Direct TV vs. Dish

If you have any interest in getting sports packages such as NFL Season Ticket, NBA, etc., then DirecTV is the way to go. Otherwise it comes down to personal preference. Both have multiple packages with a variety of channels to choose from. We like getting the Distance Networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox from Los Angeles & New York) from DirecTV but I believe Dish has something similar.

IMO, Dish tries to compete on price and DirecTV tries to compete with more comprehensive offerings.

You can look up both on the Internet and see which channels they offer in each package and how much each package costs.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to go to a store or a few and see the programing that each offers and evaluate which fits your needs better.

They both use the same basic technology, but the programming and bells and whistles are different.

I think the new DirecTV Genie is supposed to service multiple TVs without requiring cabling to each TV (antenna dish is cabled to Genie box, and RF connects the box to the TVs without requiring any cables). Depending on your RV and available wiring, that might be of interest.

I have both (on two different homes) and find little to choose from between the two except that Direct has far more HD channels. I have always used Direct with my RV (for no particular reason) but it SEEMED like it was less problem to set up. Since I have not USED Dish with the RV I could be wrong about that.
Good luck / Skip

We got Dish, but only because we could activate it for a month at a time as opposed to a long term contract. We bought the Dish receiver from Camping World. Instructions for both the receiver and my built in satellite receiver said I could do the connections myself. No way. When I called Dish with questions I had to repeat the questions to different technicians because none knew anything about rv installation. I took the coach with receivers to Camping World who reprogrammed my satellite to get a signal. Once I got it working I was pleased with the way it works.

I can't speak to Direct but I've certainly been impressed with Dish customer service.

This week I decided to upgrade the receiver in the house from a VIP722K to a Hopper...lot's of reasons not applicable here but, because I was tired of moving the receiver from house to MY I decided to put a Hopper in the MH as well. I couldn't believe how easy dish made it for me to do this. A total of $13.00/mo extra to do the upgrade in the house and install a new one in the MH. No discussion about a separate contract or anything.

When the tech came to do the install he informed me that he was not able to transfer the recorded programs so the new receiver and I would need to buy and external hard drive and download the programs. I called CS back and, in a nice way, expressed my annoyance. To my surprise they said sorry, we'll pay for the HD....tough to argue when they're that cooperative.

Oh, by the way, if Direct doesn't have a receiver comparable to the Hopper, that would be the deciding factor for me.

It all depends...:

If you like Fords, go with Dish
If you like Chevys, go with DirecTV....

If you like neither, don't watch TV....:B....Dennis

I thought I read that you can't get HD with DirectTV but can with Dish.
Is this true? I am planning on Dumping my UVerse at home and going to Direct or Dish so I can use it in the MH. My motorhome already has a TracVision R5sl installed.

bluwtr49 wrote:

Oh, by the way, if Direct doesn't have a receiver comparable to the Hopper, that would be the deciding factor for me.

DirecTV's counterpart to the Hopper is the Genie which is a 5-tuner receiver as opposed to the Hopper's 3 tuners.

RedG wrote:
I thought I read that you can't get HD with DirectTV but can with Dish.
Is this true? I am planning on Dumping my UVerse at home and going to Direct or Dish so I can use it in the MH. My motorhome already has a TracVision R5sl installed.

The R5SL with DirecTV is SD only, no HD. With Dish you get SD and HD Channels on it. I went with Dish for this reason. I also have a Tailgater should I be in trees or have other obstructions from where the rig is.