Direct TV or Dish Network ?

[H. John Kohl]

I am shopping for SATELLITE TV service.
Please give me your good or bad experiences with your Sat TV provider.
Also any thinks I need to look out for when discussing service. I will be using it at home when there and then in the RV when traveling.
Thanks,

[jjackflash]

We've been with Directv since 1998 and never have had a problem with them.
We have 5 Directv Dvr's in the house,3 of them HD. When it came time to build a system for the Monty I just take the garage DVR and put it in the trailer. When I had one of the installers at the house I asked him how I go about getting a dish and tripod for the trailer.
He told me the location he works out of and said to go around back were they pile up all the junk dishes and pick out what I want,they dump them once a month and it would save them a trip.
I picked up 3 extra LNB's two round dishes and two HD dishes. I also found a nice tripod.
The day he told me all this he reeled me out about 50' of double cable with connectors.
Last week they sent me a free year subscription to ShowTime for being such a loyal customer.
You can't beat the price! I love my Directv!
Jack

[prariepoodle]

John H, All I can tell you is that we have Directv in our Montana and every time we move it we have to call them and tell them the new Zip Code.. Now where were are now we do not get the LocalS Because Amarillo will not let Directv get them.... Hope this helps...

[richfaa]

When talking to Directv DO NOT say the words RV, Motor home or mobil If you have a stick house. We have a Summer residence in Ohio and a winter residence in Florida for Directtv purposes. If a full timer you would no doubt need the East/ West feeds to get the networks. When in Florida we get the local Orlando stations and when in Ohio we get the local Cleveland stations.. You do not need to call directv to get the local channels changed over. You can do it yourself online. Directv told we how to do it and we chaged them over from Floida when we got home....on line... When we go on the road we take the receivers from the stick house to the camper. We have found directv very easy to work with and have had them for 10 years.

[jjackflash]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

When talking to Directv DO NOT say the words RV, Motor home or mobil If you have a stick house. We have a Summer residence in Ohio and a winter residence in Florida for Directtv purposes. If a full timer you would no doubt need the East/ West feeds to get the networks. When in Florida we get the local Orlando stations and when in Ohio we get the local Cleveland stations.. You do not need to call directv to get the local channels changed over. You can do it yourself online. Directv told we how to do it and we chaged them over from Floida when we got home....on line... When we go on the road we take the receivers from the stick house to the camper. We have found directv very easy to work with and have had them for 10 years.

Ditto!
Jack

[Waynem]

John,
Do your homework well!
I have Dish Network. The single LNB was easy to set up. My new triple lnb is a nightmare some times. I have heard that DirectTV's satellite download is broader than Dish's. I Think this may be correct. I'm at the Mayport Naval Station FamCamp and when I walked around looking to see where "Dish" general direction was pointed, all I saw were DirecTV antenna's. That in itself may say something.

Check the new DirecTV receivers to see if they do what the dish receivers do.

Dish VIP722 receiver has two inputs, Sat1 and Sat2. You do not need two lines, but do need switches. There are two, and I have posted them in another thread, but don't remember what the were. I think a DP44 and DP21 (not sure) The line from the LNB (single, Dual, Triple) is a single line off of feed #1 to one of the switches, fed to the second switch, fed to sat1 and sat2. There is a distribution out that feeds back into the first switch and somewhere outside the stick house is another switch that feeds a second television. With this arrangement you can watch two independent channels at the same time. In you trailer, feed the distribution out to the lower jack on the loop and you would have tv2 in the bedroom in the same configuration.

The VIP722 can record 350 hours of standard definition and 55 hours of HD. I absolutely love that aspect. It is a dual tuner. You can record two and playback one at the same time, or record two while watching one (Don't like that - why would I record it) or record 1 watch one. Programming guide is pretty intuitive and you can set up your "scheduled" recordings.

Shout at me if you need more info on DISH. I can't help you with DirectTV.

[ols1932]

I don't think you can go wrong with DirecTV.

