Which Multiswitch?

[2jeff]

I have a Directv with Tivo combination receiver. I want to put an additional receiver (no Tivo) in my bedroom. I have a dual LNB oval dish. I have to cables that come from my dish to my Tivo/receiver. I know I need a multiswitch to get the signal to my bedroom. In a couple of years I want to upgrade to HD DVR (hopefully a TIVO). What multiswitch should I get that can be used when I upgrade? I eventually plan to have 2 HD receivers with DVR's. I receive my local channels through Directv (no OTA). I'm not sure how the format switch to all digital might change things if when I get my HD DVR's I choose to receive my local channels OTA.

A qualified response to this post might be lengthy. Anyone up to the task?

 

[BluegrassGuy1976]

I have a Directv with Tivo combination receiver. I want to put an additional receiver (no Tivo) in my bedroom. I have a dual LNB oval dish. I have to cables that come from my dish to my Tivo/receiver. I know I need a multiswitch to get the signal to my bedroom. In a couple of years I want to upgrade to HD DVR (hopefully a TIVO). What multiswitch should I get that can be used when I upgrade? I eventually plan to have 2 HD receivers with DVR's. I receive my local channels through Directv (no OTA). I'm not sure how the format switch to all digital might change things if when I get my HD DVR's I choose to receive my local channels OTA.

A qualified response to this post might be lengthy. Anyone up to the task?

No problem, welcome to the forums. I'll start with the first part of your question, about what you need to add a regular reciever to the existing TiVo unit you have. First I need to know exactly what kind of dish you have. You said it is a dual LNB but then said oval so I'm a little confused. How many "eyes" does your current dish have? 1, 2, or 3? If it only has one "eye" then very simply, the two lines coming from your dish to the TiVo, at some point will need to be cut, and a 3x4 multiswitch inserted at the cut point. If the room you are adding is next to where your TiVo is currently located, you could insert the switch right behind the TiVo and go through the adjoining wall with the new line. Or if you have a unfinished basement/crawlspace and your other room is on the same floor, same thing, splice the switch into the lines behind the Tivo, run your new line down through the floor into the basement then bring it back up into the other room. ( You can run 4 lines off of the 3x4 switch with only the two lines coming in, so you could run one tivo and 2 standard; two tivos, or 4 standard off the one switch.) IF HOWEVER, you have dish with 3 "eye's" on it, you DO NOT need to add a switch as one is already built into the LNB assembly on the dish itself, you'd have to run any extra lines from that.

To the second part of your question:

If you are planning to upgrade to a total of 2 HD DVR units eventually, (note they will NOT be TiVo branded units. DirecTv and TiVo no longer partner and the HD DVR are now built in-house by DirecTv) the dish that will be installed with the HD has a multiswitch incorporated into the LNB assembly that can run 4 separate lines off of it without a secondary switch needed. So if you get two HD DVR's 2 lines each you'll have 4 total lines coming off the dish, 2 each to the DVR's.

As for the issue of digital/OTA, your satellite signal is already digital. The 2009 transition won't affect you. If you watch TV with an antenna on an old analog TV however, you will need either a satellite box, or upgrade your TV to one that has a digital tuner built into it. Maximum distance to recieve the OTA without an amplifier is roughly 30-38 air miles.

Hope I've answered what you were looking for, once again welcome to the forums, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here who will be happy to address questions you may have.

 

[Jimbo]

No problem, welcome to the forums. I'll start with the first part of your question, about what you need to add a regular reciever to the existing TiVo unit you have. First I need to know exactly what kind of dish you have. You said it is a dual LNB but then said oval so I'm a little confused. How many "eyes" does your current dish have? 1, 2, or 3? If it only has one "eye" then very simply, the two lines coming from your dish to the TiVo, at some point will need to be cut, and a 3x4 multiswitch inserted at the cut point. If the room you are adding is next to where your TiVo is currently located, you could insert the switch right behind the TiVo and go through the adjoining wall with the new line. Or if you have a unfinished basement/crawlspace and your other room is on the same floor, same thing, splice the switch into the lines behind the Tivo, run your new line down through the floor into the basement then bring it back up into the other room. ( You can run 4 lines off of the 3x4 switch with only the two lines coming in, so you could run one tivo and 2 standard; two tivos, or 4 standard off the one switch.) IF HOWEVER, you have dish with 3 "eye's" on it, you DO NOT need to add a switch as one is already built into the LNB assembly on the dish itself, you'd have to run any extra lines from that.

To the second part of your question:

If you are planning to upgrade to a total of 2 HD DVR units eventually, (note they will NOT be TiVo branded units. DirecTv and TiVo no longer partner and the HD DVR are now built in-house by DirecTv) the dish that will be installed with the HD has a multiswitch incorporated into the LNB assembly that can run 4 separate lines off of it without a secondary switch needed. So if you get two HD DVR's 2 lines each you'll have 4 total lines coming off the dish, 2 each to the DVR's.

As for the issue of digital/OTA, your satellite signal is already digital. The 2009 transition won't affect you. If you watch TV with an antenna on an old analog TV however, you will need either a satellite box, or upgrade your TV to one that has a digital tuner built into it. Maximum distance to recieve the OTA without an amplifier is roughly 30-38 air miles.

Hope I've answered what you were looking for, once again welcome to the forums, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here who will be happy to address questions you may have.

Nice Reply Blue Grass

I only have one slight discreferency , The OTA portion (You stated 30-38 miles) really depends on what type of antenna he decides to use and what the land in his specific area is like.
Hills and or mountains, he will get less distance ... Flat areas, Florida for example he can probably get much farther that 40 miles.

2jeff,
You can always add an amplifier to your antenna.
Also, if you only trying to get your local.
Try checking out this site:
AntennaWeb

Give it your zip at least and it will show you how far away your local towers are and in what direction the towers are in, you'll be surprised , but I bet they are not very far away. Keep in mind, 30 miles in antenna terms is not very far.

Jimbo

 

[BluegrassGuy1976]

Very true on the comment about the surrounding land contours and terrain. The Cincinnati area is very hilly and does affect how far the OTA signals travel. I actually live on a ridge and am situated such that I can pick up all Cincinnati ( except WCPO because the nitwits broadcast VHF and my antenna only picks up UHF) and even some Dayton OH channels OTA, which Dayton from me is probably 60-70 miles as the crow flys. I do have a 15dB amp on my antenna though too, without it most my OTA would only be at like 60-70% strength.

And like Jimbo said ( glad you mentioned this too ^^), antennaweb.org is a VERY good website for OTA, antennas, broadcast distance etc etc. I printed out a broadcast map for my pops to use when he upgraded to an LCD with built-in digital, he's pretty happy with it. ^^

 

[otaota]

Try checking out this site:
AntennaWeb

And like Jimbo said ( glad you mentioned this too ^^), antennaweb.org is a VERY good website for OTA, antennas, broadcast distance etc etc.

Another great site is www.tvfool.com. If you have Google Earth, their downloadable coverage maps are VERY cool.