Dish or Direct TV?

[Solask]

New to me 2012 allegro 36la. I have a Weingard "in motion" satellite receiver. It's my understanding from looking at the manual that this unit will not provide an HD signal.
Direct or Dish? Dish has HD set top boxes but I guess that doesn't matter for me.
I believe my coach is wired to use one set top box to show the same programming on all three TV's. True?
I'll work with the equipment I have. Not interested in changing what's on top. I've never used a satellite service so any advise would be great..!

[jwmaustin]

Sounds similar to my setup. If so you can get high def on Dish but not on DTV (supposedly). I use DTV cause I like the menus and have been with them for 20 years I think. Yes the same signal goes to all 3 tv's

[BobandDi]

Originally Posted by Rkh

New to me 2012 allegro 36la. I have a Weingard "in motion" satellite receiver. It's my understanding from looking at the manual that this unit will not provide an HD signal.
Direct or Dish? Dish has HD set top boxes but I guess that doesn't matter for me.
I believe my coach is wired to use one set top box to show the same programming on all three TV's. True?
I'll work with the equipment I have. Not interested in changing what's on top. I've never used a satellite service so any advise would be great..!

My 2012 Tiffin 28BR came with a Winegard dome "in motion" setup for Direct TV. I wanted to receive HD and to my understanding Direct wouldn't give me this.

I investigated Dish Net and found out that they offer HD for my setup. I then purchased a VIP211K brand new off of eBay for $120.00 delivered. I had to go up on-top of my RV and unscrew 4 phillips head screws to take off the cover for the dome. There are 8 toggle switches inside that have to be flipped to an on or off position so the Winegard antenna can track the proper satellites for Direct or Dish. Once this was done, a 10 minute job, I had to turn on my new receiver that I had already installed, without the antenna cable hooked up. The purpose of doing this is so any info in the new receiver will be cleared out. The receiver will scan for about 10 to 15 minutes and find nothing on its check switch. That's what you want it to do, and save this setting. Then you hook up the antenna, and it will find all 3 satellites, and then you save this setting on your check switch.

There are 3 possible configurations for Dish Net. Eastern arc, Western arc, and the Hybrid setting. I have tried them all and they all work great. At this time, I'm set up on the Western arc. Anytime you decide to change arcs, (because of trees, etc. ) you would have to go thru the clear switch with antenna disconnected, save setting, reconnect to the new arc setting, and let receiver find it all and then save it. This sounds like a lot of work, but after it's done once, it's a piece of cake.

My Dish receiver works great, and the High Definition is excellent. I have it on for 5 months. Then Dish will allow you to put it on pause for $5.00 a month. Dish will let you run this receiver as long as you want or as little as you want. They don't give you the discounts you see advertised when you own your own receiver.

If you want HD and you have a tripod all you need is the proper dish for the tripod and a Vip211K receiver. If you have a Winegard dome on you RV all you need is just this receiver.

[D Lindy]

BobandDi; Actually with dish if you have an account in your S&B you can add an RV receiver (the 211) for $7 a month and in the fall just have it shut off at no cost, then in the spring reactivate it for no cost once again, and the $7 a month added to you S&B account. I've done this for the last 2 years. On catch is that you must deal with the RV accounts people at Dish because the regular C.S. people will have no idea what you're talking about.

[GG1]

We have been using Direct for the past 12 yrs. Most of our travel is from Canada to Florida as far west as Tennessee. We get NY news and major networks cbs nbc abc etc as well as all the upper stations 99 3/4 % of the time. But no HD I do not need HD. We take the house receiver with us out of our livingroom. If we want local news and weather where we travel we use the crank up roof antenna.

[Triker56]

Having DTV without HD would be like, going back to a Black & White TV. :(
Did I say I love DTV HD? Both E & W DNS networks are in HD 24/7.

[BobandDi]

Originally Posted by D Lindy

BobandDi; Actually with dish if you have an account in your S&B you can add an RV receiver (the 211) for $7 a month and in the fall just have it shut off at no cost, then in the spring reactivate it for no cost once again, and the $7 a month added to you S&B account. I've done this for the last 2 years. On catch is that you must deal with the RV accounts people at Dish because the regular C.S. people will have no idea what you're talking about.

That's a great way to do it. But I don't want any of Dish equipment that I don't own in my house that has to remain active while i'm gone to get $7 a month. I use Time Warner cable for tv and internet and during the winter I only keep the internet active, for emails and home security.

