Dish Network

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Looking for feedback on DISH.  Currently we have Comcast in our home, but would consider switching to DISH if the mobile service is any good.  Then again, I don't know that I want (one more thing) to have to set up at a campground....but DH gets a little grumpy, when he missing too much football   :rant:

[caveat lector 181]

Service was good when I had it. Set it up with a VIP 211k receiver for remote lake area. However, a huge pain to cancel contract and ever since feels like they are stalking me.

[Judy in Texas 150]

I have Dish at home - not their mobile service - and I can recommend it. The signal is lost only during really heavy rain. When I've had an issue, their customer service has been first rate. Good luck.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Thumbs up for Dish.

Don't know about mobile service.

If you don't need satellite service while your traveling you can try something like this...

I took a a dish off of one of our rental houses when the renter moved out and I installed it at our house at the lake. I then ordered an extra box for our guest room (at our home) and after they installed it I took it to the lake.

I've seen lots of rv's with dishs on tripods and I bet that's what they do.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

We have DirecTV. We chose it over Dish specifically because it offered better sports options.

We have been happy with it at home. I need to look into getting the equipment so we can take it when we go camping.

[Lou... 3,118]

A drawback with any satellite service in our area is price and convenience if you need TV, hi-speed internet, and home phone. Because it's not bundled, it ends up costing more for the same service, so no point in switching.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

That is our issue, and even with the various cable companies, they rope you into all three. We really don't need a home phone, but the price without for internet and cable is more than all three bundled together.

 

Now, we do flip flop between our two available cable companies every couple years, just to keep the price down.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Thumbs up for Dish.

Don't know about mobile service.

If you don't need satellite service while your traveling you can try something like this...

I took a a dish off of one of our rental houses when the renter moved out and I installed it at our house at the lake. I then ordered an extra box for our guest room (at our home) and after they installed it I took it to the lake.

I've seen lots of rv's with dishs on tripods and I bet that's what they do.

 

This is what we do with our DirecTV. And actually before we had it at home, we "might" have had an extra box on a friend's account. 

 

We have DirecTV. We chose it over Dish specifically because it offered better sports options.

We have been happy with it at home. I need to look into getting the equipment so we can take it when we go camping.

 

Amen. If you want sports, you want DirecTV. 

 

A drawback with any satellite service in our area is price and convenience if you need TV, hi-speed internet, and home phone. Because it's not bundled, it ends up costing more for the same service, so no point in switching.

 

DirecTV bundles with AT&T. We use their internet, but I hate their cell phone service. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

 

DirecTV bundles with AT&T. We use their internet, but I hate their cell phone service.

Not in all areas. We dropped DIRECT at the house since we now have FIOPTICs with our local phone co which includes internet, Direct could not provide that. We do though still have DIRECT in the MH. We have always had 2 accounts so we could get the networks out of NY and to do that it required a RV account. Had to send them the registration in order to do it. Orignally had DISH years ago, but they lost the ability to provide the networks to RV accounts.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

We still have our previous cable company for phone and Internet, but I have told DH he needs to go to the AT&T store and talk to them. He knows more of what we need when it comes to the internet than I do. It will need to support him working from home as well as our various pods, pads etc.

Oh and with DirectTV we were able to get a AAA rate as new customers.

[Millermouseketeers MaryAnn 150]

We have AT&T Uverse & love it. Internet & tv are great.

[Okieatheart 33]

We had DirecTV in our motorhome for about a year.  It worked well, but it takes a while to set up each time.  We even used it at the Fort with all of those trees and it worked.  Customer service is great with DirecTV.

 

At our house, though, we have cable TV and internet.  I won't bundle because when Hurricane Ike was headed toward a Houston strike at midnight, our TV and internet went out at 9 pm.  But our AT&T land line worked throughout the entire storm.  No electricity, cell phone or internet for 8 days, but that land line worked like a charm.  My friends with cable phone lost their service when the TV and internet went out.

[Lou... 3,118]

DirecTV bundles with AT&T.

 

Not in all areas.

