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Old 12-01-2011, 08:30 PM   #1
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Television: Satellite or cable?

Hi y'all!
Okay, I did my homework and searched 'television' on the forums and I still have questions. And I know this is totally frivolous, but my ADD/ADHD demands that I ask:

I feel I will benefit from getting good TV reception as I travel. (fulltiming is my goal). Okay. In the beginning I am looking at RV parks as a mainstay, not boondocking - although I know that will change - eventually.

I think I want to get DISH network satellite (and have to research that). Most parks do offer cable. So what's up with that? I live in a rural area. I have always had to have satellite TV. (Dish). So if I'm paying for a DISH subscription when RVing, then go to a park (say, for a month) that offers cable, am I wasting money on the satellite hookup?

Sorry. I'm totally a technovoid (hey, I just made that word UP!) (No okra!) and don't want to double-dip my funds. So DISH or no DISH? If staying in RV parks for now, what would you do? Just hope that where you stay offers cable?

I know, I know, it is ultimately my decision, but inquiring minds need to know. I just want opinions so I can carefully weigh my decision. Just sayin'. I mean, after 9:00 pm I'm not going out in the dark, and I do think it would be nice to have a TV option.
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Old 12-01-2011, 08:42 PM   #2
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I have found cable to be not dependable in campgrounds(older systems). Since you are already paying for satellite, I would stick with it-you will always have your same stations no matter where you go and it won't cost you any more, once you've bought your portable dish.
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Old 12-01-2011, 08:55 PM   #3
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I have found cable to be not dependable in campgrounds(older systems). Since you are already paying for satellite, I would stick with it-you will always have your same stations no matter where you go and it won't cost you any more, once you've bought your portable dish.
Dennis, thank you. As soon as I hit 'send' I wondered if this was a totally dumb question. But you answered what I was asking: is cable dependable in RV parks.

I think I was/am asking that if I have a satellite setup then surely I should be able to access that connection in a wifi/cable ready RV park.

Thanks!
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Old 12-02-2011, 07:42 AM   #4
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Somehow to suggest that Sat is the answer just does not really look at the realities of getting good sat reception I think?

You either need to align the dish with the sats each time you move or get a much pricier automatic sat finding system which still can have problems at times. They are a lot more complicated on the face of it than just connecting a parks Cable system will be.

On the other hand I have not experienced that most parks will have cable as you claim?

It clearly depends on the level of parks you choose but when they have cable I can usually get it going easily,as a caveat I am in the TV business your mileage there may vary.

I think it will take a lot of pricey cable nights to equal the buy-in cost of Sat. and then the monthly cost too.

If you are fulltime i the RV I can see getting a Sat system but you really need to price it all out first to understand those differences.

Your last question I actually do not understand at all?

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Old 12-02-2011, 07:49 AM   #5
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Dish and Cable

We still have a home, though we're rarely there, and have Dish at home. When we hit the road we take one of our Dish receivers with us.

In this way people who might use our beach cottage still have TV and so do we. We have a connector on our trailer that allows for both cable and satellite dish input.

We prefer the Dish over cable because we get more channels. We maintain the same service we have at home with one addition, the addition of 'distant channels'.

Distant channels allows you to get the major networks no matter where you are in the country. We chose to get the major networks from San Francisco and New York city. I believe the other choices are Atlanta and Chicago. This feature costs about $12 a month.

Hope this helps, glad to answer any Dish details for you
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Old 12-02-2011, 07:52 AM   #6
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Set up Time

Dish Setup.

It typically takes me less than 5 minutes to set up our Sat Dish. We do not have an automatic system. If you decided to use Dish I can give you more details on our methods.
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Old 12-02-2011, 08:21 AM   #7
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Our experience is that a long way from most parks having cable. Some charge extra, some do not, and some just don't work very well. Usually just a few non-network channels. We're probably going to buy the Dish on the go (don't know if that's the proper term) where you buy the equipment and can pay as you go . You can turn the service off and on according to when you want/don't want.
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Old 12-02-2011, 08:29 AM   #8
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Ed, thanks for your input, you brought up some good points. I think part of my problem is not understanding cable television (I've only had satellite, ever). I don't mean to say that most parks have cable, just that some might have cable. In re-reading my post I see I was not formulating very good questions. Okay, and you have quite the advantage, being a TV guy!

Norm and Ginny, thanks! My confusion is not so much an RV one as it is satellite vs. cable - as you can see. I'm a diehard Dish fan, so you gave me good insight that maybe my feeble understanding of Dish satellite may still work on the road; making Dish Network available as I travel. I mean, if I get reception, great, if not, oh well, I still have the world at my door, right? Thanks all for your patience!
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Old 12-02-2011, 08:52 AM   #9
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How much does Dish cost per month?
All of my customers have either Directv or Cable as the picture quality with Dish seems soft when on a huge TV.

If you can just take a receiver with you and use it as though it were in a fixed location and are already paying for the service then it seems like continuing to do so makes some sense.

