True, GMM & Distribution Box Questions

[Greenside]

I'm doing a new build and have TV outlets in 7 rooms (not that I intend to use more than one or maybe two). All the cables run to the cupboard where my electricity load centre will be and the incoming signal will come in from a dish mounted on an outbuilding. The cables are all underground so I want to get this right from the start. I don't like True but I know many people do and want to have it available fuss-free if we sell the place in the future.

The questions are:

1. Will one dish work for True and GMM?
2. If so, do I need to run two cables - I'm assuming that we'd only want to subscribe to one service.
3. Presumably, the six cables that serve the outlets around the house will meet in a distribution box along with the incoming feed(s) from the dish. Does this need to be an amplifier of some kind and if so will it need a 240v supply? The distances from the distribution box to the rooms are of the order of 30 - 40m and from the dish to the box will be 35m.
4. Whichever service one subscribes to, I assume that a set-top box would be required for each receiver unless we get involved with some kind of video sending hardware.
5. Will running the RG6 cable from the dish to the distribution box in the same conduit as a 240v mains supply be OK?

Anyone's help on these questions will be much appreciated.

[FiftyTwo]

Buy a quad head LNB, that will do 4 rooms.

GMMZ and true are the same sat, so just change the receiver in the room.

http://www.9sats.com/product/product.detail.php?&cat=54.118&id=985

[Greenside]

What about the other three rooms, though? Good to know the one dish will be enough. Thanks.

[FiftyTwo]

Another dish and quad LNB is easiest.

[lopburi3]

1. I would only hook up what you intend to use but have a two head LNB - that can be split to feed four units if needed and with a powered amp more (but seven is pushing it - perhaps better to have a second double feed for a second antenna in future available - but for only two wire directly to the two in use and only split when and if needed.

2. As they both use same sat you subscribe for the receiver you use - if paying for pay channel

3. As said have 4 leads from antenna area (using two now) and leads to all the outlets with room for splitter and power point available for amp if needed in future.

4. Yes - you can buy them as required.

5. I would not do - especially for the long distances you indicate but been a long time since worked with such systems and never at Ku band if that is what you are talking (75cm dish antanna?).

[Satcommlee]

Please be cautious, GMM uses both vertical and horizontal polarity, which means you cant simply put a basic splitter on the feed cable to feed more rooms.

True uses only one polarity, which you can split cheaply.

Different voltages determine which polarity the dish switches to.

As suggested a quad LNB with a feed to each room is a good idea, alternatively look into satellite "MAGIC SWITCH", which you can install in the cupboard and feed each room.

[gregk0543]

I am running two houses with multiple receivers off one satellite dish supplied by true the smaller dish only 3 ft across (?) . We run GMM boxes off the same dish. Dont even have an amplifier that I know about. So True and GMM will run off the same dish. Locals set this up in Yangon Myanmar. Have run up to 4 or 5 receivers of this system. To be clear I am running truevision and GMM simultaneously off one dish.

[recycler]

Make sure you also install cat 6 twisted pair cable for Internet to all rooms. IP TV is developing faster than satellite and you'll be able to stream video and other content from a central server to all rooms WiFi won't work for better quality video certainly not in a house this big.

[Greenside]

Thanks for extra info. Of course, now that I am really looking into the mechanics of this it seems that there is more to it than I imagined - I might have known!

It would be good to run GMM and True from the same dish and I imagine that it will take two different LNBs and two cables from the dish to the house. I did have a system that had something like that a while ago although there was only one location to feed.

I have a LAN connection to every room (Cat 5e is the current plan - is it worth going to the extra expense of Cat 6?) which I envisaged would be useful for TV as well as data although I hadn't made any in depth plans about how to implement it. Now I'm wondering if I really need RG6 all over the house as I read about people using LAN cabling with reverse IR so that they can switch channels on a central box. Hmmm.

Contrary to how it may look, our TV habits are 90% replaying digital material from a Media Tank hooked up to a HD or a USB drive and not off air at all. Almost all watching will be in a Family Room on a regular LED TV and (one day) a projector maybe.

[gregk0543]

Thanks for asking the question I have never thought about our set up before. Never heard of a LNB either so had to get on you tube to find some info.

Then there is this place.

http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/lnbs.htm

Mines a single LNB running Truevision and GMM. There must be an amplifier and some kind of splitter in the roof somewhere at least 8 output points and all work.

[lopburi3]

And the rain factor. There are heavy rains here and installation firms highly advise using 'C' band to avoid outages if you have the room to install the larger 1.5-2 meter dish required for it. Unfortunately only PSI/True seem to have much HD on offer outside of the Ku bands so you may have to install two antennas (or dual system) if that is your desire (although without much content probably not required at this stage). G MM Z receivers will operate on either band but most others will not. It can get a bit involved but the costs are not that great (most receivers less than 2k and antennas and install not that much more).

[lopburi3]

Update as have installed C band antenna with dual LNA feeding a six output splitter for use at five points. Although it worked fine except for some blockage of antenna by adjacent roof the extra splitter coax jack was connected to AC amp to make sure as two of the 5 runs had low signal levels using old coax which did not want to replace due to cosmetic reasons. As to working with True or GMM we only use GMM but with a True box at any of the outputs (or PSI or SUN or any other using Thaicom 5/6) it should work (for C band - would have to add Ku antenna for that to work). My total cost for 5 Smart Gmmz and amp/antenna/work/one year guarantee was a bit under 12,000 baht. Did not buy HD as TV's are old 720 or less but can change when change them.