Direct TV or Dish Network

If you live in your Rv for several months and then at your home for several months, which service is best? I don't want to pay for duplicate services.

Thanks.

I have Dish and use it while I am on the road, I have two receivers, one I take with me and one that stays at home, My Mother stays at my place and uses it there. The only problem is I don't get local channels on the road

I have had both several times over the past 15 years. I like Direct better. They have more HD programming. Also, their on screen menu is much more user friendly than Dish.

We have DirectV for the past 5 years. Call us stupid but we have 5 receivers, 2 in the coach and 3 in the house. When we are traveling for more than a weekend, I take one of the HD receivers from the house and add it to the coach. We haven't had any problems, even when we travel cross country, e-z setup with all the satellite channels (remember that locals station only have about 150 mile radius).

when getting one of these $29.99 deals be sure to read the fine print. You have to sign up for a 2 year contract and the $29.99 price is only valid for the first 12 months. That means you will be paying much more for the second 12 months.

I've mentioned it before and here again is the link to my wife's comment. It's best I keep my mouth shut.

http://graystarcity.info/2010/09/21/attention-all-rvers/

The only way to go for RVers is DIRECT TV, Dave and Amy are 100% correct plus with "Dish" it is much harder to locate the satellites. The Direct TV people that come into the CG and have trouble with this are endless.

Can you get Local Channels with Direct TV away from home

Ed, HERE is a "spot" beam map for DTV. If you travel within your local "spot" you will get locals. However, if you go outside that "spot" you will not get your locals.
My "spot" is pretty big and I get my locals a long way from home.
When we travel to Texas I just call DTV and tell them I moved and give them the address of the RV park we are at. They then give me the locals for the area I am at. And that "spot" is very large as well so we are covered in all the places we go down there.

Peace
Dave

Thanks that's what I thought it is like Dish, I need local both at home and on the road when I go as there is someone at home when I go

Buford445 said:

Thanks that's what I thought it is like Dish, I need local both at home and on the road when I go as there is someone at home when I go

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Based on what you are saying here, you will be required by DTV to have two separate accounts. You can't have different local channels on two different locations.

I have been exploring DTV website for a few days now. When we arrived in the RGV we couldn't receive the locals here because they are sent over Sat119. I only had a 3LNB dish. DTV came out and swapped out my LNB for noo charge and I kept the 3LNB head for possible later use. The tech said I wouldn't need it but I could still keep it if I wanted it.

On another note, I found on the DTV site something about Mobile Travelers Package which is 185 channels for $55.99 and I believe it includes local channels for the location you are at. You would still have to call DTV to change locations. There is a form to complete and send in. I'm still doing more research on this and will post more as I learn.

Dish Network really is not RV friendly other than taking your extra receiver and going without locals as you travel out of your area.

Dish is a Pain to Deal with (So is SPRINT) But haven't had any problems with them. I did talk to them about paying extra for Network Channels but I don't remember what they said (CRS Kiking in)

Your best bet for local channels is to simply use the antenna and get them Over the air. If you absolutely need Local channels from Home while you're on the road, the only reliable way to do this is with a device called 'Slingbox'. Slingbox allows you to connect via the internet and watch your home receiver/DVR anywhere you have internet access. It provides a full remote on-screen so you can control the device as if you were sit'n right in the same room. They're a bit pricey up front, but do not require any recurring monthly charges. The quality of the video you see will depend on the upload speed of your home internet connection as well as the download speed of your internet connection to the RV where ever you're at.

Hope this helps!
LK

P.S. Another vote for DirecTV. If you want a portable setup, definitely check out http://www.tv4rv.com ... Their devices are 2nd to none as far as quality, stability, and ease of setup on-site.

NOTE: I'm not affiliated with Sling Media or TV4RV. I simply use their products and find them valuable enough to pass along information about.

