direct tv vs dish

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micknol

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I would like to get your opinion on which on is better for home and for the rv i have direct tv now and not happy with the rv part a big hassle setting up a portable dish. Dish seems to be more rv friendly your thought?
 
Why?  The only thing that might be more friendly is the fact you can use one of the portable automatic domes with Dish HD.  Direct you need an oval dish to get Direct HD.  Other than that setup will be no different.  You still have to place a dish and aim it at the correct bird
 
Yeah, portable dish set-up is about the same unless your Direct dish is a multi-LNB type (multiple satellites).

Dish uses one satellite for most things, but then, so does Direct unless you are trying to receive HD programming.

If Dish offers the programming you want, then switching to Dish for home & RV is fairly easy. Do you bring a receiver from home to use in your RV? Dish receivers are different than Direct.
 
First you need to decide what programming you want to view and how much you're willing to pay for that programming.  If you like the way DirecTV displays the Guide and it has the programs you want to view, then stay with it.  If you have favorite programs you record, then you'll also want to stay with it for that reason.  Then you need to decide whether you want standard digital TV or high definition HDTV because the dishes are shaped differently.

Learning how to aim at the correct "bird" takes a while but there are aids now such as the app Satellite AR which uses your cell phone camera to tell you (1) where the satellite you want is located and (2) whether there's an obstruction such as a tree that will prevent you from seeing it.  Of course, if you want HDTV it will cost more and you'll need a larger dish that has a different shape.  The easiest method of all is an automatic rooftop antenna to which we eventually graduated.  You push one button to Find and another one to Stow.  Nice!  But of course that also costs more.  As the others have said, there's no difference in pointing the dish between two providers except that their satellites are in different places in the sky.

By the way, Satellite AR is neat for finding things like the international space station.  Last year it went right over our house and the app told us the spot where it would start crossing our viewing area.

ArdraF
 
I'm doing some research now. I like that with dish you can pay as you go. Just watched a video on the Winegard Pathways 2. The video shows the unit self locating both eastern and western satellites. The gentleman was able to select his state location right on the screen with his remote and then the unit located three satellites. You can run 2 boxes with the one unit so we can watch both tvOS at once.  The cost of just the dish was 449 which seemed reasonable compared to the fancier automatic ones. However you must be stationary and it must be level to work.

Anyone have practical experience with it?  At home I'm a Direct tv consumer however the price has gotten high and you can only " order " 6 month service and not go month to month like Dish. love to hear some realities as this is my first Rv and portable satellite service!
Thanks,
 
You have Directv at home?
150 dollars for a ground based package, take receivers from home.  No additional costs.
 
We've used Dish for both our RV and vacation cottage for several years. We have a pay-as-you-go "Flex" account, and use two multi-tuner Hopper with Sling DVR receivers. For the dish, we use a portable tripod mounted triple LNB oval dish that's been modified for a no tools needed setup. Using the DishPointer.com Android app, it rarely takes me more than 15 minutes to set up and aim the dish to receive three satellites at once, and usually less than that. By switching LNB's, we can use either the eastern or western arc satellites for more aiming options on treed sites. Changing service locations with Dish to receive the local stations where we are at the time only takes a few minute chat session online. We've frequently switched locations daily, and even twice a day on occasion. DirecTV used to frown on frequent service location changes, but I've heard they may have gotten better about that.
 
Baldfacemt said:
I'm doing some research now. I like that with dish you can pay as you go. Just watched a video on the Winegard Pathways 2. The video shows the unit self locating both eastern and western satellites. The gentleman was able to select his state location right on the screen with his remote and then the unit located three satellites. You can run 2 boxes with the one unit so we can watch both tvOS at once.  The cost of just the dish was 449 which seemed reasonable compared to the fancier automatic ones. However you must be stationary and it must be level to work.

Anyone have practical experience with it?  At home I'm a Direct tv consumer however the price has gotten high and you can only " order " 6 month service and not go month to month like Dish. love to hear some realities as this is my first Rv and portable satellite service!
Thanks,

The Pathway X2 is a good choice in a portable dome style automatic dish for Dish service. Be aware that it only works with the VIP series of receivers though, and can only "see" one satellite at a time. For two receivers, both TV's must be watching channels that are on the same satellite. That can rule out one TV watching network programs on local stations while the other TV watches a non-local channel like CNN, Lifetime, etc., since the locals are not likely to be on the same satellite as the so-called "cable channels".
 
