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50 Messages
How Can I set this up myself?
I am a bit of a beginner to things involving networking, but not software/hardware..
I have two receivers that I would like to be able to have connected together via whole home DVR.
I have a H23-600, and I just ordered a HD+ DVR, so I will have the two receivers that qualify for the service.
My receivers are about 25 feet from each other, is any new wiring of anything necessary to get them both to communicate with one another?
My goal is to be able to record from the HD+-DVR receiver, and later on send it to the H23 receiver.
I can easily do any hard wiring necessary, I just need to a basic step by step how to get this setup correctly, I know eventually I have to subscribe to the service.
Both locations already have a receiver, and get HD TV, I am still waiting for the HD+-DVR to arrive.
If I am considering the whole home DVR service should I have asked to get the setup kit for it sent along with the HD+-DVR receiver order?
Oh yea, what are all the total monthly additional fees, I seed a 10$ HD fee, is that in addition to the 5$ a month I already pay for additional HD programming?
The DVR service is 7$ a month I believe,
And one other slightly off topic question, when I get the HD+DVR receiver, it is replacing a receiver I am currently using, do I have to pay the 5$ a month rental service for the receiver?
I'd have no problem sending the older receiver back if it meant it would save me 5$ a month...
If I need to ask this question in a more proper location I can..
williame
Mentor
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50 Messages
14 years ago
I think it will surely prove to be a better solution, right now my recording cap is 3, at least till I convert to a SWiM LNB, once I can do that I may even add a 3rd DVR, but that would probably be overkill considering my recording needs...
I have gotten everything hooked up, and things are working fine, I am overall very happy with the way things turned out, I rarely miss a show now.. 🙂
Did some figuring of bills and decided I could manage another 5$ a month, so I now have a second HD-DVR unit, that somewhat eliminates the need I had for running the cat6, but at least I can also record from the third location, since it will have the HD-23 receiver.
I'll also have double the recording space, so that is a plus, it will keep me from getting a 1TB External E-Sata HDD right away...
With the amount of shows my household watches the 2 DVR's should more than handle our needs.
in the long run I think you will find that is a much better solution than using an external hard drive. You have the 4 program recording cap as opposed to 2 and you don't have to switch between internal and external hard drives and do a reboot everytime you make the change. Definately worth the extra $5 a month just for the convience IMO.lol..best of luck when all is installed, let us know how it goes.
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williame
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50 Messages
14 years ago
I got a little extra money, and have ordered all the stuff I should need to go ahead and get my second DVR working as two tuners as it should.
In a week or so I should have the SWiM LNB Kit, a pack of ten 75 ohm terminators, and the kit to cut & compress ends on to the RG6, once I get it all done if it works as expected then I will no longer bump the thread, I just wanted to give an update....
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williame
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50 Messages
14 years ago
Got my SWiM LNB kit today, so I popped open my new Data Shark Compression Cable/Satt Kit, cut one short wire to run from the grounding block to the SWiM 4-Way Splitters input, the rest of the wires that were going to each receiver were attached to the grounding block, so I just switched them to the outputs on the splitter, making sure the one going into the receiver where the PI was hooked to the 1st Splitter output (the DC Pass out one) I connected that cable inside to the PI SWiM input, and made me a short cable to run from the PI's IRD out to the DVR Tuners SWM input.
Replacing the LNB was simple, a pair of pliers & a Phillips head screw-driver was all I needed, I checked signal strength & I am getting 85-95 on all satt feeds, the ones that are active anyway, so I am satisfied...
I was able to get the wiring correct the first time, since there were four RG6 wires I looked at them to see if they had any distinguishing marks, and it seems they do, it looks like in certain parts there is the length the cable was when it was cut from the spool, that or the numbers mean something else, the way the 4 differed I think I am right with my first guess, I also noted that 2 of the 4 RG6 had ground wires attached to them, so it eliminated 2 of the 4 I would have had to guess from....
I powered up my two DVR's first, one at a time, and I then powered up my HD tuner once the two DVR's were setup.
Again I thank you all for your help, without it I could not have gotten this done, I hope you all have a Happy Holiday Season, I know my family will! 😄
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dcd
Expert
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20.7K Messages
14 years ago
Well, good for you. As you know I was a bit skeptical that all of the info you were receiving was a bit overwhelming. It is pretty obvious now that my skepticism was ill founded and I tip my hat to you, well done. And, a happy holiday to you as well.
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williame
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50 Messages
14 years ago
Your skepticism was not unfounded, I came into this knowing very little about DVR's, and about satt setup or install in general, but I have did phone line repair before, and used to repair ends on RG5 (the crimped ends)..
I did get a lot of info, but that is really what I wanted, I figured the more research done, the more the chance I had the knowledge needed to go the best route.
I am sure I could have paid a tad more and got DTV to do the install/upgrade, but I am glad I did it myself, because now I am sure I can do things like repair cable if it gets damaged and whatnot..
Next step, learn to point dishes, lol I am joking, for now anyway..
Back to doing the install, I did get a little nervous before attempting to do it, because I did not want to screw up & not have anything to watch over the Holidays, but I decided to just go for it, and I am glad I did, because it was not that bad....
The only thing I may change in the future is to remove the extra RG6 that is not needed in one of the locations, and to go ahead and eliminate the grounding block, I am fairly sure as long as I have the splitter properly grounded (as I have) then the grounding block should not be needed as the splitter would act as a grounding block.
Also at the other HD DVR location I have a decent surge protector, and I plan to run the satt feed into it, and then out to the receiver, it should work fine as the surge protector is similar to the one I am using at the location of the other HD-DVR.
Thanks again to all that helped, my grandmother said "I do not know how you know how to do all of this" and to which my reply was "I could not have done it without the help of some helpful guys on the internet. 🙂
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dcd
Expert
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20.7K Messages
14 years ago
Also at the other HD DVR location I have a decent surge protector, and I plan to run the satt feed into it, and then out to the receiver,
Caution. Do not ever run Directv coax through any type of surge protector. The clamping systems in some surge protectors can seriously interfere with the two way signals in the coax. There is no need for surge protection anyway. Unlike cable systems which travel for miles and can pick up errant surges anywhere, the Directv cable only runs as far as the roof. The ground block is an integral part of any Directv installation and I would leave it in place if I were you.
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williame
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50 Messages
14 years ago
Again thank you for sharing your wisdom, I have had occasional mild lag spikes on occasion, maybe it is due to the surge protector, to be honest I did not notice this happening till I got the first HD-DVR, but it may have something to do with the surge protector...
The surge protector I am using is a PRIME brand one, I think I paid 50.00 or so for it, if it is better to not run it through it then I will bypass it.
I'll leave the grounding block in place, I am not sure if I really had to run the grounding wire to the splitter, but to be safe I did...
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litzdog911
ACE - Sage
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46.4K Messages
14 years ago
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The surge protector I am using is a PRIME brand one, I think I paid 50.00 or so for it, if it is better to not run it through it then I will bypass it.
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Don't connect your satellite coax to it.
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williame
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50 Messages
14 years ago
Thanks, I have already disconnected it from the surge protector. 🙂
I have watched more TV in the past week than I have in a few months, it is nice to have what you want to watch recorded so you can watch it when you are ready to watch it, it is also nice to be able to resume shows from other locations.
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peds48
Expert
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32K Messages
14 years ago
The ground block is an integral part of any Directv installation and I would leave it in place if I were you.
the new splitters are UL listed as a ground clamp device. so if local code allows it, the splitter can be use as a ground device.
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