What's the latest best way to get DirectTV

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Bruce Patterson

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Posts
188
Location
Some where on the Third Planet from Sol, Milky Way
Hi Folks,

Been gone a while.  Kinda busy because I have two kids now and upgraded to a bunkhouse 5th wheel.  That's for a different thread sometime.

Twenty some years ago, I had  DirectTV for a while.  It was a pain setting it up every time and a lot of extra stuff to carry.  I'm thinking about getting it again because we are running into parks with no TV hookups and no signal, so....

I am an AT&T wireless customer for both phone and internet. We have two phones and one hot-spot on the same account, runs about $200 per month. 

Since AT&T bought DirecTV, there are obviously some package deals going on.

What is the best solution?  If I get it directly from them, supposedly there is no equipment cost, but they think I'm in a fixed location.

I have three TVs.  I checked into antenna options.  The best is a roof mount that handles three tvs simultaniously with only one receiver (I think) but it is almost $2000.  Out of my budget.  There is this portable dome shaped antenna for about $450 that can be mounted on the roof or set on the ground, but it only handles one TV at a time. 

That leaves me with the  pole or tripod mount version, which I haven't checked the price yet, but that used to take a lot of time and hassle to set up when I had one before. 

Then, how do they deal with homeless people these days?  They used to give us two local feeds, one from east coast and one from west coast.  What is the latest on this issue.

I've been out of touch and very uninformed on this subject because I've been just hooking up to Park Cable all these years.

Please educate me!

Thanks!
 
Welcome back Bruce, long time no talk.

Probably doesn't help you much, but ... we have DTV at home, so we just take a couple of receivers from home when we leave in the coach. Since we upgraded to HD at home several years ago, the old KingDome roof antenna no longer worked, and we bought the latest and greatest Winegard 'automatic' HD antenna for the roof of the coach. I considered the portable 'Tailgater' antenna, but chose to spring for the more expensive antenna.
 
I use a portable dish on a tripod. There are some smart phone apps that make setup easier than it used to be. I use one called SAToolz. You point the phone's camera at the southern sky, and the app superimposes red dots on the image, to indicate the location of the satellites. That really helps when you need to find a line of site through the trees. Make sure to get the DirecTV version/ There is also a version for Dish.

You can hook up multiple TVs to the receiver with this arrangement, so long as you don't need to watch different channels at the same time.

There is a way to call them to get local network channels where you are located, but it is such a pita, and there is so little on the networks worth watching, that I just don't bother with it.

Joel
 
Well, we need to be able to watch multiple channels simultaneously (there are four of us), so I guess that option is out, huh? There isn't an antenna on a tripod that does that?  The antenna on the roof allows it, but it is almost $2000.  How do I sign up for service, just go to an AT&T store?  AT&T supposedly provides all equipment for free, so I can just get a tripod for the antenna?  Will that work?
 
Bruce Patterson said:
Well, we need to be able to watch multiple channels simultaneously (there are four of us), so I guess that option is out, huh? There isn't an antenna on a tripod that does that?  The antenna on the roof allows it, but it is almost $2000.  How do I sign up for service, just go to an AT&T store?  AT&T supposedly provides all equipment for free, so I can just get a tripod for the antenna?  Will that work?
Antenna on a tripod can provide the same SWM capabilities as the Trav'ler or S/B antenna (it's the same antenna). You will need a proper splitter with power inserter path to route to multiple receivers/Genie Clients or you will need wireless Genies with an HR54 hooked to your antenna.
 
I'd start by calling either King or Winegard directly and work backwards. I purchased a King dome dish recently but only after I threw the oval dish I got from Ebay in the trash,(too much moving it and twisting it and tweeking it) The King dome is a set it down and forget it type of dish. I called King prior and had to make sure it works with my HR 54 receiver etc. Yes, the roof mounted dish can get HD and multiple receivers, but costs upwards of 2k.  The King dome is SD and only gets 1 satellite for channels. This plus my regular TT mounted free air antenna (locals) has me set pretty good.

Not sure on the east coast vs west coast thing, the King pulls in one satellite, which carries most of Directvs channels.
 
