# MPEG 2 and MPEG 4



## stiffi (Jun 14, 2006)

I plan on upgrading to Directv MPEG 4 (HR20-700?) with the 5 LNB dish soon, but something just occured to me.

Can I get the 5 LNB dish and only 1 MPEG 4 receiver? Will my other MPEG 2 receivers including a HR10-250 still work?

thanks for helping.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Yes, they will work fine


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## tazzmission (Oct 15, 2002)

OTA will not work though if you have that diplexed in. You would need to have a dedicated line run for the OTA antenna.

Just an FYI for ya...


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## stiffi (Jun 14, 2006)

Thanks for the replies. I had a moment of panic. I do have a dedicated OTA run, already.


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

tazzmission said:


> OTA will not work though if you have that diplexed in. You would need to have a dedicated line run for the OTA antenna.
> 
> Just an FYI for ya...


NOOOOO!! (but thanks for the heads-up). Just when I thought I had weighed all the options and went ahead and ordered the HR20 and have an install scheduled for the 5-LNB dish next week, I find out this. I'm going to have to completely reconsider everything now. I have two HR10-250's and planned to have them in rooms where I don't have any spare cable runs.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

For the HR10's you can still do it...

You will have to diplex in the OTA signal AFTER the multiswitch brake out.
The OTA can't be diplexed in on a line that will be using the MPEG-4 peices.


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> For the HR10's you can still do it...
> 
> You will have to diplex in the OTA signal AFTER the multiswitch brake out.
> The OTA can't be diplexed in on a line that will be using the MPEG-4 peices.


OK, whew (so far). I assume you're referring to the built-in multiswitch at the dish, like the 3-LNB dish has? I was told by the DirecTV rep that this dish has 4 cables, just like the 3-LNB. Is all of that correct? So will I be able just to keep my OTA cable plugged into my existing downstream multiswitch setup?


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Yes, what you would do is take the AT9 dish and it's four feeds, to the Zinwell WB68 multiswitch (Which should be part of your install)..

Then take 4 of the outputs of that switch to your existing switch setup....

Connect your HR20 or H20 (which ever you are getting) directly to the Zinwell


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Yes, what you would do is take the AT9 dish and it's four feeds, to the Zinwell WB68 multiswitch (Which should be part of your install)..
> 
> Then take 4 of the outputs of that switch to your existing switch setup....
> 
> Connect your HR20 or H20 (which ever you are getting) directly to the Zinwell


OK, that doesn't sound so bad. Thanks. I take it I can also run two more outputs from the Zinwell to another DVR (either a DirecTiVo or DirecTV+ DVR)? I currently have 16 available outputs from my two multiswitches, it sounds like I'll actually be gaining 4 more? (it is an HR20, btw)


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Yes....

Then you are going to have a setup identical to mine.


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## myboyblue (Jul 17, 2006)

I'm getting a setup with a 3LNB and a HR10 with an OTA also being installed. What mutliswitch would be the best? A 5x8 or a 6x8.


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Yes....
> 
> Then you are going to have a setup identical to mine.


Hopefully you inferred that I have my 4 cables split to each of the multiswitches, as opposed to cascading them, which would really only leave you with 12 usable outputs (plus the 4 from the Zinwell).

What is the 6th input for, Cable TV?


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Four inputs on the Zinwell switch are used for multisat dishes (AT9 or Phase III), the other two are used for the 72.5 and 95 sats (used to receive SD locals in some areas). This switch has no OTA input.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

tazzmission said:


> OTA will not work though if you have that diplexed in. You would need to have a dedicated line run for the OTA antenna.
> 
> Just an FYI for ya...


Not quite right. You can not diplex into any lines going to the mpeg-4 receivers. You can still diplex the OTA signal in to the lines going to the mpeg-2 receivers.


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## ebockelman (Jul 12, 2001)

Actually, you can diplex a run going to an MPEG-4 receiver if you do the diplexing after the B-Band converter and keep the cable runs short. 

Unfortunately, the HR20's B-Band converter is internal, so you can't use this trick with the new DVR. It works fine with the H20.


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

Well, fortunately I also have a DirecTV+ DVR in the same room I'll be putting the HR20, so I can diplex my OTA signal out of one of those lines into my HR20. (Right?)


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

jeff125va said:


> Well, fortunately I also have a DirecTV+ DVR in the same room I'll be putting the HR20, so I can diplex my OTA signal out of one of those lines into my HR20. (Right?)


