Direct TV HD?

[hmdarwin]

Well we switched the house from cable to satellite so we could take the receiver with us on the road. I ordered a DirecTV HD dish off Amazon and it arrived yesterday but with the wrong LNB.

So now that I'm realizing that HD is maybe a different animal, I'm wondering is it's worth the struggle to have HD over standard. The dish is much larger, sounds like the standard meter is insufficient to tune in the multiple satellite positions.

My previous 5th wheel had a semiautomatic dome mounted and then we carried a dish on a tripod when parked under trees; standard definition but worked great, relative easy.

Is the HD signal much more difficult to dial in? The automatic DirectTV Slimline is $1,600 and HD is not worth that to me.

Suggestions?

Howard

[Jim & Mary]

We have the Dish Travel'r with the hopper and joey system and it gives us HD and DVR capabilities at all three TV's at the same time. Yes the dish was expensive, but it is totally automatic. Lesser antennas may require you to manually switch from one satellite to another to change programs you wish to watch. Over time how much is that hassle worth? We've had ours now since May 2014 and really couldn't be happier.

[atom ant]

I've not ever tried to manually bring in HD, but the HD picture is sure nice, even with the standard rooftop antenna. We have the Traveler and it has been a great automatic antenna, but I understand what you mean about cost- We were thinking of trading the rig already and that would have just been a loss, as I couldn't really take it off.

[RCAircraft01]

Originally Posted by hmdarwin

Well we switched the house from cable to satellite so we could take the receiver with us on the road. I ordered a DirecTV HD dish off Amazon and it arrived yesterday but with the wrong LNB.

So now that I'm realizing that HD is maybe a different animal, I'm wondering is it's worth the struggle to have HD over standard. The dish is much larger, sounds like the standard meter is insufficient to tune in the multiple satellite positions.

My previous 5th wheel had a semiautomatic dome mounted and then we carried a dish on a tripod when parked under trees; standard definition but worked great, relative easy.

Is the HD signal much more difficult to dial in? The automatic DirectTV Slimline is $1,600 and HD is not worth that to me.

Suggestions?

Howard

We installed the Wingard SWM3 Direct TV system on our Redwood 36RL with the steel base (total about $1,800.00). It was a four hour project. We use the two receivers from home while Direct TV provide us we free spare remotes and power supplies for the Redwood. The system has been great.

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk

[roamingmitchells]

I have direct TV with local from NY and HD with their normal satellite dish. Finding the the satellites is not any harder that the old small dish. Start with satellite 110 adjusting longitude and Smith by hand until you get the strongest signal, then fine tune with the adjusting bolts. Once complete go to satellite 119 and adjust tilt only until your signal is at the highest signal. Once that is complete the rest of the satellist will come in as well. Been doing this for approx three years. HD is a great picture. I am able to fi the dish in my storage. To me well worth the setup time, in most cases approx 10 mins with my wife providing me with signal strength via cell. Direct tec taught me the set up. Hope this helps, Tom

[Foxfire]

When I bought my rig the dealer set me up with Direct TV and an automatic antenna on the roof. Easy to operate, push a button and done. Having said that it only works here in the NE in the early spring and late fall when there are no leaves on the trees. Once the leaves fill in my system is useless.
I bought a small portable automatic antenna no HD but it works and you can position it where you need to see through the trees.
A friend of mine couldn't stand the fact that I had no HD and bought me all the components to make it work and be portable. it takes an hour to setup and I really didn't care if I had HD or not. Although anyone that sees it comments how great a picture there is. if left on my own I wouldn't have bothered and the portable system was fine. Now that I have the other parts I have to set them up when my friends stop by.

[gridiron]

So if I am going to buy a system.....Do you guys suggest I get the permanent dish on the roof or a portable one to move around out side the RW? I need some help on this one please.

[gridiron]

I want HD and have two TVs possibly adding another in the future.

[Tomkidder]

I am in the same spot. I am leaning toward a tripod type. One of the drawbacks to a permanent mounted is if you sell the coach the dish goes with it. Dish network has high speed internet but not on permanent mount. Disk network also has more HD channels. I love the fact that I push a button and a few seconds later I have TV rain or shine.

