I have Direct TV HD DVR box Model HR22
Now my problem is I live in a complex where running a second cable line would be a pain.
I want to be able to watch one channel while recording another which some people say I need to run two lines from satelite to do and some people say you can do it with a splitter.
Everytime I call Direct TV i get a different answer!!!!!
anyway i purchased a splitter and it still will not let me change the channel while recording.
Any Ideas?
You can not do it with a splitter. Direct TV has a multiswitch and receiving apparatus on the roof. The gear is phantom powered, that is to say there is DC power going up the coax. What you want to do requires two lines to the multiswitch. There is 13 volts on one and and 18 volts on the other. It does not matter which cable goes to which connection. There are also control switching pulses sent up the cables from the receiver to the multiswitch to switch satellites. The digital receiving signals are sent back down the lines.
The phantom DC power and the switching pulses will not pass through a splitter, as they are DC and will not pass a transformer.
I'm not surprised you got conflicting answers from Direct TV employees, a lot of them are very ignorant about how their own systems works, and that goes for most of the techs.
I had to largely figure their system out for myself largely, when I had a series of problems.
So yes, you have to have two signals going to the dish from each HD DVR. I have two and that means four cables.
One other thing, their system is very sensitive to splices, and if possible you don't want more than the grounding block.