Not sure what you would have to pay while away keeping Dish active in your house. I also wouldn't be able to keep my home security.

[lllkrob]

Originally Posted by Rkh

New to me 2012 allegro 36la. I have a Weingard "in motion" satellite receiver. It's my understanding from looking at the manual that this unit will not provide an HD signal.
Direct or Dish? Dish has HD set top boxes but I guess that doesn't matter for me.
I believe my coach is wired to use one set top box to show the same programming on all three TV's. True?
I'll work with the equipment I have. Not interested in changing what's on top. I've never used a satellite service so any advise would be great..!

I think this link will answer a lot of questions for you: RV DISH - Frequently asked questions


If you have more questions just call the number listed in the link.

[BlunerBill]

I've had them both. Dish is definitely the best by my money. I would rather watch PBS than EVER go back to Direct.

[tricotec]

The answer to the Dish/DirecTV answer isn't simple. It depends on what TV's you have and what antenna you have or are willing to buy. Also, dish offers the pay-as-you-go plan, which is very attractive to RV owners. Here are some facts:

1. HD programming is available from either provider. However, to get HD programming on DirecTV, you need a much more expensive dish. If you pay for it, you'll love it because it gives you everything you're used to at home, including multiple TVs that can watch any channel, but they are expensive. Some people just use the home style permanent mount dish mounted on a portable tripod and aim it themselves every time they move the RV...which is a real pain, and requires some technical know-how. HD programming on Dish, however, can be received on any dish including dome antennas. Dome antennas and self-aiming carryout dishes (not the home dishes mounted on a stand) do not work for HD on DirecTV. The dishes that do work with HD on DirecTV are quite expensive.
2. If you have a dome antenna you can only get Standard-Def programming from DirecTV, but you can get HD from DISH.
3. Pay-as-you-go service is available only from DISH. This requires that you own the equipment in your RV, and is ONLY available when the RV is the only service on the account. You cannot do Pay-as-you-go if your account includes equipment in your sticks and bricks home. Dish requires a dealer to certify to them that this requirement is met, so this option is only available in a dealer installed system. Pay-as-you-go allows you to pay (in one month chunks) for your service as needed. If you don't pay the bill, they simply turn off your service until you do. No bills, no hassles, no late fees...etc. This means that if you're planning to spend the summer in a park with free cable you can simply let your Dish service go dormant and not have to pay for it. Then when you move and want the service again, you just log on to the Dish internet site and pay the bill, and your service is instantly available again.
4. Local channels and ABC/NBC/CBS/PBS/FOX/CW etc. programming are problematic for both DirecTV and Dish. Both companies use what is known as "Spot-Beaming" which is a fancy term that means that, for example, the signals for the local channels for New York City are "beamed" directly down from the satellite to the New York area and are not included in the general feeds available nationwide. In this system a separate "beam" is used for Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and so on... This allows the reuse of a lot of frequencies and lets the services carry a LOT more local channels without dedicating precious bandwidth to channels for New York in the Seattle or LA markets. Unfortunately for RV's this means that once you drive outside the New York area you will loose the signal for those channels. Another very RV friendly policy for Dish Network allows you to change the service location an unlimited number of times with no fees. This means you simply call them from your new location, give them the address of the RV park and they will change you to the local channel feed where you are parked. This won't help you keep up to date with what's going on back "home", but will let you get the local network programming on the schedule for the time zone where you are located.
5. If you have a portable self-aiming carry out antenna or a dome antenna you can only watch programming on one satellite at a time. This is not a limitation with the antennas used on homes, which can see all the satellites at the SAME time. The domes can only look at one satellite at a time. Both services use three or more satellites for the large number of channels available so you'll hear the dome re-positioning as you change channels. (As I said, this isn't necessary on a home dish because it can see ALL the satellites at the same time.) You don't notice this much with only one TV. However if you have a TV in the bedroom and have it connected to the second output from the dome, the bedroom TV will NOT control the dome, and you will constantly be losing channels, particularly if your partner is in the front channel surfing...every time he causes the dome to change satellites the program on the rear TV will go dead. To avoid these problems with multiple TVs, an RV version of the standard home antenna is needed. The Winegard "Traveller" is a very popular example of this. With this antenna properly equipped and installed you can have multiple TVs, watch whatever you like on each independently, and you can get HD programming from either Dish or DirecTV. This type of dish is also many times larger than the tiny dish in a dome antenna so it will have a much stronger signal that isn't as susceptible to rain fade and blockage from trees. This flexibility comes at a cost, however. The dishes cost twice as much...are huge by comparison to the dome, and cannot be used in-motion.
6. Dome antennas are great for fast setup, nothing to haul-out or connect and can be ordered so that you can watch TV while in-motion. The In-motion is the main advantage of these antennas these days. In my opinion the majority of RV users have no need to watch TV while on the road. Examples of situations where this would be good to have are families with lots of kid that go on long frequent RV vacations, or professionals that travel in an RV (Like a travelling exhibit RV or a professional music group travelling by bus.) Most RV owners will never use the In-motion feature. The carry-out antennas you see people using are just portable dome antennas in a case that's easy to carry and have the same limitations (and advantages) but I'd worry about someone walking off with it.

