[A J Ricaud]

If you will have more 4 tuners total you will need a multiswitch. See if D* will give you one when you bargain with them. Many people use the Terk with good results.

 

[A J Ricaud]

If you are adding an HD Tivo, you really should make use of the 2 tuners it has. If I understand correctly, you have 2 additional, single tuner, receivers in your system. That equals 4 total tuners (2 single tuner receivers plus 1 dual tuner HD Tivo).

You need a 3 LNB dish (Phase III 20" dish) or a Phase II (24" dish w/ "C" LNB), either of which give you 4 outputs. Just hook up the 4 outputs to your 4 tuners (2, single tuner receivers plus 1 dual tuner HD Tivo) and you will not need a multiswitch.

 

[A J Ricaud]

You will need to run all 4 lines from the dish to a multiswitch, then run the necessary number of lines from the multiswitch to your receivers. I recommend a 4 or 5 input (the 5th is for an OTA antenna), 8 output multiswitch.

Many people have had good luck with the Terk BM58 (I think that's the model). Take a look at the offerings at solidsignal.com and valueelectronics.com. Both are reputable sources. Some folks have bought through Ebay also.

Post back if you have any questions about a particular switch.

 

[A J Ricaud]

I checked to see if I can get my locals via OTA. I am 13 miles away and I have a pretty clear line of sight in the direction I need to get them from. Area is pretty flat. I live in a 1.5 story. That all being said does that sound like I should be able to get all of my channels via OTA?

Probably. But you need to check out antennaweb.org to see what channels are available and what sort of antenna you need.

 

[A J Ricaud]

I did check that site. Looks like yellow for all stations except NBC where it was green. Which = a mid rnage antenna. Not sure what that means.

So if I call up D* and order an HDTV and they include an OTA will they make sure it is a properly rated one for my needs?

That's kinda iffy. Some people have posted that the D* supplied OTA antenna did not work out for them. I guess it's worth a try. You can always ask for a credit if it doesn't.

 

[A J Ricaud]

Thanks A J,

Should I pick up that Terk BMS-58 or is there a switch that would be better for when the 5 LNB comes into play in the near future for HD locals and such?

The Terk would work fine, but if you check out Solid Signals' multiswitch section you will find several other brands that are less expensive and will also do the job.

As for the 5 LNB compatible multiswitch, check out the link below. I am concerned that it says the Zinwell WB68 is "• To be used with AT9 Ku/Ka DIRECTV satellite dish". I don't know if the switch is compatible with Phase III dishes. In any case, D* will be swapping out dishes and receivers when MPEG-4 is implemented in a given area.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?CAT=Multiswitches&PROD=WB68