DVR Plus Install Question

1157 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by carl6, Sep 23, 2008

indcoltsfan32

Discussion Starter · Sep 16, 2008

I had Direc TV installed in my home approx 3 weeks ago...I ordered One HD DVR and three regular Receivers.....I have since had a change of heart and want to replace one of the receivers with a DVR....I ordered one online, then I saw alittle blurb that said I needed two lines concted to the back of the unit to record two shows at once...I dont have two lines in that room...So I look at how he installed my HD DVR box...and it is as follows.....One line coming in home, into a box called a "SWM ODU" then it goes from that box to the back of the HD DVR...only one cable from that box...not two....My question is..can I get another one of those? Or do I need to run another line? If I need to run another line, is there a junction somewhere under the house? If so would it have another empty connecter to connect one more line too? Sorry about the long post.....Beford I cancel my order...I figured I had better ask..

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carl6

· #2 · Sep 16, 2008

It sounds like you got an SWMLine dish, that is a dish that has a built in SWM module. There should be one coax coming from the dish into your house where it goes to the power interface, then a coax out of the power interface which is split and goes to your various receivers. This is a case where you can split a coax.

Right now you have a total of 5 tuners, 2 in the DVR and one in each of the regular receivers. The SWMLine dish is capable of supporting 8 tuners total, so all you should have to do is unplug the coax from the regular receiver and plug it into the SWM port (typically Sat 1 input port) on the DVR and you should get dual tuner capability. Assuming you de-activate the regular receiver, you will increase your total tuner count from 5 to 6 and could still support up to two more tuners.

Carl

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indcoltsfan32

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 16, 2008

Sounds fairly easy to me....do I need to get one of those "swm odu" things that my HD DVR is connected to....There is a line coming through the floor inside the house to the "swm odu" then from the "swmodu" to the hd dvr....Do I need one of those as well for the other dvr box (non hd) or can I ust hook the coax straight up from the 8 port splitter deal under the house? In other words hook it up as it is now with the regular (nondvr)receiver....

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carl6

· #4 · Sep 16, 2008

IF you in fact have SWM, all you need to do is unplug your regular receiver and plug in the new DVR. No additional equipment is required.

IF you do not have SWM, then you need 2 coax in order to have dual tuner operation. But the fact that your current HD DVR is working with dual tuner and only one coax strongly suggests you have SWM.

The "8 port splitter deal under the house" - if it is a splitter (which works with SWM), you are good to go. If it is a multiswitch, then you need to run another coax to the new DVR location, and probably also to the original DVR.

Carl

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indcoltsfan32

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 16, 2008

Okay...I think i got it.......im pretty sure I have a SWM....I only have one cable coming from the satellite dish that goes under the house to im guessing the "8 port splitter deal" lol....I havent crawled under to look yet.One more question before I go though.....

What is that thing hooked up to my HD DVR? like I said...One cable comes through the floor into the house, goes to this thing called a "SWMODU" then goes out of there to the HD DVR.....Will i need one of those "SWMODU"'s for the other NON HD DVR? If not....what is its purpose?

Thanks again in advance!!

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carl6

· #6 · Sep 17, 2008

Is the SWMODU "thing" in your house plugged into AC power? If so, that is what I refer to as a power inserter (it provides power to the dish). You only need one of those in the entire installation. You will not need one at the other receiver.

Carl

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dmurphy

· #7 · Sep 23, 2008

carl6 said:
IF you in fact have SWM, all you need to do is unplug your regular receiver and plug in the new DVR. No additional equipment is required.

We need to be a wee bit careful about this ...

IF they replace his standard receiver with a standard-def DVR, it *has* to be an R16 or R22 model SD DVR. The R15 models do NOT support SWM.

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carl6

· #8 · Sep 23, 2008

Important clarification, thank you dmurphy.

Carl

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