New 5 lnb Dish (Directv)

[smack]

Well D* called me and offered me the deal to upgrade to a new 5 lnb dish to get the new channels.  I took them up on there offer and requested the "slimline" dish and the HR21 receiver.  I said if they didn't have both of them they would need to rescedule, since my dish is in a pretty tight spot on the side of the chimney.

Is there anything I should look out for and or request at or prior to the installation which is scheduled for the 12th.  Should they be replacing my cables from the dish to the multiswitch?  I'm not sure if the ones I have are solid copper core or not.  I'm also not sure if I need solid core for a 10 ft run to the HR21.  What about the runs to the receivers?  There is not any ceilings or walls that they must go through so it seams pretty straightforward.  I would rather have this figured out before they get here rather than have a wasted trip with me being unhappy.

thanks.

[AndrewP]

If you are talking TV-HR21 connection, then you should connect them with HDMI or component cable and not by regular coax cable.
If you are talking Dish-switch-reciever connection, then you should not worry about it. Existing cables will be OK if they are RG6 type. Just take a look and read a label on the cable.
BTW, I have 11/12 install date too:)

[Matt Heebner]

When I had my new dish installed, I asked about replacing the existing cables with new runs to the multiswitch. (By the way, make sure you are getting either the new single wire multiswitch or a Zinwell multiswitch. They are the only ones capable of passing the new sat. signals). He checked out my existing wires for any corrosion, or issues that would affect the signal.  I have always had superb signal strengths and he confirmed that everything looked excellent all the way to the multiswitch. These are some of the same cables I've had since I installed Directv back in about '97. I was good with it and he did not replace the wires. At least once a year I was checking the connections at the dish and there was no issues with the terminations.

I guess you can ask if you feel strongly about it, but I am not sure if replacing existing wires is part of the standard installation.  Having to run new wires might be though. I am sure they would replace anything you want BUT they will probably charge extra for it. Ask what their standard cost is for soemthing like that.

As far as solid core copper versus copper plated,  I think it has more to do with length of run. If you are not suffering signal strength issues or picture issues, I am not sure replacing plated cable with solid is going to make ay difference. I believe I have both types running to various boxes, and from the dish into the mutliswitch and like I said earlier it has not made any difference in my signals or picture quality.

And to add a note as far as weather and Directv. Yesterday with the heavy snow and wind, etc, I did not lose my picture not once, nor did I suffer any 'blocking'. My signal strengths did drop across the board by about 10 points, but I have all signals into the mid 90's.

[Bebop]

Try to schedule the installation in the morning incase they run out of parts or receivers. So, they don't have to come back the next day.

Some installers are getting lazy and refuse to mount the dish on side of the house and prefer the roof. Their reason is the size of the dish, which is not the case.

If you don't want them to mess around with your connections to the TV, get the receivers from them and make the connections yourself while they are installing the dish.

[packman]

... requested the "slimline" dish and the HR21 receiver.

Are you aware this is HD DTV without OTA?  HR10 and HR20 can record any OTA locals like CBS 58-1 HD, 36-1, and so on.  With HR21 you would be limited to DTV HD 4,6,12 and SD 58,36,10.  This would mean you miss two HDTV Packers games carried by CBS.  I thought about getting HR21 when my HR10 Tivo died, but the lack of CBS HD was a deal breaker until they carry 58-1.

I also have the slimline 5lnb and the same cables are used with B-band filters placed on your 2 receiver inputs.  They should not need to change anything with cables if you had dual wires before.  The 5lnb has a built in multi-switch; is your other switch cascadable?  I run 4 wires where my HR21 gets 2 pure wires and the series2 SD DTivo gets a separate pair of wires without a multi-switch.  If you cascade two switches they might not be compatible becasue the new B bands are a different frequency.

[smack]

Thanks for the info on the HR21 OTA HD signal.  That is definately a dealbreaker for the receiver.  I guess I will go with less capacity and get the OTA HR20 (if they are still available)  I can always add more capacity with an external HD right?

[HDefinicktion]

Yes you can.  I personally don't have one...but check out DBSTalk for their recommendations.  There are some members running 2TB RAID configurations off theirs.  I think that is a little over kill for recording daily shows, but many of them say they use it to record an entire season of a show and watch them all at once.  Others that subscribe to movie channels use it as a movie server.

[Bebop]

If you need extra storage, just get a eSATA external drive or replace the internal drive.

The catch with the external drive is that it renders your internal drive useless. With the current software, you can't use the internal and external at the same time.

[smack]

What a coincidence.....I get home and the old samsung HD receiver I had in our family room is DOA.  No lights, no power, just making a lot of clicking sounds coming from inside the unit.  Its also hot to the touch.  

Oh well, I guess I couldn't have timed the replacement much better.  The installer is supposed to be here on wednesday.  Three days without a tv in the living room isn't terrible.  I can watch the packers in HD up in the bedroom.