I second that if you are already a Direct member then take home unit with you on the road.  Keep in mind Direct is talking about eliminating satellite TV by 2020.  See Sarge's post on this forum.
 
Bobtop46 said:
I second that if you are already a Direct member then take home unit with you on the road.  Keep in mind Direct is talking about eliminating satellite TV by 2020.  See Sarge's post on this forum.

If that were remotely true, then pray tell why would they invest in new satelites?  Let alone the money to develop newer receiver technoligy.  If and that is a big IF Direct AT&T actually did that they would instantly loose thousands if not millions of subscribers that for one reason or another cannot get good enough high speed internet to support streaming.
Now, dont go off half cocked, yes, I understand AT&T is pushing streaming Direct service and in fact offers it basically free, at least free data for AT&T/Directv customers.  But still, unless and until they can offer really high speed reliable data to 100% of the country it simply cant work as a business model.
 
We have Dish and the Pathway X2 and VIP 211k receiver. Very happy with the ease of setup and the ability to move the antenna to where I can find a view of the satellites. The X2 comes with 25 feet of coax but I have used 100' with no problem.
 
donn said:
If that were remotely true, then pray tell why would they invest in new satelites?  Let alone the money to develop newer receiver technoligy.  If and that is a big IF Direct AT&T actually did that they would instantly loose thousands if not millions of subscribers that for one reason or another cannot get good enough high speed internet to support streaming.
Now, dont go off half cocked, yes, I understand AT&T is pushing streaming Direct service and in fact offers it basically free, at least free data for AT&T/Directv customers.  But still, unless and until they can offer really high speed reliable data to 100% of the country it simply cant work as a business model.

I recall DTV launched a new satellite back in early 2015, but nothing since. Did I miss one?
 
If you already have DirecTV why would you want to change?  By keeping it you can record the same shows on your DTR and keep the same programming.

I think the thing about DirecTV ditching satellites was shown to be a specific situation and will not affect the rest of us.

ArdraF
 
In the old days this response was much longer
Today:
Dish: With a SINGLE receiver, works with Domes or with Dish type antenna
(Selected models of domes) some domes work while driving so you can DVR shows
Multiple receivers, however, need multiple domes to work properly since a dome can only see ONE of the three satellites at a time.

DirecTV works with domes or dishes, but DirecHDTV does not,  and many channels are now only HD.

Beyond that.... Look at the packages.. Dish has NASA,  Direc is more into sports.
 
Baldfacemt said:
I'm doing some research now. I like that with dish you can pay as you go. Just watched a video on the Winegard Pathways 2. The video shows the unit self locating both eastern and western satellites. The gentleman was able to select his state location right on the screen with his remote and then the unit located three satellites. You can run 2 boxes with the one unit so we can watch both tvOS at once.  The cost of just the dish was 449 which seemed reasonable compared to the fancier automatic ones. However you must be stationary and it must be level to work.

Anyone have practical experience with it?  At home I'm a Direct tv consumer however the price has gotten high and you can only " order " 6 month service and not go month to month like Dish. love to hear some realities as this is my first Rv and portable satellite service!
Thanks,

My husband bought me a Dish, the one that finds the satellite on its own.  Works great!  My in laws have Dish at home, so we just added our 2 new receivers to their account and it's only $7 a month for service!!  Hubby doesn't seem to mind climbing up to the roof every weekend to put up there, I would prefer he mount it up there permanently but if we're in a bad spot he likes the freedom to be able to move it.  Only con is sometimes it takes longer than 10 minutes to get started but overall it's been a wonderful addition to our rv life.
 
2nd rig with Dish HD and Winegard Travlr antenna with both Western and Eastern arc LNBs. Carried old Hopper 3 from old rig to new with no issues and also have wireless Joey for bedroom tv.
 
John From Detroit said:
DirecTV works with domes or dishes, but DirecHDTV does not,  and many channels are now only HD.

Is this correct that some channels that are only in HD will not work... anyone with a King Quest and Direct TV answer this????? Are we talking ABC, CBS, etc.??????????????? 

Trying to figure out which one to buy, have Direct Tv at home and a H 21-200 receiver to bring along... thanks!!! A month south this winter convinced us we need a "dome" but not a 2K attached one??
 
My problem with Dish is that they have contract disputes with the channels they carry every couple of years.  Seems there is always the threat of losing your favorite channels/programs.
 

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