Satellite TV Questions

[Dawn309]

Lori, I love the little freebies I get from DirecTV too. Right now I have the package with all the movie channels, but may be giving up some. I can usually get a special deal to get different movie channels for free for 3-6 months. Another perk of being a long time customer. I do take advantage of that when I can.

[JudyJB]

A couple of other things I learned:

1) There are all these neat deals on the internet about sign up for two years and get a reduced monthly price, but does not apply to RVs! In other words, you pay full price, which seems unfair.

2) Dish is the only provider that has all HD specifically for RVs. it is on their special website for RV satellite: http://www.dishformyrv.com/dish-america/

I think you still have to sign a two-year contract with Direct, but right now I am not sure. I am worrying about my choices and wondering if I should spend more money on a dish.

[Azusateach]

Judy, I'm going to take a risk here ...

I think you might be focusing too much on the HD aspect of things. Qualitatively, can you really, truly tell the difference between a program broadcast in HD vs. SD? I can't, especially in a smaller screen.

That said, if you were to take the whole HD "thing" out of the equation, which way would you be leaning? From what I understand & have read here, acquiring a signal is easier with Direct, as they only require one satellite for their SD channels, whereas Dish requires 2.

Also, if you read other forums (RV.net, for example), have you done a search there to see which system is preferred? Seems to me that, at least among full-timers, Direct seems to be the system of choice.

Researching is a good thing. Over-thinking it can sometimes make a person a little crazy. Maybe you just need to grab your buns and jump. Ducking now ...

Laura

[Dawn309]

Laura,

I agree about the HD aspect. I have HD TV's in the rig, an HD receiver and a Slimline HD satellite antenna but CW did not set my system up correctly per DirecTV so I am not getting an HD signal. I really cannot tell much difference in the rig. In the S&B we had a big plasma and could definitely tell a difference. Now that I know this, I might not have spent the extra to get an HD satellite disk on the roof of my rig and gone with a standard one.

[JudyJB]

Laura, you are 100% right! I am overanalyzing this.

I do have a larger TV in the front. Dawn, it is the size of the one you have on the outside of your rig. Can you really NOT tell the difference between HD and standard on that TV?

OK, maybe I am confusing digital with HD. Right now I am getting digital "air" tv over an antenna. That is not HD, is it??? So right now, I am not getting HD, right???

Help, I am driving myself crazy.

Wait. The satellite dish I am considering will get HD with Dish and standard with DirectTV, and since I don't have to sign a contract, I can change from DISH to DirectTV, except I would have to buy another receiver. Right??

As far as the number of satellites, I am getting an automatic one, so that should not matter, should it? Please correct me if I am wrong.

[BirdbyBird]

Judy keep asking questions...the are a lot of us out here listening to the answers and opinions.....

[mitch5252]

.

Directv and Dish - Each account has one receiver (otherwise, how could you watch?) included in the subscription cost.

You should check with each company to see what your choices of receivers are.

I agree that a smaller tv looks just fine with a SD signal. One thing I hate, though, is that SD is not wide-screen (unless you want to have people on the show stretched in some ugly way) and you can't buy the old 4:3 ratio televisions any more. So, it's either stretch the existing picture out of proportion, or ALWAYS have side bars on each side (left and right) of the screen...waste of "space".

And that is the extent of my morning musings...

.

[rvgrammy1953]

Laura, you are 100% right! I am overanalyzing this.

I do have a larger TV in the front. Dawn, it is the size of the one you have on the outside of your rig. Can you really NOT tell the difference between HD and standard on that TV?

OK, maybe I am confusing digital with HD. Right now I am getting digital "air" tv over an antenna. That is not HD, is it??? So right now, I am not getting HD, right???

Help, I am driving myself crazy.

Wait. The satellite dish I am considering will get HD with Dish and standard with DirectTV, and since I don't have to sign a contract, I can change from DISH to DirectTV, except I would have to buy another receiver. Right??

As far as the number of satellites, I am getting an automatic one, so that should not matter, should it? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Judy....yes, right now you are getting digital signal on the "over the air" antenna....that is NOT HD...but as Laura said, unless you have those very big expensive HD TVs, you really can't tell the difference.... So the choice of HD or standard is up to YOU.....

With both DirecTV & Dish, you aren't buying the receiver, you are basically, renting it, from them....simply put, you own the satellite dish when you subscribe to either service, but rent the box to receive their service....either box has a card or a chip in it which belongs to that service....when you cancelled either service, you must return the box, but returning the dish is optional....(the dish is outside all the time so is weather worn...)

If you are getting the dome type that searches for you, and it gets the service you want, then it's all set for you as far as receiving the number of satellites you need to receive....

Hope this helps...and now my knowledge is at its max....so I'll go sit down again.....

[Dawn309]

Judy, the TV in the living room is bigger than the one outside. The one outside is the same as the bedroom and kitchen. I am only getting standard signal right now, not HD. Digital is not the same as HD as Mitch, I think, said. With your regular antenna, you get digital signal. All TV is broadcast in digital now. Even though the signal I am getting is standard digital signal through either my regular antenna or the satellite disk, not HD, the picture fits the full screen on my TVs. I do not have black side bars. I would just go with the best deal you can get from either Dish or DirecTV. Make yourself happy. Either way you go, you will have satellite TV.

I hope this helps.

[Azusateach]

Judy, the TV in the living room is bigger than the one outside. The one outside is the same as the bedroom and kitchen. I am only getting standard signal right now, not HD. Digital is not the same as HD as Mitch, I think, said. With your regular antenna, you get digital signal. All TV is broadcast in digital now. Even though the signal I am getting is standard digital signal through either my regular antenna or the satellite disk, not HD, the picture fits the full screen on my TVs. I do not have black side bars. I would just go with the best deal you can get from either Dish or DirecTV. Make yourself happy. Either way you go, you will have satellite TV.

I hope this helps.

Well said.

Most TVs have the ability to change the picture aspect/ratio now. So find the one you like best and stick with it. I think that I have to readjust mine every time I hook it up, but I could be wrong. Don't do it enough to remember what I have to do.

What it might come down to for you is to look at the TV channels that are offered by each service & what their pricing tiers are and decide from there. I believe that I get more channels for my money with Direct, but again, I could be wrong. All I know is that I get lots of channels and my receiver works all the way up in Wyoming, so I'm a happy camper. Literally.

Laura