Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I did a search, but didn't find an answer.

I have a D* oval 3 LNB dish running through a Zinwell 5x8 multiswitch. I am out of outputs, and want to add another HR10-250 HD Tivo. Do I just hook up another cascading multiswitch to 4 of the existing m-switches outputs? Is it really that easy or am I missing something?

Thanks!

That would be correct, 4 outputs from one to the next.

As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!"

Any specific brands that work better than others? I have one Zinwell already.

Thanks!

The 3LNB dish won't get local HD or the new national programming expected by the end of the year. The HR10-250 won't do the job either. If you need more outputs, it's time to look at the Zinwell WB616 which has 16 and will work with the 5LNB dish. It's the only one with more than 8 outputs that will do that job except for some very expensive Spauns that don't work any better. Why not call DirecTV for an upgrade? They are pretty good at providing dishes and multiswitches necessary to the job without charge. The HR20 has gotten to the point where the software is finally pretty good too.

Thanks for the advice. I looked at the newer D* dishes and DVR, but decided to wait a while. I have 3 HR10-250s, which I own, and a couple of SD Directivos. I could care less about locals, and only watch a few shows I Tivo using an OTA antenna. I mounted a Channel Master 4228 in my attic a a couple years ago and get great reception on it. Personally, I think D* is missing the boat by using bandwidth on the new birds for locals. I would love to see some additional premium channels in HD, but don't think the "next" iteration is going to be enough to get me to change to the 5 LNB system. I've been burned before by D*'s "next, soon to be released" offerings before.

But, then again, you never can tell! I'll look at the WB616 as future-proofing.

Thanks for your advice!

The new birds are set up for spot beam use and locals, the next two to go up are configured for national HD channels. We'll see how their plan for 100 national HD channels goes once those two go up.