Orv

[boylanag]

John, we had problems with Dish, mostly relating to billings. Have had DirecTV now for several years and couldn't be happier.

[jretz]

We have Direct in the Montana as fulltimers. With the RV waiver (Dish does not have the RV waiver) it gives us the East and West Coast feed for our locals but we also call direct when we will be an area for an extended period (a month or more) and change our location zip code to that area to get there local channels. Also the channel packages are more comprehensive with Direct. We had Dish TV service put in my mothers house and have to pay extra for channels we get in out package with Direct (Encore channels) but local channels are included with Dish service and we have to pay extra for local channels with Direct.

We have Direct HD service and do get the West coast network HD feeds with our RV waiver as well as the local HD channels with our local network channel package.

[Stichwerks]

Direct has been great for us for the past 8 years. Never a bad signal due to weather and great selection of channels. The only issue we have ever had is we have 8 boxes in the stick house and a couple of times we didn't have them plugged in and when we tried to set them up in the 5er we had to call Direct and have them re-send the signal. Not a big deal if you have phone service where you are going. If they have been sitting for a long time and not been used we just hook them up at home first to be sure they have programming and all is good. Easy to do and if you go to polesandholders.com they have a great ladder mount for the dish. It keeps it up and out of the way.

[exav8tr]

John, All we have ever had in the Monty is Direct. We enjoy the sat system very much. If you go with DirecTv get the newer HD DVR as you can watch and record at the same time. We will be upgrading our receiver soon just so we can record. We do not use the bedroom TV (I actually blew it messing with the elec). However I would like to get a portable for basement and will use our current receiver for that. We have never asked for the LOCAL Channels where ever we are at (too much "Doom and Gloom" is not healthy for us). We do get the East/West coast feeds (extra $10 a month) . Usually only watch the tube in the evenings. We also have the Winegard Traveler HD DIsh. All we do is puch one button wherever we are and the dish raises, turns and locks onto the sats and Voila! we have HDTV. A lot more costly than a port dish (which we also have if we Can't see the southern sky). So far the only problem is the first receiver would get very hot and it eventually failed and Direct replaced it without charge. All in all we have been very happy with the system. Hope this helps you decide...

[Exnavydiver]

The only trouble we ever had with Directv was the original DNS (Distant Network Service) waiver. But after I got ahold of the correct folks at Directv I was good to go. Been with Directv since 94 and really like the service and the channel selection. We only got flack from on Directv employee and he was in India. If you call the right numbers for the RV service you should have no problems. Like Wayne says,"do your research"... Dave

[msmoonsatx]

I have had both Dish and Direct satellites for our travel trailers. I will say up front that Direct TV has been the simplest to operate. Dish TV operates on two different satellites. The major channels and most of our favorite satellite channels operate on one of the two satellites. When we were traveling, I either was unable to lock onto this satellite, or at other times found the second satellite and could not lock on to the primary satellite.

After having problems in our stick house with Dish TV, I switched to Direct TV. I told them up front that I was puting one of the receivers in the RV without a single problem. They charge me 4.99 for the receiver which is what they charge for extra receivers in the home. I have also found locating satellites on the road much easier. When we are RVing in the area around our home, I have found that the spot beam for local channels is wider and that I can receive our local channel up to approximately 80 miles from our home. With Dish, I found that I lost the local channels within about a 45 mile radius (personal experience only).

The other factor that I am waiting to see is the relationship between ATT and Direct. Direct TV has signed agreements with ATT. When I talked to our local ATT representative, they were not yet sure how they would integrate current Direct TV customers with ATT i.e. discounts for bundling services. That question is still open

Hope this helps

[richfaa]

Note that the directtv receiver will receive a "authorization" signal once a month. If the receiver is NOT turned on you will see a "authorization has expired" message on the TV.. You DO NOT have to call Directtv to refresh your service..you can do it online,,

Go to Directtv, Log in, go to the bottom of the page,,go to support, go to sound and picture, click Refresh service..you are back in service.

