Need Info on Coax configuration in new House build

[ethanlerma]

But I never could get a straight answer from anyone at Dish as to whether the cables from each room needed to be run to the outside OR to the central location. It seems I'm getting the same two answers here as well.

That's because both answers are valid, its just one is better then the other. Ill attach a diagram below of the wiring you would need so you can get an idea of what it will look like. (VIP receivers and Wally's wired the same here).

As you can see, it all depends on where you decide to place the switch, in this case the DPP44. If you want it outside and out of sight, then each room needs a coax run to the outside. If you place the switch somewhere indoor in a centralized location alongside the rest of the wiring you are running (the "preferred" method) then you do the coax runs to that centralized location. From the switch a minimum of 3 runs to the outside satellite dish (4 would be better for backup/future expansion with OTA). That fourth green cable coming off of the dish is for ground, I would probably connect it somewhere outside instead of brining it in as the diagram shows.

So, is it required/better to have each of the RG6 runs out to the Dish location or is it sufficient to have a single RG6 (or maybe 2-as a backup) run from the Dish back inside to a common point where the splitter/distribution point would be? (understanding that a second RG6 might be used for OTA)

You can't do a single wire run from the distribution point to the satellite dish unless you go for a Hopper DVR, which you have expressed not wanting to do.

 

[Bobby]

So, is it required/better to have each of the RG6 runs out to the Dish location or is it sufficient to have a single RG6 (or maybe 2-as a backup) run from the Dish back inside to a common point where the splitter/distribution point would be? (understanding that a second RG6 might be used for OTA)

Run three if you are western arc, and a fourth for OTA.

 

[cpalmer2k]

I agree with most of the other posts here, if you can afford it, or cut a deal with the contractor to allow you to run them yourselves even I'd run multiple coax feeds to every possible TV location as well as multiple CAT runs. When my wife and I got married back in 2013 we ended up buying a house instead of building. The house was built around 2006, but the contractor had gone crazy with multiple coax runs to each room and 2-3 phone jacks per room. He wired all of the phone jacks using ethernet cable, so it was easy to just convert them to ethernet. As a result every TV in our house is hard wired both from a coax standpoint and an ethernet standpoint. He also had multiple coax cable runs to both the living room and master bedroom, which has allowed us to feed DirecTV & OTA simultaneously to those locations.

Also, I don't know where you are located, but consider pre-running multiple coax cables for your OTA antenna(s) as part of the construction process from your central feeding area to the outside like you do for the Dish. If you have access to multiple TV markets you could put up antennas pointed in different directions and combine them with something like Televes SmartKom. That would allow you to feed multiple markets throughout your house along with satellite.

 

[W6MMS]

And don’t forget to think through the locations of 120 volt power receptacles. Those are cheap to add during construction and building code specifies the minimum which you can choose to exceed. This is an easy way to avoid extension cords and power strips. Go for more receptacles in the walls and fewer power strips on the floor. Don‘t get me started on ground fault interrupters where one in the bathroom trips off the lights in the living room.