Tom said:
Welcome back Bruce, long time no talk.

Probably doesn't help you much, but ... we have DTV at home, so we just take a couple of receivers from home when we leave in the coach. Since we upgraded to HD at home several years ago, the old KingDome roof antenna no longer worked, and we bought the latest and greatest Winegard 'automatic' HD antenna for the roof of the coach. I considered the portable 'Tailgater' antenna, but chose to spring for the more expensive antenna.

Tom
I get DirecTV in HD at my home.
However in my coach I get DirecTV only in SD... (via the now 18 year old Kingdome on my 21 year old Safari).
 
Bruce Patterson said:
Well, we need to be able to watch multiple channels simultaneously (there are four of us), so I guess that option is out, huh? There isn't an antenna on a tripod that does that?  The antenna on the roof allows it, but it is almost $2000.  How do I sign up for service, just go to an AT&T store?  AT&T supposedly provides all equipment for free, so I can just get a tripod for the antenna?  Will that work?

Yes, you can get multiple tvs to work, you will need the oval dish on the tripod (about 100.00 on Ebay) or the upwards of 2k rooftop version.
 
[quote author=mel s]I get DirecTV in HD at my home. However in my coach I get DirecTV only in SD... (via the now 18 year old Kingdome on my 21 year old Safari).[/quote]

Mel, our new (1-year ago) HD antenna doesn't work with our old DTV (SD) receivers.
 
Tom said:
Mel, our new (1-year ago) HD antenna doesn't work with our old DTV receivers.

Tom
If that new antenna is a satellite antenna designed to receive DirecTV HD programing you can only use satellite receiver(s) compatible with that satellite antenna.
 
[quote author=mel s]If that new antenna is a satellite antenna designed to receive DirecTV HD programing you can only use satellite receiver(s) compatible with that satellite antenna.[/quote]

That was my point mel. The new DTV HD antenna is not compatible with our older DTV SD receivers. I probably didn't explain it very clearly.
 
I called DTV and had them install the HD in my RV they setup a "no pin" dish basically a frame held down by blocks. Inside i have a power inserter and a wireless bridge to supply 3 tv's. I've also bought a meter to help with setup but the apps work well too, the installer used 1 to get close.
 
OK, here is the latest in my adventure:

The RV park I was in has an over the air antenna, but it only serves six sites (where they put the overnighters).  We were in one of those sites but got kicked out because we were overwhelming their sewer system (septic tank with NO drainfield so it has to be pumped out when full).  Now we are in a long term site, but only for a month and an half then we move on.  We will have park cable at the next location, Williamsport PA.

OK, so I went to Best Buy and bought an over the air antenna.  They said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and had a built in amplifier that had to be supplied by AC power with an extension cord.  I went to Camping world and bought a tripod.

I brought it home, assembled it, hooked it up.  It has no amplifier.  I get no signal at all.  I am between three mountains here.

So I'm gonna take the antenna back but probably keep the tripod.  I think I can use it for any antenna.

So my next questions are:

[list type=decimal]
[*]Can I buy DirecTV without a contract?  When I go to Brazil, I want to turn the service off until I get back.  Also I might not be able to afford it after I get a new job that doesn't require travel.
[*]Is there a special plan for RVers?
[*]Do I have to buy the equipment  from them, or can I buy it online?

[*]I need three receivers, right?  How big are they?  If bigger than about 4x4x2, I won't have room for two of them.

[/list]

I'm going to go to an AT&T store and inquire, but I'm not sure if they are used to dealing with fulltimers.
 
Bruce Patterson said:
OK, here is the latest in my adventure:

The RV park I was in has an over the air antenna, but it only serves six sites (where they put the overnighters).  We were in one of those sites but got kicked out because we were overwhelming their sewer system (septic tank with NO drainfield so it has to be pumped out when full).  Now we are in a long term site, but only for a month and an half then we move on.  We will have park cable at the next location, Williamsport PA.

OK, so I went to Best Buy and bought an over the air antenna.  They said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and had a built in amplifier that had to be supplied by AC power with an extension cord.  I went to Camping world and bought a tripod.

