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My wife and I are going to get Direct TV in our coach.

She has contacted Direct but can't seem to get a good answer.

Does Direct have DVR's available for RV's?

I was told Dish does not offer a DVR system.

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Both Dish and DirecTV have DVR's but there's not such thing as a DVR for an RV. DirecTV has and HR24 which is a dual tuner DVR or the Genie which has 5 tuners. The Genie requires special DirecTV SWM hardware so you need to ensure your antenna setup is capable of providing that signal.

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I went through this experience with DTV last year and found it very painful. If you contact Direct TV and tell them you want a box for your MH to add to your existing account you will get passed to multiple people who will not have any cogent answers other than you need a separate account for your DTV MH. The easy way is to take an existing registered box on your account and move it to your MH but you won't get your local channels once you move out of your home zip code satellite spot beam. I'm not certain of the legality of this approach so caveat emptor. If you want to go full legit you can contact one of the Winegard installers and they can set you up with a box and a new DTV account - not certain how local channels are handled.

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We have the Direct TV Genie DVR. It is compatible with the Winegard Traveler Satellite receiver.

The Genie will also work with a dome if you add the SWM hardware. You just can't receive the DirecTV HD programming via any dome.

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We have had a Directv account for years at our S&B. This year we upgraded our coach to Directv HD with the Winegard Traveler. We added a new DVR to the front, and moved the old receiver to the rear TV. We called Directv told them we wanted to add the new DVR to our account. We just called it another room, so both coach receivers are part of our S&B account. The winegard installer configured it to the new dish appropriately.

When we travel, to keep our local channels, we simply call Directv and change our service address to the park where we are staying. By the time we get off the phone, we are receiving the new channels. As snowbirds, this works well for us since we tend to stay at a park for a month or so at a time. When traveling, we don't bother changing service address, but just use the antenna for locals.

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The Genie will also work with a dome if you add the SWM hardware. You just can't receive the DirecTV HD programming via any dome.

I didn't know about this issue before we ordered our new Phaeton, we are getting the in motion Satalite. I'm hoping that we can get the Genie with the in motion. By what you are saying I should be able to, I'm assuming direct tv will have this hardware.

Thank you very much for the information.

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I didn't know about this issue before we ordered our new Phaeton, we are getting the in motion Satalite. I'm hoping that we can get the Genie with the in motion. By what you are saying I should be able to, I'm assuming direct tv will have this hardware.

Thank you very much for the information.

The installer "should" have this hardware but DTV installers have not needed to use it for a year or 2 since the release of the home dishes with SWM built in. They are not going to have a clue how to hook it up in an RV so you might want to check around before you get started to ensure the person doing the work is willing to do the work.

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We have Direct TV and use one of our home recievers for our motor home. We are just finishing up our first snow bird trip . For about 10 times over the past 4 months we had address changes to pick up local channels. Tonight they refused to change our location stating it is a FCC violation to do this. They said we have to fill out a affidavit for DNS. OH, that will be another $15 a month.

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We have just started with Direct TV and have found the experience to be painful. A very substantial majority of employees and supervisors have no clue regarding RV installations. All employees are very friendly and pretend to be helpful, but it is clear they have no idea what you are talking about when you try to discuss RV's. However, once you finally end up with the right person the process is suddenly very simple. It just takes a lot of patience and some firm discussions.

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That's when you hang up and call back again. That's the "Party Line" but it is not the only option available as you have found to be true in the past.

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We do not have satellite TV in our MH, but thinking about it.  From what I am hearing, you need to call in each location you're staying at in order to receive satellite TV.  Is that the case, or am I missing something?  Seems to me that would get quite old after awhile.   HELP me to understand how this all works. 

If someone already has asked this question, then I missed it.  

Thanks,

Tilldee

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No need to call in your location with Direct TV. We hit the power button on our interface box after leveling the coach  and the Winegard Traveler on the roof locks onto the three satellites , usually quickly. There are no local channels when you are out of your home area. You can spend extra $ to get the major networks on an east coast or west coast feed or just endure inferior park cable for the big four. 

