# RG59 or RG6 Does it matter?



## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

Hello!I'm new here and had a question for the people in the know.
I was just setup with DIRECTV last Saturday, and I have been with time Warner Cable for the last 15 years, So this is my first time with DIRECTV. 
My question is, when the tech was installing my equipment, we both notice that most of my existing coax cables where all RG59,with the exception of a few coax cables from the outside amp (time Warner) ,leading into my house.I asked him, Don't I need RG6 coax since you are installing a 4k box? His response was,why yes you do,and said he would install a new RG6 line that was going to my 4k box. Well, long story short, after he left, I went outside to see, and to my surprise, he did not. He did however, install RG6 coax cable from my wall to my 4k box, but from the amp to my wall, it's still RG59. Should I be worried? He did however, install RG6 from the amp (time Warner) to the Genie HD DVR tho.I don't know if it matters but, the RG6 he installed is not quad shielded either. 
One more thing, my Samsung UN65JS8500 is DIRECTV ready, or "I think" with DIRECTV built-in hardware, so do I even need the 4k box? 
Thank yall for your time. 
James- in Arlington, TX.


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

If the 59 is working then it will most likely always work without any problems. The 59 will have the same picture quality as 6. If your tv is RVU ready then no they shouldn't have installed a 4k client.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

west99999 said:


> If the 59 is working then it will most likely always work without any problems. The 59 will have the same picture quality as 6. If your tv is RVU ready then no they shouldn't have installed a 4k client.


59 would fail QC if the job were to be checked though, correct?


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

59 works just as good as 6 but in shorter substances. Also Directv never uses quad shield. It has no purpose on Directv. 


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

RG6 with solid copper core center conductor should be used between the dish and the point where power is provided to the dish. In any new installation, there will be a power inserter someplace, and that is what provides power to the dish. After that point, from the power inserter toward the TV, it really doesn't matter.

The difference, or issue, has nothing to do with HD or 4K. Rather, it has to do with the ability to carry heavier DC current.


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## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

peds48 said:


> 59 works just as good as 6 but in shorter substances. Also Directv never uses quad shield. It has no purpose on Directv.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
> 
> ...


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## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

Rg-6 quad means less RF leakage on the cable, this is more important to the cable industry than it is to the satellite industry. RG-6 vs. RG-59 is more the signal/voltage loss over distance. RG-6 has a larger diameter center conductor so it loses less voltage over distance than RG-59 it also will drop less bandwidth over distance.


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## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

I got it now. Thanks guy's. 
Btw, I should send back the 4K box and just go straight to my tv?


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

RG6 quad shield will give better results where needed and that need is absent with Directv. CableCos uses quad shield since they usually run their lines in close proximity with power lines. As long as you keep your coaxes separated from power likes inside your house, quad shield has no purpose. 

100 feet would seem a little excessive for RG59 but if the network LED on your 4K box is green then that means the MoCA signals are within specs. 

300 megs of download speeds is overrated for DIRECTV as their downloads are throttle down to about real time which seems to top about ~12 "megs" according to some reports here 


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

The economic justification for cable companies using quad shield is surely egress protection rather than ingress. The FCC does fly-over monitoring of cable TV systems measuring for excessive leakage on aeronautical frequencies, mostly in the Superband and low, Ultraband (between VHF 13 and UHF 14). With quad shield, even if the outer plastic jacket is hacked into and the outer shielding is broached, the inner, second line of defense will remain intact and adequate.

Satellite signal strength loss is proportionate to cable length, and over any given length, it is greater for RG59 than for RG6, so using RG59 reduces the maximum distance that can be traversed by a satellite TV signal without dropping it below acceptable levels, though as dpeters11 pointed out, it could technically result in a flunk grade for the installer, so he is taking a risk in using it, since if there is a follow-up service call and if the next technician blames the problem on the RG59, fairly or unfairly, in may adversely impact the initial installer's performance ratings.


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> 59 would fail QC if the job were to be checked though, correct?


Depends on the circumstance really. If it could have been replaced easily then yes. It can be approved by a sup or if it was a lead/master tech then they can leave it without sup approval.


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## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

Hey,thanks guy's. Just got off the phone with DIRECTV , and sure enough,they told me to unhook the 4k box, hook up the coax straight to the built-in RVU out in the back of my TV,apparently my tv can do everything the 4k box can do, she told me there is no point to have the 4k box. She did not understand why the tech didn't do that to begin with. O well, no harm no foul. Now I just gotta mail them back the 4k box.


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

Not exactly, you need a broadband deca hooked up to the coax then the ethernet from the BB deca goes to your tv.


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## Tisby (Jun 4, 2010)

Keep the C61! Just did ANOTHER "upgrade" this week swapping a customer from an RVU TV to a C61. The performance of an RVU TV verses a client is piss poor. Channel changes and moving through the guide are only a smidge slower, but the trick play performance sucks. YMMV but I would recommend just keeping the C61. The remote doesn't need to be pointed at it, so maybe you can tuck it behind the TV if it's the cords that are bothering you. Your bill would stay the same whether you use a client or your own TV. The only advantage that using the RVU has is that you can turn it on & off at will because it is owned, not leased like the box. However, the speed is just too much of an issue for me.


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## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

Well heck, I was going to use RVU, now y'all talked me into keeping the 4K box. 
My wife is going to kill me, cause I keep going back and forth on this. Lol!


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

khoop said:


> Hey,thanks guy's. Just got off the phone with DIRECTV , and sure enough,*they told me to unhook the 4k box, hook up the coax straight to the built-in RVU out in the back of my TV*,apparently my tv can do everything the 4k box can do, she told me there is no point to have the 4k box. She did not understand why the tech didn't do that to begin with. O well, no harm no foul. Now I just gotta mail them back the 4k box.


 :bang

CSRs never learn.....

Why would they destroy a known working system with poor piss advice, is beyond me......


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## alnielsen (Dec 31, 2006)

Stuart Sweet has a blog over at the SolidSignal website that covered the advantages of using a mini/client vs the RVU. He believes that companies like Samsung will tire of offering software updates for your tv after a couple of years. This will cause problems for your RVU. These will range from it slowing down functionallly to loosing the ability to perform some functions down the road. The Genie mini/client will continue to recieve updates for a long time.


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## khoop (Sep 27, 2015)

alnielsen said:


> Stuart Sweet has a blog over at the SolidSignal website that covered the advantages of using a mini/client vs the RVU. He believes that companies like Samsung will tire of offering software updates for your tv after a couple of years. This will cause problems for your RVU. These will range from it slowing down functionallly to loosing the ability to perform some functions down the road. The Genie mini/client will continue to recieve updates for a long time.


That's a damn good point!


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Real world example, look at YouTube. 

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