Dish or Direct TV - Montana Owners Club

av2pilot · 08-14-2008, 09:25 AM

We're going to start doing some extended traveling in our 3400...finally all the kiddos are in school! Can't pull the cable so I thought I'd ask our "experts" whether I should go with Dish or Direct TV...thoughts...suggestions?

Thanks!!!!

bsmeaton · 08-14-2008, 09:50 AM

I'm a Dish fan.

I you are a sports monger, I think Direct TV is more suitable.

brenkco · 08-14-2008, 10:10 AM

I agree with Brad, Direct has NFL ticket and is better for sports. I currently have Dish and been happy with the service.

Ishler · 08-14-2008, 11:46 AM

We have had Dish for many years with no complaints.

Glass Guy · 08-14-2008, 12:07 PM

I use Directv and take it every time we camp, it don't take long to set up and I have been happy with it for the last 5 years. Good luck, Roman

Jolu · 08-14-2008, 01:04 PM

I have been with DTV for more than 10 years and have the HD dish. I agree with Brad if you want a lot of sports DTV has it. I have been thinking about switching to Dish soon after my 2yr commitment is up in Nov. Dish does have a few more channels I would be interested in. Their HD channels have a few that are not provided by DTV.
I have had no problem setting up the DTV 5 LNB Slimline dish while traveling. I would expect the same would be true for Dish. JB

simonsrf · 08-14-2008, 01:24 PM

We've had Dish500 system for almost 2 years and are very happy with the service and performance.

After you learn some tricks, the setup is pretty quick.

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-14-2008, 01:31 PM

Over the years we had Dish and Direct in our stick houses. This past November I had DirectTV installed in our Monty and this May we had the Winegard TRAV'LER Automatic 3 LNB system installed for our DirectTV and we love it. But we did have 2 instances where I screwed up and didn't get a site with a clear view. Other than that it has been everything it's cracked up to be.

PackerFan · 08-14-2008, 01:57 PM

We have Direct TV now for about 10 years and are very pleased with it. It is in our house and we take the reciever and dish with us when camping. No complaints at all.

I am sure you will get plenty of reasons why either one is better. It is mainly just preference and what you are looking for.

Waynem · 08-14-2008, 02:24 PM

Dish is now broadcasting in 1090P, which is Blue Ray quality. Their HD is spectacular to say the least.

Also, with the Dish DVR (Dish 722 model) you have the ability to watch different channels on two televisions without interfering with the other when in Dual Mode. It is my understanding that with Direct TV you would need two receivers to achieve the same results.

The key is in the satellite antenna. Dish receives signals from satellites 110, 119, and 129, so you need a Dish 500 antenna or one with 3 LNB's. There is one that goes on the roof that has all three, but I do not remember the brand. I think they are at CW.

When you leave your "spot beam" area you will loose national local channels with a Dish system. You can subscribe to All American Direct to pick up ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX for additional costs. I have heard some Direct TV affectionados state that they just call Direct TV and give them the zip code they are now in and get local channels. Someone can speak up on that.

Decisions, decisions! Do they ever stop?

noneck · 08-14-2008, 02:31 PM

We use DirecTV, have not had Dish and our home location is North East so the local feed is never an issue. Dish is a 3 LNB now which I have modified by drilling out the rivets to allow the receivers to be separated from the oval pan for storage.
Set up options are to use a home brew tube I lash to the rear roof access ladder, same tube I can lash to the crank up off-air antenna, and the Wingard tripod. The only concern is that I have yet to test the pointing through dense tree campsite which I expect will be a failure as the 3 LNB looks for 3 sat's to get all the channels and aiming will be a problem.
You need a clear view of the southwestern sky for guarantee'd reception.

bsmeaton · 08-14-2008, 02:52 PM

The way I understand it -

The Winegard portable Dish 300 I had could see any 1 satellite. I had to go outside and move it if I wanted to watch something on the other satellite.

