DirecTV wiring questions.... (1 Viewer)

[Lanny M]

I'm looking into setting our house up with a DirecTV Sat system; I've had DirecTV in the past, but only on one TV, and only for NFL Sunday Ticket. Now, we're settled in our new home, and I'm ready to dump ATT cable, which has been plauged with various reception problems that they have been unable to resolve.

When we built the house, we ran two leads of RG6 cable from a Sat friendy location in the attic to the wall behind our HDTV ready Sony in the family room. We also ran RG6 from the service port in the basement to each of the three bedrooms, as well as to the living room. If neccesary, we could fairly easily drop more lines from the attic to the bedrooms.

I'm planning on getting an 18x24 dish, which I need in my area to receive local programming. I'm also contemplating using a HDTV ready DBS receiver for the family room, but I would want it to receive OTA HDTV as well. I would want full capability in the family room-Sat HDTV, OTA HDTV, and standard Sat programming with locals. The only other room I'm concerned about currently is our master bedroom, where I would need standard Sat/locals.

With all this in mind, how would/could the system be wired?

1)What exactly does the 18x24 dish put out for signals? I know there are two LNBs, but how many leads are supported? I'm assuming that the dish comes with a multi-switch, but I'm not sure what they do.....do they combine ALL signals into one lead that I can plug into a receiver, or do I still need a pair of lines to run a HDTV receiver?

2)If I place an HDTV antenna with my dish, can that signal be sent in one of the same lines?

Thanks for any thoughts on this.....

 

[Larry Schneider]

The newer oval dishes have a built-in multiswitch, with four wires out. Each wire will support one independent receiver. A multiplexer will combine the OTA and antenna signals to feed the HDTV box.