Satellite Questions (1 Viewer)

[Mike Coady]

I always thought satellite was too expensive, but I'm ready to take the plunge now if I get the right answers to my problems. I'm going with DirectTV with 3 receivers and one of them being a DirectTivo, with an outside chance of adding one more regular receiver. If I use 2 of the receivers downstairs and one to handle the upstairs, can the upstairs receiver be hooked up to 2 or 3 tv sets? How can this be done? If so how do you change the channels on the individual tv sets?

Another question, since I currently have cable running to all my 8 tv sets and I have an outside antenna for HDTV, could my outside antenna be hooked up to the 8-way splitter to run a signal to all the sets that didn't get satellite?

I have a SA Tivo so could that be hooked up to satellite? If yes, how? Could you still record one thing with it and watch something else?

I'm supposed to get a triple dish, whatever that means.

I've heard people talk about modulators but I guess I just don't understand this modulator thing. I have 5 tv sets upstairs that I need to figure out a way to get either a satellite signal to or an outside OTA signal. If I get 3 receivers, my son will get one for his tv and I will get one for my HDTV (both downstairs), but that leave the remaining 5 sets upstairs sharing a receiver, this will work? If so then does that mean you have to go to the room upstairs that has the receiver to change to the channel you want before you go to the different tvs to watch? I mean if the upstairs receiver is in the living room, I will have no control of the channels if I'm in the computer room watching tv, right?

Where do you get these modulators? And will my satellite installer set this all up for me? Sorry for all the stupid questions, but this thing with all the extra tvs is make or break with my wife going along with this.

 

[Jeremy Little]

Lots of questions there. I think I can help. First off, are you wanting different channels on the upstairs tv's that you intend to run off one box? If so, that won't work, you need 1 box for every TV that you intend to have on a different channel. "Slaving" is the term used for controlling more than one tv via one box. If this is done, they all see the same channel that the box is on.

You can send antenna to all your tv's via a splitter, or.....

You mention using 3 receivers with one of them being a DirecTivo. The D*Tivo will require 2 seperate lines, plus the other 2 boxes will each have a single line. This will take up all 4 slots on a Triple-LNB dish. If there is a possibility, like you mentioned, of adding 1 or more boxes later, then I would highly recommend you have your installer put in a 5x8 cascading multiswitch now to ease the cost later. This will give you the ability to have up to 8 different satellite lines throughout the house with only one dish. With that, you can tie in the antenna (the 5th input) and send that signal to every tv in the house.

Lastly, the Standalone Tivo will work but it will not allow you to tape whilst watching anything else (the only exception being if wired correctly, you may be able to watch antenna).