New Installation - General Advice Needed

[Jobanian]

Thanks in advance for the help...
I just want to pre-wire the whole house before buying equipment but I suppose how I do it depends on a few things. I am a newbie who does not fully understand LNB's or Multiswitches. My biggest problem is not understanding the differences in dish equipment that is available.
Some quick facts...
1. Existing RG-59 will be replaced. I can't use it anyway because it comes in at the ground level and is split several times inside the house, resulting in almost no signal at the end.
2. Will be installing on top of a flat roof. Want to mount it to a 4" O.D. cast iron vent but don't know if there are any drawbacks to that.
3. Would like to run it to four rooms. At first, only one location would need all the latest features (HD, DVR, over the air (standard and HD) but ultimately would like to see all locations have that ability with no modification to wiring. For example, a bedroom may only need over-the-air stuff with no receiver but would like the ability to upgrade by simply adding equipment.
4. The DBS system would be a one-way system in that I am not interested in integrating it into a distribution panel.

My questions are....
1. How many runs of RG-6 do I need from the source? Is it 4 single runs to each room with no splits?
2. What is the source? The dish itself or some sort of switch?
3. If antenna(s) are required, does it get mounted to the dish?
4. Do I need separate antennas for HD and old-fashioned RF or does one antenna do double duty?
5. Do I need a nearby phone jack? I would like TiVO like features in the DVR.
6. Where should I purchase RG-6 coax? Should I get quad shield?
7. Are there major differences between equipment that is offered from the different companies? I don't care about HD content or sports packages at the moment.

Sorry for so many questions but I appreciate anyone who can help. If it's any motivation for anyone, I will be eliminating Comcast from my life since I have DSL. <begin rant> I can't understand how a company can be so short sighted. They continue to raise rates, the service is poor, and they want tax deferment for locating their headquarters in Philadelphia - and what do they plan to give back to the city? More low wage jobs? It seems they spend most of their money on TV ads saying how bad satellite is instead of investing in the well being of their host city :( <end rant>

[SimpleSimon]

... My questions are....
1. How many runs of RG-6 do I need from the source? Is it 4 single runs to each room with no splits?
2. What is the source? The dish itself or some sort of switch?
3. If antenna(s) are required, does it get mounted to the dish?
4. Do I need separate antennas for HD and old-fashioned RF or does one antenna do double duty?
5. Do I need a nearby phone jack? I would like TiVO like features in the DVR.
6. Where should I purchase RG-6 coax? Should I get quad shield?
7. Are there major differences between equipment that is offered from the different companies? I don't care about HD content or sports packages at the moment.

First, welcome aboard!

A1: I STRONGLY recommend running unsplit dual RG-6 to each location to a distribution panel. If you're gonna do this, just do it right the first time, or you WILL regret it sometime later.
A2: No idea what you mean by "source".
A3: OTA antennas are your responsibility - the dish mounted ones are crap.
A4: The key is VHF vs. UHF, not analog vs. digital. Some antennas will do both VHF & UHF, but your biggest headache (if any) will be direction. You need to hit http://www.antennaweb.org just for starters
A5: Yes, EACH location should have access to a phone jack. Run Cat-6 cable when you run the dual RG-6. Maybe even do bundled feeds - whether homemade or store-bought.
A6: We don't bother with quad shield and have had no problems. Find a local supplier. In fact, you should discuss this with a retailer, but don't abuse his time if you're going to do it yourself - at least buy something from him. Oh - you're going to need a good compression tool - don't screw yourself by messing around with crimp-on or worse yet, screw-on F-connectors.
A7: Not relevant to the wiring issue, but because you may want to switch DBS providers, do NOT tailor your house wiring for just one, which is why dual RG-6 is the minimum required. In fact, to avoid using things like diplexers, as many as FOUR feeds can be required just for a SINGLE receiver.

[Jobanian]

By the way, what I meant by source was the dish itself. How many RG-6 lines will be coming out of it?
Also, I was curious, what is the purpose of dual RG-6 to a single receiver? What kind of information is traveling to your system that one RG-6 can't handle?
Thanks for that antenna info also. :)

[SimpleSimon]

By the way, what I meant by source was the dish itself. How many RG-6 lines will be coming out of it?That depends on how many receivers you have and whether you use an external switch. Now, because we're not in a D* or E* specific forum, I didn't go into detail before. It gets technical. Real technical.

D* has 4 satellites - 101, 110, 119, and 72.5. You don't need all of them unless you're a full-boat user (HD with locals that are on the 72.5 bird). Standard D* Phase III dish gets 101/110/119 on one dish and has a built-in switch. Each cable from the dish itself will carry the signals from all 3 birds, but the receiver thinks it's only seeing two ---- no I'm not going there - too techie. NOTE: I'm not a D* expert - I might've erred in detail here.

E* has 6 birds active - 61.5, 105, 110, 119, 121, 148. If you have more than the core 2, at least one cable from it's dish to the switch is needed for each. Then one cable from the switch to each tuner. If you're only using the core 2 birds, and up to 4 tuners, you can have a single cable going directly from the dish to each tuner.

Also, I was curious, what is the purpose of dual RG-6 to a single receiver? What kind of information is traveling to your system that one RG-6 can't handle?A single RG-6 cable can carry, at most, the equivalent of ONE satellite's transponders. Therefore, a dual-tuner receiver needs two cables (there are exceptions, but hey - you're running cable, so run enough. ;) ). Plus, many people end up with more than one receiver at their main location.

So, bottom line, run enough wire while you're screwing with it. Bring it all back to a common point - indoors or out. Then let the (hopefully professional and not hack) installer do his job.

[Jobanian]

That was very informative. Sounds like you can get really into it by running more cable and adding more equipment. I like the idea of running 2 to each location though and maybe CAT-6 while I'm at it.