Additional equipment and what to expect...

[tuskaloosa25]

Last week I has a tech come out and install a new DVR....He did a great job and even switched out the old side car dish to the Slimline dish.....3 of the out puts are currently occupied, 1 for the DVR and the other for a regular HD rec. I want to upgrade that receiver to a HD-DVR, and add 2 additional HD only receivers. What should I expect, and is it all included in the free installation....

[carl6]

An external multiswitch (WB68) will be installed which has 8 outputs. All four of the connections from the dish will be wired to the inputs of the WB68, then you will have one coax for each tuner (2 tuners in a DVR) from the WB68 to your receivers.

[tuskaloosa25]

Pardon the stupidity, if the WB68 is used, does that mean an additional line will have to be ran to the new DVR?

[joed32]

Pardon the stupidity, if the WB68 is used, does that mean an additional line will have to be ran to the new DVR?

Yes.

[tuskaloosa25]

I was hoping to avoid that for the tech's sake, living in Florida with it 85 degrees by 8:30 am....

[CCarncross]

Last week I has a tech come out and install a new DVR....He did a great job and even switched out the old side car dish to the Slimline dish.....3 of the out puts are currently occupied, 1 for the DVR and the other for a regular HD rec. I want to upgrade that receiver to a HD-DVR, and add 2 additional HD only receivers. What should I expect, and is it all included in the free installation....

SO I'm reading this as you currently only have 3 lines coming from the dish? So there needs to be a 4th line from the dish to where the WB68 would be mounted. If there is wall fishing involved dont expect any of that to be free as part of the standard install. I recommend talking to the installer b4 he begins the upgrades so you are both on the same page and you are aware of any additional costs based on what you want done as far as lines run.

[tuskaloosa25]

I guess to make it easier and no questions, I could just run the RG-6 line myself since I know exactly where the line starts and ends....Am I correct in assuming this?

[RoyGBiv]

All four lines from the sat will have to go to the multiswitch. From there they go to the individual receivers. So, make sure all four lines coming into the house "terminate" in the same place, which is where the multiswitch will go. If the cables are currently going directly to the receivers, you can help the installer by 1) powering down all your equipment and unplugging it; 2) finding a place that is convenient to locate the ends of the four cables coming in from outside; 3) cutting the cable and temporarily splicing them with barrel connectors while; 4) running the new cable in from outside and leaving the end in the same spot as the other barrel connectors without connecting it to the sat yet. This way, the installer will only need to attach the one new cable to the sat and can remove the barrel connectors from the other 3 cables to attach the now 4 cables to the multiswitch and then the cables from the multiswitch to the receivers. You could if you wish run the other cables from this central spot to where the new receiver/dvr's will be so that the installer will only need to connect them and not run any cable. I do this as I don't want to worry about the appearance of everything after the installer's gone. The quality of such work varies tremendously.

SMK

[tuskaloosa25]

Will I have to pay for the external multiswitch (WB68), or will it be included in the upgrade? Even after having them come out the previous week to install the original upgrade?

[CCarncross]

While it seems you might have been a little short sighted for 2 upgrades in less than 2 weeks, if you get the upgrade through D*, whatever they need to add to make your system functional should be included as long as it falls within the standard install, wall fishing, etc...is not part of the standard install and could result in additional charges.