RF Mogul vs. Winegard Travler: DirecTV vs. Dish

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

Maybe you are only talking about RFM with Dish?

Yep

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by mjeffrey

Not interested in a DVR!?! I can't even...

Yup - we're probably one of the only couple in the world that doesn't want a DVR - we watch what we want when it's on and have never thought "Boy, I wish we had a DVR"... Back in the day we used to tape a lot of shows on VHS tapes - we have several tapes that we have not even watched 30 years after taping them!

Originally Posted by gandl2

FYI- If you have a Directv Genie now that is a DVR that has 5 tuners. So you can watch or record 5 channels at the same time.

Believe it or not Genies are available without a DVR - and we don't have to pay the extra fee for the DVR capability...

[TechWriter]

Back to OP's original questions . . .

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

1. Does the RF Mogul dish, and/or the Winegard Travler, allow completely independent operation of 2 receivers? . . . or are both receivers limited to watching the same satellite?

As pointed out previously, using a Winegard Travler or RF Mogul allows receivers to act independently.

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

2. I've heard that Dish has a receiver that is actually 2 receivers in one box - one uses an IR remote and the other uses an RF remote so that each viewer has exclusive control of a receiver instead of needing to put 2 receivers in different locations. We're not interested in DVR capability because we don't have that now and don't feel we need it.

Your DISH non-DVR receiver options are limited to the VIP 222k which is a 2-tuner non-DVR receiver. You can connect one HD and one SD TV to this receiver.

DISH discontinued the 222k in 2015 I think, but you can pick one up on eBay.

However, the smarter option is to get two Wally single-tuner receivers as they're current models.

If you ever change you mind about having a DVR, note that a 222k can not be turned into a DVR. However, a Wally can be turned into a DVR by simply attaching a hard drive to it.

[Rclukey]

I went from Winegard to RF Mogul in 2015 with a Dish subscription and have been satisfied with its performance. After not using the satellite for the past year I am now traveling again and I went to start up the satellite and it would not connect to the dish satellites. This is on a Saturday and hard to find anybody to get help but I called RF Mogul and left a message and got a call back within an hour. It seems that the 2015 controller is not compatible with the new Dish upgrades and they recommended I upgrade the controller to a new one. Simple process to replace and I am now back in business.