New satellite installation

jester77

New house being built in Germany at the moment and I am about to start talking with the lad responsible for wiring out the house. The house will have a satellite mount installed with cabling running from it. Dish installation will be left up to me once the house is complete.

I'll probably go with a single dish (if possible) and 2 LNB's, one for local German content and one for picking up Irish/UK content. Is RTE still only available with a Sky sub?

How many cables would I need running from the 2 LNBs on the dish? And what would be the best way of managing them once inside the house (I would be doing this in the basement). Is there some way of setting it up like a network switch and have the switch route the 2 signals to wall plates in different rooms of the house? The idea being that I would have a wall plate with 2 connections in a few different rooms and I would only need to plug in the relevant decoder to watch TV.

montgolfiere

Whereabouts are you in Germany... there are reception issues for the UK FTA reception form the 2F (and soon to be launched 2E) satellites in (parts of) Europe.

Peter Rhea

jester77 wrote: »

How many cables would I need running from the 2 LNBs on the dish? And what would be the best way of managing them once inside the house (I would be doing this in the basement).

How many tv points do you want to install?

jester77

montgolfiere wrote: »

Whereabouts are you in Germany... there are reception issues for the UK FTA reception form the 2F (and soon to be launched 2E) satellites in (parts of) Europe.

Cheers, wasn't aware of that. I'm in Hamburg, a few people here in the north seem to have no problems yet. It looks like if you have the right equipment and the dish is really well aligned then it should be ok. But that may change when the next satellite goes up.

Peter Rhea wrote: »

How many tv points do you want to install?

I was planning on having 4 points with 2 feeds (one for each LNB). I was hoping it could be set up like a computer network. I would have the cables coming from the 2 LNB's into the basement and some type of network switch equivalent to send the 2 LNB signals to the 4 points.

Peter Rhea

jester77 wrote: »

I was planning on having 4 points with 2 feeds (one for each LNB). I was hoping it could be set up like a computer network. I would have the cables coming from the 2 LNB's into the basement and some type of network switch equivalent to send the 2 LNB signals to the 4 points.

Do you intend getting a Sky sub. for RTE & using Sky boxes?

Most satellite receivers work with DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) & don't need a feed from each lnb, as they can switch between them. Sky boxes don't support DiSEqC & aren't really any use for non-UK/Irish tv.

Also, you'll need twin-tuner receivers (like Sky+) for proper recording ability & these need an lnb feed for each tuner.

jester77

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Do you intend getting a Sky sub. for RTE & using Sky boxes?

Most satellite receivers work with DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) & don't need a feed from each lnb, as they can switch between them. Sky boxes don't support DiSEqC & aren't really any use for non-UK/Irish tv.

Also, you'll need twin-tuner receivers (like Sky+) for proper recording ability & these need an lnb feed for each tuner.

I would like to get RTE for the sport but the last info I had was that it required a sky sub which I don't want. So I'll settle for a freesat box for ITV and BBC.

I looked into DiSEqC and it appears that freesat boxes support it. Would that mean that I would just need 1 connection in each room? And the 2 LNB signals get merged somewhere(?) and that the freesat box could pick up the content from both the UK and German providers?

Peter Rhea

I'm not sure how actual Freesat branded boxes implement DiSEqC: might involve going into non-Freesat mode. There was a thread here a while back dealing with a Humax Foxsat multisat setup, running 3rd party firmware that may have provided a tidier solution but, I don't think that thread generated much useful feedback.

As for getting the signals from dish to receiver, the method best suited in your case, using coaxial cables (fibre systems are also available) would be a multiswitch fed from quattro lnbs. Quattro lnbs have one output dedicated to each band/polarity combo used by the receiver, rather than the switchable outputs of a quad or octo lnb. The multiswitch carries out the band/polarity switching & also DiSEqC switching, in the case of a multisat version.

The above would involve running 4 cables from each lnb to the switch position & then distribute from there to the receivers. An alternative would be quad or octo lnbs (no need for multiswitch) feeding separate standalone DiSEqC switches, 1 for each receiver tuner (these switches could be located at the dish).

Most multiswitches have a terrestrial aerial input too, should you require it.

The Cush

jester77 wrote: »

I would like to get RTE for the sport but the last info I had was that it required a sky sub which I don't want. So I'll settle for a freesat box for ITV and BBC.

I looked into DiSEqC and it appears that freesat boxes support it. Would that mean that I would just need 1 connection in each room? And the 2 LNB signals get merged somewhere(?) and that the freesat box could pick up the content from both the UK and German providers?

Like Peter above i wouldn't be familiar with DiSEqC and Freesat receivers but my guess would be it won't be straight forward.