Not if you plan to use the Ka band satellites which mainly carry the mpeg-4 channels.


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## rjhseven (Oct 28, 2004)

i have 2 HD 10-250 and one regular Tivo. What advantage would i have by using the new dish? Will MPEG 4 have better picture quality on SD channels?


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

None of SD is MPEG4 at this point, but MPEG4 doesn't necessarily improve PQ. They would have to also lessen the compression for it to improve PQ, and all signs point to that not happening. Instead, they plan to add more channels.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

rjhseven said:


> i have 2 HD 10-250 and one regular Tivo. What advantage would i have by using the new dish? Will MPEG 4 have better picture quality on SD channels?


The HR10-250 will not decode the MPEG-4 channels, it does not have the hardware to do it. You would have to get a HR20-700 (non-TiVo DVR) or the H20 receiver to view them. MPEG-4 will let DirecTV use there bandwidth more efficiently. It is debateable if that will give us better picture quality, they will most likely just add more channels. The best bet is to use the OTA digital signals for best picture quality.


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

rminsk said:


> Not if you plan to use the Ka band satellites which mainly carry the mpeg-4 channels.


I don't think I was clear. I have four lines running to that room. I can run two from the Zinwell multiswitch to the HR20. I'm thinking I could run the other two from my multiswitch that has the OTA signal combined, put a diplexer on one of those lines, then run the two sat lines to the DirecTV+ box, and the OTA line to the OTA input on the HR20. I'm assuming (without full knowledge possibly) that I have no need for the Ka band or mpeg 4 stuff on the DirecTV+ DVR.


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## dscott72 (Mar 30, 2006)

With MPEG 4 being rolled out, and more and more channels being moved to that format, pretty much the HR10-250 is going to be obsolete. Just read something on Tvpredictions.com..."DIRECTV previously has offered a TiVo HD DVR, but it will not record high-def channels scheduled to be added on the satcasters' new satellites next year." Will this mean that they only won't record and can be viewed, or will I have to get an HR20 or HR20-700 to even see these channels?


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## phox_mulder (Feb 23, 2006)

dscott72 said:


> With MPEG 4 being rolled out, and more and more channels being moved to that format, . . . Will this mean that they only won't record and can be viewed, or will I have to get an HR20 or HR20-700 to even see these channels?


The HR10-250 will neither see them or be able to record them, as it can't now.

Fine by me, as 90% of my recording is OTA.
Other 10% is SHO-HD and HBO-HD, which might go away at some point.

phox


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## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> Yes....
> 
> Then you are going to have a setup identical to mine.


Can you confirm for me please? .... You have four cables from the dish to the Zinwell, then four outputs each going to a splitter, then 8 cables total from the splitters, 4 of each going to the inputs of two other multiswitches? The installer is here now, and I'm having a problem with either even or odd transponders with this setup. Is there something specific I need to do for this to work?


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## rjhseven (Oct 28, 2004)

I just moved and had the new MPEG 4 Directv dish installed. Since i do not have a MPEG 4 receiver, i just took the zinwell multiswitch off and used my Terk 5 X 8 multiswitch with its OTA input. I will worry about MPEG 4 when they get the kinks worked out of the receivers, the prices come down and they add more HD channels that my hr10-250 cant receive.


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

jeff125va said:


> Can you confirm for me please? .... You have four cables from the dish to the Zinwell, then four outputs each going to a splitter, then 8 cables total from the splitters, 4 of each going to the inputs of two other multiswitches? The installer is here now, and I'm having a problem with either even or odd transponders with this setup. Is there something specific I need to do for this to work?


The splitters go between the dish and the multiswitches.


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## Townie33 (Sep 28, 2005)

I live in a Chicago suburb. All the locals are HD-compatible, but living 30 miles away from the towers any of the OTA's I've tried have been much less than stellar. I actually ordered two HR20's. I just wonder if any Chicago D* subscribers have it and can let me know thumbs up or thumbs down.

Thanks.


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

Townie33 said:


> I live in a Chicago suburb. All the locals are HD-compatible, but living 30 miles away from the towers any of the OTA's I've tried have been much less than stellar. I actually ordered two HR20's. I just wonder if any Chicago D* subscribers have it and can let me know thumbs up or thumbs down.
> 
> Thanks.


Search for Spanky in chicago. I believe he went through the process and finally got excellent OTA reception. Once you find him, maybe a PM to him will help you.


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