6. There are SO many different multi-switches with a wide range of prices...which one is for me? 

Lets start with the Differences Between Multi-switches. There are 3 main types of multi-switches:

[A] Non-Powered mechanical multi-switch - Cheapest in price. Has mechanical switching mechananism that is controlled by the power coming off of the DirectTV receiver. The DirectTV receiver changes voltages on the line depending on which transponder group it wants to look at. This multiswitch uses that voltage to move the switch. 

[B] Powered mechanical multi-switch* - Mid range in price. Has a mechanical switching mechanism. It uses the voltage changes from the DTV receiver to determine what it should look at, but uses it's own external power to control the switch. Example of these are Channel Master and Terk multiswitches.

[C] Powered solid state multi-switch* - Most expensive. Completely solid state-no moving parts. Reads the voltage changes from the DirectTV receiver and electronically routes the signal to the correct LNB. Examples of these are Spauns, Trunkline, JVI.

*There are variations of [B] and [C] which include signal amplification.

7. How many inputs do I need?

If you have an 18" dual LNB dish, you have 2 outputs from the dish, therefore only need a "2 x n" switch meaning 2 inputs from dish and "n" output (to be determined at next step.

If you have an Elliptical dish (or 2 18" dishes looking at different satellites), you will need a "4 x n" switch meaning 4 inputs (from dish) and "n" outputs. 

You will also see switches listed as "3 x n" or "5 x n"...This just means that there is an extra input for Antenna or CableTV. These switches allow you to combine an Antenna/CableTV signal onto the same RG6 cables as your DirectTV signal and split it out at the TV end. This saves you valuable cabling issues since you will only have to run 1 cable to a receiver instead of 2 (or 2 cables instead of 3 in the case of DirectTiVos)

8. How many outputs do I need?

This all depends on how many DirectTV receivers you have. You need 1 output for each receiver. In the case of the DirectTiVo, you need 2 outputs for each receiver. If you have two DirectTiVos, it would max out a 2x4 or 4x4 switch. Once you max out a switch, you cannot split to any other receiver and must get a new switch if you need to expand.

9. Non-powered, Powered/Mechanical, Powered Solid state, Amplified multi-switches... which one do I need?

Well, that depends on your budget and your setup. If you have very long cable runs (greater than 100 feet), you should definitely get a powered switch and better yet, a powered/amplified switch. A non-powered switch may work, but since it depends solely on the voltage of the receiver to move the switch, the voltage loss in long cable runs could make the switch unreliable. In the case of long cable runs, we recommend a switch like the Channel Master or Spaun. The Spauns are the most expensive and probably overkill for most people.  Prior to that, I used Channel Masters and they were very reliable. Many users with non-powered multiswitches and some with long cable runs will get "Searching for Satellite" at times. We would not recommend non-powered cheaper switches unless your cable runs are very, very short.

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