I recently bought a Winegard Carryout antenna that picks up three satellites including 119 for hi def reception from Dish network. I haven't used it outside the Houston area yet but will next month, so I'll know if I can receive my "home" channels then. When I want local network channels, I just use the crank-up antenna on the roof. I haven't had any problems from Dish.

Using the roof top antenna works OK but for me it's a PITA to change from roof to sat on our bedroom TV. Only because of the way I have it cabled. I only use one receiver and route a single coax from the LR to the BR to an A/B switch. The only way it may work better would be to convert the coax signal to A/V phono plugs. Then I could switch via the TV inputs. I guess where there's a will, there's a way.

We're with DirecTV, and like Nabo we have too many receivers - 4 DVR/Receivers for the two of us. But we like it that way. Much easier to pack up the ones for the road that way.

We've been with DirecTV since 1997 and their customer service has always been excellent. Now with their mobile/RV package, it seems they're very interested in helping RV'ers stay connected.

You might also look into a slingbox setup (www.slingbox.com) - which would allow you to view local channels from home thorugh a Wifi connection. I haven't tried it, but have some friends that have made it work. I'm not sure what type of bandwidth you need to make it easy to watch, though.

Full time RVers can get the MSM channels for Dish Network through MyDistantNetworks.com. That's what I use now. With DN, it was just too much trouble attempting to change local channels at each new location we traveled. The cost is only $12.99/mo for HD channels. It's less for standard channels.

I just started full time, and I went with DirectTV. I bought a tripod and the adapter for the larger dish. I have 2 DRV's in the unit. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. I went with a HD unit in the basement. With this setup, I can watch the 2 DVRs on any TV including the one outside. I can also record to the living room and the bedroom DVR from outside. What's really cool is the IPhone app I have that allows me to record to my bedroom and/or living room DVR when I am out and about. The app is cool, you can look at the DirectTV programming and record with a couple of clicks. The set up was very easy, I was in one camp site and had to move to another. I used the compass on my IPhone to get the coordinates of where the satellite was pointed. I took the dish to the new site, pointed it with the compass on my phone, had my son monitor the signal strength on the outside TV and we had 98% signal in less than 5 minutes.

As far as local channels, you can probably catch them on the Antenna, but with DirectTV, you can get your local channels (where you live) wherever you are. When I go to Florida this winter, I will keep my TN local channel's to keep up with what's going on. I would anticipate that if you wanted to switch, you could simply call direct TV and have them repoint you to a local channel in the area you are at.

So far, very happy with DirectTV.

tvermette said:

I just started full time, and I went with DirectTV. I bought a tripod and the adapter for the larger dish. I have 2 DRV's in the unit. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. I went with a HD unit in the basement. With this setup, I can watch the 2 DVRs on any TV including the one outside. I can also record to the living room and the bedroom DVR from outside. What's really cool is the IPhone app I have that allows me to record to my bedroom and/or living room DVR when I am out and about. The app is cool, you can look at the DirectTV programming and record with a couple of clicks. The set up was very easy, I was in one camp site and had to move to another. I used the compass on my IPhone to get the coordinates of where the satellite was pointed. I took the dish to the new site, pointed it with the compass on my phone, had my son monitor the signal strength on the outside TV and we had 98% signal in less than 5 minutes.

As far as local channels, you can probably catch them on the Antenna, but with DirectTV, you can get your local channels (where you live) wherever you are. When I go to Florida this winter, I will keep my TN local channel's to keep up with what's going on. I would anticipate that if you wanted to switch, you could simply call direct TV and have them repoint you to a local channel in the area you are at.

So far, very happy with DirectTV.

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How is this possible? Aren't the local channels bradcast using a spot beam?

All these receivers are addressable. Meaning that the satellite talks to your individual receiver. I would think they should have the technology to send you what ever you want, if you are willing to pay for it. I don't know that for a fact.
Having worked in communications for years, I know many things that are done,or not done, are detemined only by rules(FCC,PUC etc), not technology.