OTA & MVR/DECA

Question

We will be moving to a new home in June. Presently, I have a HR-21 with a AM-21 attached. Also, a HR-22 in another room. H23 in bedroom. I want to add another HD receiver and take advantage of the MVR/DECA solution. I want to continue with OTA to all receivers. Will this be possible? The new home has ethernet connections and coax connections in all rooms. A DirecTV dish is already installed. As far as I could tell when looking at the home, there was one HDDVR and one HD receiver in use. Suggestions for planning to someday have HD tv's in as many as 8 locations?

litzdog911 · Answer

It is not possible to combine satellite and off-air antenna signals onto the same coax cable using SWM/DECA. You'll need separate coax cables for the off-air antenna feeds to each Receiver.

dcd · Answer

With MRV you wouldn't really need a OTA feed to the rooms with HD receivers. You could piggy back to one of the DVR's to pick up the off air program you wanted. Of course if you intend that all eight TV's would be in use simultaneously then you'll need a complex setup and multiple off air feeds. One SWM cloud is limited to eight tuners plus one MRV so the MRV from one cloud could not be shared with the second.

kengray77 · Answer

Would it be possible to use the existing coax for the OTA feed and the ethernet connections for the MVR? Use the coax input on TV's for OTA and then HDMI from the receivers to the TV? And continue to use the AM-21 on the two HDR's for recording OTA and incorporating those recorded programs into the network for viewing in other rooms.

testerx · Answer

All receivers need a coax connection to the dish, whether you're using MRV or not. In fact the DECA system uses the same coax to carry the Ethernet connection, which is part of the reason you can't share the cable with OTA antenna signals. Unfortunately, there's no way around the two coax requirement if you want OTA in a location where you also have a receiver.

irishntn · Answer

I know I am going to hear it for this so hear it goes. Since you have Ethernet runs to all the rooms and cable runs to all the rooms, you will be able to utilize that for MRV and OTA. First thing is first it will not be supported by Directv and will be up to you for future issues. Using a SWM8 mod with the capability of combining your Satellite signal and the OTA with a single cable run for you DVR's. You will have to purchase the Satellite diplexers to use at the receivers location to split the signals back for the receiver and the OTA. Your ethernet connections at each location will support the MRV as long as they all meet in a central location and are on the same network router. Now with that in mind the SWM/DECA system being used for MRV will be the only support for MRV. Using SWM/DECA you will have to have a second cable run for each location for the OTA.

testerx · Answer

The only caveat I would add is that after all that it might work and it might not, so be prepared. For example, if the diplexers don't pass DC where necessary or strip out the 2.3MHz SWiM control signal, it won't work. And there are no SWiM approved diplexers, because DirecTV doesn't support diplexing. Evidence also suggests that using hardwired ethernet connections is no guarantee of success either, the only guaranteed solution for MRV is DECA.

dcd · Answer

Well Irish, you were right. This is not intended to be critical but I would not recommend that we suggest to a user who is moving into a new home that they jury rig a non supported setup such as this. The whole idea of DECA is to get everyone on the same page and help us and the CSR's furnish the kind of trouble free support folks expect. This forum alone has a number of folks who are having trouble configuring a simple network. DECA and SWM are godsends and I look forward to the day when all posters have a common network setup and we can spend our days helping them enjoy their systems rather than configuring wireless adapters etc.

To the original poster. All you need to do is order your system, Directv will install whatever equipment necessary to fill your needs. I would recommend you pull the necessary wire to support your needs. It's a one time deal that will last for years. Going through all sorts of "shortcuts" in order to avoid pulling a wire isn't a very good idea in my opinion.

kengray77 · Answer

Thanks to all of you for your responses. When I am able to take a closer look at the house, "possession", I will see how much work it will take to run the second coax for the OTA feed to each location. That sounds like the best solution.

Just one more question right now. If I run coax from antenna to the 2 HDDVR's and have a AM-21 at those locations, I can record on those 2 DVR's and then share on the network with the SWM/DECA solution, correct?

litzdog911 · Answer

kengray77:Yes. It's the satellite coax cable that carries the DECA networking.

fatnlazy · Answer

By the way, DTV will cease offering MRV over Eternet cables after the offical launch in May.You will have to use DECA units for MRV.

litzdog911 · Answer

fatnlazy:Not true! DirecTV will only provide customer support for MRV with DECA-based networks. But if you pay the $3/mo (after the beta period ends), you're on your own to use whatever networking technology you want (wired ethernet, Wireless, Powerline). DirecTV just won't guarantee those will work well, and won't provide customer support for them.

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