Wiring requirements for Dish

[vima]

Hello, this is my first post, obviously.

First, I've been reading in this forum for a few hours today to try and find some information I need, but haven't found anything specific enough. I've also tried google (the first place to look) and didn't really find much of anything I needed... except for this site.

I am currently a comcast subscriber, but would like to switch over to Dish Network.
I have done and can do basic wiring for cable television. I wired my parents house and everything turned out great (did the research and used high quality components.)

From my reading here, it appears there are a lot of differences between wiring for a cable tv connection and a satellite. I have read about not using splitters for satellite and also possibly requiring multiple coax wires coming in from the dish, instead of just the one in a cable tv/internet setup.

I prefer to do my own wiring when I can. The problem is, I haven't been able to find enough information for the setup I need to do.

On to the hard part. There are actually two houses I would like to wire up for dish. I'll first dive into my parents house, because that will be the easiest to set up. Once I know how to do that, I can move on to the other house (an apartment my father owns,) which will be much more complicated.

At my parents' house, they have one coax line from the cable company. If they were to switch to Dish, what extra wiring would be needed? I already understand that splitters need to be removed. The problem with this house is it is fairly old and is mostly brick. That is one thing my father will not tolerate -- excessive drilling into the brick. So basically, what are my options for using the one single run of coax that is currently there (rg6, obviously) and still being able to use a dish? -- I should clarify -- There needs to be 2 televisions connected and have separate signals. Are there any restrictions on what programming, content or equipment I can use for the Dish Network? For example, I read about DVR and/or HD receivers requiring multiple coax runs from the dish. Is that true, or can they be transmitted through one single coax and then separated further down the line inside the house?
What would be the most I could get out of 1 single run of coax from the dish while adhering to rules & regulations as well as maintaining good quality streams coming in?

If it is indeed possible to get a dish feed in through one coax cable, I assume for it to be used on 2 televisions the line will have to be "split" in some way. I read that you can use a dual-tuner receiver, which will be located by one television and you will control the 2nd tuner with a UHF remote. The problem with that is the house is extremely large and the televisions are basically on 2 different levels and at 2 different ends of the house. The current cable wiring would also be much easier to modify if I didn't have to run a single strand to the dual-tuner receiver, then a 2nd strand from that receiver to the other television. I would prefer a single-tuner receiver for each television. Is there a reliable way to separate the signals? Is it different if you want DVR and/or HD?

I don't know the tech jargon for satellite systems, so you'll have to bare with me, but I'll go brush up on the language in the Glossary.

Any help you guys can provide is very much appreciated.

Josh

 

[Kru83]

can you tell us where do you live ???

 

[Jim5506]

In order for all of DishNetworks programing to come through with a lesser chance of signal loss, that one cable must be RG-6 rated at 2500Mhz. Old RG-59 may work for a while, but will eventually corrode enough to not pass the high frequency channels in a DPP system. Make sure the one line coming is in high frequency RG-6.

 

[rcdallas]

Pretty much all you need to do to wire a system is a dedicated home run line to each room consisting of RG-6.

 

[vima]

can you tell us where do you live ???

Sure thing -- Utah.

In order for all of DishNetworks programing to come through with a lesser chance of signal loss, that one cable must be RG-6 rated at 2500Mhz. Old RG-59 may work for a while, but will eventually corrode enough to not pass the high frequency channels in a DPP system. Make sure the one line coming is in high frequency RG-6.

I will do that for sure.

Pretty much all you need to do to wire a system is a dedicated home run line to each room consisting of RG-6.

Do you mean a separate rg6 coax coming in from the dish for each room? Or can you run the single coax into the house, then somehow "split" it up for each room? What is used to split these signals as, obviously, standard splitters will not work.

Thanks for the quick replies, guys!

 

[Kru83]

Sure thing -- Utah.

I will do that for sure.

Do you mean a separate rg6 coax coming in from the dish for each room? Or can you run the single coax into the house, then somehow "split" it up for each room? What is used to split these signals as, obviously, standard splitters will not work.

Thanks for the quick replies, guys!

you can use single coax if you are just gone use 2 room setup.... but if you are gone do 4 room. u need dual rg6 going to where the main spilter is.

 

[rcdallas]

I mean run a homerun RG6 line from each outlet to a central point in the house, typically near the electric panel.

 

[vima]

you can use single coax if you are just gone use 2 room setup.... but if you are gone do 4 room. u need dual rg6 going to where the main spilter is.

Ok, so for 4 rooms there needs to be 2 rg6 runs from the satellite to the splitter, then. If i wanted DVR and/or HD, would that change or can they also go through the same RG6 run?

What are these splitters you are talking about? I guess I can't use standard cable splitters, so what is generally used in this sort of setup? I read something about "separators." Is that what they are called?

 

[vima]

I mean run a homerun RG6 line from each outlet to a central point in the house, typically near the electric panel.

Good, that's what I was hoping you were saying
My new question in the my previous reply applies to your response as well... regarding the "separator" or "splitter" used to go from the external RG6 to the multiple homeruns to each outlet...

 

[vima]

Sorry for the multiple responses in a row...

I've been doing some more reading as well as checking out some stores that sell accessories for satellite systems. I came across skyvision.com, which I think has been mentioned before as having high quality accessories.

So, for the current setup I'm trying to do, I would have a single high frequency rg6 coax line coming in from the satellite and I would then be able to split it to go to the 2 rooms the signals need to go.
On the Skyvision site, I see a couple different possibilities -- diplexers, switches and multi-switches.
Is a diplexer going to do the job I need it to? Simply splitting the signal and run to 2 single-tuner receivers. Or am I going to need a switch? Or is there something else that should be used, for example, a simple high frequency 2 way splitter?

I also saw the LNBF things on Skyvision. It says you use a twin LNBF to connect 2 receivers in the house. So, that would require another RG6 run from the LNBF, obviously. Is that feature just to make it easier to connect two receivers or is it a requirement?

 

[Kru83]

for 2 rooms u are not gone need switch. LNBF has built in switch so u wont have to run dual lines to dual tuner reciever. u are only gone need diplex... now all you have to do is go to http://www.dishstore.net/ and setup your service. claude will hook you up.

 

[vima]

Sounds good. Thank you.

I'm sure I sound annoying, but I'm one of those people who wants to know every little thing that is going on so I know what I'm getting myself into.

In the apartment I'll be living in, it will be a much more complicated setup, but I think the help I've gotten from here will provide a great basis. Basically, we want to pre-wire it for the possibility of having more than 2 rooms connected. Not necessarily connected at the same time, but provide the possibility to connect 4 rooms at one time. There are potentially 7 rooms that we're going to run coax to.
Would it be best to run 2 coax strands to each room just in case? They don't need to be connected all up at the breaker box with the rest of the satellite network, but we're doing it for the option. I'm guessing in that situation we would need a switch or something. We may leave that to the new owner, though.

One last thing for now regarding the diplexer...

So I connect the single end of the diplexer to the RG6 coming in from the satellite/LNBF and then on the other two ends (output I guess) I run one single RG6 to each single-tuner receiver?

On the chance that in the future, we decide to get an HDTV or want to get DVR receivers, does any extra wiring need to be done or are we good to go on the single RG6 coming in from the diplexer?

 

[Kru83]

running 2 rg6 is good idea. u wont need to do extra wiring for DVR. but if you get HDTV u might have to add dish or may be add switch.....