[mythtv-users] Semi OT: Directv questions

[Ken Williams]

On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 6:39 PM, Dewey Smolka <dsmolka at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I've recently moved, ditched Comcast, and got Directv set up and
> running yesterday. So far I'm very impressed. I got serial control of
> the D12 box without a hitch and far easier than I had imagined thanks
> to the wiki instructions and the authors of directv.pl. Thank you.
>
> But within hours of getting it running, I had already started spinning
> my wheels about expansion. I hope some folks here have enough
> experience with directv to answer a few questions.
>
<deletia>
</deletia>

> 4) I asked the installer a number of questions, but wasn't really
> convinced by any of his answers so took all of it with a grain of
> salt. For example I asked him if I got another box if it would be
> enough to add a coaxial 2-way splitter at the end to connect both. He
> didn't think that would be too good an idea, and said that if it was
> another standard box, I should call service and tell them my picture
> was out, then when a guy showed up to fix it offer him $10 to drill
> another hole and run a new cable from outside. He also said that if it
> was an HD box I was adding they'd have to add another piece of
> hardware outside. But either way, splitting the signal inside wouldn't
> work very well. Thoughts or opinions?
>
> I won't ask the one the one has been beaten to death with no clear
> answer yet. I won't ask when the wondrous new Hauppage HD capture
> device will be supported, or what the playback requirements will be. I
> won't ask whether or not my horribly outdated P4 2.5 will support the
> native H.264 format when the thing is fully Myth-compatible. But if I
> were to ask, would anyone have any answers?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

Hey...I found a question that I can kind of answer!!

I can tell you, for number 4, that NO, you cannot split the signal with a
splitter. I know this from setting up 2 boxes in my RV.

There are channels that require Left Hand Circular Polarity and some that
require Right Hand Circular Polarity. You need a dual LNB minimum to have
more than one box. The box sends different voltages to tell the dish which
polarity it wants. If you have more than 2 boxes, you need a multiswitch,
which will make one LNB use the RHCP and the other LNB use the LHCP. Then,
when a box sends the different voltage to select which polarity, the
multiswitch will connect it to the correct LNB.

I hope this makes sense, but if it doesn't, take a look at
http://www.solidsignal.com/tech_faqs_04.asp for a better explanation. You
can Google on DirecTV polarity and find other explanations as well.

Hope that helps...with that question.

Ken Williams
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