I brought it home, assembled it, hooked it up.  It has no amplifier.  I get no signal at all.  I am between three mountains here.

So I'm gonna take the antenna back but probably keep the tripod.  I think I can use it for any antenna.

So my next questions are:

[list type=decimal]
[*]Can I buy DirecTV without a contract?  When I go to Brazil, I want to turn the service off until I get back.  Also I might not be able to afford it after I get a new job that doesn't require travel.
[*]Is there a special plan for RVers?
[*]Do I have to buy the equipment  from them, or can I buy it online?

[*]I need three receivers, right?  How big are they?  If bigger than about 4x4x2, I won't have room for two of them.

[/list]

I'm going to go to an AT&T store and inquire, but I'm not sure if they are used to dealing with fulltimers.
1. Dish has a month to month plan directv doesn't
2. For a RV they will sell you a distant network plan at a cost per station you have to certify the antenna is permanently mounted to the rv.
3. the equipment is leased from them or you can purchase it and pay the say fee for service.
4. the wireless remote boxes are about that size and can be put behind the TV or anywhere within reach of a HDMI cable
 
"2. For a RV they will sell you a distant network plan at a cost per station you have to certify the antenna is permanently mounted to the rv."

Every park I stay in I see people with DirecTV mounted on a tripod, or on one of those portable dome like antennas sitting on the ground.  My next door neighbor has DirecTV on a tripod. 

How do they get away with that if it has to be permanently mounted to the RV?  The one that goes on the roof is $2000.  I can't afford it.  I've got 3 TVs. 
 
I was talking about directv if you want locals that are "on "everywhere you need DNS.
If not you have to call them and change your service address every time you move more than about 100 miles. Which can be a lot of trouble some of their reps don't know what you want and end up transferring you to the movers connection who want to setup a new dish.
 
I had been thinking about adding DirectTV at home and benefiting from reducing the cost for an RV by using one of the 4 TVs as the RV, but when I started trying to figure out the channel options the special deals for AT&T no longer looked so special. And, I found that the people who answer the phones at DirectTV are clueless on just about every topic. Now I read that getting local stations with DirectTV is a PITA. I sympathize with fulltimers like the OP who have little choice but to deal with these poorly trained people.
 
Now I'm really confused.  What is DNS?  Websites use DNS servers to resolve the domain name with the IP address, right? 

"2. For a RV they will sell you a distant network plan at a cost per station you have to certify the antenna is permanently mounted to the rv."

Is that what you are talking about, Distant Network Plan?  And what is this about notifying them everytime you move 100 miles?  I'm moving all over the country on a moment's notice. 

When I had DirecTV back in ancient history, I had an east coast local feed and a west coast local feed.  I never had to change anything.  I could get all the stuff like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, which we watch, and stuff like that.

Which service requires the antenna to be permanently mounted?  DTV or Dish? One of my neighbors in this park has DTV on a tripod and the neighbor on the other side has Dish on a tripod.  How do they get away with that?

I'm gonna go to the AT&T store and talk with them today about DTV.  Supposedly if you have DTV you get it bundled with your phone bill and get unlimited data and streaming video on your phone.  My internet is also on ATT with a mobile hotspot.

But when I go to Brazil, I reduce my data to the minimum while I am there, and I would want to turn the DTV off too.  Last time I was there 5 months and had no income due to being laid off.  I'd hate to be paying for DTV in that situation. 

Now I'm considering Dish as a possibility too because of the no contract thing. I think they can probably sign me up at Camping World.  They sell antennas for both.  I bought the King tripod from them to use with the over the air antenna I am going to return today.  I really like that tripod, it folds up and goes in a sack.  I think I could use it for a mounted dish as well as the dome antenna it was made for.  The dome antenna costs a lot more money and only serves two TVs, but the dish will handle three or more TVs, so even though I have to set it up every time, it is both cheaper and better, right?

I think the King antenna handles two TVs but costs over $500. I'm seeing the dish and LNA for under $100 on some sites.

And if DirecTV won't let me buy all my own equipment and get service without a contract, I'll consider Dish as an alternative.
 

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