2 Hopper 3 Joey - Cat5 vs HIC

[JDErickson]

Hello all,
I have tried reading a lot of threads to get the answer but lots of conflicting info so I'm asking the experts.

I had a 2 Hopper (1 sling, 1 regular) and 3 Joey system installed yesterday.

I have Cat 5 access to both Hoppers and 1 of the Joeys. The other 2 Joeys are not accessible by cat5.

Installer says the best way to get internet access is for him to install a HIC in my home run box that will feed the whole system. He said this is better than using cat5.

In reading forums it seems that cat5 is the preferable way.

Should I just connect my Hopper with Sling and activate bridging and leave all the other units off cat5? If so will all units be able to use DLNA and on demand/Blockbuster?

Should I leave both Hoppers on cat5 and activate bridging on both?

Should I use the HIC as installer suggests and not use cat5 at all?

Thank you in advance.

 

[sparc]

Should I just connect my Hopper with Sling and activate bridging and leave all the other units off cat5? If so will all units be able to use DLNA and on demand/Blockbuster?

this is basically the preferred way. With bridging enabled on that single cat5 connected hopper, everything else is fully connected to the network.

However, you can let him use the HIC since it's free with the initial install. HIC is a reliable alternative since there are no bridging settings to mess with and it's all hardwired. If you really want to, you can rewire it after he's gone. Plus you have the HIC around for later troubleshooting if necessary.