So Comcast and the Big Ten Network just aren’t going to play nice. To heck with Comcast then, I want to go to a dish.
My question is this: Can you use the existing cable in your house for satellite signals? In other words, can I just run a wire from the dish to the place where my cable currently splits all over the house and use the existing wiring from the splitter to every room that currently has cable? I have read online that satellite requires a thicker cable because the signal is higher frequency but I have heard from other people that they use regular coax without a problem. So what’s the verdict, can I just put new cable to my splitter or do I have to rewire the whole house?
Digital signals won’t survive well through the existing splitters, from what I’m lead to believe. That’s why dishes come with dual, and now quad LNBF (low-noise block/feedhorn). Each receiver in the house will require a direct feed from the dish.
How old is the house? If you’ve got quad shielded RG-6, you’ll be fine. If you’ve got RG-59, you may have problems. Also, as Leaffan says, you may have to replace the splitter as well, but that’s cheap & easy (assuming it’s accessible).
Somebody else may come in here and prove me wrong, but I don’t think you can run the satellite signal through a splitter to multiple TVs.
The satellite dish has a device called an LNB (Low Noise Block) which must be directly connected to the receiver box at the TV. Most dishes come with 2 LNBs, but can handle up to 4. If you need more than that, the dish company can provide you with special multiplexing splitters, but you still need a cable directly from your receiver to the dish for each set.
The reason for this is that the signals for the various channels are transmitted from a number of different satellites in the same region of space that your dish is pointed to. The job of the LNB is to get a request for a specific channel and select the proper satellite for that signal.
If the TV in the living room wants a program that is on a different satellite than the one in the bedroom, then a single LNB will not be up to the task.
On edit, I see that I type too slow.
Also, it still won’t be that difficult. You can run multiple coax cables from your splitter location to the dish (or have the installer do it for you) and then just disconnect your room feeds from the splitter and connect them directly to the cables from the dish.
Go with option 1 if you can. First, though, check your existing cable. Look at the writing on the side. If it is RG-6 cable you should be fine. If it is the older RG-59 cable, it may work, but you should probably replace it.
I just did a spot check on Home Depot’s web site, and they have a 500’ spool of RG-6 cable for $63.99. I didn’t see prices there for 50’ or 100’ rolls, but they should also be reasonable.
Your biggest expense/headache may be getting into the walls/floors/ceilings where the cable is run, depending on your construction and how the cable was originally put in.
If you need new cable, it’s often a lot easier to make the new cable runs outside the house and punch them through the walls where you want the TVs instead of trying to replace the existing cable inside the house. The cable takes winter weather OK.
The things that look like splitters for satellite TV are actually switches - Dish used to refer to the device as a “magic switch” in past years. (Yeah, dumb name!) So, no, a CATV splitter wil not work as the satellite cables are carrying digital data and control info.
If your existing cable is RG-6, your scenario of running cables from the dish to the existing splitter location is a good plan.
Are you planning to do the installation yourself? Usually, installation is part of the package deal for new customers. Most likely,the installer would run the one or two cables from the dish to your splitter location and install the switch there, and not need to extend or splice any cables.
I just want to say that you might want to be 100% sure that you want to make a switch just for the Big 11 Network. It kinda sucks to be honest.
Unless you can’t live without Purdue or Minnesota football and lots of volleyball and that sort of crap, it just isn’t that great. Granted that is IMO.
Most of your question has already been answered, but I wanted to add one detail. If you’ll be getting any sort of DVR with your satellite system, you’ll need two cable runs to the satellite reciever, not one. This gives you that whole “record one thing while watching another” option.
As gotpasswords mentioned a lot of times they’ll include installation when you’re a new customer. Be sure and be clear about what you want because they won’t prompt you if there’s something you’ve forgotten or overlooked. I’ve had hit or miss luck with the guys that come out from DirectTv. That’s why I wired the new house myself and just had the satellite company put in the dish (where I told them to put it) and run the cables to one spot in the house where I’d already terminated all the other cables. I’m not sure about Dish, but DirectTV now has a switch that has up to 16 outputs. The one I have currently has 8, which sounds like a lot until you remember that you need two per TV location.
I don’t plan to do the install myself, I just want to be somewhat knowledgeable for what I need when I talk to him. Thanks for all the replies, you’ve all been so helpful. All in all I like the satellite offerings better. The only negative would be not getting CBC and Hockey Night in Canada.
If you order the NHL Center Ice package you will get the full HNIC broadcast up through the end of the After Hours segment. You won’t get the rest of the CBC, but if you want the hockey Center Ice is the way to go.
Yeah, they’re TONS cheaper anywhere else, and especially if you buy a 50- or 100-pack.
You can also get clips that look like a letter “J” that let you slide the long part of the “J” between the clapboards, leaving just the “belly” of the clip exposed under the bottom edge of the boards, and no nailing is needed.
My house was built in 1984 and has internal cabling. We added DirecTV about six years ago and haven’t looked back. We haven’t had any problem with the internal cable in spite of some lengthy cable runs.
The word splitter has been bandied about here. DO NOT USE SPLITTERS with satellite TV. It won’t work. Each receiver must have a direct connection to the multiswitch. This multiswitch, along with the receiver itself, form the brains of the system. The receiver sends the channel request to the multiswitch. The multiswitch figures out where to find the channel and sends the request to the LNB on the dish. The requests are sent via DC or AC current (I forget which). Splitters from Rad Shack or WalMart cannot pass this voltage. Even if it could, more than one request cannot be sent over one line.
If you get DVRs, you will need two cables for each receiver. By the way, get DVRs. They are awesome.
DirecTV (I don’t know about Dish) will include installation in the new package. For a reasonable fee, the installer will do custom work like climbing in the attic, etc. Without the fee, the installer will do external cable runs. I have found the installers to be reasonably pleasant and competent, though sometimes you run into a dud.
Check out dbstalk.com for TONS more information. I urge you to go there and learn more about satellite and how to get the best possible experience from the installation. I have saved literally thousands of dollars by following advice found there.