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We travel from place to place regularly and never have called anyone.  Our satellite dish is automatic, it locates the satellite and locks on automatically.  Once that is done we have all our TV channels.  Many of the systems that are available today are automatic.  Many years ago we carried a fixed dish with us and I used to go outside and set it up.  I knew the general direction to look for the satellite and had an instrument that hooked to the dish to let me know when I had the dish aimed at the satellite.  Then we would hook up the TV and Louise would let me know what the signal strength was as I fine tuned the aiming of the satellite.  Those were the old days, you can still operate this way and we see some fixed dishes set up by RV's still today.  If you don't move frequently, this method isn't cumbersome but if like we, you move frequently you will find an automatic dish to be much more convenient. 

Of automatic systems there are some you can take outside and place them on the ground and connect the cable to the coach input connection.  They allow you to move the dish from one place to another on your campsite.  This is useful as trees will block the satellite signal.  With a dish fixed on the roof of the coach, you have to move the entire coach to work around trees.  Location of utilities, size and orientation of the parking space will limit how far you can move and where you can place your dish.  We've occasionally been in campgrounds where we simply couldn't get around the trees and had to live with local TV off the antenna.

We don't get local TV off satellite but can get that off the antenna if we are close enough to a TV market.  I have heard of people who want local TV off the satellite and you can call the company to get that signal.  This would be something that you might do if you moved seasonally or very seldom.  Local TV stations are broadcast via spot beam so you can only receive them in a small area near the local market.  There are major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.) which are available nationwide and you can subscribe for those.  You have to complete an application and submit it to the satellite TV company to certify that your installation is in an RV or Truck.  You will be asked to select which market you wish to receive.

That's about it.  Get an automatic system that meets your needs and budget, sign up for the services you want with Dish TV or DirecTV and you are set.

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7 hours ago, Tilldee said:

We do not have satellite TV in our MH, but thinking about it.  From what I am hearing, you need to call in each location you're staying at in order to receive satellite TV.  Is that the case, or am I missing something?  Seems to me that would get quite old after awhile.   HELP me to understand how this all works. 

If someone already has asked this question, then I missed it.  

Thanks,

Tilldee

What you are referring to is having to call DirecTV (or Dish) to receive the Network programming.  That's the big 4...ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox....plus a few others sometimes.  As long as you stay within a few hundred miles of home (an estimate) you likely will not have to call to receive this channels but if you travel much farther you have 2 choices.  You can use your OTA TV antenna to receive the Networks (what I do when I am only staying in one location for a day or 4) or you have to call DirecTV, give them your current address and have them changing your "SERVICE ADDRESS" (never change your billing address).  In a few minutes you will be watching the Networks closest to your location.

ALL OTHER CHANNELS are available everywhere you travel and no service call is required.

Let me know if that's not clear or if you need additional information.

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Bill,

Good advice. Let me add one more thing. Be sure to call you provider when you return to your home base. If not you might wonder why you are not receiving you home channels when you are home. Been there done that.:wub: I have made it a practice to call the provider when we are getting close to home and changing back to home address.

Herman 

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Our experience with DirecTV is not to call their line before 3:30 PM Central time. Before then it seems the folks east of the Big Muddy that answer don't comprehend that one is in a RV and want their service switched to their present location.

We have been accused of trying to defraud DirecTV by getting reception in one area and having a billing address in another location, not knowing what we were doing, changing something and now not getting any signal, and the list goes on.

Call after 3:30 Pm and you will usually get someone west of the Mississippi that understands what you are trying to do, and that you do NOT want the "special" RV package that costs more $$$.

 

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On 3/12/2014 at 3:12 PM, PKSCHAF said:

Thank you!! This will make my wife extremely happy..

Before you make your wife too happy, be sure you have a new HD Direct TV satellite receiver. If you have the inverted bowl type receiver on the roof, it is not HD and it will not work with the HD receiver "Genie" ect.  You must have a stand up unit to reach the new HD satellites.  The new HD satellites require different satellites thus a new receiver. There is talk that they will be retiring the non-HD satellites in a couple of years, but no one knows for sure.

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On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 1:55 PM, kaypsmith said:

I have Direct TV, and I have a Direct DVR in my coach. Works well!! It is the same unit as used in my home.

What antenna do you have for the rv?

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