How to Watch TV in Two Rooms With One Box on Direct TV
By Shea Laverty
If you own multiple televisions and wish to use a single DirecTV receiver with all of them, you might have considered purchasing DirecTV's Genie HD DVR. The Genie is capable of displaying DirecTV content on multiple channels, but if you're not wanting to spend the money to upgrade your DVR system and obtain all of Genie's other requirements, you can simply divide the signal between two televisions by using a splitter cable or making use of the receiver's multiple output jacks.
Splitter Cable
Step 1
Connect the splitter cable to the appropriate output port on the DVR (HDMI-to-HDMI, component-to-component).
Step 2
Connect one of the splitter ends to one television's matching input port.
Step 3
Connect the other splitter end to the other television, or to a female-to-male extension cord of the same type if necessary and then to the television.
Alternative Output
Step 1
Connect the primary cable to the desired DirecTV DVR output port.
Step 2
Connect the primary cable to the main television's matching input port.
Step 3
Connect the secondary cable to the DVR and television in the same fashion, using alternative output and input ports. If necessary, a female-to-male extension cord may be needed to bridge the gap between the DVR and the second television.
References
Tips
- Ideally, you'll want to reserve high-definition connections like HDMI for the television you will be using more. This allows you to enjoy better picture quality on your primary television.
Warnings
- This workaround will only allow you to send the same DirecTV content to two televisions. In order to view two separate channels from one box at the same time, you'll need a receiver that specifically has this feature, such as DirecTV's Genie system.