My automatic stationary Winegard Roadtrip dome still can only recieve 1 satellite, however it automatically moves to the other satellite as necessary when I change channels (you can hear it whir on the roof for about 1/2 second) The Roadtrip now picks up all Dish satellites, mine only sees 110 and 119. Price is down to $999 for the new Roadtrip, whereas I originally paid $1,350. My reciever broadcasts to two TVs that can watch independant channels. However, because the antenna can only see one satellite at a time, change control is dedicated to the living room TV (master). The bedroom TV (Slave) can see any channel it wants, providing its on the same satellite as the master.

A new Winegard Travler automatic antena can pick up all satellites at once through a triple LNB system. The Antenna looks more like the older crankup dish antennas than the domes. Several members have bought them recently (Glenn I believe just mentioned he did).

In summary, the Winegard products cater to both Dish and Direct TV, so the antenna shouldn't be the deciding factor. Pick the service with the best selection. I can switch to Direct TV anytime and my antenna will seek the other satellites with the flip of a few dipswitches.

carlson · 08-14-2008, 02:56 PM

Had Dish TV and did not work out well for traveling.
Switch to Direct TV last fall and love it.
As we summer in NH and winter in Yuma AZ I wanted the east and west coast feed for when we travel, I didn't want Atlanta and San Fransisco I wanted New York and LA and that is what you get with Direct.
I told them that we moved and they came to camp and set us up a new dish, so we have a permanent dish set up in NH and AZ
We have a dome on the Montana and it works great.
HD receiver and a second receiver for the bedroom and the basement work off the dome when we travel, no I don't get HD but that is OK, we get it when we are based.
To do the 5th wheel as a mobile unit is allot easier with Direct
My vote is for Direct

fulltimedreamer · 08-14-2008, 05:59 PM

We have been with Dishnetwork for 5 or 6 years. I have a dish500 for the house, a second dish500 set up for connecting the RV at home and a tripod dish500 for traveling. All work great. I We do not have HD service from satellite but do have an OTA antenna at home that gets all the locals in HD. I'm probably going to go th HD on satellite in the next few months. The VIP722 has the reputation of being an excellent HD DVR, so we'll probably stick with Dishnetwork.

PS I have been in a few locations where the portable dish wouldn't lock on both the 110 and 119 satellites because of tree cover. In that case I have to choose one or the other and lose some channels.

dsprik · 08-14-2008, 07:28 PM

DishNet here. Love the single control box for two separate tvs. DVR is great. HD is spectacular - specially on a 1080 tv.

Emmel · 08-15-2008, 03:46 AM

We have Direct for the stick house, so we just take a receiver and a portable 3lnb along in the Montana. I have at times, had a very difficult time getting all 3 satellites to come in. Last year while in Oregon, we picked up one of those view finders at the big RV Rally there. This has helped me tremendously and has kept the aggravation down a lot!
I don't know if one is any better than the other cause if you don't have a clear view of the sw, neither one will work anyhow!

SlickWillie · 08-15-2008, 04:10 AM

I really think this comes down to a personal preference as to each companies programming package. I've had both, plus the BUD (big ugly dish)for many years prior to those. I have dish now, merely because that is what our son has at the stick house. I have a box subscribed on his account.

exav8tr · 08-15-2008, 04:22 AM

I have Directv thru a Winegard 5LNB HD Traveler Automatic slimline dish, roof mounted. I really like the ease of setting it up, just turn it on and it automatically seeks and locks on to the sats. I recently had to have a service call by a tech to verify my Direct receiver was bad and they sent a new one fed ex and it works fine. I have no experience with Dish so cannot comment on them. I also have a portable slimline 3LNB dish with us for when I am under the trees. I only have it hooked to LR as we don't watch TV in bedroom. Hope this helps you decide. Of course, My vote would be for Direct....

dalesrfan · 08-16-2008, 01:13 PM

I know that My Direct sets up faster than My dad's DISH

SlickWillie · 08-16-2008, 05:06 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by dalesrfan

I know that My Direct sets up faster than My dad's DISH

Hmmmmm, maybe Dad is just slower. There is no reason I know of why one would set up faster than the other. Basically the same process. Oh, and I am sure that my son could set up his Dish faster than I can set up my Dish. But I'm retired, so I'm not in a hurry. In fact, sometimes I stop before finishing and have an adult beverage.

You may also like: