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Satellite vs. cable coaxial types?

13K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  rgsgww 
#1 ·
My home was wired for cable TV and we recently decided to go to with satellite instead because we got a good deal through our local phone company as they had bundled with Dish network. I had assumed that the satellite dish would simply plug into the existing network of cable in my home, but when the tech showed up he explained that all new wiring would need to be run using "Category 5" cable. He then proceeded to tell me that there is no possible way to run cable through existing walls (apparently he's never heard of fishing) and that the cable would have to be run along the baseboard/trim. Needless to say I showed him the door and installed the system myself, fishing the cable with no problem whatsoever.

What I'm wondering now is whether or not this cable will work with regular cable service should we ever decide to switch back. First of all I did a search for "Category 5" cable and found out that this is ethernet cable-not coaxial, so at this point I don't know what I have in my house. Second, I really don't want to have to fish all this cable again...
 
#2 · (Edited)
You are correct that Cat5 cable is data cable. I know Directv uses Cat5 to connect to a broadband router for their On Demand service. What type of wire did you run? Is the system working now? That is pretty typical of cable/satellite installer. I had one tell me that I could hook the HD video output of the converter box through the SPDIF(digital audio) jack.
 
#3 ·
The stuff he gave me looks just like any other coaxial cable I've ever seen-he just told me that it was different than what I had in my house. Granted, the stuff in the house is probably 10+ years old. Everything is working perfectly, I'm just hoping that if the cable company starts offering better deals a year or two down the road that I can switch over and not have to re-wire the house again.
 
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