Multiple Directv Receivers - Hook up

**rbinck** · 04-11-2005, 01:35 PM

The HD dish is an ellipitical dish with three LNBs to see 3 satellites, 101, 110 and 119. You can add a HD dish to connect to your HD receiver separately and it will work just fine. There will be four outputs which will work just fine for two DVRs.

RCA®-DIRECTV® Multi Satellite Dish Antenna

Quite frankly, I dont know why more people don't go this route as the HD dish costs less than a HD comptable multiswitch.

jhamma1 · 04-26-2005, 09:23 AM

I understand the original installation guide. But I am going to be installing a slightly different setup at my restaurant. Instead of having OTA antenna with my D*, I am going to have cable from Cox. There are two reasons for this. First, D* doesn't receive the local RSN channel offered by Cox that shows a lot of LSU content. And second, it will be used as a backup when really bad weather completely knocks out the D* signal.

I am going to have 4 SD D* receivers, 1 HD D* receiver, and 1 HD COX STB. Both HD receivers will be connected to the same television.

Any help would be appreciated

kb7065 · 07-19-2005, 08:18 PM

Hi - First off, great thread!

I currently have an HD dish, 3-LNB's. There are 4 coax cables that run from the dish's own multiswitch into the house and are directly distributed to 4 different TV's - 3 are HDTV's, 1 is SD.

I am thinking of getting either a Hughes HD/Tivo, or a DVR (that hopefully supports HDTV). Either one, I believe, will require one more coax connection. Is there a way to add another multiswitch into this mix to create a 4th HD connection for a total of 5 connections (4 HD, 1 SD)?

Thanks in advance!

**rbinck** · 07-19-2005, 09:13 PM

kb7065,
You will need a HD compatable multiswitch like this one, Terk BMS-58:

Basically you connect the four cables from your dish to the 5x8 multiswitch. The 5th connection is for an OTA antenna.

**rbinck** · 07-19-2005, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhamma1

I understand the original installation guide. But I am going to be installing a slightly different setup at my restaurant. Instead of having OTA antenna with my D*, I am going to have cable from Cox. There are two reasons for this. First, D* doesn't receive the local RSN channel offered by Cox that shows a lot of LSU content. And second, it will be used as a backup when really bad weather completely knocks out the D* signal.

I am going to have 4 SD D* receivers, 1 HD D* receiver, and 1 HD COX STB. Both HD receivers will be connected to the same television.

Any help would be appreciated

Just hook up the cable instead of the OTA antenna.

kb7065 · 07-20-2005, 08:15 AM

Thanks, rbinck, for the reply.

I run my OTA straight to the sets at this point. I assume that even with this, and the fact that the dish also has the built in multiswitch, that running the coax cables from the switch in the dish to the terk switch you mention would still work to achieve a set up with 4 HDTV connections and 1 SD connection? I assume this also gives my growth of a few more HD connections should I desire to add that hit to my budget?

TIA!

**rbinck** · 07-20-2005, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb7065

Thanks, rbinck, for the reply.

I run my OTA straight to the sets at this point. I assume that even with this, and the fact that the dish also has the built in multiswitch, that running the coax cables from the switch in the dish to the terk switch you mention would still work to achieve a set up with 4 HDTV connections and 1 SD connection? I assume this also gives my growth of a few more HD connections should I desire to add that hit to my budget?

TIA!

Yes and Yes.

tpeddada · 07-29-2005, 09:52 PM

rbinck,

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. I have dish network system with 2 dishes, switch 64 feeding 3 receivers in three different rooms. The 4th is connected to another room but not used.

I just got a dvr 522 with dual tuner. I would like to have 2 connections to the 2 tuners. Can I use a multiswitch again to split the signal to the 2 receivers OR do I HAVE to run a line from the switch (seems like the only solution from your tutorial)?

Thanks.

jrexi · 08-07-2005, 11:28 AM

Hi, this is a great thread and hopefully can answer my question.

I have an oval 3 lnb satellite. Currently, there is 1 standard receiver and 1 high def receiver attached. I just added a HD DVR and would like to use the dual tuner capability. My question is -- can I run a multiswitch off of the coax that is currently feeding the single tuner on my HD DVR, or do I need to run a separate coax from the dish to the second tuner input?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Jrexi

**rbinck** · 08-07-2005, 08:08 PM

You need to run a separate coax.

