Newbie Installation in one week, questions/advice?

[efy007]

Hello all, after about a year of debating whether to get rid of Comcast I finally took the D* leap. I have browsed through many threads here the last few days in order to avoid having to post a thread that may have already been answered elsewhere, but in all the reading I have done, it seems I now have more questions than I had before I started reading the threads.

Basically, I just need info/tips/advice on making the installation go as smooth as possible.

Mine is a pretty simple install (least I think it is.)

One TV getting connected to HD DVR.

-My locals are included in my area (zip 01129) so I am assuming I need not worry about OTA issues. Correct?

-Do I need to concern myself with grounding? Is installer expected to use ground rod?

-What should I look for when he checks for signal strength? 70 is minimum requirement? But I am assuming that I would want 80 or more? The dish will look for three satellites, 99,101,103 (if I understood prior threads correctly?)

-If he's got multiple receivers in truck, should I preference one? It seems many want the HR21, but most get the HR20.

-I do not want him to use my existing cable as I may want to leave my cable service on for a while in case there are kinks with installation. I expect him to run RG6 from dish to basement and up to the living room. Is this acceptable expectation?

-I am running a cat5 from living room to my cable modem as I assume that will provide the best connection for VOD and make life easier for him. Correct?

-I do not have phone line in the living room. Is installer expected to run new phone line to basement to phone junction box?

Any answers, advice, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Ed
Springfield, MA

[litzdog911]

1. If the locals listed on DirecTV's web site for your city are all you want, then you're fine. An off-air antenna can also provide some of the "sub channels" delivered by your local digital TV stations, if you care about that.

2. The installer should take care of proper grounding.

3. Most transponders on each satellite should be up in the high 80-90s.

4. That's up to you. The HR20 has built-in off-air digital tuners (the other models need the $50 AM21 accessory). The HR22/23 have larger internal hard drive.

5. He will most likely not want to re-use your Cable TV cables.

6. Correct. He should be able to simply connect the ethernet cable you've provided.

7. He might want to run a phone line. DirecTV's terms & conditions require it. But if you're DVR is connected to the internet, that might suffice.

[wildbill129]

My locals are included in my area (zip 01129) so I am assuming I need not worry about OTA issues. Correct?

You are correct, as long as D* offers all the channels that OTA will provide. You can look that up on D*'s web site

-Do I need to concern myself with grounding? Is installer expected to use ground rod?

Yes, your dish should be grounded. They are required to ground to the house bond. They would only use a ground rod if your dish is a long way from the house on a pole, but even still it's required to be attached to the house bond. The benefits of grounding are debatable, but are required by code and D*

-What should I look for when he checks for signal strength? 70 is minimum requirement? But I am assuming that I would want 80 or more? The dish will look for three satellites, 99,101,103 (if I understood prior threads correctly?)

Mine are in the 70's on some, 80's and 90's on most. I don't have any signal issues, except for snow. Someone else may be able to help you better than this one.

-If he's got multiple receivers in truck, should I preference one? It seems many want the HR21, but most get the HR20.

I like my HR20 better than my HR21. HR20 has OTA. HR21 has bigger hard drive. Just try to get anything other than a -100....

-I do not want him to use my existing cable as I may want to leave my cable service on for a while in case there are kinks with installation. I expect him to run RG6 from dish to basement and up to the living room. Is this acceptable expectation?

As long as he is not wall fishing, it will probably be fine. They will charge you more for wall fishes.

-I am running a cat5 from living room to my cable modem as I assume that will provide the best connection for VOD and make life easier for him. Correct?

Yes it will....but you may end up doing that yourself. In other words are ends terminated?

-I do not have phone line in the living room. Is installer expected to run new phone line to basement to phone junction box?

No, they will not run a phone line for you. They will only run a long extension cord. With internet connected you don't need it unless you want the caller ID function.

[cariera]

I would suggest that before anything is installed, have the installer explain to you where the dish is going, how the cable is going to be routed and if there are any custom charges. That way when there are no surprises after the install is done.:)

[jdspencer]

Actually the HR21 has the same size drive as the HR20. In fact, the HR20-100 is slightly larger than the HR20-700 (320 v 300). The HR22 and HR23 have 500 GB drives.