Dish or DirecTV

[Gil_J]

If you are considering a new satellite terminal for your coach you know not all offerings are the same. You also know DISH and DirecTV services aren't the same. For those wanting in-motion service you pretty much have to go with DISH, unless standard definition service is okay. Currently, in-motion DirecTV satellite terminals can only receive a limited number of HD channels; those broadcasted over their Ku-Band satellites.

With AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV we should anticipate some changes. The biggest rumored change is that they will be moving all of the HD broadcast over to Ka-Band satellites. That means currently available in-motion systems from KVH and Winegard will not be able to receive any DirecTV HD channels. This doesn't mean you'll have to wait for some software upgrade or retrofit of some parts in your in-motion roof top dome. It means the terminal will be worthless for HD channels over DirecTV. It's not easy to find DirecTV's commitment to Ka-Band broadcasting for all HD channels, but this quote from 2012 seems to be spot on.

" Philip Goswitz, DirecTV’s SVP/Space and Communications/R&D, stated “Ka-band doesn’t just mean broadband. To us it means broadcasting. The truth is that as our Ku-band transmissions end, then increasingly every dollar in revenue is attributable to Ka-band. We’ll be entirely Ka-band in about five years. Currently, of our total $27 billion in annual revenues, about $20 billion comes from Ka-band.” Click Here for Referenced Link (http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/directv-begins-working-on-broadcasting-ultra-hdtv-signals/)

FWIW, the marine industry doesn't have this same concern for in-motion HD broadcasts. Unfortunately, for the RV community overpass heights will have to be raised before we can take advantage of marine satellite terminals. The smallest in-motion KVH Ka-Band terminal is 27" tall compared to their 13" tall RV1 Ku-Band terminal.

The future of HD broadcast for us is really dependent on the continued roll out and upgrades to the wireless networks and data plans that make them affordable for broadcast TV.

[Pete]

I have had a Winegard Road Trip satellite system for the last 6 or 7 years with no problems at all using Dish Network. I recently installed new flat screen TV's, and a new receiver from dish. After the new equipment was installed we made a trip to Oxford Ms. and on to Savanah Ga. While on this trip I had difficulty receiving certain channels over the satellite system. It would stop on the requested channel, then continue the search, finally it would display "Total Signal Loss".
I tried every thing, including talking with Dish technicians at length, who would pass me on to Winegard technicians to no avail. After trying numerous times, I got lucky and talked to a very knowledgeable tech who told me that Dish Network had stopped transmitting on certain channels that the older Winegard antennas used.
After contacting Dish Network and talking with several people, they would not admit that they had taken this action, they did give me a substantial credit on my account. (Wonder why?)
I then re-contacted Winegard and found that they were giving a substantial discount to their older Road Trip owners who were affected by Dish's action.
Sooooo, I accepted Winegard's offer and now I have a new T4 satellite antenna which is 1/4 the size of the old system. I have not had it out on the road yet, but it works well in test so far.

[Gil_J]

If I was installing a satellite system today I would pick the Winegard T-4 that Pete has and DISH over DirecTV. The T-4 is priced right and certainly is compact. Although I think KVH makes a better product, the price difference is substantial. My gut feel is that DISH subscribers will likely enjoy HD broadcasts over their Ku-Band satellites for years after DirecTV has abandoned Ku-Band and migrated to Ka-Band.

[Joe Camper]

Does dish provide the velocity channel?

[Jamie Bradford]

I have had Direct Tv at home since the mid 90's - I thought it was the only choice. Until I got my current bus and it was outfitted with Dish. Rather than change everything I stayed with Dish on the bus - I got a Winegard HD put on last year and have been very happy with it.

Customer service at Dish has been better than Direct Tv in the past year. Direct is a 30 minute call each time whereas Dish is about a five minute call. Dish allows you to go month to month on the bus and getting updated locals while you travel is very easy.

I vote Dish...

Jamie

[Pete]

Joe, Dish does have Velocity.......one of my favorites.