Directv Question

I am currently a Directv customer with a dual LNB dish (non-HD) with a receiver in the livingroom and family room in the basement. I recently bought a 46" Sammy LCD TV and called Directv and ordered HD (took 3 weeks to get an appointment). They are coming later this week to install/upgrade my equipment. I am getting one HD DVR for the livingroom (HD TV) and a regular DVR for the family room (tube TV), each are currently fed with a single coax. My question is.....will they have to pull another coax to each TV? Trying to understand what I am in for Thurs night...

Thanks in advance,
Mark

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Originally Posted by isubucky72

I am currently a Directv customer with a dual LNB dish (non-HD) with a receiver in the livingroom and family room in the basement. I recently bought a 46" Sammy LCD TV and called Directv and ordered HD (took 3 weeks to get an appointment). They are coming later this week to install/upgrade my equipment. I am getting one HD DVR for the livingroom (HD TV) and a regular DVR for the family room (tube TV), each are currently fed with a single coax. My question is.....will they have to pull another coax to each TV? Trying to understand what I am in for Thurs night...

Thanks in advance,
Mark

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No you won't HAVE to pull another coax, but you will want to. The HD DVR has two tuners, and if you only have one line going, you will only be able to record one show at at time. You will want two. That is probably part of their install, they should pull those for you.

Might want to pull 3 to the HD DVR in case they cannot/do not get locals in HD over sat this fall.

Can't they split the coax for this as the the two tuners will be across different frequencies?

Either way, it should be part of the install.

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Originally Posted by Rogue52

Can't they split the coax for this as the the two tuners will be across different frequencies?

Either way, it should be part of the install.

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No, that's not how it works.

It's actually a somewhat complex problem, but two cables are required for DirecTV if you want to watch two different channels in all but the most basic satellite setups.

BrianHos is spot on . One will work, but you really want two. And I'd take his advice and run 3 while you're running two. It's not much if any more work, and there's a chance sometime down the road you could use it (OTA, cable etc).
While you're at it, see if you can get him to run some Cat-5 to your boxes for DirecTV on demand :)

You will want two. You dont have to pull 2 right away but makes sure the installer makes it so you can hook up the 2nd coax easy. With 2 you can also watch one show and record another.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rogue52

Can't they split the coax for this as the the two tuners will be across different frequencies?

Either way, it should be part of the install.

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Yes, you can do it with a single wire multiswitch. Your HR21 can handle that, but I am not sure about the other one.

DIRECTV SWM-8 Single Wire Multi-Switch With Power Supply (8 Channel) (SWM-8) | SWM-8 [DIRECTV] | au9 au9-s au9s au 9 WBS41202NF KAKU DISH KUKA DISH KA/KU KU/KA Wide Band 5 lnb multiswitch ka ku SWM-8 SWM8 SWM 8 DIRECTV MULTISWITCH swim switches SWIM

They are kinda pricey too.

You'll want 2 in each room, or else you'll end up recording Grey's Anatomy for your wife while she is trying to watch ER.

Trust me, I know.

I found it easier to get a 3rd DVR so she can record all of her programs and I can record drag racing and It's always sunny in Philadelphia.

The only TV we watch together is Iron Chef and the other cooking shows.

I would call directv's installation team and ask about the SWM, as I am not sure if they are available everywhere yet. As far as the 2 lines goes, most installation companies charge extra for running lines thru the walls vs. being able to drill into the side of your house and run the extra cable from there. if you aren't interested in them drilling holes, you can ask if they have any flat coax, and they can run that thru your window if there is one nearby. I did that with one of my DVR's, and it worked out fine with about a 50 foot run from dish to DVR.

Regardless, you are going to want to have both sat tuners available to you, be it thru the SWM or the 2nd coax, or else you will be constantly wishing you had done it.