Dizzy counting all the connections....

[emrys]

My cable ( TWC ) bill just went up like $30 because we just got out of a promotional period. Time to move on. We have a TivoHD, but I am willing to sacrifice ( to the ebay gods ) the tivo for some decent HD at a decent price. I think we will be going with E*. I understand there is some contention about new HD channels, etc, compared with D*, but I think this will be our best bet for price and features. Anyways....

So I have 3 x RG6 cables going into the house. We will need to go to DSL if we use all three, or get someone to pull cables. The house is brand new, and I'd rather not have to pull cables. These 3 cables are home-run ( they should be at least, I know 1 is for sure ) to a wiring closet in my garage. The closet in the garage then has a splitter for like 16 ( there are more cables than drops, for some reason ) cables all throughout the house. My goal for now, is to get a dual tuner DVR to the main viewing area, and 2 single tuners, without having to pull cables. I know we can get the 2 "feeds" via one cable to the room, but how do I get the primary feed into the house? I guess the question is, how many wires actually need to get to the closet from the outside to provide service to ultimately 7 single tuners and 2 dual tuners?

Is this even possible with the already in place infrastructure? Unfortunately I was stupid and only planned on building for cable ( we moved from the country and were bug eyed when we got cable ), but it looks like the electricians thought ahead for a bit and at least provided extra runs. I can get the same people that ran the cables ( professional job, btw ) to come in and add some if needed, but I don't want holes drilled all throughout my house to accommodate this if I can help it.

I've read through a lot of manuals, and tried to get images of the dishes and switches and stuff, but I am lost at this point. Too many connections, too many varibles, and too much eagerness to abandon TWC.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[emrys]

Just wanted to add that we want the local dishHD Ultimate package, the Top 100 package, and HBO. Not sure if this makes a difference.

 

[RandallA]

"The closet in the garage then has a splitter for like 16 ( there are more cables than drops, for some reason ) cables all throughout the house."

If the closet is gonna be your distribution hub for the different rooms, you need at least 3 cables from the outside to this closet. A switch or switches will go in the closet to distribute the signal to the different rooms. For any package with HD, you'll 3 satellite locations. 119 and 110 are for some HD and most of your SD channels and then you'll need 129 or 61.5 depending on your location for the rest of your HD channels and possibly your HD locals. You may want to give us your zip code or location to see if you have HD locals available.

Do you know where all those 16 drops are going to? You will only need one per room but it will be nice to have two per room if you plan on using an antenna for OTA.

 

[emrys]

This picture here just confirmed for me, I will be good with only 3 cables : DISH Network DPP-44 VideoPath Dish Pro Plus 4x4 Cascadable Multiswitch (DPP44) 129349 | DPP44 (129349) [DISH Network] | DishPro DP-44 DPP DPP 44 DP44 Dp-44 DP 44 dp pro + 44 switch multiplexer

phew

We won't use any over the air stuff, our zipcode qualifies for locals. I don't know where all the drops are going. They numbered all the cables, but didn't leave the key I have to assume that all the rooms are live. I only have a phone toner which does't work well with RG6. I should have them come out and re-tone everything and provide me a key.

So 3 cables into the house is good enough, but can I get enough switches inside the house to distribute signal throughout?

Just a curious question... what is FSS?

Thanks for the response.....

 

[RandallA]

This picture here just confirmed for me, I will be good with only 3 cables : DISH Network DPP-44 VideoPath Dish Pro Plus 4x4 Cascadable Multiswitch (DPP44) 129349 | DPP44 (129349) [DISH Network] | DishPro DP-44 DPP DPP 44 DP44 Dp-44 DP 44 dp pro + 44 switch multiplexer

phew

We won't use any over the air stuff, our zipcode qualifies for locals. I don't know where all the drops are going. They numbered all the cables, but didn't leave the key I have to assume that all the rooms are live. I only have a phone toner which does't work well with RG6. I should have them come out and re-tone everything and provide me a key.

So 3 cables into the house is good enough, but can I get enough switches inside the house to distribute signal throughout?

Just a curious question... what is FSS?

Thanks for the response.....

You can have up to 3 DPP44 switches giving you 12 outputs. The DPP44 switch allows a single cable run for dual tuner receivers. The installer can also use diplexers to send the signal for TV2 to other rooms.

http://rweb.echostar.com/departmental_content/TechPortal/images/tech/dp44_02.jpg

One more thing, there's a 4 tuners limitations for leased equipment. You can add more receivers to your account if you purchase them but I think the max. is 6 receivers. Some people get away with more receivers.

