Dish Network vs. Direct TV

[Janet S]

As a home cable user, I don't subscribe to either right now and the dealers chart seems to rate them very similarly. Any strong opinions, one way or another, would be greatly appreciated before committing to one for my new RV service.

 

[Stephen S.]

Fire-pit, stack of wood, bag of marshmallows, and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream.

Who needs TV?

 

[Janet S]

Fire-pit, stack of wood, bag of marshmallows, and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream.

Who needs TV?

LOL! You had me at Baileys! Overall I agree, but there will be those times.... (I did decline the 2nd TV on the new RV, btw!)

 

[BIG JOE]

We've been with DISH for many years and have a dedicated receiver in our 5r. Lots of issues with their gear.. but we know many others that have had issues with DIRECT too.

Sooo.. I think it's.. 6 of one.. half a dozen of the other. But I Will say: DISH's Pay as you Go RV'n program has MANY bad points. Limited channel selection, trouble with reception caused by their receiver quality, and so on. We've never signed up for it, but know many people that have.. and have gone back to the Home programs.

Get a GOOD QUALITY, Automatic, self seeking Dish antenna.. would be my .02.

Joe

I prefer a little Crown Royal.. over the Baileys.. however. 

 

[Janet S]

We've been with DISH for many years and have a dedicated receiver in our 5r. Lots of issues with their gear.. but we know many others that have had issues with DIRECT too.

Sooo.. I think it's.. 6 of one.. half a dozen of the other. But I Will say: DISH's Pay as you Go RV'n program has MANY bad points. Limited channel selection, trouble with reception caused by their receiver quality, and so on. We've never signed up for it, but know many people that have.. and have gone back to the Home programs.

Get a GOOD QUALITY, Automatic, self seeking Dish antenna.. would be my .02.

Joe

I prefer a little Crown Royal.. over the Baileys.. however.

Good info, Joe .. thanks! Home DISH program.. will definitely check it out. And, I'll have to look into what type of Dish antenna is coming with the new RV. May as well start out with a good one. I'm prepared for some issues with the new RV, but want to keep as many at bay as I can! .... and I'll take a whiskey sour, too, please! 

 

[Happy Prospector]

I have Direct TV, had them for ten years and never had a problem, when I change my location, one quick call and I have the new local channels in ten minutes. I use the Wineguard Travler auto dish, push one button and I have reception in ten minutes while I finish setting up my trailer. It is all run off a 600 watt inverter, no genny for me.

 

[John From Detroit]

As a home cable user, I don't subscribe to either right now and the dealers chart seems to rate them very similarly. Any strong opinions, one way or another, would be greatly appreciated before committing to one for my new RV service.

The wife of the Mayor of Darien, GA got upset when I said of Cable and Sat TV companies that they are all crooks. . Alas, I can prove it.. But that's not for here.

There are two considerations  The Antenna, and the "package".

If you are planning on using a DOME type (Portable or roof mounted) antenna, then with DISH NETWORK and a SINGLE CHANNEL RECEIVER like the VIP 211 line. An automatic Dome works well... However the Winegard Pathfinder X-2 works best of those. (It can do either eastern or western "Arcs" (3 satellites) 
A dome works well with DirecTV Provided the LNG is9 a "Dual" (means 2 outputs not 2 lnbs)
A dome WILL NOT WORK with DirecHDTV  Direc plans on going all HD in the near future so Domes will not work at all with Direct when that happens.

Dish type antennas. be they Roof or ground mount, you buy the dish that matches your receiver and it works.. Period.

Roof top antennas can however be affected by thins like (Voice of doom mode) The Evil Signal Eating Tree (VOD mode off)

A tripod mount (Ground mount) with say 100' of RG-6 can often be set off to the side OUT of the shadow of the evil tree, or building or whatever.  ABut you have to manually AIM it

Best Digital Satellite Signal Strength meter is a DISH NETWORK receiver, #2 is DIRECT, # so far down the list you should not consider it costs about 30 bucks at the RV store.

 

[bross]

I've had both and used them both at home and in the RV with HD receivers. I use a dish mounted on a tripod that I point manually and have never used any other type. With that setup Direct TV wins hands down. Their satellites are higher in the sky and closer together than Dish, which makes getting a clear line of sight easier.  They also use only one set of satellites to cover the whole country as opposed Dish which usees their eastern and western arc depending on where you're located.

