Dish Network Help (Changing TV rooms)

[Kent K25]

Ok, I'll give as much detail as possible here assuming someone might know a lot and want all the details I can give.

We have a VIP 722 DVR upstairs hooked up to our main TV. When they set it up it was the only TV we had, we got a second room free since it's a 2 room receiver so we just had them set it up in the living room downstairs. I did not see what he actually did, but there's just a coaxial cable down there that we have since hooked up to a small TV and it works fine.

Today we got another big TV for the theater room and I took the coaxial cable into there just to see if it would work (since it's a new home and it's all supposed to be wired room to room). Well it didn't work, so the guy must have done something down there. (he never went into the attic or anything).

I'm guessing/hoping that someone on here is familiar with how they setup the system for mirroring in another room and can let me know what to do to get it working in the theater room instead of the living room?

[Deathcricket]

Sure! The interesting thing about DISH tv is they have one receiver that atually runs both tv's. Where as Direct tv, each receiver runs its own tv. Instead of one running both. So if the previous occupant had Direct Tv and not Dish, the config is totally different.

So if you look on the back of the receiver I beleive there will be 3 coax connections. One for the input, and then one for each tv. Now since you know the one in the upstairs works fine. trace that cable back to the DVR. Leave it alone but just mark it in your mind. Thats one of the tv's. Then unplug one of the others. If the tv that worked before doesn't work then that is the cable input. Plug it back in. And you know you need to plug the other TV into the final connection.

Another option would be to plug the downstairs tv into the upstairs connection since you know that works. This should help you determine if it's a cabling issue. Meaning the cable you think you are plugging it isn't really reaching where you think it is. I suspect there is some small junction in the house you don't know about. Where a 2nd connection needs to be made. Most likely in the laundry room or garage somewhere.

Edit: Just noticed your in STG too. If you want I can come by and look at it for you, or you can borrow my "toner" which sends a signal through the cable to help you determine is the signal is consistant. I live over by Arrowhead Elementary in "The Vineyards". Probably not far from you.

[Kent K25]

Yeah, I'm actually in Ivins (west of the fire station) so we're close by.

We're going camping tomorrow so I'll take you up on that offer when I get back.

I've got 3 coax cables on the back of the receiver like you said. Basically one coax from the wall gets split to the 3 inputs on the receiver.

Upstairs TV works fine and downstairs was fine with the one coax cable I had coming out of the wall there to the TV.

Question is how can I get TV2 to be in a different room downstairs rather than the room he set it up for. I know there is a box in the storage room that the internet guy got into to get into the house wiring. Perhaps the Dish guy did too.

[Deathcricket]

Question is how can I get TV2 to be in a different room downstairs rather than the room he set it up for. I know there is a box in the storage room that the internet guy got into to get into the house wiring. Perhaps the Dish guy did too.

Easy.. The TV that was originally setup still works right? So just turn it on really loud and go into that closet and unplug each cable until you hear snow. Then you will know which cable it is that you want to unplug. Then have the plug from the new room go into that same outlet and you're golden. It's easier if you have a toner so you know which cable is which, but if there are 5 you can do a process of elimination. Take some scotch tape and mark each cable as you go too. Makes it a lot easier for future reference. So there will be 2 cables coming from the satellite into a duplex (probably in that closet), then those will join and form the single coax that plugs into the the DVR. Not sure if you have internet but that can travel along the same lines if through the cable company, so beware that as well.

[Kent K25]

Easy enough. The "closet" full of all the connections had the Satellite cable coming in to a splitter that then went to the upstairs and downstairs rooms. It was easy to find the theater cable I preferred to use since it says "theater" on it :)

I'll do it when I get back from camping since it is just the wire, needs to have a coax head put on it.

Final question (maybe...)
Hooking the old TV up straight to the coax cable was no big deal before because it was a crappy TV. Now we've got a Plasma down in the theater so it would be nice to have clean and crisp HD signal down there (as we have upstairs) but I'm assuming that would require another receiver or HD tuner of some sort.

I assume there is a cheaper option than going to Dish for this?

p.s. thanks for all your help so far DC.

[CrazyFinn]

I think the Dish receiver will only support 1 HD TV. The 2nd one is just normal resolution. At least thats what I understood.

[Kent K25]

I figured there must be some sort of option because as it is hooked up to just a coax cable it still gives me the options in the dish guide to watch the HD feed or the non-HD feed on the downstairs TV.

I pull up the guide and can watch channel 140 (ESPN) as regular, or channel 140 as HD. Makes more sense if you have Dish HD and see the double channels in your menu.

Anyway, when I put it on the SD channel it's a normal crappy picture. When I put it on the HD one it is not as clear as the HD signal upstairs coming in from the receiver but it is a lot better than the SD channel. Figured there must be some sort of option there to get a full HD signal?

[Deathcricket]

I think the Dish receiver will only support 1 HD TV. The 2nd one is just normal resolution. At least thats what I understood.

Yeah I think CrazyFinn's right, but that is a little beyond my knowledge level. It might be that it provides a little extra bandwidth so the picture looks clearer but not as good as it should. hmm, not sure bro. I haven't plunged into the whole HD scene so I not informed, hehe. Looks like I'll be asking you questions when that day comes.


Edit: I have heard you can get a HD antenna and pick up the local HD channels for free and save the $5 charge or whatever it is. But I don't if said channels are avaialble in your area. Might be worth the splurge if they are $30 once and save you $5/mo forever.

[CrazyFinn]

Not sure myself. I didn't get that far (getting it installed). We still are on cable. But when I wired my house (I built the house) I put in 2 coax feeds from the Sat Dish location on the roof.

1 goes to the living room. The 2nd goes to my hall closet where each room in the house feeds to (including a 2nd feed to the living room). The idea was I could feed back from the living room to the closet and then to anywhere in the house from there.

My thinking is that I'll go to Radio Shack and get the Dish stuff (no 2 year contract) and then install myself.

I wish Sat was as easy as cable......

[Deathcricket]

I've installed the dish myself and it's real easy, took me half hour (not including running cable time though that was a bitch). The hardest part I had was leaving the sat in the same position for a minute each time to test the strength. I kept yelling down and moving it every 20-30 seconds to find the strongest signal. Once I figured out you have to wait a bit it locked right in.

You'll have no trouble at all my friend. The installers are idiots anyways and best not to let them drill holes everywhere in your house, I've found.