Do I still need all of this stuff?

[EarDemon]

Admittedly, I don’t follow this industry like I used to and I don’t keep up with it as I should.

My basement is a complete mess, and the tangled and sagging wiring along the celling of coax, Ethernet and speaker wire is just disgusting, pathetic and embarrassing. Last Saturday I cleaned up my Time Warner cabling. This weekend I’d like to tackle DirecTV.

On my roof I have a Slimline 5 dish and a World Direct dish feeding into a SWM8. The SWM8 is powered by the power inserter and then feeds an 8 way green DirecTV splitter where three ports are used that connect to the HR24, HR44 and DECA. This stuff was initially hooked up circa 2011, I think. Is all of this still needed?

If possible I’d like to simplify this. I’ve started already. I never realized until I looked it up yesterday that the HR24 has a built in DECA. Never knew that! I knew the HR44 did, not sure about the HR34. But the installer originally installed one, when I had the HR24 and HR34. I unplugged the DECA, hooked the Ethernet cable from my network switch into the HR44 directly rebooted both DVRs and bam, full network connectivity with no DECA. Then I went downstairs are ripped that line of coax down.

With only two DVRs and no plans to add anything else. Can the splitter be totally removed from the equation by utilizing an unused port on the SWM8? It’s hard for me to see what the ports are for since everything is such as mess. If not, can I replace it with this 2 way? http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIRECTV-SPL...830144?hash=item33a69fea40:g:DIoAAOSw3ydVt9aJ

Is there any type of switch or updated LNB that would allow me to no longer need a power inverter and/or splitter? I’d like to keep access to 95. I occasionally have an in-law that stays with us for extended amounts of time that enjoys international programming, and I’m hoping maybe one day hell will freeze over and D* will add Sky News.


Thanks for the input!

 

[jcrandall]

You can't move away from the SWM switch if you still need the world direct dish. You can move away from the splitter if your SWM switch has a SWM1 and SWM2 output, thought it won't save much (1 jumper / splitter). Ensure the power inserter stays inline with the SWM1 port. Do not use the OTA port.
Where your setup gets complex is needing the second dish / external switch.

As you found the HR44 has built in DECA. DirecTV installers are still expected to use a separate DECA and not connect ethernet to the receiver. I'm not sure the why behind it, as they've had the ethernet capability for a while. With so many varying home networks, I imagine DirecTV is looking to take some element of the home network out of the DirecTV network so to speak.

 

[EarDemon]

Thanks for the info.

The switch has an SWM1/PWR Port and and SWM2 port. The first one feeds the power inserter the second one goes to the splitter. The three ports on the other side marked Legacy are empty. Can they be used for anything? When I was looking up info yesterday, I read something about the PI being able to be plugged into Legacy Port #3. Does that sound right? This would then allow me to hook the DVRs in SWM ports 1 and 2.

 

[jcrandall]

Legacy ports are for SD only non-swm receivers such as a D10/D11. You should maintain the power inserter on SWM1 as it is. You can eliminate the splitter and connect one of the receivers to the power inserter, or leave it as is with the splitter. As for the rest of the SWM setup it is correct and shouldn't be changed.

 

[rad]

While it's an extra connection I prefer to have the broadband DECA for connecting the MOCA network to the internet. Using your setup now if you have to reboot your HR44 then your other two receivers have lost their internet connection. For your current config not that big of an issue, but for me since I have two RVU TV's that require you use DECA for the ethernet then if my HR54 got rebooted then any internet app like Netflix or Amazon Prime is also down until the box comes back up.

 

[EarDemon]

The rebooting of receivers isn't much of an issue here. Time Warner/Spectrum is my primary source of TV and gets most of my viewing. I maintain DirecTV mainly for sports and for the occasional international programming. NFL ST every year, and rotate between NHL CI and MLB EI, I watch a few things on Audience and I'm 'moved' (sorta) so when one of the few network shows I watch is interrupted locally for whatever reason I switch to the other set of locals. Perfect example, last month Big Bang Theory was JIP 10 minutes in thanks to the coverage of a winter storm. I switched over to the HR24 in the living room, which receives different locals then the HR44 in the bedroom and then I do on cable so I could watch it. It is very rare that both DirecTV receivers are in use at the same time.

Found the page I visited yesterday that mentions using the legacy port for the PI.

http://forums.solidsignal.com/showt...er-way-to-connect-your-DIRECTV-Power-Inserter