 

When I checked about a year ago, we couldn't get a bundle with internet and phone. 

If it were available I wouldn't get it anyway because we do have it at the Georgia house and are not happy with it, but there aren't too many options.

[southernview -- Ray 25]

Looking for feedback on DISH.  Currently we have Comcast in our home, but would consider switching to DISH if the mobile service is any good.  Then again, I don't know that I want (one more thing) to have to set up at a campground....but DH gets a little grumpy, when he missing too much football   :rant:

 

We have been Dish customers for over 25 years and haven't had any major issues.  As for their mobile service, I use a 211k receiver with the Tailgater dish and find it quite reliable and a snap to set up.  I especially like the 211k because it has dual tuners, one for satellite and another for OTA television, which allows you to use the receiver for both services when out of your home area all in HD.

 

The mobile service can be had without a contract and no charge to start or stop the monthly service.  All of the packages are on a month to month basis.  As far as sports are concerned, Direct does have an advantage over Dish primarily in the area of pro sports, but I am a college sports fan myself.

 

If you decide to go for Dish, keep in mind that Camping World presently has the Dish 211z receiver on sale for around $74.00, but the z model does not have the built in OTA tuner.  Either the k or the z can also be fitted with an outboard hard drive which allows the receiver to be used as a DVR.  There is a $40.00 one time charge for that service.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

A drawback with any satellite service in our area is price and convenience if you need TV, hi-speed internet, and home phone. Because it's not bundled, it ends up costing more for the same service, so no point in switching.

 

Yep.  That's the battle that we've struggled with for a few years now.

 

 

We have been Dish customers for over 25 years and haven't had any major issues.  As for their mobile service, I use a 211k receiver with the Tailgater dish and find it quite reliable and a snap to set up.  I especially like the 211k because it has dual tuners, one for satellite and another for OTA television, which allows you to use the receiver for both services when out of your home area all in HD.

 

The mobile service can be had without a contract and no charge to start or stop the monthly service.  All of the packages are on a month to month basis.  As far as sports are concerned, Direct does have an advantage over Dish primarily in the area of pro sports, but I am a college sports fan myself.

 

If you decide to go for Dish, keep in mind that Camping World presently has the Dish 211z receiver on sale for around $74.00, but the z model does not have the built in OTA tuner.  Either the k or the z can also be fitted with an outboard hard drive which allows the receiver to be used as a DVR.  There is a $40.00 one time charge for that service.

 

Help educate me... if you have a receiver, do you still need an actual satellite dish?

[Retired and Happy (Ken) 101]

I have had Dish for quite a few years at home.  For a couple of years we took a home receiver out the the MH and used a portable antenna.  It got to be such a problem we quit and just used cable wherever we were (usually WDW).

 

We have a dish on the roof of our newer MH, but have not tried to use it yet.  i understand it was set for Direct and needs to be retuned for Dish.  Also I'm not sure it will work with our home receivers.

 

And yes, Nacole.  you will need an antenna to pick up the satellite signals and bring them into your receiver.

 

I don't think I could watch any more sports than Dish is providing...except for weekend Braves games, which are blacked out because of a contract dispute.  Oh well, it's college football season now, so what more could I want.

[.....Gary 85]

We also use the Tailgater from Dish.  When we were Tn.  we called tech support and they shut off our locals at home and turned on Nashville locals.  No charge.

[TnBob 311]

We had Direct for a few yrs a long time ago and went to cable for some reason that I forget, when we moved into our last house we again got cable. When we got the first camper we were getting one of the camping mags and there was an add that if you went with Directv they would give you another dish and a tripod. We went back to direct and got the tripod and extra dish to keep in the camper and we just take a reciever out of the house and wa La we have Direct in the camper. When we sold the house I kept 2 recievers and got a Sattelite splitter (different from a regular splitter) and pulled the ant cable from the wall and directed the sat to the rear output. Now I have a DVR in the front and a regular one in the back.

 

We change the local channels with Directv also, you call them up and give them the local zip code and again Wa La local channels.

