Dish or Directv - Best satellite to purchase

I have directv at home and love it. So I also have the traveler with swm(single wire multiswitch) in coach. I use the genie with one wired slave, It is so much smaller and has option for recording five things at once. I move it from house to motorhome. The Traveler is perfect as it is very automatic. Push a button. Directv is great for changing location so I can get the locals where I travel. 17 years and it improves regularly. I have a very full package but you can tailor to fit your viewing Yes it is all available on internet so you can watch your programming on iphone or other.

I have had one or the other since Directv's advent over 2 decades ago and switched to Dish again going on 2 years. They pretty much offer the same channels, although the reason for switching to Dish was Directv did not have a popular sports package in their offerings. Plus, every time we switch we save a significant amount off the monthly subscription during the promotional period. Which has the better content, it's really a toss up, I suggest perusing their channel line-up to ensure your favorites are available.

We, like many RVers, have satellite tv at home, with Directv we simply take a spare receiver out to the rig when RVing. Directv doesn't really like to sell their equipment per say, where Dish you could purchase and own VIP or recently introduced Wally receivers that you can add to your home account for around $7 a month. We purchased a couple of VIP receivers for $70 each to use while RVing eliminating the hassle of bringing satellite receivers from home to RV and back to home again after returning from a trip.

As I alluded to above, we ordered Directv when it debuted in 1994, since professional installers were scarce at the time, I just installed it myself. This is the method we use to acquire Sat tv over the last 15 years while RVing. Whatever sat provider we have at the house, we simply mimic their installation by purchasing the very same antenna (sat dish) which can be had very cheap on Ebay. We pop it on a tripod and in about 10 minutes we have every channel we have at home, makes mama bear a very happy camper.

At present, the only way to get Directv in HD is the aforementioned Trav'ler or by setting up your own HD sat dish like we do. Dish is much less expensive equipment-wise, most automated domes (roof-mounted or portable) will provide HD content to at least one receiver, the caveat being from a single satellite at a time. Domes configured for Directv will provide SD content only which is derived from a single satellite. The beauty of a portable dome is you can reposition it as needed to find a gap between the trees if RVing under a canopy, roof-mounted is less prone to theft, no worries when you are away from camp.

If you will only be using this service in your RV and not at home at all then I would recommend the Dish service. They have a offering called Pay-as-you-go which allows you to turn on the service in 30 day blocks and you don't have to pay for the months you don't use it. There is also no contract so you can start and stop at will.
Dish will also allow you to receive HD programming no matter the antenna type you use (dome or open face) but has some limitations if you want to use 2 receivers or a DVR.

with Dish you can get second receiver for $7 a month and a tailgater is only $300 and finds the sats for you

I am only a part-timer at this time but that might change. I camp primarily in campgrounds that are open with few trees. Expense is a concern but also want good quality reception. I do not move receivers from home to RV.

bluwtr49 wrote:
I have been a happy dish customer for several years but they just rolled out a new user interface for the hopper and I find it incredibly limiting and difficult to navigate.

I would suggest you download the user manual for the receivers that are of interest and review them. Service wise I suspect they are pretty much the same as is the programming. I think Dish has more HD channels but, here again, look at the channels of interest to you and compare.

As for equipment, nothing beats Winguard Traveler and a multi-channel DVD receiver.

Careful. The Traveler doesn't support the latest Hopper without a DIY mod. Even then It doesn't fully support all the Dish satellites.

I have Dish, Traveler and an old model Hopper. If you're going with Dish I'd avoid the Traveler. If you want a Traveler get Direct.

Are you only going to use this in the RV or will you use it at home and then move the receiver(s) to the RV when you travel? Do you often park under trees or do you like open sites? Are you a full time or part time (how often) RVer? What part of the Country do you usually frequent?

I have been a happy dish customer for several years but they just rolled out a new user interface for the hopper and I find it incredibly limiting and difficult to navigate.

I would suggest you download the user manual for the receivers that are of interest and review them. Service wise I suspect they are pretty much the same as is the programming. I think Dish has more HD channels but, here again, look at the channels of interest to you and compare.

As for equipment, nothing beats Winguard Traveler and a multi-channel DVD receiver.

We have had Dish at home for 15 or more years and in the RV for 8 years. And have been very happy with it. Others have been happy with Direct. And then there are those who have been unhappy with both. So no pat answer to the question.

If you only use the RV for a few months each year, the Dish Pay As You Go monthly plan works well. You only pay for the months you use it. Or if you have Dish at home, you can add a receiver in the RV for $7/mo.

I have had both and I prefer DISH. They are more RV aware.

If you want HD, there are no carryout automatic domes for Directv.

With DISH, you buy a Wally or 211, connect it to a Winegard Pathway X2 dome ($400) turn it on and it you get a menu that tells you you have a portable dish, which arc do you want, start scan.

DirecTV doesn't have anything like that.