Install of a second DVR receiver in home

[bushwik]

Hi all,

I'm new here and this question has probably been posed about 8 million times before so please bare with me (and, I did tried the search function here but it would take me ages to sift through all of this knowledge that came up)

I am installing a second dvr box in my home and wanted to see if I could get some pointers on the best way to do it so that I am not screwing anything up or having to re-install things and purchase equipment more than once.

I currently have a DVR box in the living room that runs dual lines straight from the satellite on the roof. What do I use to split the dual cables (multiswitch or duplexer??) and is it best to split it on the roof closer to the dish or can I split it where it enters the house? I plan to use a second dvr so I need another set of coax running to that box too.

Any help would be great as I have been putting this off forever worried I'll mess something up..

Kind Regards,

BK

[roadrunner1782]

:welcome_s to DBSTalk.Com You would need to split the signal with a multiswitch. Depending on which dish you have will determine what multiswitch to use. Which dish are you using?

[carl6]

If your dish is a round 18" dish with 2 coax coming down, then almost any multiswitch will work for you. You would need a multiswitch with 2 or more inputs and 4 or more outputs (referred to as a 2x4, 2x8, 3x8, 4x8, etc.). Hook the 2 coax from the dish to the first 2 inputs on the multiswitch, then run coax from the outputs to each DVR tuner (2 coax per DVR).

If your dish is an oval dish (SD or HD), then it will almost certainly have four coax connections on it (even if only 2 are being used). In that case, if you are adding one more DVR, you only need to run 2 more coax from the dish to the new DVR. Once you grow beyond 4 connections you would have to add a multiswitch with 4 or more inputs and 8 or more outputs. For HD, you specifically need the Zinwell WB68.

[bushwik]

Awesome. Thanks fellas! I appreciate the knowledge!:D

[bushwik]

If I install a second dish can I use my other receiver (from the same Direct TV account) on that different dish? I'm under the assumption that as long as the receiver and card are registered to my account I can use them on any dish and it doesnt have to be on the same dish as my other receiver correct?

[houskamp]

If I install a second dish can I use my other receiver (from the same Direct TV account) on that different dish? I'm under the assumption that as long as the receiver and card are registered to my account I can use them on any dish and it doesnt have to be on the same dish as my other receiver correct?
yes as long as it's at the same address (per directv contract)