite (minus one cable if it is fed to the input port of DishPro Plus LNBF's) to the multi-switch.

DirecTV liked the single wire, while Dish might not have liked the limitations of using channels and having to use an external switch on all installs of more than one box. DirecTV's SWM Ka installs use much of the prime CATV band (B-band converters to the Ka A-band are not to be used for SWM boxes; it needs to pass the Ka in the B-band at the CATV spectrum) for transmission to the STB. Ka A-band for DirectTV uses the same spectrum as DishPro's upper band from 1650 to 2150MHz. So DirecTV's Intermediate Frequency is as follows: legacy for Ku services is still only at IF 950 to 1450MHz, Ka services at IF B-band at 250 to 750MHz, and Ka services at IF A-band 1650 to 2150Mhz. But remember SWM translates all that bandwidth to a maximum of 8 channels (one channel per tuner) serving up to 8 single tuner boxes or, by assigning each STB its own (four) spectrum with 2 channels each, up to 4 dual tuner DVR's using one multi-switch.

Also, the control frequency for the SWM is below ATSC OTA frequencies, so everything in an SWM install has to rated from 2MHz to 2150 MHz. SWM gets very complicated, but for the disadvantage of the channel spectrum to the STB's and the expense of an external switch on almost all installs, you do get the advantage of a single wire to the mult-switch. DirecTV felt it was worth it, while Dish can serve up to 4 STB's looking at 2 satellites with no external switches and keep installation costs down. Consider that after the single wire reaches the DirecTV multi-switch, cables still have to be run from the mult-switch in a SWM install of more than ONE box, but only a single wire to each dual tuner box requiring no splitters or separators but providing signal to both tuners by connecting the cable to only tuner 1. Again, which technology (CSS or BSS) is "better" is all subjective.

No, neither Dish nor DirecTV has the "better" system, so let's not get into any "D or E is better than the other" baloney.
 
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