Seriously considering switching from comcast cable/internet to E*. Been doing a ton of reading on this board and want to confirm a few things before I sign-up (if I can sign-up).
General Information about my setup:
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota area
Line of site: I have a pretty clear line of site to the south. There are some 3-4 story trees across the street and behind the houses but other homes do have dishes across there as well so I assume all would be well.
Current Cable TV content: Standard cable with HD+DVR package and internet. Cost $138 per/mo (after fees and taxes)
Internet Options: The only option I have for internet is comcast cable internet. DSL is severely limited in speed, 1.5 mb/s which is unacceptable for me.
Household TVs: 1 main HD TV, 1 secondary HD TV in exercise/storage/dust collector room.
Home Wiring: Central coax wiring, most rooms have single runs to a wiring closet in the basement, including a unused attic run. Though main TV and my office with cable internet share same single run to closet (split in wall), the previous owner cheaped out when finishing the basement. This is the large obstacle.
Dish Plan: Wanted to get the HD only Bronze TurboHD package + DVR. Also locals.
Preferred receiver: Would like to get the 722 DVR, it has a larger HD then the 612/622 right?
What I think I know about E* installations and my current plan
1. DishPro Plus LMB/Dish(?) is able to feed a 2 tuner receiver with one cable. I was going to use my 1 run from the attic to feed SAT into the home. This is done by merging the signal in the 950-1440Mhz and 1440-2250Mhz range (or something close). A Dish diplexer is used at the receiver to split the signal back out to both turner inputs on the receiver.
2. Since I still require cable internet and am severely limited in my cabling options... I am going to try and diplex the signal to include my cable internet. From what I understand cable internet essentially uses 5-862Mhz signal.
Diplexer to be used
Or this one...
I will have to place 1 diplexer right after both cable and SAT come to my home to merge the signals to 1 cable. The combined signal would then be distributed through out the home. Then I will have to use another diplexer at each TV/receiver/cable modem to split the correct signal back out depending on the device...
The other option would be to have Dish drill a hole and run the SAT cable directly to my office... I would like to avoid this if at all possible.
Questions I am still unclear of...
1. For the TurboHD package, being in the northern midwest. Should I expect 1 dish or 2 that I read others have? Should I expect the 1000.4 dish as a new customer or another? I have read and read and still am fairly confused by it.
2. How rare is it to require a DPP to handle 2 tuners on 1 cable? Is this something I should/can request?
3. How difficult do you think it would be to have the installer try my "non-supported" diplexer setup? Would $50 help in having him try and if fails, drill a hole in the wall?
4. If they do have to drill a hole in the wall, can I expect proper/decent installation through vinyl siding? Or should I be prepared for insulation foam and caulk?
5. If the 722 receiver truely has a larger harddrive... Is there a way to ensure I receive one? Should I tell them I have 1 HD TV and 1 SD even though I have 2 HD TVs? I know my wiring wouldn't really support backfeeding from the 722 to my second TV in the basement but I would really like the larger DVR...
6. Does anyone know what signal area the very most basic cable TV uses... the cheapest package that pretty much only includes the local channels? Is it lower then 950Mhz...
Anything I am off base on? I like to be informed before these installers come over and start telling me things that may/may not be true...
General Information about my setup:
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota area
Line of site: I have a pretty clear line of site to the south. There are some 3-4 story trees across the street and behind the houses but other homes do have dishes across there as well so I assume all would be well.
Current Cable TV content: Standard cable with HD+DVR package and internet. Cost $138 per/mo (after fees and taxes)
Internet Options: The only option I have for internet is comcast cable internet. DSL is severely limited in speed, 1.5 mb/s which is unacceptable for me.
Household TVs: 1 main HD TV, 1 secondary HD TV in exercise/storage/dust collector room.
Home Wiring: Central coax wiring, most rooms have single runs to a wiring closet in the basement, including a unused attic run. Though main TV and my office with cable internet share same single run to closet (split in wall), the previous owner cheaped out when finishing the basement. This is the large obstacle.
Dish Plan: Wanted to get the HD only Bronze TurboHD package + DVR. Also locals.
Preferred receiver: Would like to get the 722 DVR, it has a larger HD then the 612/622 right?
What I think I know about E* installations and my current plan
1. DishPro Plus LMB/Dish(?) is able to feed a 2 tuner receiver with one cable. I was going to use my 1 run from the attic to feed SAT into the home. This is done by merging the signal in the 950-1440Mhz and 1440-2250Mhz range (or something close). A Dish diplexer is used at the receiver to split the signal back out to both turner inputs on the receiver.
2. Since I still require cable internet and am severely limited in my cabling options... I am going to try and diplex the signal to include my cable internet. From what I understand cable internet essentially uses 5-862Mhz signal.
Diplexer to be used
Or this one...
I will have to place 1 diplexer right after both cable and SAT come to my home to merge the signals to 1 cable. The combined signal would then be distributed through out the home. Then I will have to use another diplexer at each TV/receiver/cable modem to split the correct signal back out depending on the device...
The other option would be to have Dish drill a hole and run the SAT cable directly to my office... I would like to avoid this if at all possible.
Questions I am still unclear of...
1. For the TurboHD package, being in the northern midwest. Should I expect 1 dish or 2 that I read others have? Should I expect the 1000.4 dish as a new customer or another? I have read and read and still am fairly confused by it.
2. How rare is it to require a DPP to handle 2 tuners on 1 cable? Is this something I should/can request?
3. How difficult do you think it would be to have the installer try my "non-supported" diplexer setup? Would $50 help in having him try and if fails, drill a hole in the wall?
4. If they do have to drill a hole in the wall, can I expect proper/decent installation through vinyl siding? Or should I be prepared for insulation foam and caulk?
5. If the 722 receiver truely has a larger harddrive... Is there a way to ensure I receive one? Should I tell them I have 1 HD TV and 1 SD even though I have 2 HD TVs? I know my wiring wouldn't really support backfeeding from the 722 to my second TV in the basement but I would really like the larger DVR...
6. Does anyone know what signal area the very most basic cable TV uses... the cheapest package that pretty much only includes the local channels? Is it lower then 950Mhz...
Anything I am off base on? I like to be informed before these installers come over and start telling me things that may/may not be true...
