Satellite TV Subscription

[tedward1555]

Hi;
I just bought a Fleetwood RV with a TV satellite dome on top that has "in motion feature". I think that means I can subscribe to a service provider and passengers can watch TV as I'm driving down the road. As I'm a "cable" guy at home I don't know anything about dish or satellite. Can anyone give me some suggestions of the best providers and if any of you have had any experience with the "satellite in motion" option. Does it really work or are there a bunch of interruptions in service as you go?
Thanks for your help.
Ed

[GaryKD]

Hi Ed,
I have a dome with in motion sat. TV. My Gkids use it all the time. It works perfectly. There are a couple of seconds of "buffer" if the signal is blocked. The signal has been blocked only in tunnels and fuel stops. The dome (KVH) finds the sat again without difficulty. I have Direct TV. We have used the dome for almost 5 years. I would make the same purchase again.

I am happy with Direct TV.

[tedward1555]

Thanks Gary I appreciate the fast response.

[Bill Adams]

There is no way to buffer a signal that does not exist. If you go behind a tree, under a bridge, past a light pole (anything directly between you and the satellite) you will lose the signal for that period of time. With that said, we had an in-motion dome from about 7 years and enjoyed it quite a bit. I just can't figure out how the punch line to every joke happened just a we went under a bridge! (OK, not every time!)
The biggest drawback to any dome is what happens when you are parked. Since moisture on the dome will block some or all of the signal trying to get to the reduced sized antenna under the dome you are going to have problems with the TV signal during rain events (called rain fade), morning dew or fog, ocean spray, etc. While moving the wind keeps the dome pretty clear. Parked, this is not the case.
Assuming that you don't need the HDTV signal from your satellite TV provider then I would suggest that you subscribe to DirecTV. All of there standard programing comes from one satellite (101) so you don't have to worry about switching between the 110 and 119 satellites. You will want to look at both service packages before you make this decision, however, to ensure that you make the right choice before you sign up for a 2 year contract.

[hamguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedward1555 Thanks Gary I appreciate the fast response.

Also note that Dish TV on a tracking dome is difficult. I don't know specifics but some of the DTV channels are on a different sat and you cannot receive both sats on one dome dish at the same time. Whereas, Direct uses only the one sat (101) and gets everything there. I have had Direct for 7 years and am quite pleased. Don't know much about Dish except that I hear more complaints from their users. YMMV

[LindaH]

Be aware that a dome has limitations: With DirecTV service, you cannot get HD programming; with Dish Network, if you have two TVs connected to it, both TVs cannot watch different programs IF those different programs come on different satellites, because a dome can only "see" one satellite at a time.

As for rain fade, that has not been a problem for us. Even in Quartzsite this past week, we only lost the signal for about 10-15 minutes during the height of the storm...the signal came back once the storm abated somewhat even though it was still raining. We rarely, if ever, turn our TV on in the morning, so I don't know about the effects of dew.

[GaryKD]

Ed,
When stationary, I have the same problem loosing signal in the coach as I have a the stick house. No more or less. When stationary I have never had a problem with dew, ocean spray or most rain. When there is a problem is is because the height of the storm is between my coach and where ever the line of site is to get to the satellite. For me, this is usually not right on top of me but miles away. It happens so rarely, it is not even an irritant.

[wa8yxm]

Yes, IN-motion means you can either watch (On a television which the driver CAN NOT see, if the drive can see it the TV must be off when traveling) or record for later viewing.

One word about Domes.. Domes are solo-lnb antennas, that means they can see one and only one satellite at a time.. now some are single (one receiver) some are dual (multiple receivers supported) but all are SOLO.

DirecTV,,, The old fashion version, not DirecHDTV but DirecTV, uses, for the most part, ONE satellite

In the US all other options use multiple satellites (As does DirecTV in some markets and packges with either the locals or the foriegn language stations on a diffrerent bird)