I just got a Direct TV DSS setup and was told that in order to hook up a 3rd tv, i needed to buy another dish? That sounds very strange to me. Can anyone confirm that you must buy a 2nd dish to run a 3rd tv?

many thanks in advance

Craig

Craig, You can add as many TV's as you want per receiver, but you have to watch the same channel. You can watch DBS on one and local/cable on the others, and vise versa. You'll also need a dual LNB and receiver to watch satellite on the second TV (seperate signals) You can go one step further and get a signal modulator for connecting additional satellite receivers. Unlike cable, you must have a receiver to obtain a signal.

Thanks for the response Dennis. So, let me just rephrase this and see if i got it right?

I bought a dual LNB system and a second box. I know i can watch sat. stations on both boxes/tvs now (or will when it's hooked up). If i wanted to add a 3rd box to a 3rd tv, i need the 'signal modulator' (and of course the 3rd box) you mentioned? Can you give me any more info on that device? Is it expensive? Hard to install? etc.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm techno savy but have never had to deal with a dish system before. I'd like very much to be able to buy 1 more box to hook up 1 more tv. It just seemed like sales hype that the salesperson told me i needed to buy a 2nd dish in order to hook up that 3rd tv.

Thanks so much for your help
Craig

You can pick up a signal modulator from Radio Shack or Home Depot (they have extensive DSS accessories). I have four receivers hooked up. Direct TV changed and started allowing more than two receivers about a year ago.

Just remember it is $5 per receiver per month!

You need a switch that allows three or more receivers. Contact DTV or local retailers.

It is called a multiplexor, you can get them retail for $70-$90, or on Ebay for $30-$50.

Thanks so much for all the info folks. I will definately look in to the Signal modulator / multiplexor item that is mentioned. Thanks for helping a newbie out. The 5.00 per month additional fee seems reasonable. My cable company charges the same for another box.

As of Christmas, I now have have seven tv's in my home! Three of them are OTA only. Four are served by two sat receivers. I could reroute them to serve the other three, but why? I can send DVD, VCR, DBS and OTA to two. DBS and OTA to two others. The other three each have a VCR and one has Nintendo, another Play Station. When I upgrade to AC-3 Satellite, I will then consider redistributing additional sat signals and purchasing :-( modulators/multiplexers. The plot thickens.............

The device you need to hook up more than two recievers to one dual LNBF is a multi-switch.

Oh by the way the muti-switch is availiable at Sears and I believe at Radio Shack too.

Hi guys, please see my above listed thread 'long cable run's' ....it tells all about multi-switchers, and the best one available , and the phone # for the mfg in florida ....good luck

You a multi-switch. You can get them any where DSS is sold. I'm have as many as 25 receivers running on one single dish.v If you have problems finding a multi switch contact me. I can be reached at Spectra Audio Research in NY @ 212-744-2255, I'd be happy to get one for you and explain how to hook it up.
Good Luck

All this talk about multiplexors! Will they allow more than one channel to be watched at the same time from the same LNB? Why get a dual lnb if you can multiplex a single? Am I missing something?

Wayne

The LNB is capable of processing the signals from either the even numbered satellite transponsers or the odd numbered transponders, depending on the polarization it uses. The receiver tells the LNB whether it wants access to the evens or odds, depending on which channel you've told it to tune in to. This is why you needed a dual LNB for two receivers - if you had them both hooked to the same LNB, whenever one receiver changed the LNB polarity, the other one would go along for the ride, whether it wanted to or not, or they would do battle continually switching back and forth. A dual LNB is just two units sharing a common housing, so each receiver can have control of its own LNB.

When you want to connect more than two receivers to a dual LNB, you can do it by hooking up a "multi-switch" between the LNBs and the receivers. The multiswitch keeps one side of the LNB at one polarity and the other side at the other polarity all the time, so that signals from all the transponders are available full time. Then it switches the connection for each receiver back and forth between the two LNB sides, depending on the channel each receiver requires at the time.