[Law]

First off, I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else. Searched around first, but couldn't find the answer so I figured I'd post my exact situation here.

I moved into a 500 unit MDU last month that is served by DirecTV (which fortunately kept me from vetoing the building my girlfriend fell in love with ). There is a 5LNB dish on the roof that serves the pre-wired building. It took awhile to get my account transferred over from the original to an MDU one (lots of loooong, repetitive phone calls), but eventually got all my channels, HD, and sports packages running again.

The only thing I haven't been able to set up myself so far is a portion of the DVR capability. I can still record one show, watch one show or record two shows, but at present, I can't record two and watch another (I was under the impression from the CSR that this was available now, but perhaps he misspoke or I misunderstood).

Again, there is a dish on the roof that serves the building and my unit is pre-wired. I assume there is some sort of switcher (MFH2??) that splits the signal to the individual units. Not sure if it's relevant, but I don't need the BBCs anymore (signal converted before it's sent to the units?) on the individual receivers.

Before I moved in, I spoke with the company that services the building (DirectPlus) and they mentioned that I might need a splitter in order fully activate the HD DVR -- but they wanted some ridiculous amount of money for the splitter and installation. I'm guessing I can tap the knowledge here and buy it/install it myself for a lot cheaper.

Would something like a Zinwell 6x8 multiswitch work in a set-up like this? Is there a limit to how many times you can split a signal? Am I out in leftfield with the hardware I would need? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[grizzly]

First off, I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else. Searched around first, but couldn't find the answer so I figured I'd post my exact situation here.

I moved into a 500 unit MDU last month that is served by DirecTV (which fortunately kept me from vetoing the building my girlfriend fell in love with ). There is a 5LNB dish on the roof that serves the pre-wired building. It took awhile to get my account transferred over from the original to an MDU one (lots of loooong, repetitive phone calls), but eventually got all my channels, HD, and sports packages running again.

The only thing I haven't been able to set up myself so far is a portion of the DVR capability. I can still record one show, watch one show or record two shows, but at present, I can't record two and watch another like I used to.

Again, there is a dish on the roof that serves the building and my unit is pre-wired. I assume there is some sort of switcher (MFH2??) that splits the signal to the individual units. Not sure if it's relevant, but I don't need the BBCs anymore (signal converted before it's sent to the units?) on the individual receivers.

Before I moved in, I spoke with the company that services the building (DirectPlus) and they mentioned that I might need a splitter in order fully activate the HD DVR -- but they wanted some ridiculous amount of money for the splitter and installation. I'm guessing I can tap the knowledge here and buy it/install it myself for a lot cheaper.

Would something like a Zinwell 6x8 multiswitch work in a set-up like this? Is there a limit to how many times you can split a signal? Am I out in leftfield with the hardware I would need? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You need to find out what type of system it is first. Can you get MPEG-4 HD channels? If so, it's not likely an MFH1 system.

Kevin

 

[Law]

You need to find out what type of system it is first. Can you get MPEG-4 HD channels? If so, it's not likely an MFH1 system.

Kevin

Yes, able to get all the MPEG-4 channels.

 

[evan_s]

You are on a MFH2 system which is why you don't need the BBC. You can only have 2 tuners of any type going at once so you can never record 2 things and watch a third thing live. You can record 2 things and watch something that is already recorded how ever. Clearly both tuners are working otherwise you wouldn't be able to record 2 things at once. I guess I'm just not sure what it is that you can't do that you think you used to be able to do.

No splitter is needed and you can't use a WB68 off of a swm at all anyway.

 

[Law]

You are on a MFH2 system which is why you don't need the BBC. You can only have 2 tuners of any type going at once so you can never record 2 things and watch a third thing live. You can record 2 things and watch something that is already recorded how ever. Clearly both tuners are working otherwise you wouldn't be able to record 2 things at once. I guess I'm just not sure what it is that you can't do that you think you used to be able to do.

No splitter is needed and you can't use a WB68 off of a swm at all anyway.

Sorry, misspoke in the OP, wasn't able to do this in the past, rather when I was initially speaking with D-Plus, they made it sound like an available feature now, but perhaps the CSR mis-stated it or I just misunderstood him since he was really pushing me to let then come in and install this stuff (why else would I need it?) for a fee.

 

[carl6]

The HR2x series of hi-def DVR have two tuners. They are capable of receiving two programs/channels at once. If you are recording two programs, it is not possible to watch a third separate live program, but it is possible to watch either of the two that you are recording, or anything else that was previously recorded.

This is due to the design of the DVR, and is not related to the MDU system. It would work exactly the same way if you were in your own house with your own dish.

Carl

 

[evan_s]

The MFH2 is a relatively new system that does allow you to do the MPEG4 hd channels and also has the advantage of only needing a single cable to get both tuners active. It's also possible to diplex OTA on the cable even tho it isn't supported by DirecTV. As carl6 said it won't change any functionality in your receiver.