Bell dilemma

[signature7]

I am by no means an expert in satellite television so I turn to beyond for help as you've always done pretty well by me :D

Here's my problem. I pay a monthly bill for bell expressvu that is a pretty penny, however, I hardly watch tv.. Most of the television watching is delegated through my little bro and sis. We have 3 receivers. A dual tuner hd pvr, and two standard digital receivers.

When we bought Bell's satellite services they told us we can only have up to 4 receivers and hd makes up 2 so that's why we havae only three in total. Now we have more tvs than receivers which isn't a big deal but I'd like to get another one in if I could, particularly HD if possible as all of our tvs are HD capable.

so I guess I have two questions.

1) Am I able to somehow record shows using my standard digital receiver for myself so I feel as If i get something out of the monthly bill. I have a ps3, xbox 360, or computer at my disposal if anyone knows a way i can turn them into pvrs or if i could even buy something to supplement my current receiver that'd be great!

or Is there such a thing as SD PVR receiver by Bell that I am still able to purchase?


2) is there anyway I could add another receiver to bill without adding another satellite dish to my house?

Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind I am a noob when it comes to electronics or television. Thanks for the patience.

[topmade]

For #2, you don't need another satellite, but you'll need another line and LNB for every receiver added.

[Intent_Fire]

I've Installed the same setup quite a few times before.
You already have HD so you have both the 91 & 82 LNB's therefore you will not need another.

First, who ever told you bell have a Max of 4 Tuners on a network is full of shit. I currently have 2 9424's(HD PVR) and 2 4100's(SD). Despite what they tell you it is possible to have 7 tuners. Keep in mind a HD PVR counts as 2.

For your question 1. It is possible to run your PC as a recording device, I’m not totally sure off hand if there is any software that will duplicate that of the stock PVR, you will probably be stuck simple recording content manually using a TV Tuner that will need to be installed in the PC.

For question 2. Your MAIN problem is that you currently only have 1 SW-44 Switch which takes the lines from the 2 LNB's on the dish amplifies and then combines the signal together into individual lines.
The solution is you will need an Extra SW 44 Switch(last time I checked it runs about $50 with shipping off ebay ) and 4 High frequency power passing splitters($10 ea) plus the extra RG6 cable needed to run to the extra receiver. I will include an illustration.

Honestly, 9/10 people would have no idea how to do the install, Its kinda a pain in the ass without the right tools. I cant remember exactly what bell will charge you, but estimate it being around $150 at least.

Perhaps call around to satellite install companies and try and find a good hourly rate. Make sure to tell them you don’t need an extra dish etc as they will rape you on the cost of the hardware.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/sdhacking/sw44_hi-frequency.jpg

[Mar]

I use my computer as a personal video recorder and I don't even have the cable box. I just got a Hauppage tuner card out of a computer someone threw away because they thought it was broken, popped it into my machine, set up MythTV and let it go. Watch what I want when I want.

[megavolt]

My preferred method is with DishPro hardware... unfortunately you can't get it in Canada.

Quite a few years ago Echostar (manufacturer of both Dish Network and BellTV receivers and hardware) came out with new hardware, but Bell never adopted it. Support for it is in the firmware of Bell receivers. Only problem is once you use DishPro Bell tech support won't touch it.

Basically if you set it up right you can have 24 lines running off of one dish.

Get a video capture card... use windows 7 media centre. :)

[signature7]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. I've been asking around and yeah a lot of people have been telling me that 4 tuners max is bs. I'll see if I can do something to add some channels to our extra televisions. My hd pvr is dual tuner, but i assume you need to fish wiring through the house to make it work?

[Wrinkly]

[i]First, who ever told you bell have a Max of 4 Tuners on a network is full of shit.

:werd: Six here (two of which are HD), one dish with dual LNB

[eblend]

anyone with 6 recievers, do you have to pay extra on your bill? I know 4 are included in the standard price

[Wrinkly]

I don't know about now - but when we got ours, the maximum was six without any increase in price. Beyond that, you have to get into a second dish etc.

[Intent_Fire]

You can run up to 7 tuners on 1 account with no Price increase. Some of the less knowledgeable reps will tell you otherwise that it is 6, but it IS possible to get 7. I worked for Bell for several years.

You can run as many receivers off a single dish as you want. you just need to add more powered SW44 switches, the diagram above will let you run 8 as each switch has 4 outputs.

[dino_martini]

Question!

Is bell satellite hd > shaw digital hd?

I've always had cable, but were going to be purchasing a HD tv soon and will be making the jump to the full package.

:hijack:

[rumeo]

bell has 100+ hd channels, shaw has between 45-55 hd channels

[95teetee]

Originally posted by dino_martini
Question!

Is bell satellite hd > shaw digital hd?

I've always had cable, but were going to be purchasing a HD tv soon and will be making the jump to the full package.

:hijack: I can't say anything as far as comparisons go, but Bell's HD quality doesn't impress me in the slightest. I don't know if it's the CTV and global feeds that they sim-sub down our throats for everything or what, but the only HD show I've ever been impressed by on BEV is the new Kids in the Hall show (yes, on CBC:eek: )