Dish Network has a few FSS satellites 121, 105, and 118.7. For FSS here is some info from Wikipedia (scroll down for Dish Network):

Fixed Service Satellite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[emrys]

Cool, so 12 feeds to the tuners. Does that mean only 12 tuners? Like if I have a dual tuner, does that count as 2 and only allow me 10 more? If that is the case, I should still be fine. Just trying to define the options.

Very quick responses... saving me some stress

Thanks

 

[RandallA]

Cool, so 12 feeds to the tuners. Does that mean only 12 tuners? Like if I have a dual tuner, does that count as 2 and only allow me 10 more? If that is the case, I should still be fine. Just trying to define the options.

Very quick responses... saving me some stress

Thanks

12 outputs is the technical limitation but there are some limitations that I just added in the above post. How many receivers do you think you'll need?

 

[emrys]

Right now, I need 1 dual tuner for the main room, with a single tuner that can control that DVR from the bedroom ( I believe this is the setup that comes with a new 2 room install ). We then need maybe 4 more single tuners for now. 2 empty bedrooms, a family room, and my office. Might as well future-proof : we have another bedroom that is storage, a kitchen outlet, and a TV niche. So ultimately another 3 more. So 7 single tuners and a dual tuner, I guess. We don't have kids yet, so I can't pamper them with DVR's for at least another 8+ years, so

 

[RandallA]

You could probably do it with 4 dual tuners and a single tuner for a total of 5 receivers. The 322 is a dual SD receiver. The 625 is a dual DVR SD receiver and the 722 and 622 are dual DVR HD receivers. The 311 is a single SD receiver. There's also the 222 dual HD receiver. So any combinations should work for you but like I said they will lease you 2 dual tuners and the other receivers you'll have to purchase.

It was mentioned that they will remove this limitation but as of last week it wasn't been changed. I called last week to lease another receiver and they wouldn't allow me.

 

[emrys]

Thanks for all the info Randall... I am looking at DSL now, and once I get my internet connection moved over, it's E* I come Anybody looking for a TivoHD ?

You da man

 

[emrys]

One more question... I was just looking at the prices of the DPP44's... and they are around $200... Will Dish provide at least one of these for the initial install ?

 

[RandallA]

One more question... I was just looking at the prices of the DPP44's... and they are around $200... Will Dish provide at least one of these for the initial install ?

You may want to get as many receivers ready as you can on that first install so they're forced to install a DPP44. Let's say you lease 2 dual tuners and have one more receiver that you purchased, they could install a 1000.2 dish that can feed 3 dual tuners and you won't get the DPP44 switch. If you have 2 extra receivers + the 2 leased receivers then they must install a DPP44 to make it work.

When you order, ask how many receivers you can lease? and don't give up on the first call. You could also try emailing ceo@echostar.com to see if they can lease at least one more receiver. It never hurts to ask.

 

[emrys]

wow, that is a lot of hardware... I really only need the two receivers right now. The goal is to save money If I order more hardware in the future, will they provide a DPP44 if it's required or will that be a billable item?

 

[emrys]

So, I'm confusing myself even more now. In order to get the dual-mode, you need to have 2 cables running to the primary? Am I understanding this correctly? If so, then we would need single mode devices all throughout the house if we only have one cable run to each room. Is that right?

This whole dual tuner single cable thing sure is confusing.

 

[RandallA]

So, I'm confusing myself even more now. In order to get the dual-mode, you need to have 2 cables running to the primary? Am I understanding this correctly? If so, then we would need single mode devices all throughout the house if we only have one cable run to each room. Is that right?

This whole dual tuner single cable thing sure is confusing.

With a Dish Pro Plus switch or LNB, you can feed a dual tuner receiver with a single cable run. A DPP44 switch can feed 4 dual tuners with a single cable run to each receiver. This switch is very versatile and that's why it's expensive.

 

[RandallA]

wow, that is a lot of hardware... I really only need the two receivers right now. The goal is to save money If I order more hardware in the future, will they provide a DPP44 if it's required or will that be a billable item?

I doubt that they will provide the switch if you upgrade in the future unless they need to add a dish that requires a switch. That's why I'm suggesting to get as many receivers as you can before the initial installation.