Quote:
Originally Posted by nazrev87
I am not officially full time but in practicality I am. We would consider contract but for Rv service only no at our house.
We have to have HD
We have 2 TVs to watch different channels at same time.
Yes on true DVR functionality
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That narrows it down a lot actually. It leaves out any of the lower-cost automatic systems (like Tailgater, Carryout, or VuQube) because they support a max of two tuners and even that has restrictions. There may be automatic systems in the $1400+ range, but I would never recommend those unless you are putting them on top of a motorhome to use while you're in-motion, and I'll assume you are not.
This means that you need to buy a dish and tripod to do your own alignment. Many of us do that.
The big remaining question then is Dish or DirecTV.
Dish has a pay-as-you-go option where you don't need a contract and can turn it off when you're not using it (months you're at home?). Pay-as-you-go costs more than the "intro" deals you get with a contract. If there will be times that you can turn it off in the RV, then you would need to do the math to see if one is cheaper than the other. If you're going with a contract, then we still have no advantage to Dish or Direct.
The programming is generally the same on both. There are some special channels that are only on Direct (Sprout comes to mind) so you might want to look to make sure anything you especially care about is available on whichever one you pick. That also goes for availability and cost of any Sports Packages you would want.
If you're still at a break-even as far as DirectTV and Dish, I would go with Dish just because it's easier (as stated by others) to point the dish when you are trying to get HD. I do it in about 5 minutes for Dish every time I go out.
Now let's talk equipment.
If you get Dish, you need to make sure the LNB is "Dish Pro
PLUS" to support modern equipment.
If you get DirecTV, you need to make sure the LNB is "SWM" technology.
You can often get the dishes for free (or close to it) and need only to buy a tripod.
Receivers: I would really suggest that you get the Genie & Client for DirectTV, or the Hopper & Joey for Dish. For either of these, because they contain hard-drives, you have to take special precautions, such as putting them on your padded mattress, when you travel. Bouncing them along in a wood cabinet down the highway will damage them, and for that reason, the companies will recommend that you not use them in an RV (but I know there are people that do it on our forums). I don't think you'll find a company that will install them in your RV so its probably better to buy your own equipment. I can give some pointers if you get to that (and I have no financial interest in any of this).