Getting used to sighting in the dish should not be ahuge deal and it does get easier the more you do it,I can do it without any aides in about a minute usually but I do use a dedicated meter and sight survey tool to get it optimized and to make it look like I am actually doing something that I can charge for!

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Old 12-02-2011, 11:54 AM   #10
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Dish

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How much does Dish cost per month?
All of my customers have either Directv or Cable as the picture quality with Dish seems soft when on a huge TV.

If you can just take a receiver with you and use it as though it were in a fixed location and are already paying for the service then it seems like continuing to do so makes some sense.

Getting used to sighting in the dish should not be ahuge deal and it does get easier the more you do it,I can do it without any aides in about a minute usually but I do use a dedicated meter and sight survey tool to get it optimized and to make it look like I am actually doing something that I can charge for!

Ed
We only have a 15" LCD TV in the trailer and have never had any issue with signal quality. At home we have 32 " TVs and have never noticed any softness there either.

As to aligning the Dish on the road, we simply set the angle and rotate it until we get a signal. We have a dish that has electronic angle read out.

As to Dish cost it varies from $29/month and up depending on the package you choose and the types of equipment. I believe we pay about $50 a month plus the distant channels.
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Old 12-02-2011, 12:58 PM   #11
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I think the answer is whether or not you listen to satellite radio in your car or something
else. If you can live with the else then you can live w/out satellite tv. With the new HD channels you have more over the air choices. Just get a HD antenna....
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Old 12-02-2011, 02:03 PM   #12
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HD Channels

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I think the answer is whether or not you listen to satellite radio in your car or something
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
else. If you can live with the else then you can live w/out satellite tv. With the new HD channels you have more over the air choices. Just get a HD antenna....


One problem with over the air HD is that you are mostly limited to the network channels. Also TV antennas seem to work best in the East where the population densities are much higher. As one gets away, antennas are less of a solution.

With the rapid growth in Internet speed I expect traditional TV, either via cable or Satellite, will decrease in numbers of users with everyone using the Internet as their 'watching' medium. It turns out that from 6PM to 10PM, 60% of Internet traffic is Netflix, Hula or the like.

Normally I mount my sat dish on the roof of my RV. I have not done it because in 2 years I expect I'll get all TV over Verizon 4G wireless.

By the way many of the Sat radio music channels are available on dish.
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Old 12-02-2011, 02:11 PM   #13
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I think the answer is whether or not you listen to satellite radio in your car or something
else. If you can live with the else then you can live w/out satellite tv. With the new HD channels you have more over the air choices. Just get a HD antenna....
Huh?

There is no such item as a n HD Antenna,the signals are all there and as always the more metal in the air or the better the antenna the better your reception will be.

There are more broadcast in the UHF band than before the Digital transition but they are all still just VHF and UHF signals and any existing antenna for TV reception will work now too.

There can be no fair comparison between over the air and Cable or Sat as there is just such limited choice with OTA and it is entirely dependent on your proximity to the signal.

I am not sure what radio has to do with this?

Also internet streaming is just too bandwidth intensive right now and it is going to be a while before any wireless broadband really addresses that I think.
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Old 12-02-2011, 02:56 PM   #14
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Jool,

I carry a VuQube satellite dish. It's not automatic but rather remote so I don't have to stand out in the elements to sight it to the satellite in the sky. With a fancy dish like mine or a simple satellite dish all you need to know is the elevation and direction to set the dish to to get the connection with the satellite in the sky.

dishpointer.com and arachnoid.com/satfinder.com are two good websites for nearly any place in the US and Canada.

I have found in my years of traveling that lots RV parks don't have cable. I like State Parks and find that the majority of them do not have cable. I like having the option of either cable or satellite connection.

Trees blocking the view to the satellite in the sky or a very bad electrical storm are the only things, in my experience, that causes problems with getting a signal/reception.
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Old 12-02-2011, 03:07 PM   #15
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Thanks! I'm getting lots of good info here. I so appreciate all of you.
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Old 12-02-2011, 06:40 PM   #16
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Dish has it's own version of the Vu Cube, It is called the Tailgater and cheaper than the Vu Cube. The Tailgater sells for about $350 on line. The Tailgater only works with a certain model reciever so make sure you have the correct receiver. Dish sells the Tailgater and reciever both for about $500. You can go to the dish website and read up on the tailgater. My vote is for Sat. TV
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Old 12-02-2011, 07:18 PM   #17
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Dish has it's own version of the Vu Cube, It is called the Tailgater and cheaper than the Vu Cube. The Tailgater sells for about $350 on line. The Tailgater only works with a certain model reciever so make sure you have the correct receiver. Dish sells the Tailgater and reciever both for about $500. You can go to the dish website and read up on the tailgater. My vote is for Sat. TV
Eddie
Thanks Eddie! I can see that my vote will continue to be for satellite TV; probably Dish since that is what I have always had.
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Old 12-02-2011, 10:41 PM   #18
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Just a note:

The VuQube, for just a little more $$, will work on both Dish and DirecTV without purchasing a specific receiver just use the one they give you.
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Old 12-02-2011, 11:00 PM   #19
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Thanks Joy!
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