e-ball · 08-13-2005, 07:01 AM

first of all, this is a great thread. i've learned a lot already. please forgive me if the situation i describe doesn't make sense -- i'm happy to answer any follow up questions:

my question essentially involves the problem of only having 3 cables but needing 4. when i built my house 3 years ago i had an SD dish w/ 2 LNBs. i didn't do enough research to realize that if i wanted to upgrade to HD in the future i'd need 4 cables running to the dish, so i only had 3 cables run into my attic. these cables terminate in a central connection panel downstairs. at this point there is no way for me to run a 4th cable from the attic to the panel. i actually have an HD multiswitch in the panel -- so i'm a little perturbed at the installer for not recommending a 4 cable run. but that's a different story.

until last year, the situation was fine. 2 of the cables from the attic were connected to my dish and ran through the multiswitch in the panel to my various rooms/receivers. no problem.

last fall, i decided to go HD. the installer chose to install a 2nd dish rather than replace the existing dish. we left the 2 cables connected to the old dish and used the 3rd cable to connect my HD receiver to the HD dish. this was also fine until i obtained an HD DVR. now, obviously, i want the dual tuner functionality, but don't know how to accomplish this.

ideally, i'd connect 4 cables to the HD dish and run them through my multiswitch. as noted above, however, i can't run a 4th cable into the panel. i could run one from the dish into the attic (where the other 3 are located). would connecting an HD multiswitch in the attic do anything towards solving this problem? do you see any solution to my situation that does not involve running a cable down the outside of my house and into the living room?

thanks in advance for any assistance. this is frustrating!

RSawdey · 08-15-2005, 01:49 PM

A multiswitch needs one input for each LNB, and one output per tuner... and since D* is putting up more sats, and you might want an input for an antenna, you might need an even more elaborate setup in the future. You need some rewiring, and with a mind to the future. Install conduit perhaps?

e-ball · 08-16-2005, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSawdey

A multiswitch needs one input for each LNB, and one output per tuner... and since D* is putting up more sats, and you might want an input for an antenna, you might need an even more elaborate setup in the future. You need some rewiring, and with a mind to the future. Install conduit perhaps?

thanks for the response. i may just bite the bullet and live with my setup "as is" for the next 8-9 months or so...going to be building a new house and i'll be sure to plan appropriately. speaking of which -- how many RG6 cables would you recommend running from the attic to the distribution panel in the new place? if i allow for 4 from the HD dish and one for the off-air HD antenna, that's 5....perhaps run 6 to be safe?

jay p · 08-16-2005, 09:53 AM

is it possible to modulate hd signals to numerous tvs (25) for a sports bar applilcation? we have 9 dtv recievers, 2 dish network recievers + local antenna modulated to 25+ tvs, would like to go to high def........... is it possible?

help!

RSawdey · 08-17-2005, 02:23 PM

No ATSC modulators that would let you pass an HD channel over RF Coax... but you could use an HD Component or HDMI distribution amp. That will output a SINGLE channel on multiple TVs... You will need to upgrade your receivers to HD compatible, of course, to produce the HDTV signal to distribute... and subscribe to HD services. To provide various signals to the assorted TVs, as with your current 11 receivers, would be quite complex if you're thinking of putting any one of 11 sources on any one of 25 TVs.

04-26-2005, 09:23 AM	#32
jhamma1 What is HD? Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3	Question I understand the original installation guide. But I am going to be installing a slightly different setup at my restaurant. Instead of having OTA antenna with my D, I am going to have cable from Cox. There are two reasons for this. First, D doesn't receive the local RSN channel offered by Cox that shows a lot of LSU content. And second, it will be used as a backup when really bad weather completely knocks out the D* signal. I am going to have 4 SD D* receivers, 1 HD D* receiver, and 1 HD COX STB. Both HD receivers will be connected to the same television. Any help would be appreciated

07-19-2005, 08:18 PM	#33
kb7065 My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 7	Hookup question Hi - First off, great thread! I currently have an HD dish, 3-LNB's. There are 4 coax cables that run from the dish's own multiswitch into the house and are directly distributed to 4 different TV's - 3 are HDTV's, 1 is SD. I am thinking of getting either a Hughes HD/Tivo, or a DVR (that hopefully supports HDTV). Either one, I believe, will require one more coax connection. Is there a way to add another multiswitch into this mix to create a 4th HD connection for a total of 5 connections (4 HD, 1 SD)? Thanks in advance!

07-29-2005, 09:52 PM	#38
tpeddada What is HD? Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1	Dual tuners rbinck, Thanks for the excellent tutorial. I have dish network system with 2 dishes, switch 64 feeding 3 receivers in three different rooms. The 4th is connected to another room but not used. I just got a dvr 522 with dual tuner. I would like to have 2 connections to the 2 tuners. Can I use a multiswitch again to split the signal to the 2 receivers OR do I HAVE to run a line from the switch (seems like the only solution from your tutorial)? Thanks.

