New Install Today - a few questions

[jimmy x]

So I have a few questions before the installer shows up - I ordered Standard Definition programming (Top 100) and I'm getting the DVR 625 for a 2-room install. The 2nd TV is about 30 ft away. Is the wire from the receiver to the 2nd TV just a plain old coax or will they run RCA cables? If RCA cable - is that part of the free install?


I prefer a pole mounted dish in the backyard about 35-40ft from the house - can I tell the installer where to place the dish assuming there's reception there?


And I've read the post '15 simple rules to make an install go smooth' - so hopefully everything will run smooth.

This is a great forum - thanks for any replies.

 

[RandallA]

"The 2nd TV is about 30 ft away. Is the wire from the receiver to the 2nd TV just a plain old coax or will they run RCA cables? If RCA cable - is that part of the free install?"

Most likely RG6 coax will be going to TV2. If you want composite cables (RCA), that's custom installation and you will probably need to supply the installer with the cable. They sell them at monoprice.com and the max is 50 ft.

 

[DirtyTurbin]

Just be friendly to the installer and all should go smooth. Explain to him you would like a pole mount and see what he does. Good luck.

 

[Andrewwski]

Why only 50 foot composite cables? You can always couple them together or make your own.

 

[adavis720]

With a greater length of composite cable than that there would certainly be signal degradation.

 

[popzezo]

composite wil loose signal bad over 50' if rca is a must then you need to go to radio shack and buy a converter from f connector to rca, as far as pole mount, will more than likely get a groan, mainly due to the more work involved.. personaly i hate when i am forced to a pole.. i hate digging

 

[jimmy x]

Smooth install! No more rabbit ears!

Great installer - asked me about dish location before I could ask - he didn't have a problem with the pole or trenching. We realized during the install that the crawl space above the living room (1 and 1/2 story house) had no access. Looks like I forgot about taking out the small door in the upstairs bedroom when I moved a wall during last years remodel. So no 2nd TV for now - I'll have to make an access point.

Another RCA plug question - do the RCA inputs give a better signal over the RG6? I was considering them for that reason.

Oh - and thanks to this forum I ordered through the dishstore.net - what a great promotion. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Roadwarrior]

With a greater length of composite cable than that there would certainly be signal degradation.

I think you can buy compression type RCA ends and just use RG-6. It seems to me the degradation wouldn't be much of a factor. I've never done this since most people don't want to pay for it, so I could be wrong.

 

[lownote2]

Smooth install! No more rabbit ears!

Great installer - asked me about dish location before I could ask - he didn't have a problem with the pole or trenching. We realized during the install that the crawl space above the living room (1 and 1/2 story house) had no access. Looks like I forgot about taking out the small door in the upstairs bedroom when I moved a wall during last years remodel. So no 2nd TV for now - I'll have to make an access point.

Another RCA plug question - do the RCA inputs give a better signal over the RG6? I was considering them for that reason.

Oh - and thanks to this forum I ordered through the dishstore.net - what a great promotion. Thanks for the replies.

No access point? Is it an interior room? Couldn't the installer get to it from outside and go in? Granted you'd have to use RG6 instead of RCA's, but honestly, I really don't think you're going to notice much of any difference between the two unless your running a dual tuner HD receiver an

 

[lownote2]

Smooth install! No more rabbit ears!

Great installer - asked me about dish location before I could ask - he didn't have a problem with the pole or trenching. We realized during the install that the crawl space above the living room (1 and 1/2 story house) had no access. Looks like I forgot about taking out the small door in the upstairs bedroom when I moved a wall during last years remodel. So no 2nd TV for now - I'll have to make an access point.

Another RCA plug question - do the RCA inputs give a better signal over the RG6? I was considering them for that reason.

Oh - and thanks to this forum I ordered through the dishstore.net - what a great promotion. Thanks for the replies.

No access point? Is it an interior room? Couldn't the installer get to it from outside and go in? Granted you'd have to use RG6 instead of RCA's, but honestly, I really don't think you're going to notice much of any difference between the two unless your running a dual tuner HD receiver and meaning to use composite cables.

 

[Andrewwski]

You can easily run composite for runs larger than 50 feet. I don't reccomend using something as thin as the composite cables that come with your DVD player, but if you use a decent cable you can literally run hundreds of feet.

I'm not a satellite installer, but I use RG59 bundles of 3 cables and terminate with a compression phono connector. I've run both composite and component connections in lengths well over 200 feet without any noticable picture change.

As for composite vs. modulated output, the composite will probably give a slightly higher picture quality, but it probably won't be too noticable. The one advantage is stereo sound is not available from the modulated output, but most people don't really care about that for TV2.

You do have another option, but it's hit and miss on whether it will work. You could pick up one of those wireless composite senders. I've seen cases where they work very well, and I've seen cases where they don't work at all. Grab one from Radio Shack...if it doesn't work, you can always return it.