How do I hook up twelve rooms?

[danie906]

Alright you satellite freaks... try this one.

I just built a new house and I have a cable bundle of two cat5e and one coax to every room in the house, sometimes two in a room. (They are terminated at a four port keystone which works really nice with just one j-box and a single plate, anyhoo...) I have two coax running from the dish to the "Network Hub", then the coax all run to the rooms from there. There are twelve lines total running out from the hub and the rooms are all over the house on three floors.

I currently have a legacy Dish500 with dual LNBF (110 and 119) which connect to a SW21 before entering the house on one of the two lines available to an old DV3 receiver.

Here are my questions:

What is the ideal/most efficient/cost effective method to connect to the lines running to each room? I figure I will probably only have a television in two rooms to start, four or five locations max, so the extra lines are just for flexibility. But just for fun, could I hook up all twelve?

Can I just get a standard coax splitter and connect five or eight or twelve lines to the line from the SW21 and just put a reciever at the end of each line where I want a TV?

I think the new 522 needs two lines to it, but I don't know why or what each line is for. Could I use this receiver make the setup easier?

Thank you!
Jeff

 

[peid]

I just built a new house.......

What is the ideal/most efficient/cost effective

You just built a new house and are considering 12 TVs, yet are worried about cost? Something's wrong with this picture!

 

[cdru]

For 12 receivers, you have two choices. The easiest and cheapest to have all 12 lines hooked up would be to switch over to DishPro technology and use 3 DP34 switches, cascading from one to another. This would give you your 12 outlets. The other option is to go with a after-market stacker with splitters/amps, but it wouldn't be supported and would likely be more expensive.

I beleive Dish only allows 6 receivers on an account, and the 322 and 522 are only available on lease, so you can have a max of 2 2-tuner receivers, so that leaves you 8 tuners/4 receivers short.

You may look into getting some type of whole-house distribution system going. It's doubtful that you would need to have all TVs on different channels at the same time. With only 4 tuners, you could feed the entire house like a mini-cable tv company.

 

[danie906]

You just built a new house and are considering 12 TVs, yet are worried about cost? Something's wrong with this picture!

NO! I don't plan on having a tv in every possible location, but I AM trying to understand the technology so that I could if I wanted to. I will probably only have two maybe three at first.

 

[peid]

NO! I don't plan on having a tv in every possible location, but I AM trying to understand the technology so that I could if I wanted to. I will probably only have two maybe three at first.

That's fine, I was just having fun. No harm intended. Sorry to offend.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Anyway, back to the point of the thread.

You are admittedly a newbie - that's fine, no problem. So, let's start with the basic rules of the E* hookup game.

First, NO splitting of a satellite feed! None! Nada! Nyet! Yes hotshots, I know there's an exception - it's not applicable here.

Second, ALL coax must be RG-6 rated for at least 2150MHz. Anything less and you're crippling your installation. Yes hotshots, I caught that he's Legacy only right now.

Third, you've got to make some decisions as to what kinds of TVs and where, along with how many different channels you want at one time. For example, you could go the mini-cable TV type system - but then you will NOT have high-quality picture anywhere in the house, let alone HDTV. The mini-cable system puts all the satellite receivers in one place and uses their RF outputs to send the signal around the house. This is the absolute LOWEST QUALITY TV signal you can get. On the other hand, if you put receivers next to their TVs you can use the higher quality outputs. It's also still possible to feed the RF signal back through the house just to cover a couple of less important TVs. IT GETS COMPLICATED.

Bottom line, conversion to DishPro with a DP switch at the center of the install is probably where you're going to end up.

Note that with a new address, telephone, and someone else's name. it MAY be possible for you to become a NEW customer. If so, you should be able to get a full installation of a 322 and a 522 with the signal spread around the house. that gives you 4 sseparate tuners, with a DVR. It's a very effective setup.

 

[farmsatguy]

Keep in mind that unless you get your hands on a DP Plus 44 switch, you will need 3 cables in any room that has a dual tuner receiver (such as 322, 522, etc). Two cables will come from the switch (currently the DP 34 switch) to the receiver. Think of the x22 models as 2 receivers built into one and as such still need 2 coax cables to get the satellite signals (one for each of the tuners). You will then need the 3rd cable to "backfeed" to the 2nd TV hooked up as part of the x22 receiver.

