Building a new house - need some advice on wiring

[lemosley01]

I posed this on the E* forum as well, and wanted to see how DTV compares.

We met with the company that will be doing the structured wiring in the house that is being built. He indicated that the roof drop will include 3 runs of cable, but that E*/DTV were actually wanting up to 5 to allow handling HD? The cost of the two additional pairs is $330.

I was under the impression that I would only need 1 or 2 cable drops from the dish to handle SD and HD?

All cable terminates back to a central location. We are planning on having a dual tuner DVR in one room, a single tuner DVR in another, and possibly one or two other non-dvr SD boxes in two other rooms (in the future).

Also, can I use a single run to the dual-tuner DVR then use a diplexer to split the signal to the two tuners in it (and will this still allow HD?), or do I need to have two actual runs from the satellite switch (sorry, don't know the terminology)? We had two runs from the switch in the old house to service the dual-tuner DVR.

My current plan is to have 2 cable outlets in the room that will have the dual-tuner DVR - one outlet will feed the DVR, the other will be used to feed the signal from output 2 back to an RF modulator so the other TVs in the house have access to that tuner.

Thanks for any help - we're not at the point where we MUST make the decision, but that will be happening in the next month or two and I want to be prepared.

Thanks

 

[Zynergi]

With DirecTV's current HD (or Ka/Ku) set up, you will need 4 Wires from the dish and from what you stated 6 lines in the house. So 4 Wires from outside to the AV Panel then a WB68 feeding the rooms. DirecTV only offers Dual Tuner DVR's, they only function 1 TV set though. You can't "split" or "diplex" a D* DVR for both tuners.

When your cable guys are dropping lines make sure they use RG6 rated to 3ghtz or higher. Quad Shielded Cable is not necessary if the cost is significant. Ends (connectors) are not needed as the installer will install those, and likely will remove the ones there. But make sure they do not use Crimp on connectors at the wall plates and use compression fittings. If possible use White Cable and have them label the rooms with a diagram as no one will remember what Bedroom2 is in 3 months. Make sure all runs from the rooms to the AV Panel are home runs and not split in walls or the ceiling. I know New Home Building Code requires the lines to be attached and not free hanging in the walls, but if at all possible have them use plastic cable clips verses staples. Staples over time tend to damage the cable and can result in problems faster than clips.

If you plan to Purchase a SWM8 (Single Wire Multiswitch) or a SWMLine (Single Wire Dish/LNB) .. Newest D* technology. Then you only need 1 line outside the house. I say buy because the technology is still in test phase and you are not guaranteed that the tech will be using it. But you will need an open Power Outlet in the AV Panel for the system.

If I was building a House I would personally run 2 lines to each room that I would ever possibly put a TV in. I would even get lines run to my back Porch and Garage/Workshop. TBH $330 to run 2 lines in what I assume is house without walls yet seems high. You may want to let the electricians run the electrical and contact a local DBS retailer for a quote on running the Coax Lines.

Hope this helped some and didn't confuse you more.

 

[lemosley01]

Thanks Jef - any reason why you would have two lines per room?

I thought $330 seemed high, too, but the builder won't let anyone else do it other than their 'certified people' - otherwise I'd pull the line myself and let the installer connect it.

Power isn't an issue - the A/V panel will have it. I'll probably go with 5 drops from the roof, because, at this point, I'm not sure which company we'll be using. I'm starting to lean towards Direct, but I'll have to see their DVR in action before I make that decision.

 

[Zynergi]

I would use 2 lines for 2 reasons, if I ever wanted to place a DVR in a Room or if one line goes bad I wont have some dry wall jockey tearing up my walls to replace a cable.

Well you are paying for the house, I assume it is not a gift. You should have a choice in what contractors install what in the house. It is after all your house. The Builder is only saying that Bobs Big Beefy Wiring Coop can do the job as there is a kickback of sorts going on. I assume you have not closed on the house because it is still being built but if you want a lime green roof with a furry door, why should the builder stop you.. you have started legal documentation with intent to buy along with financial documentation from the mortgage company. So in all essence the home is sold to you, and only you can back out at this point not them.

 

[iwc5893]

With DirecTV's current HD (or Ka/Ku) set up, you will need 4 Wires from the dish and from what you stated 6 lines in the house. So 4 Wires from outside to the AV Panel then a WB68 feeding the rooms. DirecTV only offers Dual Tuner DVR's, they only function 1 TV set though. You can't "split" or "diplex" a D* DVR for both tuners.

