Question regarding cabling for satellite (1 Viewer)

[Bobby C]

Hi All,

I am in the middle of a basement teardown & build up for a HT. When I tore down the old ceiling (basement), I decided while I'm at it why don't I cable for voice/data & TV for the upstairs as well. While I currently don't have cable, I currently have a couple of drops for cable. Another piece of info is I have a Leviton distribution box - where my voice & data can be routed, as well as a single in for CATV & multiple outs.

While I haven't decided on what service to use (Dish vs. DirecTV), I will install some sort of satellite service in the next couple of months. This is a small house, I don't see having more than 2 locations for the satellite, one in the HT (using a FP) and another in a study (although I wouldn't mind wiring for other rooms where I could move a receiver if I want the 2nd TV in a different room). So here's some questions:

1. As I understand it, a satellite run for each receiver goes back to the dish, right? In other words, I can't run one COAX in & split it.

2. If I ever want a Tivo (or similar), do I need to cable differently? With satellite, must a Tivo be a single location device or can a Tivo located in 1 room be routed to another for playback? This isn't a big deal, but I'm interested.

3. In my HT, I will be getting a HD receiver. From what I understand, most satellite doesn't offer much in local HD. If I have an exterior antenea to pick up OTA HD, can that integrate with a receiver? Or would I need a separate tuner for that? So if I that works (a receiver can take not only the satellite signal, but an OTA one as well) I'll probably need a cable drop to that location, right?

Any other cabling issues I should be aware of?

Thanks!
Bob

 

[Robert_J]

1. It goes back to the dish or the multi-switch. There are a few circumstances where you can split the coax but that involves stackers or multiple switches.
2. You must run one cable per tuner for the DirecTivo or the Dish PVR721/921. If you want to distribute audio/video via a modulator, you can use a Tivo, satellite receiver, DVD player, etc. I distribute two sat receivers, a VCR and a DVD player to every room in the house. If you are talking about transferring a recorded show from one Tivo to another, then yes that is also possible but only for stand alone models. The DirecTivo does not support this. More info is available in the PVR section.
3. Both Dish and DirecTV offer CBS from NY and LA in certain markets. DirecTV will have Fox (480p) soon. Most people use an antenna to pick up local HD. Yes, it is integrated into the guide of your satellite receiver. You can diplex the OTA onto a satellite cable but you will lose signal strength and you are opening up yourself for more equipment failures. I ran a dedicated antenna line. If you decide to go with an HD PVR, you will need two coax for satellite and one for antenna (or diplex it). Even though the HD DirecTivo will have dual OTA HD tuners, it only needs one antenna cable.

-Robert

 

[Bobby C]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the info. A couple of questions:

- As I understand, you have 2 coax - one for the tuner & one for the antenna, right?

- Also, I'm very curious how you cabled your house for 2 satellite, a VCR & DVD. Is the modulator that you are talking about talking signals from all of these devices & then just outputting a single coax to each room?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Robert_J]

Yes it is. It's like a mini cable company. I have sat 1 on channel 55, sat 2 on 57, DVD on 59 and VCR on 61. I have IR targets in each room that connect to the coax. They relay the remote signals back to the modultor which has IR emitters plugged into it. All of my remotes work in every room. Parts Express and Smart Home have modulators. I have a pair similar to the ChannelPlus 3025. I've heard good things about the Dayton brand (the PE house brand) but they don't relay the remote. I may the 3 channel model to my system when I add some security cameras.

-Robert

 

[Bobby C]

Robert,

Again, thanks for the info! Wow, didn't know you could do all this stuff. Are you using an antenna as well as DirecTivo? How would that work in such a setup? Also, is there any signal degregation with such a setup? I imagine it doesn't do HD, are you doing any HD in your setup?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Robert_J]

I have a Radio Shack Double Bow Tie antenna connected to my HD receiver. The HD receiver and DirecTivo are two separate receivers. They are not connected to each other in any way. Also the DirecTivo does not do any HD. That's why I want to get the HD DirecTivo when it comes out in late March/early April.

-Robert