DirecTV: (1) HD?; (2) Splitting with home account

[BugsyJ]

I've seen a few forums on part one of this subject, but nothing that recent. A couple of questions:

1) Has anyone found a solution for getting HD channels on their trailer through DirecTV? We are most interested in an antenna that we would set up with the rest of our camp, but would consider permanently mounting one on the roof if that's the best option.

2) For folks who have DirecTV in their homes as well, are you able to share a single account, and thereby only pay one monthly fee or do you have to pay double for the two set-ups?

Thanks

[Jim Foster]

If you get a portable dish and take your box from home you should be good to go. We have Dish network, however, we have several friends who subscribe to Direct and this works for them.
You will, of course, have to learn to set up the dish.

[BugsyJ]

Thanks. I'm wondering if I can get Hi Def through DirecTV or just standard definition.

[jkcru]

The answer is yes, but u must use the type of antenna that is usually mounted on your roof. The antenna can be portable if u desire. The RV service is only an additional receiver, It must not be part of a genie system.

[VAtom]

Originally Posted by BugsyJ

Thanks. I'm wondering if I can get Hi Def through DirecTV or just standard definition.

You can only get standard def with most portable dishes (like King Quest) because you actually have to lock on to three satellites for HD; 99, 101 and 103, I believe. The King only finds 101.

An additional receiver costs only $6 per month added to your bill, so it's actually a lot cheaper than Dish pay as you go.

[Bhkh226]

Directv charges $5.99 a month for additional box. If you want to look at and touch, camping world has portable dishes, but I suggest you see what you want and then go the Amazon route. You'll save a bunch. Setting up and getting a signal might test your patience a bit, but once you do it once or twice, you'll be a pro. I did it in my tractor-trailer and was able to be up and running in 3-4 minutes.
Good luck!!

[RLS]

We have DirecTV for our house with 3 receivers, all HD. When camping we take one of the receivers and use it in the trailer. I have both the roof top dish that is not HD and a portable one that is HD. Most of the time I end up not being able to use the roof top one due to trees being in the way I have a switch to change from either roof top or portable. At our age, we really do not see much difference in regular or HD so we do like using the roof one for convenience when possible. Price is what we pay for the house set up. Taking one of the receivers with you does not cost any more. HD satellite dish is a tad harder to aim, but sometimes the only way to get signal is to get out from under the trees. I have different length cables to have a distance of about 100' if needed.

[gecko]

We also have Direct TV with two receiver/DVR's at home. Does anyone know if it's possible to take one of the receiver/DVR's and playback pre recorded programs WITHOUT any antenna?

If so, we could set the remaining receiver at home to continue recording, and swap them out in the next trip.

[jayseejay]

Gecko, yes, we take one of our Direct TV receivers on the road just to watch recorded programming on rainy days; no dish for us yet. Joe

[Silverleaf]

We have a dedicated receiver for the rig, but it counts as one of the home receivers and I only pay the monthly charge for the extra receiver. It needs to match whatever antenna you choose. Your home system has a SWM dish with multiple "heads" to receive the 3 satellites as mentioned above. Nearly all of the portable and rooftop dishes are non-SWM, but I've seen at least one that is SWM, but at several times the cost of the others. We settle for SD in the Airstream. This is our version of "roughing it", and so far it hasn't been a problem because we only have a 32" in the rig. The HD really makes a difference at home where the big screen comes into play.

[RVDreamer]

We have a Winegard Traveler Antenna for Directv. It is SWM compatible and can receive HD as well as 3D TV broadcasts. We take an older DVR Receiver from the house and use it in our trailer. No problem and no extra fees other than the normal additional receiver charge.
By the way, you can add or subtract receivers at anytime online. So if you don't want to pay year round you can deactivate the extra receiver when not in use.
The only issue you will have is with network TV channels ABC,CBS,Fox, NBC. These are only broadcast in your local area, if you go outside that area you will lose the networks.

[gecko]

Thanks, Joe!

[Jim Foster]

We have Dish network. When we travel out of our local network area, I call Dish and tell the tech person that we are no longer at zip code (where we were last) and are now at (new zip code". I also tell them that the billing address has not changed. In a few minutes I get the local networks. They always make the change.
Perhaps Direct will do the same.

A tip for setting up a three LNB satellite dish.
Cut a pop can in the middle, into two "cups". Set the dish to the settings for the zip code location. Cover the two outside LNBs. Search for the middle satellite. In my case, that would be 119, as Dish use 110,119 and 129 for our service. After I find 119, I remove the covers and, like magic, all three show up.

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Gillpine]

We can't decide whether to buy a satellite dish or just go with a smart tv and plug-in or whatever. Currently, we do not have a TV (television) in our AS. We've done fine without it but have only been on short trips as we are still newbies. Longer trips might be better with some TV, although we're not totally addicted. I'm sure this has been covered before but tech has changed so much I'd like your opinions on this subject.
1. What size smart television would you consider optimal for a 28 ft Classic?
2. Which plug-in do you use, if any?
We are not very techy! Moderately so.
Thanks1

[wulfraat]

I've been a long time DRIECTV customer and love the service. I have not bothered connecting a dish to the airstream though. Between the DIRECTV iPad app (live streaming of ~30-40 channels), Netflix, Amazon Prime and a bunch of other Apple TV apps we just go with IP TV when on the road. We use the Apple TV to display content on our 28" screen if what we want to watch is not native to the Apple TV device (e.g. DIRECTV).

If wifi is not available or has poor download speeds we use our Verizon or AT&T LTE hotspots in combination with our Wifi Ranger network and Wilson LTE signal booster. Works like a charm.

You should download the DIRECTV iPad / iPhone app and review all the content that is accessible outside the home... It continues to expand as they re-negotiate their content contracts..

[extiger]

We have 3 TVs in our AS and one Direct TV box. We generally have to logon to the Direct TV site to "reenergize" the box if we haven't been out in a while. We have a Winegard Carryout and it works well. We tried the manual dish and sometimes could have it working in 5 minutes and sometimes more than an hour.

Recently purchased an Apple phone app "SATOOLZ DIRECT TV" It shows you the Direct TV satellites locations in the sky so it makes placing the dish much easier. Also easy to check a site before you settle in.

A little while back I was interested in installing the Winegard Traveler on the roof and talked to a professional installer. He advised against it, as HD would not appreciably improve the picture on the size of TVs in the trailer. He also mentioned the problem of line of site for satellite reception and the need to rewire the interior from RG cable to HDMI for HD to work.

[baldwin6601]

I take one of my Directv receiver boxes out of the house and plug it into the Directv portable satellite dish that I bought on Amazon for about $75. I have 100 feet of coaxial cable so I can usually find an open spot for the dish. The antenna on my 22'Sprint pulls in local channels (if there are any where we happen to be camped) and the Directv set up does the rest. A great set up!