[Bayme]

Dish installers will be at the house on Saturday afternoon to instal 2 612 DVRs. I'm new to satellite and really looking forward to ditching my current cable company.

I want to make sure I have everthing I need before Sat. I do not have a phone jack behind either TV. I've read that it is not required to connect the 612 to the phone line. Is this true? Is it required to connect it to my home network? Do I need to buy a wireless adapter to connect it to my wireless network?

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

 

[ChuckA]

It does not have to be connected to either a phone line or the Internet. However, you will pay an additional $5 per month if it is not connected to either or them. If you can connect it via the Ethernet wire it will save you the $5 and give you access to video download over the Inernet. If you can't run an Ethernet cable to your router you can use a wireless bridge to convert the Ethernet to wireless.

 

[Bayme]

Chuck,

Thanks for the reply. Running Cat-5 from the downstairs TV to the router is no problem (in different rooms, but share a wall). However, I guess I'll need a bridge to connect the TV upstairs to the network wirelessly. Any router or bridge requirements I should be aware of? I'm currently running a Linksys WRT54G router with WEP encryption. At the install, I'll have broadband internet; however, next Tuesday I'm switching to DSL.

 

[ChuckA]

The WRT54G should work fine. The receivers do need a DHCP server to assign their IP address. There is a feature of the ViP receivers called DishCOMM. This lets multiple receivers use a single phone line. I am not sure if this will work by sharing a broadband connection going to only one machine or not. It may be limited to a phone connection only. But, you might ask the installer that.

 

[olguy]

The WRT54G should work fine. The receivers do need a DHCP server to assign their IP address. There is a feature of the ViP receivers called DishCOMM. This lets multiple receivers use a single phone line. I am not sure if this will work by sharing a broadband connection going to only one machine or not. It may be limited to a phone connection only. But, you might ask the installer that.

I'm using it for 2 622s via a Netgear WNR834B router and a Netgear XE102 Wall Plugged Ethernet Bridge. The only thing I had to do was plug them in. The router acts as the DHCP server.

 

[chainblu]

It is my understanding that while the 612 does have two tuners, it is not a Dual Tuner in that sense. It can only operate one TV and does not get hit by the "no phone" charge. On the 24 month contract it lists which receivers have to be plugged to a phone line and the 612 is not one of them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bayme]

I'm sure the WRT54G can serve as a DHCP server. I'll use DHCP to assign a static IP address (192.168.1.x) to each 612?

chainblu, I think you're right, the 612 does not require a phone line to avoid the $5 fee; however, it is necessary for Caller ID pop-up.

I'm not worried about Caller ID, I want connection to the net for downloading movies. I heard with the latest software update that Dish is capable of 1080p movie streaming?

 

[allargon]

Don't forget that Bayme can also use Powerline networking rather than a wireless bridge if he/she wants for network access. For me, that's much more preferable. I'm just putting that out there as another option.

Good luck with your install, Bayme!

 

[DBS Commando]

It does not have to be connected to either a phone line or the Internet. However, you will pay an additional $5 per month if it is not connected to either or them. If you can connect it via the Ethernet wire it will save you the $5 and give you access to video download over the Inernet. If you can't run an Ethernet cable to your router you can use a wireless bridge to convert the Ethernet to wireless.

I don't think this is correct - Dish will waive the $5 fee for the 622's/722's because they go on your bill as 2 receivers. The $5 is the price of one of those receivers.

The 612 only counts as one receiver even though it has 2 tuners. So there is no $5 to save.

I have a 612 connected to a phone line and that $5 deduction doesn't even show up on my bill.

 

[ChuckA]

Great. I don't have a 612, only 622 & 722 and didn't realize the $5 did not apply to the 612. Thanks for setting me straight on that.

 

[Bayme]

I thought about powerline as an IT friend of mine ran it in his house. After talking with him last week, he told me he was not very happy with it. He said speeds kept dropping over time. Maybe in the future powerline may be an option. So, I'm going to stick with my wireless network at least initially. I'm seriously considering running Cat-5 upstairs since I've heard sending HD data wirelessly is difficult. Any reason to run 5e or Cat-6?

 

[device manager]

I'm seriously considering running Cat-5 upstairs since I've heard sending HD data wirelessly is difficult. Any reason to run 5e or Cat-6?

http://www.cat-5-cable-company.com/faq-cat6-v-cat5e.html

CAT 6 VS. CAT 5e

[Q] What is the difference between CAT 6 and CAT 5e cable?

