Does this sound right? Need a new dish for HD..

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Joker

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I mailed a company asking: "I have purchased an HD decoder, and now I presume need to get my standard dish (lmb) upgraded." and requested a quote - this is the response:

Hi

That is correct you need a twin LNB and another cable.

Multichoice is adding more HD channels soon and therefore changing their transponder and their requirements are an 80cm dish

Total cost with dish, LNB cable and labour

R1960.00

Thanks
Click to expand...

My dish is only 3 years old, do I really need a new one? :erm:
 
Hmm, I think you can still get away with just paying for the twin lnb and the installation but that will get you to around R1200 anyway. I don't know how true the new dish for more channels thing is but it doesn't sound too far out anyway. It is your choice.
 
The bigger dish also means less interferance so you will get better picture quality.
 
At the moment, your old dish is sufficient. This will change sometime in the near future, when they switch from DVB-S to DVB-S2. Multichoice is actually recommending 90cm dishes... That 80cm should be fine though.
 
Qwikslver said:
The bigger dish also means less interferance so you will get better picture quality.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I agree, but then I'm not a DSTV guru, so please enlighten us. I can understand that a bigger dish will give you a better signal quality and better rain fade resistance etc, but if the signal quality is acceptable with the current dish, how will the picture quality improve ? I thought it's supposed to be digital i.e. if the signal is bad the picture will begin to break-up, if the signal acceptable (regardless of dish size) the picture will be perfect.
 
I'm still using my old old (really old) dish. I have HD, PVR and Xtraview with perfect quality..

According to my dstv info, I have signal strength of 98% and signal quality of 100%. Not sure how accurate those figures are tho
 
Mier said:
I'm not sure I agree, but then I'm not a DSTV guru, so please enlighten us.
Click to expand...

I think he just means less artifacts during bad weather etc..

As a side question, can HD decoders take cables from a normal SD dish?
 
Mier said:
I'm not sure I agree, but then I'm not a DSTV guru, so please enlighten us. I can understand that a bigger dish will give you a better signal quality and better rain fade resistance etc, but if the signal quality is acceptable with the current dish, how will the picture quality improve ? I thought it's supposed to be digital i.e. if the signal is bad the picture will begin to break-up, if the signal acceptable (regardless of dish size) the picture will be perfect.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Mier said:
I'm not sure I agree, but then I'm not a DSTV guru, so please enlighten us. I can understand that a bigger dish will give you a better signal quality and better rain fade resistance etc, but if the signal quality is acceptable with the current dish, how will the picture quality improve ? I thought it's supposed to be digital i.e. if the signal is bad the picture will begin to break-up, if the signal acceptable (regardless of dish size) the picture will be perfect.
Click to expand...

This is correct... unless Quik means that less blocking = better picture quality. I have seen that when the the data rate drops the picture quality becomes bad (jerky and blocky)
 
Joker said:
I think he just means less artifacts during bad weather etc..

As a side question, can HD decoders take cables from a normal SD dish?
Click to expand...

You don't get an SD dish or an HD dish. A dish is a dish (although size matters).
The difference comes in with the LNB... the thingy on the arm that points at the dish with the cables coming out of it. A single cable is not enough, unless it's a SatCR LNB (I stand to be corrected here). For the "baby" PVR - the 2P, you need 2 cables. While you could use a splitter, as I understand it, it's not ideal, as while one receiver is on a particular block of channels, other blocks of channels will be unavailable to the other receiver. Two separate cables from the LNB will allow each receiver to access the full range of channels. Again, it's different with a SatCR LNB, but I've got no experience with them, so I can't comment any further.

You can buy a dual (or even a quad) LNB and upgrade your dish yourself. Just make sure you align the LNB in the same way (rotation wise) as the old LNB - it DOES make a difference. The pain comes in with running the additional cabling. I HATE pulling cable. When I upgraded my dish with a dual LNB, and ran two new cables, it was a major cramp in my nuts getting the cable through the roof tiles etc. Fortunately it wasn't a long run.

Oh - and you don't need the bigger dish right now. It's only for "future proofing", as multichoice puts it.
 
Joker said:
I mailed a company asking: "I have purchased an HD decoder, and now I presume need to get my standard dish (lmb) upgraded." and requested a quote - this is the response:



My dish is only 3 years old, do I really need a new one? :erm:
Click to expand...

No you wont need a new dish. like thisgeek said Future proof, but i realy dont think it will ever be needed
heres a question no one thought to ask, what decoder do you curently have normal single view or the old PVR?
 
Quantum Theory said:
...and if he decides to upgrade to XtraView? Twin and multiswitch is still the best way. SatCR is a last resort.
Click to expand...

Actually, the link I supplied points to a SatCR with legacy port. I use this exact one and have Xtraview as well. I should've pointed that out.
 
isie said:
No you wont need a new dish. like thisgeek said Future proof, but i realy dont think it will ever be needed
heres a question no one thought to ask, what decoder do you curently have normal single view or the old PVR?
Click to expand...

Currently just have a normal single view decoder (the R400 job) but purchased a new HD PVR which should arrive next week.

I think I'll just get the new lmb installed with cabling - I highly doubt the 80cm dishes will be required for another few years?
 
Joker said:
Currently just have a normal single view decoder (the R400 job) but purchased a new HD PVR which should arrive next week.

I think I'll just get the new lmb installed with cabling - I highly doubt the 80cm dishes will be required for another few years?
Click to expand...

cool if you DIY you can do this for under a grand :)
u just need a twin LNB a 2 x4 multi switch (or get a quad lnb) - the quad lnb or multyi switch is if you want xtraview, since you paying the xtra 65 for pvr you might as well take extraview
swap you old lnb for the new one best to mark exacly how the old one is and place the new on exactly where the old one was
run a cable from the lnb to the tv room keep the cable that is there as well, plug both into lnb
now if not going for xtraview plug both cables into hd pvr.
if going for xtraview plu cables in mult switch 2 cables from mult switch in to hd pvr 1 cbale into you old decoder. 1 cable from rf in on hd pvr to rf in of old decoder.
go into xtra view seting of both decoders and chose the comunication port as rf in on both and call Mono choice to do you subscription crap.
and boom you done
cost
twin lnb +/- 500
multi swithc +/-300
and cabels +/-100
Total R900
(i am realy over qouting here)
to be fare send me the cheque for the diference im saving you :)
 
Joker said:
I think I'll just get the new lmb installed with cabling - I highly doubt the 80cm dishes will be required for another few years?
Click to expand...

A larger dish will increase the signal quality (the signal going into the LNB). The only reason that I can think of why you might need a larger dish is if the twin LNB have a worse minimum receive level than the single LNB. Depending on your current signal level, and the minimum receive level of your new LNB, you might need to upgrade your antenna size or not.

When they do the installation, make sure that the orientation of the new LNB is correct. If it not correct, the signal level will be lower, and they might try to sell you a larger antenna.

Does anyone here know if there's a way on DSTV to determine your receive level? The new LNB should have at least the same signal level as the old one.
 
Mier said:
Actually, the link I supplied points to a SatCR with legacy port. I use this exact one and have Xtraview as well. I should've pointed that out.
Click to expand...

So you are running 2 cables anyway? Why did you get the SatCR?

Look, I work for a satellite TV wholesaler. Guys push the SatCR for the bigger profit margins. Twin LNB's and switches are the best and cheapest way to install HD/XtraView. I would only advise a client to use SatCR, if he cannot get a second cable through (and is not using XtraView).
 
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