Hey Folks
I picked up a C51 to connect to my HR34 recently. DirecTV refused to let me purchase one from their installer because I don't have coax running to the room and wouldn't let them put a hole in the wall. So, I decided to DIY this one, and here's what I learned:
Attempt 1: DirecTV Cinema Connection Kit (CCK) -> 1Gb network switch -> HR34 via Ethernet
While I was able to get this to eventually setup and connect, it wasn't stable. It "mostly" worked but would periodically fail to connect. By the numbers this should have worked -- the network is brand new higher end 1Gb equipment and rock solid, but for some reason the RVU to the C51 wasn't reliable.
Attempt 2: DirecTV CCK -> CAT6 direct cable -> DirecTV CCK -> HR34 via Coax
This worked quite well. In this case I'm still transmitting the network signal over 100Mb ethernet (CCK doesn't link at 1Gb), but I bypassed the ethernet switch and (more importantly) came into the HR34 via the Coax port. The only downside to this setup was the amount of cabling -- CCKs at both ends of the CAT6 cable resulted in a lot of wiring to hide away.
Attempt 3: Analog RG6 to CAT6 balun converter cables on both ends
I found these on Amazon and thought "what a horrible hack!" but they got great reviews so decided to give them a shot. These replaced the CCK on both ends of the connection, adapting the signal on the RG6 coax to an RJ45 connection. In this case it is NOT ethernet wiring/signalling but rather using the 8 wires in the CAT6 cable as a coax extension (for the network geeks: Layer 1 vs Layer 2 conversion). These dramatically simplified my wiring, as I was able to simply run the white 7' cable from the C51 to the wall jack, and on the other end (patch panel) back into the SWM splitter which feeds into my HR34. This solution is also rock solid, and links up faster than the CCK from power-up, so you're watching TV about 5 seconds faster than Attempt 2.
I know there's been some discussion in the past on connecting C31/41/51 units when an RG6 isn't available, so I wanted to share these tricks in case they're helpful for anyone else...
I picked up a C51 to connect to my HR34 recently. DirecTV refused to let me purchase one from their installer because I don't have coax running to the room and wouldn't let them put a hole in the wall. So, I decided to DIY this one, and here's what I learned:
Attempt 1: DirecTV Cinema Connection Kit (CCK) -> 1Gb network switch -> HR34 via Ethernet
While I was able to get this to eventually setup and connect, it wasn't stable. It "mostly" worked but would periodically fail to connect. By the numbers this should have worked -- the network is brand new higher end 1Gb equipment and rock solid, but for some reason the RVU to the C51 wasn't reliable.
- DIRECTV Cinema Connection Kit w/ Power Supply (solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=DCAPR0-01)
- DIRECTV Genie Mini Client for Use w/ Genie HD DVR (solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=GENIEMINI)
- Netgear S3300 Switch
Attempt 2: DirecTV CCK -> CAT6 direct cable -> DirecTV CCK -> HR34 via Coax
This worked quite well. In this case I'm still transmitting the network signal over 100Mb ethernet (CCK doesn't link at 1Gb), but I bypassed the ethernet switch and (more importantly) came into the HR34 via the Coax port. The only downside to this setup was the amount of cabling -- CCKs at both ends of the CAT6 cable resulted in a lot of wiring to hide away.
- DIRECTV Cinema Connection Kit w/ Power Supply (solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=DCAPR0-01) X 2
- DIRECTV Genie Mini Client for Use w/ Genie HD DVR (solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=GENIEMINI)
Attempt 3: Analog RG6 to CAT6 balun converter cables on both ends
I found these on Amazon and thought "what a horrible hack!" but they got great reviews so decided to give them a shot. These replaced the CCK on both ends of the connection, adapting the signal on the RG6 coax to an RJ45 connection. In this case it is NOT ethernet wiring/signalling but rather using the 8 wires in the CAT6 cable as a coax extension (for the network geeks: Layer 1 vs Layer 2 conversion). These dramatically simplified my wiring, as I was able to simply run the white 7' cable from the C51 to the wall jack, and on the other end (patch panel) back into the SWM splitter which feeds into my HR34. This solution is also rock solid, and links up faster than the CCK from power-up, so you're watching TV about 5 seconds faster than Attempt 2.
- RG-6 Coax Cable over UTP Cat5e/6 Extender Balun Converter Adapter (amazon.com/gp/product/B00LNLETMA)
- DIRECTV Genie Mini Client for Use w/ Genie HD DVR (solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=GENIEMINI)
I know there's been some discussion in the past on connecting C31/41/51 units when an RG6 isn't available, so I wanted to share these tricks in case they're helpful for anyone else...