[A] Currently there is a great deal of confusion among Ethernet cable buyers concerning whether to purchase Cat5e, or to use Cat6. Most of this confusion comes from a misunderstanding by the buyer that buying Cat6 cable will give them an "all gigabit" network. This is not the case. Unless every single component in the network is gigabit rated, then you will never have a gigabit network, because your network will always run at the speed of your slowest device. Cat5e cable of good quality can run near or at gigabit speeds, it just cannot be "certified" for this use. By comparison, Cat6 is designed especially for gigabit use, and is certified to operate at said speed. It becomes a matter of whether or not you want to pay all that extra money, for little or no noticeable improvement in the performance of you network. In most cases, it makes more sense to go with Cat5e. It is for this reason that most of your new installations in the private sector are going with Cat5e. It is more economical, performs well, and is readily available in many colors. Many IT professionals when asked about why they specified Cat6 for a specific job, often responded stated that they "wanted the best they could get." This is the line of thought behind many purchases of cable. The average consumer often times is not aware that there is no real benefit to them to use Cat6, so they let someone talk them in to buying it. CAT 5 Cable Company is committed to helping people make good decisions about cable purchases and we are always standing by to help you.

 

[reddice]

I think you are right about the 612 not having to be connected to a phone or Ethernet. When I asked the install guy he said that it did not have to be connected but I asked would I be charged $5 and he said it does not have to be connected to no phone line. I still connect it using Ethernet because I want the online thing and to be on the safe side.

 

[Bayme]

The 612 does not need to be connected to either phone or internet and you will not be charged a $5 monthly fee.

Had Dish installed Saturday. Let's say it was an adventure. Installer showed up at 1pm on Saturday. I was getting Americas Top 200, Silver HD, and local package with 2 VIP 612 receivers, one for the TV downstairs and one for upstairs. The previous owners of my house had DirectTV, but the tech (Mario) did not like the location of the base; he thought it was too low. So the plan was to mount the new dish higher, about 4 feet below the roof line on the back corner of the house. He mounted the dish, hooked up the 612 and we had a signal strength of 68 on sat 119. He didn't like that. He said it should be over 100 initially and after the receiver downloads everything, the signal drops in half. So if it was at 68 now, it would drop to 30-something after the download. He got up on the ladder and I started calling out signal strengths as he fiddled with the dish. The strength never got above 70. He thought that maybe the roof overhang was interfering with the signal, so he lowered the dish. Still got 68 signal strength. He mounted it a third time on the side of the house. Still had 68. By this time, he was completely exhausted. He said he could get a better signal strength if he mounted it on the roof. It's approaching 5pm and he doesn't know what's going on. He's feeling light headed, probably from heat exhaustion, and can't re-mount the dish on the roof. So he calls his boss and another tech who said he could come out on Sunday and finish the install. He gave me the number of the new tech (Juan). Mario reconnected my TWC and said that the cable boxes need to reboot and I'd be back in business. So he took off. Well, TWC service never came back on. I called TWC and they told me that they lost signal from my TVs around 1pm and couldn't see them now. They thought maybe Mario had done something to the amplifiers.

So now I have no TV. I call Southern Star to confirm that a tech would be coming out on Sunday. I get their voicemail which is full, so I can't even leave a message. I finally call Juan, the new tech and left a message telling him my situation. He called back and said he was on his way. The second tech showed up a little after six. I told him the situation and told him to just mount the thing on the roof. He connects the 612 and gets a signal strength of 68. I told him that's what we got like 4 hours earlier. He said that the old software (L4.77) cut the signal strength in half, but the new software (L6.00) does not, that the signal strength you get initially is what you have. You can tell if you have the new software by looking at the signal strength meter. If the '0' and '10' are red, you have the new software. So we begin the download on both receivers while he buttons up the wiring outside. After the download, I finally have a picture! Around 7:15. Finally!

Today we had a rain shower come through and I lost my signal. Is this common? I wasn't home and was stuck in meetings all morning, but my wife says it was out for a couple hours. If this happens every time it rains, that is unacceptable. When I got home for lunch, I called Dish and told them the error messages I was getting on the TV. After pressing the power button for 10 seconds, I got a picture. It was choppy for a while. We lost sat 129 for a bit and then it came back on. All this while talking with tech support. They scheduled a technician to come out tomorrow to "tune in" the dish. Taking off work from noon to 5 tomorrow. What a pain.

 

[porktree]

I'm getting a couple of 612's installed tomorrow. Both will have access to a network jack. What's the purpose of using a network connection instead of a phone connection? Is there a way I can control the dvr over my internal network, or even view/retrieve data from the 612? If there's no benefit, I'll use phone lines just to keep my network clean.