Programing is a little different between the two, so you should take that into consideration when making your decision. Customer service for both companies is terrible, so don't plan on any help from either.

If you plan on using an automatic dish of some type I would make that decision first, then ask them which service works best with their equipment.

 

[NY_Dutch]

When we were originally choosing a satellite service for our RV, we chose Dish for the Pay-As-You-Go "Flex" plan that let us start and stop service pretty much at will, with no contract obligations. We bought our original receiver and tripod mounted dish setup for a bit under $250. After a couple of years using and enjoying the service, easily changing our service locations as we moved, we decided to switch our upstate NY lakeside cottage TV service from cable to Dish as well for the savings. We still have the same PAYG account, but now we have two "Hopper w/Sling" multi-tuner DVR receivers, one installed in the RV and one installed at the cottage with a permanently mounted dish. And we no longer stop the service of course, since we want it always on at the cottage, and we now spend 10-11 months living in our RV each year anyway.

We still have and use our original tripod mounted dish for the RV, and have both eastern and western arc LNB (the "eyes" that receive the sat signals) sets that we swap as needed for the best aiming options. There are no "dome" style automatic dishes that work with the Dish Hopper series multi-tuner, multi-satellite DVR receivers. Dome dishes are only capable of "seeing" one satellite at a time, making watching and/or recording programming that's on more than one satellite at the same time impossible. Having both arc sets of Dish satellites available increases our aiming possibilities dramatically, and we're currently on a site in NC where the Dish western arc and DirecTV satellites are impossible to "see" from anywhere within a couple of hundred feet of the site. The Dish eastern arc sats however, gave us a clear shot with only a 100' coax run. Even the full hookup site where we park at our NY cottage has no view of the western arc or DTV sats, but an easy shot at the eastern arc sats.

Despite a previous post, the PAYG programming packages are exactly the same as those available to residential subscribers, except that the short term discount price deals are only available to new contract subscribers. Our Dish receivers have all been reliable and are exactly the same equipment as that available to residential contract subscribers. I have no idea what the previous poster's experience with Dish was, but it certainly does not match our experience with Dish in any way. We have had zero significant problems with our Dish service since starting it in 2008.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

We've had Dish (home and rv) with a Wingard Travel'r antenna on the rv for about eight years now. Never a problem (other than obstructions in line of sight). If you must have every pro football game its Direct tv only. Otherwise, I think, you'll find Dish superior. It's easy to change service address, hd is just there if available, including on domes (not that I'd recommend a dome - too many probkems with moisture).

Ernie

 

[Becks]

Direct since 2013, no issues, just call and say you want to change your locals channels when you move.

 

[hedhunter9]

I just saw on TV that Dish is offering a "new" package of channels that you chose..  No more 30 channels of junk you dont want or watch.
$39.99 a month for 2 years.  I did not see what channels you get to choose from, but you get 50 channels...
I dropped cable years ago and have been using ota antenna, but this has me interested perhaps..

Bob

 

[Al Juby]

They still require you to by packages of channels, just smaller 1's. and it doesn't help on the price. Different package same sh#t.

 

[NY_Dutch]

They still require you to by packages of channels, just smaller 1's. and it doesn't help on the price. Different package same sh#t.

Dish and Direct have little choice in the package contents they offer. The program suppliers include less popular channels in with their popular channels when negotiating retransmission contracts that usually specify which tiers will include them. As much as we might like a fully ala carte channel choice, the FCC rules and carriage contract process pretty much rule out that ever happening. The NAB is a very powerful lobbyist...

 

[hedhunter9]

This ad said no more channels you dont want....

You get to choose the channels YOU want...
It is NOT a package of channels..

I have not seen it in print though and I didnt record the TV ad.

Wish I had..

Bob

 

[BIG JOE]

I just read that DISH add.. If you Read The Fine Print. It's for New, 0r Returning subscribers only ?

If you're already signed up.. you're stuck in your current contract. (?)

Joe 

 

[NY_Dutch]

This ad said no more channels you dont want....

You get to choose the channels YOU want...
It is NOT a package of channels..

I have not seen it in print though and I didnt record the TV ad.

Wish I had..

Bob

Read the fine print... It's a basic package of popular channels, and then you can add other packages like your local stations, typically as a $10 add-on each.

Oops! I forgot to add the link: DISH Flex Pack