 

I mounted a pole on my rear roof ladder so I can put the dish on the pole and not have to have the dish in the way if there is nothing in the way. I am able to use the roof top mount about 80% of the times and the tripod the other 20% and I carry a lot of cable just in case.

 

We have never had Dish Network so I have no idea about it but the directv works well for us and is usually easy to set up.

[southernview -- Ray 25]

Yep.  That's the battle that we've struggled with for a few years now.

 

 

 

Help educate me... if you have a receiver, do you still need an actual satellite dish?

 

 

Yes, that's what the Tailgater is--a dish that is contained in an enclousure.  When it is hooked up to the 211 class receivers it scans for the satellite signals and sets up the receiver automatically.  It has the same limitations of a regular dish as in it needs a clear view of the proper satellites not obstructed by heavy foliage. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Hmmm.... all of this sounds like a lot of work, for some silly football games 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

We had Direct for a few yrs a long time ago and went to cable for some reason that I forget, when we moved into our last house we again got cable. When we got the first camper we were getting one of the camping mags and there was an add that if you went with Directv they would give you another dish and a tripod. We went back to direct and got the tripod and extra dish to keep in the camper and we just take a reciever out of the house and wa La we have Direct in the camper. When we sold the house I kept 2 recievers and got a Sattelite splitter (different from a regular splitter) and pulled the ant cable from the wall and directed the sat to the rear output. Now I have a DVR in the front and a regular one in the back.

 

We change the local channels with Directv also, you call them up and give them the local zip code and again Wa La local channels.

 

I mounted a pole on my rear roof ladder so I can put the dish on the pole and not have to have the dish in the way if there is nothing in the way. I am able to use the roof top mount about 80% of the times and the tripod the other 20% and I carry a lot of cable just in case.

 

We have never had Dish Network so I have no idea about it but the directv works well for us and is usually easy to set up.

 

Question:  So...if we decided to go with DirectTV, could we buy a second satellite dish and take the receiver from inside our house when we traveled?  Is that possible or am I not understanding correctly?

 

 

When I checked about a year ago, we couldn't get a bundle with internet and phone. 

If it were available I wouldn't get it anyway because we do have it at the Georgia house and are not happy with it, but there aren't too many options.

 

DirectTV just sent out a promotion with a bundle (dish, at&t internet and at&t phone):  first year runs right about $96 (that includes all their fees and modem rental) + tax for the first 12 months, then $124 + tax for the next 12 months (that's about what we're paying right now with Comcast).  This includes an HD DVR for both televisions in our home.

[TnBob 311]

Question:  So...if we decided to go with DirectTV, could we buy a second satellite dish and take the receiver from inside our house when we traveled?  Is that possible or am I not understanding correctly?

 

 

 

yes, that is what we have been doing for years, take it in the camper when you travel and in the house when not. If you want the local channels where you travel to call them ( I think you can also do it online) and you have it. We usually don't change the channels unless we are going to be gone more than a week or so. Be advised though that when you change the channels on one you change then on all so if someone is at home when you do it they won't have the local channels at home. I wouldn't buy a new dish untill I searched around a bit, people have them all the time that they aren't using so you might pick one up for almost nothing or nothing.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

 

Question:  So...if we decided to go with DirectTV, could we buy a second satellite dish and take the receiver from inside our house when we traveled?  Is that possible or am I not understanding correctly?

 

 

 

yes, that is what we have been doing for years, take it in the camper when you travel and in the house when not. If you want the local channels where you travel to call them ( I think you can also do it online) and you have it. We usually don't change the channels unless we are going to be gone more than a week or so. Be advised though that when you change the channels on one you change then on all so if someone is at home when you do it they won't have the local channels at home. I wouldn't buy a new dish untill I searched around a bit, people have them all the time that they aren't using so you might pick one up for almost nothing or nothing.

 

 

Thanks Bob :)

[TnBob 311]

you are very welcome

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Tom and I are back on this topic again, as Comcast just raised our bill.... again.

 

Any additional feedback from Fiends, would be much appreciated :)