You do not have to call Directtv to change the local channels.. Go to satellite setup and set up the dish, change to the local zip code
Go back to support and sound and picture..click on refresh...you have the local channels. You are doing the same thing that the directtv tech does when you call them..

ON Edit ..you need to click on any one of the call customer support codes.. then look for refresh...

[Glenn and Lorraine]

For all the reasons stated above DirectTV here John.

[Emmel]

John, we also have DirectTV and have used it all over the US. They are right now offering the RV service along with the house for NEW customers for free. A small fee for present subscribers. There was two new customers at the cg we were at in Florida that we saw Direct set them up.
Also, if you mention a present subscriber, you and the present subscriber get $100 off your future bills. If you would like to subscribe to Direct, please pm me and I will forward my account number so we both can share in their give away, or at least use another MOC'er as a reference.

[bross]

One big advantage for Dish Network in the Montana is their dual tuner receivers. With their dual receivers you only need one receiver to operate both TV's with independent programing. In my 3400 I have the receiver in the cabinet above the TV in the living room and, using only the existing cables, I am able to watch satellite TV on both TV's with independent programing. The local TV is controlled with a conventional, IR, remote control and the bedroom is controlled with a, UHF (Through the wall) remote.

Direct TV used to be a simpler system to set up because they only used one satellite but now new systems from both companies use multi-satellites. If you plan on getting HDTV, Dish uses three satellites and Direct uses up to five. More satellites make the dish bigger and harder to aim, but with some practice it usually isn't an issue.

Pricing is close between the two, but their packaging options might make one a better deal for your interests. If you're a sports fan, Direct offers more sports packages so you may want to go with them. Both companies can supply local channels in most areas, and national networks if you want them, although Dish supplies national networks through a third party.

Dish Network now has two satellite systems that can be used. Their eastern arc system uses satellites at 61.5, 72.77 and 77 and their western arc uses 110, 119, and 129. The advantage to the two systems is that you can use whichever one has a clear line of sight, however they use different dishes so you need to carry both dishes.

If you're planning on using both TV's in the trailer independently, you'll need two receivers from Direct or one dual tuner from Dish. Both companies can supply those two with a single wire from the dish and I would insist on that. With Dish it won't be an issue, but with Direct I would insist on their SWM install(Single wire multi-switch)

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[WildBigBill]

Direct TV, period.

[Art-n-Marge]

DirecTV here, too. Check the website for DirecTV usage rules. They specifically accept mobile usage of the a subscription service for satellite receivers, that is, you may "take" your receivers and a dish (you acquire somehow - I had an extra from another house) and set up for your mobile site (i.e. Trailer).

However, DirecTV specifically states that you are NOT allowed to use the same subsciption service at another fixed home. I know of some people who subscribe to the service then for $4.95 per receiver use these at other houses for relatives and friends to keep the cost way down. Several of us family members considered this option (one subscription, buy a bunch of dishes and a boatload of receivers for several houses) until we found they specifically stated this is a no-no.

Now that I am legal, what I do is take two receivers out of my stick house and install them for the two glass televisions in my rig. This allows us to watch separate programs in the living room and our bedroom. It did require me to install a splitter at the incoming signal then to each room (that was trickier than expected because nothing was labeled and I had to figure out the wiring) so that each receiver had its own access to the dish. I do plan to convert to HD which would require a different dish and new televisions, but the good news is that the new HD satellite dishes use a new technology that does not need multiple wires for each room in the house (or rig) but they already exist.

I don't bother changing the local stations, because we prefer to hear what's going on at home when we are away. If we were full-timers I suppose I would change that policy.

DirecTV is more expensive overall but they seem to have better service and components from what I've heard or experienced along with others.

[mail2us]

I have limited knowledge with DTV but believe if I have Orlando Local channels on my Plan and travel with my Monty to Asheville NC, I will not get either Orlando or Asheville Local channels. I think I would have to call DTV to allow for Local Asheville channels. Richfaa may have a better understanding but as I read your post Art I am of the belief you get your hometown Local channels while away?? Confused am I. Dennis