Directv or Dish?

[precioustime]

Beginning to be a full timer in a 34'MH. Presently have Directv at home and in our rv but Directv says we have to have a permanent residence to continue with them. I have a Directv rotating satellite dish on my MH roof. Which company will be the best choice for reception, costs and number of channels available when camping?

[Ro_n_Joe]

Very pleased with Dish, the MyDish app to change locals and their customer service/tech support has been good.

[Big_Katuna]

clemdog wrote:
Hi Second Chance.
Any particular hard drive for the Wally? Or will any HD work?

I bought a 500gb USB Seagate. Works fine. Some say to use one that has a separate power supply but I’ve never had an issue.

[GKAbbott]

I no nothing about dish.

We had Direct for years at home and used it in our camper for about 3 years. Every time I called in to get the local channels changed, I got the run around and spent a minimum of an hour on the phone. So, I wised up and got their maintenance plan. Then, instead of spending an hour on the phone, I just called in a maintenance request and a tech was dispatched to my campsite. The tech could get done in ten minutes what was taking me hours. The tech would aim my dish when he came out. Also, if anything didn't work or was damaged, the tech replaced it for no charge.

[clemdog]

Hi Second Chance.
Any particular hard drive for the Wally? Or will any HD work?

[Second_Chance]

"Dish For My RV" has worked very well for us full-timing. With the Pathway X2 antenna, you can get both eastern and western satellites which gives you HD locals no matter where you are. Our package (we don't need a bunch of special channels) runs us about $50/month with taxes. We even have a hard drive on the Wally so it serves as a DVR.

Rob

[Edd505]

I have had Dish for 3 years and it works well. With the "My Dish" phone app I can change my location to get local news & weather. It works so well I pull it from the RV and use it at home with the mobile antenna on a tripod.

The down side is it does not always download the guild with means you need to manually do it.

[Acampingwewillg]

Have had Direct in House and Motorhome for over 20 years....but with all the changes coming up to Direct, I'm going to switch it all over to Dish, starting with the RV first and then the Home set up. Since I've never dealt with Dish, I can't speak badly about them although Direct in recent years have been nothing BUT pains in the Rear end!!! I really am "drinking the Kool aid" in regards to Streaming taking over in the not to distant future....but at the same time, I'll be ready for whatever happens.

[jorbill2or]

Dish or direct will have virtually the same signal abilities. They use different satellites but no difference in signal quality. As of now direct is limited to big full dish antennas for HD the portables are standard def .. but that is supposed to change .
Dish is very very friendly to rvers and can give you the locals ( ABC NBC CBS pbs ) where you are super easy via call, text or chat. If you have a prepay by month account ( outdoor ) you can do it in your account online with no customer service interaction.
All that and the channels are the same .. with a big difference ... no Sunday Ticket and no HBO on Dish . If those are important, Direct is the only way to go for satellite. Dish has a flex plan that’s 40 bucks and you can add packs to keep cost low. I generally get locals via ota for free included in the dish guide. But if I’m somewhere it’s not possible I can add locals via satellite for 12 bucks / month.
HBO can be had via steaming and as for that matter everything else ( except Sunday Ticket) and you can dump satellite if you are confident you can access fast unlimited internet everywhere. I have streaming options plus Dish tv ... streaming isn’t always available but that has a lot to do with where we travel and we have unlimited att and Verizon hotspots .

[Bill_Satellite]

precioustime wrote:
Beginning to be a full timer in a 34'MH. Presently have Directv at home and in our rv but Directv says we have to have a permanent residence to continue with them. I have a Directv rotating satellite dish on my MH roof. Which company will be the best choice for reception, costs and number of channels available when camping?

You have to have a permanent "address". So, if you plan to full time you will have some kind of permanent address that you will use for the IRS, banking and other contacts. That's all you need.
If you are going to actually move frequently then you might want to stay with DTV and sign up for the DNS (Distant Network Services) so you can get Network TV channels no matter where you travel. I would suggest that if you like watching TV you should install a Winegard Trav'ler and enjoy the same service in your RV that your receive at home. Domes these days are simply not a good choice (personal opinion of a full timer).
DISH is also a good choice and is a better choice if you plan to use a dome style antenna. You can get all of the DISH programming in HD and when you sign up for a mobile account you can change your local Network programming without "too much" trouble. You just can't use a Hopper or multiple receivers the same way you could with a Trav'ler.

[Bill_Satellite]

wa8yxm wrote:
Direec TV does have an RV section if you can get to 'em. but... Rumor has it DirecTV may be dropping all satellite serives. I STRESS RUMOR and they are shutting down 101 which is the one most Rooftop and portable "Dome" or "Cube" type antennas love. So you need a dish to get Direct (Tripod or roof mount).

Dish still works with the same band (KU I think but it might be KA) that they have used all along I'd go with Dish if I were to go Sat.

I do use Over the air. 2 DVR's (occaionally 3) and have more TV than hours.

I don't believe that any information posted above about DTV is correct. There are not even any rumors that would make the above post accurate. DTV is shutting down SD programming, not the 101 satellite. DTV customers using a dome will soon be able to receive HD programming from the 101 satellite but no one is saying which channels will be broadcast.

[Big_Katuna]

I’ve had both. I’m a DISH fan now. They are much more RV friendly.

I have a roof dome that I haven’t used in years. I have a Winegard Pathway X2.

ISO many places we stay have trees so the Pathway allows you to put it where it can get a signal. DISH also has a set of sats called the eastern arc and the western arc which are in different aee red as of the sky. You can pick which set based trees etc.

DISH lets you change locals as you move around. Daily if you want. Their app lets you reauthorize you sat box without calling.

No carryout gets HD on Directv. Not a problem with DISH.

[wa8yxm]

Direec TV does have an RV section if you can get to 'em. but... Rumor has it DirecTV may be dropping all satellite serives. I STRESS RUMOR and they are shutting down 101 which is the one most Rooftop and portable "Dome" or "Cube" type antennas love. So you need a dish to get Direct (Tripod or roof mount).

Dish still works with the same band (KU I think but it might be KA) that they have used all along I'd go with Dish if I were to go Sat.

I do use Over the air. 2 DVR's (occaionally 3) and have more TV than hours.