08-07-2005, 08:08 PM	#40
rbinck Administrator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 12,338	You need to run a separate coax. __________________ www.highdefinitionblog.com www.BlogOfHawaii.com

08-13-2005, 07:01 AM	#41
e-ball My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 5	i'm 1 cable short! first of all, this is a great thread. i've learned a lot already. please forgive me if the situation i describe doesn't make sense -- i'm happy to answer any follow up questions: my question essentially involves the problem of only having 3 cables but needing 4. when i built my house 3 years ago i had an SD dish w/ 2 LNBs. i didn't do enough research to realize that if i wanted to upgrade to HD in the future i'd need 4 cables running to the dish, so i only had 3 cables run into my attic. these cables terminate in a central connection panel downstairs. at this point there is no way for me to run a 4th cable from the attic to the panel. i actually have an HD multiswitch in the panel -- so i'm a little perturbed at the installer for not recommending a 4 cable run. but that's a different story. until last year, the situation was fine. 2 of the cables from the attic were connected to my dish and ran through the multiswitch in the panel to my various rooms/receivers. no problem. last fall, i decided to go HD. the installer chose to install a 2nd dish rather than replace the existing dish. we left the 2 cables connected to the old dish and used the 3rd cable to connect my HD receiver to the HD dish. this was also fine until i obtained an HD DVR. now, obviously, i want the dual tuner functionality, but don't know how to accomplish this. ideally, i'd connect 4 cables to the HD dish and run them through my multiswitch. as noted above, however, i can't run a 4th cable into the panel. i could run one from the dish into the attic (where the other 3 are located). would connecting an HD multiswitch in the attic do anything towards solving this problem? do you see any solution to my situation that does not involve running a cable down the outside of my house and into the living room? thanks in advance for any assistance. this is frustrating!

04-11-2005, 01:35 PM	#31
rbinck Administrator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 12,338	The HD dish is an ellipitical dish with three LNBs to see 3 satellites, 101, 110 and 119. You can add a HD dish to connect to your HD receiver separately and it will work just fine. There will be four outputs which will work just fine for two DVRs. RCA®-DIRECTV® Multi Satellite Dish Antenna Quite frankly, I dont know why more people don't go this route as the HD dish costs less than a HD comptable multiswitch.

07-19-2005, 09:13 PM	#34
rbinck Administrator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 12,338	kb7065, You will need a HD compatable multiswitch like this one, Terk BMS-58: Basically you connect the four cables from your dish to the 5x8 multiswitch. The 5th connection is for an OTA antenna.

07-20-2005, 08:15 AM	#36
kb7065 My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 7	Thanks, rbinck, for the reply. I run my OTA straight to the sets at this point. I assume that even with this, and the fact that the dish also has the built in multiswitch, that running the coax cables from the switch in the dish to the terk switch you mention would still work to achieve a set up with 4 HDTV connections and 1 SD connection? I assume this also gives my growth of a few more HD connections should I desire to add that hit to my budget? TIA!

08-07-2005, 11:28 AM	#39
jrexi What is HD? Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3	Hi, this is a great thread and hopefully can answer my question. I have an oval 3 lnb satellite. Currently, there is 1 standard receiver and 1 high def receiver attached. I just added a HD DVR and would like to use the dual tuner capability. My question is -- can I run a multiswitch off of the coax that is currently feeding the single tuner on my HD DVR, or do I need to run a separate coax from the dish to the second tuner input? Thanks in advance for your help. Regards, Jrexi

08-15-2005, 01:49 PM	#42
RSawdey Mr. Wizard Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ferndale, Michigan Age: 61 Posts: 5,981	A multiswitch needs one input for each LNB, and one output per tuner... and since D* is putting up more sats, and you might want an input for an antenna, you might need an even more elaborate setup in the future. You need some rewiring, and with a mind to the future. Install conduit perhaps?

08-16-2005, 09:53 AM	#44
jay p What is HD? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Houston Posts: 1	multiple tvs is it possible to modulate hd signals to numerous tvs (25) for a sports bar applilcation? we have 9 dtv recievers, 2 dish network recievers + local antenna modulated to 25+ tvs, would like to go to high def........... is it possible? help!

08-17-2005, 02:23 PM	#45
RSawdey Mr. Wizard Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ferndale, Michigan Age: 61 Posts: 5,981	No ATSC modulators that would let you pass an HD channel over RF Coax... but you could use an HD Component or HDMI distribution amp. That will output a SINGLE channel on multiple TVs... You will need to upgrade your receivers to HD compatible, of course, to produce the HDTV signal to distribute... and subscribe to HD services. To provide various signals to the assorted TVs, as with your current 11 receivers, would be quite complex if you're thinking of putting any one of 11 sources on any one of 25 TVs.