Can DirectTV Genie mini clients be used independently?

[jafud1]

Hello to all. I plan to use a Winegard Carryout satellite antenna in our trailer. Currently we have Time Warner cable service at home but plan to change to DirectTV since we purchased the trailer. DirectTV has an offer available through Costco where they want to install a Genie receiver with two of the Genie minis for a 3-receiver home installation. What I am trying to determine is if the Genie mini can be used without the main Genie receiver. We are ok with just having SD reception for the next couple of years until we retire. I am getting the impression that the Genie mini cannot be used alone and that I will need to purchase an additional basic receiver and pay the additional receiver fee which I think is $6 per month. Can anyone clarify this for me?

[BarryD0706]

No, you can't use a client by itself.

I wonder why you've selected DirectTV however. Dish has a "pay-as-you-go" plan (no contract) where you only pay for the days that you're camping. Dish makes it easy to get HDTV whereas DirecTV makes it difficult.

With Dish you can get the Tailgater and Receiver for $450. You're probably paying that much for the Carryout by itself and it will never give you HD with DirecTV.

I have no financial interest in this; just making suggestions.

[j2detroit]

if the Jeanie is like the hopper then you won't be able to use one without the other the dish joeys will take the signal in via coax but use HDMI for the connection but the two need each other to work and work they do very nice

[jafud1]

I was looking at the Winegard Carryout since it can be used with both Direct and Dish. There are several things for me to consider. We need to upgrade our capability at our house. The basic DVR recorder does not meet our needs. So we have to upgrade to the whole house solution with Time Warner or go with Direct or Dish. I have had service with all 3 providers in the past. In comparing Direct and Dish it seemed that you got more channels for about the same money with Direct. The deal available through Costco and others may be a good choice for Direct but I would have to purchase and pay the monthly cost for an additional receiver that I don't need for home service. I suspect I may be in the same situation if I choose Dish for home service and want to take one of the receivers in the trailer. I guess I need to create a spreadsheet to compare the overall costs between the 3 options.

[wrapperman]

We upgrade to the genie a couple of months ago

We had five receivers in our house then converted to the genie but kept one HD DVR, now when we go RVing we take the HD DVR haven't had any issues setting it up as long as I have a good line of site to the satellite. I use a stand up tripod pole.
The reason we still use direct is because since we are paying for the service we have no monthly cost except the 5.99 charge a month.
The yearly cost done this way is 72.00 dollars. About 2 months of Dish. We camp more than 2 months out of the year. So it is cheaper.
Find the HD signal is a little trick but if I don't find HD the SD works good.
The HD antenna is the on that was taken down from our house when we up graded. So no cost there.
I have seen them on craigslist for 50 - 75 bucks and ebay for 150 with wires and setup tools.
I have never had or use dish so I can not compare.
I have had buddies that use Dish for various reason.
I guess it is just a personal preference.

[BarryD0706]

Originally Posted by jafud1

I was looking at the Winegard Carryout since it can be used with both Direct and Dish. There are several things for me to consider. We need to upgrade our capability at our house. The basic DVR recorder does not meet our needs. So we have to upgrade to the whole house solution with Time Warner or go with Direct or Dish. I have had service with all 3 providers in the past. In comparing Direct and Dish it seemed that you got more channels for about the same money with Direct. The deal available through Costco and others may be a good choice for Direct but I would have to purchase and pay the monthly cost for an additional receiver that I don't need for home service. I suspect I may be in the same situation if I choose Dish for home service and want to take one of the receivers in the trailer. I guess I need to create a spreadsheet to compare the overall costs between the 3 options.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I can see that pay-as-you-go doesn't help when you're bringing from home.

Dish will include one non-Joey receiver at your home that you can take to your RV. (It sounds like DirecTV will do that too.)

I think the consideration comes down to ease of HD with Dish, but certainly if you find programming differences, that could be more important.

It would be great to hear what differences move you in your final direction when you make the choice.

I love it when the AT&T Uverse sales guys come to the door and I get to ask them how their solution works for my RV. I've heard some very creative responses. One guy told me to just stream over my smart phone, but could only walk away when I pointed out that AT&T no longer offered an unlimited data plan.

[jafud1]

Thank you for your replies and suggestions. My wife likes to look at options on a spreadsheet so will spend the time to create one with all the options offered here and elsewhere. Will report back when we come to a decision. Part of the equation are the unknowns concerning retirement. When we get down to the actual retirement date (still fluid but probably 2 years out) things may change. We plan to start taking trailer to different areas on vacations to look at possible relocation after retirement. We both like the Asheville, NC area, Tennessee and South Carolina. There are many areas that we have not had the time to experience yet. Looking forward to the exploration of the country.

[Taylorgso]

We use our Carryout with DirecTV. Yes, you can use the primary receiver in the motorhome. We also have had Dish as well as DirecTV in the past. We found that the Dish Satellites are at a substantially lower elevation on the horizon, and (at least from our home) we lost the signal when trees filled out with leaves in the spring/summer. Since we never used Dish on our MH, I can only imagine that the low elevation would also affect being able to get a signal while camping. The Dish network does have the advantage of being able to receive HD programming with the Carryout, while this is not possible with DirecTV. I notice the preponderance of Tailgator receivers are often set up on the ground at a distance from the camper in order to find a signal. We mounted our Carryout on a ladder mount on the Motorhome, and can usually get a decent signal since the receiver is up 11' from the ground. But if not, removing one screw allows the receiver to be removed and set up on the ground. The Ladder mount comes with a complete extra set of cables… we hardwired these cables into the coach, and have the original set that came with the receiver in case we do have to set up on the ground! Takes only a few seconds to remove. I do recommend the Carryout over the tailgater as it allows you to use either Dish or Directv. The ladder mount for the Tailgater does not appear to be as sturdy, and indeed has to be adhered to the coach with mastic (sticky tape) to secure it properly. We've had our Carryout ladder mount since shortly after we bought the MH in January, and it is rock solid on the ladder after 7K miles. I have checked it a couple times since installing and did not need tightening!

[jafud1]

I like the idea of being able to use the Carryout with Direct or Dish for more options. Great information about the Dish satellites being lower on the horizon. I like the idea of the ladder mount option when it can be used. Much easier to keep it secure. Also one less thing to store away somewhere.