[rob_fla]

I have been using the Tripod setup with our Dish System for over 4 years now, no complaints.
Now that I have set it up every few weeks for over 4 years, I can usually setup the Tripod and be ready to go in 5 to 10 minutes.
Since I have 100 feet of cable on our Dish, I can usually move the Tripod around and find a clear opening to get a clear view of the satellites and a good, strong HD signal.

[Shane Wood]

I have the winngaurd Direct dish mounted on the roof push a button and your good to go. The only down fall are trees and mountains. I have a tailgater portable I use when the roof top won't work

[gridiron]

Thanks, How do you like Dish? Any advantages of Dish over Direct? I have to make a move on this before summer.

Thanks again

[atom ant]

I bought the Winegard travelr just to watch it work. Between the 6-pt leveling and the antenna when we set up - it's the best two beers of the vacation.



I know all regions are different, but I really haven't run into an issues with mine and trees or obstacles yet. Typically the private campsites will ask if you need satellite clearance. Rain doesn't bother the Travelr like it does the domes which I used to have.

I have Dish - and it sucks just like DirecTV. Customer Service with either is like sticking your arm in the Treemans tree on Flash Gordon- you survive or you get stung -

[mhs4771]

Yes there are times where the only site available has trees that block the roof mounted dish, but we live with that as we don't really have room to stash the big DirecTV SlimLine dish. But as mentioned by Brad, if you ask at check-in most parks have Satellite Friendly sites.
Direct or Dish take your pick, pros and cons for each. We've stayed with Direct since we've been with them since 1994. Originally took the rcvrs from the house and used a small dish on a tripod when we had our TT, but moved up to the roof mounted when we moved to a 5er.

[roamingmitchells]

Usually with the fixed on the roof system you can sometimes be limited to not getting a signal due to trees. Having the portable allows you to move it away from obstructions. My self I love the portable and in fact while in Omaha I had to move approx 100 ft away to get anything. Again portable if TV is important. Tom

[hailwiz]

I have the dish tailgater and it works great for being small and light weight. There is a tripod to set it on or you can just set it on the ground. They also make a ladder mount you can put it on if you think there is a possibility of theft and easily removed. It comes with 50 ft of cable so most of the time you can get it somewhere will it will get reception. It's also fully automatic no pointing ecept when you set it down you face it as close to south as you can get it and it will do the rest. They also make a carry bag everything fits in to keep it from getting scratched up and easier to store. Direct TV does not make a portable carry out automatic antenna that does HD.

[brenkco]

I like Rob, prefer the tripod. I have had the Dish Tailgater and now leave it in the garage. Setting the dish up on the tripod, allows me to take the Hopper and Joey with me from home giving me HD throughout the rig.

I camp in trees frequently so the Travler just isn't worth the investment to me. Since I have to take the dish and tripod with me, I'd rather not spend the money on the roof mount.

Several of us that travel together invested in a meter, satlook lite. It allows you to lock in all three satellites at the dish before even hooking up the receiver. The trick is to have the mast completely plumb on the tripod, set your skew and elevation and let the meter find the azimuth. Once you get your feet wet with it, it's literally a minute or two to get it done. The website for the meter is Solid Signal Ka Hi/Lo Ku Satellite Signal Tracking Meter SWM Meter (SATLOOKLITE) from Solid Signal
The tripod we use is found at TV4RV: Satellite - Tripod - Slimline - Dish - DirectTV: satellite and Internet for RV - Recreational Vehicles - RVers - DishTV - Satellite Dish - FTA - Tripod

Ken

[bull_chips]

Gridiron, do you have satellite at home? That would be the company you should go with...if not whichever gives you the best deal. I have Dish, because I use them at home. I have a Carryout auto antenna. I used it on the ground, then mounted it on the ladder, because people trip over it, drive over. Sometimes I can't get into a position to use the antenna. So, it really just depends ...

Fred

[Dave&Ginny]

I think it all boils down to how you use your RV. In my case, I like the convenience of pushing a button and letting the automatic feature find the satellite. We're never at one place very long and sometimes just overnight and I've even used mine in rest areas or truck stops.

If I was going to be set up for a while at one spot I would not mind taking the time to set up the tri-pod or tailgater. I use Direct TV just because that's what I have at home

[atom ant]

Dave,

Do you have "in-motion"? I ran across a lot of those in the MH and wondered how they worked.