DTV 6x8 SWITCH FOR HD ANTENNA (WB68)

I had a DirecTV installer put one of these in. I have a HR21 HD DVR with the AM21 OTA tuner, a R16 SD MPEG2 DVR, and a R22 SD MPEG4 DVR. I needed a total of six lines (two for each DVR); I added the two SD DVRs.

Since they installed this, my signal strength on my HD box went up. Curiously, the R16 and R22 report a slightly higher signal strength (91% vs. 95%).

The installer mounted this on the outside wall of my house and I've had no problems with weather yet. Although all we've had is hot and hotter days! A few days though have had ash filled skies from forest fires yet the Zinwell still delivers a strong signal.

I installed this unit to replace my previous multiswitch when I converted to the DirecTV 5 LNB dish for MPEG-4 HD signals. I just removed the old one and connected up the WB68 with no problems, with either the 3 LNB dish before conversion or the 5 LNB dish after conversion.

My old multiswitch had a power brick that had to be plugged in in the attic, while this unit is powered by voltage on the coax from the satellite receivers. This would be a definite plus if you were installing it in a location that had no power available. I was always concerned about the possibility of the previous unit's power supply catching on fire in a superheated attic, but that is not a possibility with the WB68.

The WB68 offers an inexpensive way to increase the available inputs from your 5LNB KA/KU or new Slimline 5LNB dish. This is the only Multiswitch approved by DirecTV to process new MPEG-4 signals.

I installed this device when expanding inputs from four (max with the dish alone) to six. Installation was a breeze and - to my utter surprise - signal strengths noted during guided setup of new DirecTV HD boxes actually IMPROVED.

Highly recommended!