In summary, If you can afford it, a full service dish like the Winegard "Traveller" is the way to go. You can use either Dish or DirecTV, with HD, watch separate programming on multiple TVs independently (just like at home), and the signal strength is much better. In addition these dishes are more expensive and are better built and just work better. One thing to keep in mind is that with these antennas, unlike a dome antenna, the antenna is designed for one system or the other so you have to make the choice between Dish and DirecTV before you buy it. If you change your mind later it is an expensive retrofit to change the dish from one system to the other.

If you only have one TV (and won't be getting more later) a dome antenna is an economical and easy solution. If that TV is HD, you need you go with Dish Network.

Dish offers the great "pay-as-you-go" option for either seasonal or "use it where you need it" use, but you can't share service with your stick & bricks home AND you have to buy the system installed by a Dish authorized satellite dealer.

My RV had a dome installed when I bought it with an ancient DirecTV system that fed a common video signal to both front and back TVs. I purchased two Dish VIP-211k boxes and had a satellite dealer install one on on both TVs. I use Pay-as-you-go and love this option...I pay for Dish only about 40% of the time. The boxes, purchased, cost $200 each and labor to install everything was about $500.

If I had it to do over again, I'd install the Winegard Traveller but everything else the same.

Most of this information applies to Canadian users too except they have different satellite providers which may differ from Dish and DirecTV. However the comments about the advantages and disadvantages of the various equipment still apply.

[BobandDi]

A super super post. This should help a bunch of RV'ers.

[Solask]

Nicely done tricotec! Thanks!

[msi1953]

Originally Posted by Triker56

Having DTV without HD would be like, going back to a Black & White TV. :(
Did I say I love DTV HD? Both E & W DNS networks are in HD 24/7.

I agree. I can't stand watching standard def channels

[gemini5362]

GET DIRECT TV see below for why I recommend that.


Back to the OP questions. The OP said he had no desire to change equipment. Dish will let you get HD with the antenna you have. If you only have one sattelite receiver then that will provide the signal for all three TV's. With the in motion dome you can support two recievers if you want to but that will be an extra expense for the second receiver. If you purchase your own recievers ( I did this off of EBAY) you will still have to pay the receiver fee from whichever provider you use. One of the disadvantages to the in motion dome is switching sattelits. The antenna in the dome is so small in can only lock on to one satellite at a time. Every time you have to change channels to a channel on a different satellite. ( both companies use 3 sattelites) the antenna in the dome will have to move and lock on to the different satellite. It is automatic you do not have to do anything but it takes a few minutes. If you do decide to get a second receiver it will be able to show a different program than than the other receiver is showing but both channels will have to be on the same satellite. Now with all of that said.

You said you do not intend to have home satellite service so you will have to pay for a satellite service. The ones other posters have been talking about is utilizing the service along with their home service. I am going to recommend Direct TV for you. pricewise they are about the same. Yes dish will show HD but unless you want that specific it is not a big deal. DIRECTTV has a big advantage over dish for RV owners. With DirectTV you can file a waiver and notify Directv that it is for an RV this will enable you to get major networks anywhere you are at. This means you can CBS,NBC, ABC anywhere in the country. You will have to fill out a waiver and send them information I believe a copy of the registration for your RV should do it. Dish network has NO method of doing this. If you have home service can get the major networks as local channels but they are on a spot beam and are only good for approximately a 100 mile radius from your home. Dish took liberties with one of the laws concerning major networks and basically got a judge mad at them so now Dish does not have the capability to do the waiver. Direct still has that. For people with a home Directv system you can get the waiver but to do that you have to have a separate system in the MH you cannot get it on one of the boxes from your brick and mortar home. The OP is going to have to get a separate system for his RV so that would be perfect for him.