Cable or Satelittle TV - New Home (roof, installing, price)

[blakeas]

I have always had cable but I am thinking about satelittle TV - Do I need to have my builder do a "in case" satelite stub near a gable or something? Suggestions?

[OCFabriqgal]

No. But having a free spot on your roof facing in the direction of the satellite is good to have so you don't have to cut trees. We like satellite better for TV but cable internet I think is faster. Since we only can have satellite where we live dial up telephone is all we get. People we know with cable are usually envious of satellite. Ugly locations for the dish are a problem so designing a mounting location NOT on top of a tile roof would help as the satellite companies no longer allow the installers to walk on a tile roof cause they can break tiles while walking.

[blakeas]

I just have seen satelittle installers run cable all over the place and mess up the exterior. I wanted to pre wire in a neat way while I am building the house In case I want to have satellite at some time. ok, so no suggestions on how to do that?

[South Range Family]

They need a continuous run of RG6 from the dish to the receiver. You could run the cable to where you want your TVs, and leave enough coiled in the attic, or where ever you think the dish will go. Both dish companies need a clear view of the Southern sky.

You will need a separate run for every receiver. They will install a multi-switch out on the dish.

[blakeas]

My builder is going to wire the house for cable. But just wanted to know if they need to add extra for satelitte.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by blakeas

My builder is going to wire the house for cable. But just wanted to know if they need to add extra for satelitte.

Why limit your options? Let the builder wire for cable to give you a choice and a good selling point for later.

[southgeorgia]

the coax needs to exit the house near the elec meter; both cable tv and satellite tv will install their splitter/multiswitch within 6' of this location to bond it w/ the elec service.

if the satellite dish needs to be installed on the opposite end, that's fine, because the satellite tech is going to run wires back to the elec meter anyway. if your house is on a slab, you could have the builder intall a 1" conduit from the southwest corner of the house across the slab to exit near the coax lines; this would keep the satellite tech from running wires up the side of your house and through the attic, unless that doesn't bother you. i wouldn't leave any wires in the attic for two reasons: #1, you don't want the antenna mounted on your house. #2, the satellite tech will probably have to use a specific cable from the LNB to the ground block or multi-switch to pass their in-house inspection, and your electrician is most likely not going to use this type of cable.


if you're simply running coax from a wall location to the exterior, one coax is fine. both dish network and directv can operate their multi-tuner dvr's from a single coax.

i would only run multiple coax lines to a location if you're installing a structured media panel, in which case you could actually do some type of in-home video distribution.

[texdav]

It really depends on you cabler company and even the local service.Same with satellite.In my area cable is king and we get good sevice.

[southgeorgia]

also, if you really want to do yourself a favor, have them wire for a gigabit home network.

i know wireless is the tats for everyone else but with all these new streaming devices coming out, wired is the best solution. use wireless for the laptop/tablets only. everything else should be wired.

[blakeas]

the builder proposed running the required cables (5 RG6 cables and ground) from the front left corner outside to the attic from the low voltage panel for the dish for $385.

Does that seem correct and a good price?