Wiring Preparation for HD Service...

[BlueHiddenSun]

I am a new member to the site but have been a guest for the last couple of months. I have spent the last few weeks trying to get the neccessary information I need for prepping my house for HD. I currently have an R15 receiver and an old round dish and want to upgrade to HD in the summer.

I have two coax cables coming from the dish. One is coming up to my living room and the other one is cut as soon as it comes into the house. (Previous owners had cable)

I want to run new RG6 wire from the dish to 4 locations in the house (Living Room, Basement, and 2 Upstairs Bedrooms). With the SWM technology I was hoping to take advantage of just using a splitter in the basement. I would only have an HD DVR in the Living Room and SD non-DVR receivers in the other 3 rooms for the time being, with a possible upgrade to an HD DVR in the basement, sometime in the future.

From what I understand so far all I need is one wire for a DVR instead of having two wires hooked to both tuners like my current R15.

Now for the questions...

1)What kind of connectors should I get? (I already have a stripper and crimp tool)

2) Is there a distance limitation for the power supply? I've read on the site that there is a maximum distance of 15 feet?!?! If that is the case and my dish is already up on the roof 15 feet does that mean I have to install my power supply on the side of the house?

3)I was debating whether or not to purchase the equipment, should I buy it myself? (i.e. dish, receiver, power supply, splitter) If I called DirecTV for an upgrade would they bring me a SWM Slimline and new receivers? All I would have to get is the coax cable and splitter.

4)When I call to upgrade should I specifically ask for a SWM Slimline, or is a default dish with an HD upgrade?


If I am missing anything or something is not making any sense, I apologize ahead of time, but I would appreciate the assistance and advice. Thanks.

[carl6]

First off SWM will only work with certain receivers, so you need to make sure you get the proper model numbers. All of the current HD models are supported, but only the R16 SD DVR and D12 SD receiver will work with SWM (the R15 and D11 will not).

1. Get compression connectors, not crimp.
2. 15 feet is the recommended minimum, not maximum. You should be able to go over 100 feet if necessary.
3. If you get the upgrade through DirecTV, they should do everything necessary including running coax. But no guarantee you will get SWM.
4. SWM is going to be the default, but I'm not sure that is universal yet.

My suggestion would be to go for HD receivers instead of SD. Recurring monthly cost is the same (but it might cost you more up front). That would get you SWM for sure.

[BattleZone]

You can't ask for SWM equipment; if you qualify for it, you'll get it automatically, and if not, you won't.

Assuming you are upgrading your R15 to an HD-DVR (and not trying to keep the R15), you should get a SWM install. The R15 is not SWM compatible, so if you keep it on your account, no SWM for you, at least, not from DirecTV.

I agree that I'd look at going with as many HD receivers as possible, especially with MRV being live now (though still officially in Beta). Make sure you run Ethernet cables (I recommend CAT6) along with your coax to each room. Even if you don't use it now, you'll be happy you did.

[BlueHiddenSun]

I am definitely not keeping the R15. I was planning on upgrading to an R16. I don't want all HD receivers in the house. As of right now I only have 2 TV's and both are SD. I am getting an HDTV this spring, which is why I wanted to prepare for the HD service. I would use the R16's for my SDTV's and get and an HD DVR for my HDTV. So getting any more than one HD receiver is just a waste at this point in time.

I do not want them to run the coax because I don't want it strapped to the side of my house, I want the wiring to be in the house which is why I was going to run it.

Is there a specific compression connector I want to get? What kind of tool does that require? I guess I didn't really research much into the connectors.

Just to clarify, I am going to want to run RG6 cable outside (with enough to reach the new dish) and run to each room while having all the ends come to a central location (utility room) going into a splitter (4 way or 8 way??). All the tech will have to do is mount the new dish, hook up the new power supply and connect the new receivers. Am I missing anything??

Thanks for the quick responses.

NEWB QUESTION.. what is MRV??

[carl6]

MRV = Multi Room Viewing. Ability to watch a DVR recording in a different room via another HD DVR or HD receiver. SD units will NOT support MRV.

If you are going to run all the coax first, I would run 4 from dish to utility room, then 2 from utility room to each tv location. That way you are covered for most anything. Maybe leave an extra couple of feet of coax at each end and let the installer put the connectors on for you (tip him a bit).

Most any compression connector will work. Lowe's and Home Depot both sell suitable connectors and compression tools. I've got some Ideal 92-650 which work on both RG6 and RG6Q (Quad shield). Buy an inexpensive stripper while you are at it, makes the job much easier.