With the ever promising, but impossible to get, DPP 44, you would only need 2 cables - one going in with a DP Separator at the receiver and the other cable to backfeed. Keep in mind the distances the signal will carry and the distance the UHF remote controls will work when setting this up.

John

 

[SimpleSimon]

Actually, the TV-out backfeed can be done using a diplexer on one of the satellite feed cables. If you get the DPP44 (which ARE being sold!), then you can use a single cable. There's other solutions, too. For example, I have installed a 322 in a bedroom using that room's house feed for Sat-1, then punched through the wall with a piece of dual RG-6 to the 2nd bedroom. Grabbed THAT room's house feed for the 322's Sat-2, and used the other side of the dual RG-6 as the TV2 backfeed to the 2nd bedroom. Hokey, but simple and it worked just fine.

All that being said, farmsat's comment about distances IS pertinent.

 

[ajohnson]

Actually, the TV-out backfeed can be done using a diplexer on one of the satellite feed cables.

Yow! I bet thats a highly overlooked option

 

[SimpleSimon]

Yow! I bet thats a highly overlooked option

nah - at least not for a decent installer.

 

[JimMcC]

12 TV's

12 TV's, you must be insane.

 

[AJF]

I have all my receivers (a 322 & 2/522's) centrally located and I'm using the RF out's to feed the TV's throughout my home, and I must say that the picture is EXCELLENT with these new receivers. The only one I don't use RF on is my 921 wich is located at my HDTV. Unless they will be large screen tv's or HDTV's, I think you'll be fine using the RF outouts. This also gives you the option of using modulators to distribute other sourced throughout your home such as DVD's, surveillance cameras etc. Even if you eventually have 12 TV's ( alas, I only have 9 ) you shouldn't need 12 receivers. You really only need as many receivers as the number of people in your house .

The whole idea of having your house wired such as yours, with all the wires home-run to a hub (mine is wired the same way) is to have all your equipment centrally located and then distributed out to the rest of the house including; satellite or cable, computer network, telephone, whole house audio, security cameras, lighting & home automation .

Did you also wire for whole house audio ?

 

[bcshields]

At any rate, you want to have, as a minimum, a DPQuad (yes, Quad) and a DP34 to allow for future expansion. You can add on as many DP34's/DP44's as you'd like to fit in as many tuners as is needed. You can use a DPTwin to start out, but take the Quad if they offer it.

I'd look into 'mirroring' televisions and UHF remotes.

 

[danie906]

I have all my receivers (a 322 & 2/522's) centrally located and I'm using the RF out's to feed the TV's throughout my home, and I must say that the picture is EXCELLENT with these new receivers. The only one I don't use RF on is my 921 wich is located at my HDTV. Unless they will be large screen tv's or HDTV's, I think you'll be fine using the RF outouts. This also gives you the option of using modulators to distribute other sourced throughout your home such as DVD's, surveillance cameras etc. Even if you eventually have 12 TV's ( alas, I only have 9 ) you shouldn't need 12 receivers. You really only need as many receivers as the number of people in your house .

The whole idea of having your house wired such as yours, with all the wires home-run to a hub (mine is wired the same way) is to have all your equipment centrally located and then distributed out to the rest of the house including; satellite or cable, computer network, telephone, whole house audio, security cameras, lighting & home automation .

Did you also wire for whole house audio ?

Yep! I haven't hooked them up yet (just closed) but I have eight channels to the home entertainment center in the living room, and then another 12 channels through the house from the computer for MP3s, etc.

Thanks for the input.

 

[AllieVi]

You really only need as many receivers as the number of people in your house

My philosopy is a bit different (even considering that none of us really "needs" a TV).

I believe you should have a set at every location where you may spend time. In addition to the main TV in the living room, my house is polluted with inexpensive 13" Sylvania sets that are within a few feet of wherever I happen to be. A couple years ago my friends were amused when I came home with a six-pack when they were on sale for a particularly good price.

I built a house a few years ago and personally pre-wired it with lots of dual CAT-5/quad-shield RG-6 runs. From the central wiring cabinet, cables go to about 25 locations in the house. Currently, sixteen sets are served (and more are being considered...).

True insanity.

 

[AJF]

Finally, someone with more tv's than me !