Direct TV and HD for King Dome ?

Roscat · 02-19-2008, 04:25 PM

Have new coach with King Dome supposed top of line dome. Will not pull HD with new TV and Direct TV HD receiver. Dish network referred me to Wineguard . Neighbor has Trac Vision, says it works OK with Direct TV for HD. King Dome talks about it being a Direct TV issue. Anyone else have this issue and resolved it?

Roscat · 02-19-2008, 04:25 PM

Have new coach with King Dome supposed top of line dome. Will not pull HD with new TV and Direct TV HD receiver. Dish network referred me to Wineguard . Neighbor has Trac Vision, says it works OK with Direct TV for HD. King Dome talks about it being a Direct TV issue. Anyone else have this issue and resolved it?

Bill Adams · 02-19-2008, 06:36 PM

First, it is important for you to understand that no matter what your neighbor told you, NO DOME will pick up the full complement of HD programming on DTV. The domes all use a KU band LNB and DTV is moving their HD programming to a KA band satellite at 103 and more will be moved to the 99 KA band satellite in the near future.
Dish Network on the other hand is broadcasting all of their programming on KU band satellites and your dome (if it can be programmed to point to 110, 119 and 127) should be able to pick up the necessary Dish Net. programming. You mention both DTV and Dish Net. so it is impossible to tell which service you are talking about.
Yes, technically, it is a DTV issue. DTV has changed the way they broadcast their signals. This has left the dome antennas as worthless if you want to receive all of the HD programming available from DTV. If you can get by with the SD (standard definition) programming then you will be able to point your dome to 101, 110 and 119 that DTV is currently using. In the very near future, 110 will be abandoned and 119 will contain specialty programming (mostly ethnic) so you will need an antenna that is capable of picking up the 99(KA), 101(KU) and 103(KA) satellites. If you want the full DTV programming today you will need to look at the Winegard or MotoSAT 5-head Slimline antennas as they are the only antennas on the market that can pick up all 5 of the required satellites. I highly recommend that you give the MotoSAT antenna a very good look before you leap toward the cheaper Winegard antenna.

hamguy · 02-20-2008, 09:14 AM

Bill,

What the heck is DTV? Do you mean "D"irectTV or "D"ish TV?

LindaH · 02-20-2008, 10:14 AM

When talking about the two satellite TV services, "DTV" normally refers to DirecTV. "DTV" can also refer to Digital TV, but that's not the context in which it's being used here.

Go4Broke · 02-20-2008, 10:58 AM

Bill,

Just out of curiosity, what makes the MotoSat unit better than the Winegard unit?

Thanks.

JamieB · 02-20-2008, 11:46 AM

Go4Broke
I know you directed this question to Bill, and I am sure he will weigh in here, but I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth.

In my opinion, there are 3 main reasons why I feel the MotoSAT to be a better option than the Winegard.

1. Brand new model. Many people will not purchase a new model of car. There are invariably problems and bugs that need to be worked out. It sometimes takes the initial years release use by the public to locate all of those bugs. I think it is similar with the automatic Winegard dishes. A few years ago, Winegard offered an automatic dish. Then, they left the market only to re-enter this past year. The new automatic dishes from Winegard is an "all new" unit. I think they can expect to have a number of bugs to work out. (By this, I am not saying the Winegard is a bad product, I just think it needs to prove itself with some time on the market).
2. Dealer support. There are not 1000's of MotoSAT dealers across the country like there are Winegard dealers. But in my opinion, MotoSAT dealers are some of the most knowledgeable when it comes to internet and television dishes. MotoSAT dealers are not trying to sell 20,000 different products, and because of this devote much more time to satellite training and expertise.
3. 2 problem areas that I can see with the Winegard are the way the arm retracts and the motors. It is my understanding that the motors do not have overcurrent limits. If for some reason the dish tries to move against something, it could burn up the motors. Also, as the dish lowers and raises, the arm rolls across the roof of the RV. With the MotoSAT dishes, it rolls across an aluminum plate that protects the roof. With the Winegard, it is direct contact with the roof. On some RV's that might not be a problem, but I have seen some pretty flimsy material on some roofs and would definitely be wary of that.

I imagine that someone else has a different opinion, but this is mine.

FlyingDiver · 02-20-2008, 12:56 PM

To add to what Jamie said, I've been told that the mounting hardware on the MotoSAT is much sturdier than the Winegard. Stronger is better when that dish is up there catching the wind.

joe

JavaJelly · 02-20-2008, 01:59 PM

Just wanted to compliment Jamie on a sound post given he is associated w/one of the products being discussed.

Good, objective and helpful information. Makes the forum stronger.

My humble take: With the exception of over the air antennas, Winegard seems to most often be in the fast follower category of manufacturers. Not the first, not the best but, a functional product.

JamieB · 02-20-2008, 02:44 PM

I guess I should have posted this as well.

The $500 to $600 difference in price could be considered a considerable advantage for Winegard. A lot of people that are watching what they spend will opt for the Winegard. I happen to believe that for the automatic open face dish, the MotoSAT is the best product.

If we were talking about a dome product, I would recommend a TracStar or KVH product over the MotoSAT as I believe they are better.

I actually can sell either the MotoSAT or the Winegard. In this case, I think the extra cost of the MotoSAT is worth it.

And thanks for the kind words Scott.

Roscat · 02-20-2008, 03:45 PM

Thanks, Bill Adams, JamieB and others....Your input really got me started on what I Need to know before going any further with satellite HD TV. I will definitely look into the Moto Sat applications. You laid it out very clearly, thanks.

Bill Adams · 02-20-2008, 07:42 PM

I don't think I need to add much to Jamie's post and I will tell you that I am also both a Winegard and MotoSAT dealer.
Even if the 2 dishes operated exactly the same (which is highly unlikely) take a look at the mounting plates that the 2 units use. This new slimline dish is MUCH larger than a standard 18" dish you are used to seeing. To give you an idea of the surface area, the Hughes internet dish is a .74 meter dish and the Slimline dish is a .70 meter dish. When the wind hits this dish you better be sure that you have a large mounting plate that will distribute this load over a large enough area to keep it securely on your roof. It is unlikely that wind will damage either manufacturer mount but you will want all the mounting surface you can get to keep it securely mounted to your roof.
Not only that but the MotoSAT glows blue at night. How can you buy a dish that does not!

Bill Adams · 02-20-2008, 07:46 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">What the heck is DTV? Do you mean "D"irectTV or "D"ish TV? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry for the confusion, but since there is no Dish TV I didn't think it was necessary. I also mention Dish Network (what you are referring to as Dish TV) later in the post and made the mistake of assuming people would know what I was talking about. With all of the initials starting to run together (DTV (DirecTV), HDTV, Digital TV (also DTV), etc.) I will try to keep my future posts a bit more clear.