When your cable guys are dropping lines make sure they use RG6 rated to 3ghtz or higher. Quad Shielded Cable is not necessary if the cost is significant. Ends (connectors) are not needed as the installer will install those, and likely will remove the ones there. But make sure they do not use Crimp on connectors at the wall plates and use compression fittings. If possible use White Cable and have them label the rooms with a diagram as no one will remember what Bedroom2 is in 3 months. Make sure all runs from the rooms to the AV Panel are home runs and not split in walls or the ceiling. I know New Home Building Code requires the lines to be attached and not free hanging in the walls, but if at all possible have them use plastic cable clips verses staples. Staples over time tend to damage the cable and can result in problems faster than clips.

If you plan to Purchase a SWM8 (Single Wire Multiswitch) or a SWMLine (Single Wire Dish/LNB) .. Newest D* technology. Then you only need 1 line outside the house. I say buy because the technology is still in test phase and you are not guaranteed that the tech will be using it. But you will need an open Power Outlet in the AV Panel for the system.

If I was building a House I would personally run 2 lines to each room that I would ever possibly put a TV in. I would even get lines run to my back Porch and Garage/Workshop. TBH $330 to run 2 lines in what I assume is house without walls yet seems high. You may want to let the electricians run the electrical and contact a local DBS retailer for a quote on running the Coax Lines.

Hope this helped some and didn't confuse you more.

I agree with this along with the added caveat of running CAT5e and phone lines to each location. Why not plan for the future? In addition, going out to the dish location from the AV panel I would consider running 5-6 lines (depending upon your area you may need an extra dish for locals and another dish for international channels/installed spare)

 

[lemosley01]

I' ve alread planned for Cat5e in every room. The house will be covered by wireless but entertainment systems will need a hardline, so most of the rooms have it. Some won't (dining room, formal living room, kitchen), but the bedrooms and family/game rooms do.

Phone lines, I'm not worried about. I can use 1 on the pair in the Cat5E for voice, and the the other for GigE; every room that has ethernet could have a phone in it.

 

[Jimbo]

How about an extra line for the potential of OTA signal coming into the home at some point.

I would run 3 coax to each room that has TV, also like Jef mentioned, make sure you label them as you go.
If you get the SWM setup, that will free up a coax, but why chance it.

Jimbo

 

[lemosley01]

W00t. Go bucks!

5 drops - 4 for directv, one spare of for an OTA antenna. My understanding is that can be multiplexed in and split later, is that correct?

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I got 4 lines in the 3 bedrooms,Living room,Movie room. 2 for Directv,1 Dishnetwork,and 1 for cable .
Office has 3, 2 for D*,and 1 for E*
Garage has 2, 1 for D* 1 for cable.
I don't use the cable lines,and never have Yet, But if I need another line ,Its good to know I got a spare.
I only have 4 Cat 5 in the entire house,1 in the Living room ,and 1 in the Movie room,2 in my office.
The other 2 bedrooms and Kitchen Have 1 Coax output in each room, But not hooked up to anything . But I do have them ran next to a multiswitch for easy hookup if needed.
All Quad RG6

 

[Jimbo]

W00t. Go bucks!

5 drops - 4 for directv, one spare of for an OTA antenna. My understanding is that can be multiplexed in and split later, is that correct?

You would be better off going the separate line route, at least thats what I would do.

Jimbo

 

[HDinCincy]

W00t. Go bucks!

5 drops - 4 for directv, one spare of for an OTA antenna. My understanding is that can be multiplexed in and split later, is that correct?

Multiplexing my OTA did NOT work when I switched from E* to D* a year ago. Fortunately OTA was just a backup as my locals come from D* in HD.

 

[Phoenix1]

I thought $330 seemed high, too, but the builder won't let anyone else do it other than their 'certified people' - otherwise I'd pull the line myself and let the installer connect it.

Or do like I did and pay for the minimum and go in after their installer finishes and add your own. You also might want to have a coax line run to the side of the house where cable TV might come in (you never know what they might offer in the future to get you away from satellite TV).

Personally, two coax and two Cat-5e (phone and Ethernet) pulls is the bare minimum that I would pull to each location where you think you might put a TV. I pulled 4 coax to my main TV in the family room (2 for D*, 1 for OTA and 1 for output to other TVs). I wish I had done that in all the rooms now. I planned to have one coax for D* and one for OTA in all the other rooms, but now I have DVRs in two rooms taking up both coax runs.

 

[spaceghost]

What I would suggest is two pulls to each room, each on a separate wall. I would then run a jumper from the two pulls in each room. Basically this will give you the ability to have two lines on each wall if you choose using the jumper and the flexibility to rearrange the room.

 

[egnlsn]

Here's a vote for 5 drops to the outside world -- 4 for the dish and 1 for OTA. Each outlet should get 2 CAT5e and 2 RG6 minimum. Whether the RG6 is standard or quad, really depends on your locality. If you have radio/TV transmitters close to you (within just a few miles) or are in a large, urban area, definitely use quad. Other than that, standard, dual-shield coax is fine.