The Echostar HDS-600RS Freesat receiver supports DiSEqC, they have a DiSEqC user guide available for download - http://www.myechostar.com/~/media/MyEchoStar/UK/ProductDocuments/HDS600RS/EchoStar%20HDS-600RS%20DiSEqC%20Operation.ashx

Another option to consider as you're in Germany is the Humax iCord range. It won't give you the 7 day guide for the Freesat channels but it will allow you to record 4 programmes and playback at the same time. I have an older version of the iCord and use it with DiSEqc for 28, 19 and 13 degs east.

iba

Peter Rhea wrote: »

I'm not sure how actual Freesat branded boxes implement DiSEqC: might involve going into non-Freesat mode. There was a thread here a while back dealing with a Humax Foxsat multisat setup, running 3rd party firmware that may have provided a tidier solution but, I don't think that thread generated much useful feedback.

As for getting the signals from dish to receiver, the method best suited in your case, using coaxial cables (fibre systems are also available) would be a multiswitch fed from quattro lnbs. Quattro lnbs have one output dedicated to each band/polarity combo used by the receiver, rather than the switchable outputs of a quad or octo lnb. The multiswitch carries out the band/polarity switching & also DiSEqC switching, in the case of a multisat version.

The above would involve running 4 cables from each lnb to the switch position & then distribute from there to the receivers. An alternative would be quad or octo lnbs (no need for multiswitch) feeding separate standalone DiSEqC switches, 1 for each receiver tuner (these switches could be located at the dish).

Most multiswitches have a terrestrial aerial input too, should you require it.

For the Humax Foxsat HDR 320GB Version, Diseqc can be set-up but you have to go into non-freesat mode to watch the stations. But if you install the 3rd party s/w you refer to, you can then watch the non-freesat stations in freesat mode if you rearrange your stations via your web browser.

jester77

Thanks guys. Pretty much know what I need now. Largish dish, 2 quattro LNB's with 8 cables going to basement feeding into a multiswitch, and 2 cables going to each room from the multiswitch.

The Humax box sounds perfect with the 3rd party firmware. What is this called and I would I lose the freesat EPG by installing it? And where would I look for info about multiswitches models, most places just list them but I can't find and info, apart from inputs/outputs and whether they require a power source.

I might be better going with the icord model, as the German EPG is a bigger deal than the UK EPG. I would only be watching the UK channels for sport which I would mostly know the times of.

The Cush

jester77 wrote: »

I might be better going with the icord model, as the German EPG is a bigger deal than the UK EPG.

For an extra €50 per year (HD+) you'll get the German commercial channels in HD with a HD+ version of the iCord.

jester77

The Cush wrote: »

For an extra €50 per year (HD+) you'll get the German commercial channels in HD with a HD+ version of the iCord.

Cheers, I'll probably go with that option. I presume that BBC/ITV HD would still work ok on one of these boxes?

I don't suppose there is a magical box or a 3rd party firmware somewhere that would provide the best of both worlds, HD+ and freesat with EPG in one TV Listings menu, or even just the now/next without the freesat for the BBC/ITV/etc channels in the same TV Listings?

The Cush

jester77 wrote: »

I presume that BBC/ITV HD would still work ok on one of these boxes?

I don't suppose there is a magical box or a 3rd party firmware somewhere that would provide the best of both worlds, HD+ and freesat with EPG in one TV Listings menu, or even just the now/next without the freesat for the BBC/ITV/etc channels in the same TV Listings?

I use an older version of the iCord and it has no problem with UK HD channels, provided you can receive the Astra 2 signal of course.

The iCord is basically a FTA satellite receiver so all the UK channels will have now & next programme info and all channels (UK and German) can be arranged as you wish in the single epg.

There are Humax iCord forums out there that may be able to answer your questions regarding 3rd party software etc.

http://www.icordforum.com/

The Cush

jester, if you're still following this thread I came across a thread in the Digitalspy forums - http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?p=63842567#post63842567

Interesting comments from Bob_Cat (Bob Hannent) who is a Senior Technology Manager with Humax (and previously their Chief Technologist) and was a useful source of information for Humax's Freesat products over the years.

jester77

The Cush wrote: »

jester, if you're still following this thread I came across a thread in the Digitalspy forums - http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?p=63842567#post63842567

Interesting comments from Bob_Cat (Bob Hannent) who is a Senior Technology Manager with Humax (and previously their Chief Technologist) and was a useful source of information for Humax's Freesat products over the years.

Nice one, the icord mini is sounding like exactly what I need.

If I use 2 quattro LNBs feeding into a multiswitch, do I still required 2 lines going into the receiver to be able to record one channel while watching a different? Or will the multiswitch take care of that meaning I only need 1 line going to each point where a TV is located.

Peter Rhea

With a normal multiswitch setup, each tuner will need its own cable.

Single Cable Router (SCR) systems, as the name implies, work with a single cable to multiple tuners. Presumably, any receivers will need to have an SCR mode in their antenna settings.