Since the purchase of direct tv by AT&T the service from my perspective has got so bad I am getting a divorce from them. I will be left with one option DISH, there will be learning curve and a lot of work to make it happen. When we built our coach we specified direct because it worked well and that's what was in our 3 prior coaches. Come to find out it's not a easy switch, I have a traveler for direct and a tracvision in motion set up for direct. I will have to convert the traveler for about 300.00 and from there it only gets worse. Because we use the dvr daily as we travel and the fact that all 4 of the televions are controlled by the iPad with many interfaces software is going to be written by firefly to make it all work seamlessly as It did at delivery. With two dvr systems that are operated by the house WiFi and controlling of each tv and all the recordings along operating everything through the system it's about a 3 thousand dollar conversion when finished. With pride being what it is, there is no going back now. Programming has began and the parts are ordered. So if you have a late model coach and think of changing and want to keep all the bells and whistles get ready to spend some money. Seemed things were a lot simpler in 1980.
Wow!!
The direct tv guys in Costco were really aggressively promoting their service over my wired service at our home.
My understanding is that Dish can be started and stopped for shorter terms I hope is correct?
After 15 yrs of service with DTV in our home my
wife and i dumped them. 200 ch and couldnt
find anything to watch a lot of times.
We put a 40 dollar antenna on the roof
and get 19 free channels. Now 3 years later
im still happy with this decision.
I get offers weekly in the mail still from
them. wanting me to come back.
This was us of course.. YMMV
The older i get the more technology frustrates me.. Especially built in obsolesence.
True, we have the 'Tailgater' system and have canceled and re-upped many short times and up to six months. A simple call works fine; nice people, all speak English. They charge $5.00 a month to keep you in the system. ^.^d
We had Dish for 20 years or so at our S&B. Actually had an 8.5' c-band dish for a few years. Used Dish while we were full timing but found we weren't watching much. When we bought our current S&B we now are streaming what we want when we want (WWWWWW as the younger generation likes to use abbreviations). In the FT we use the OTA antenna when available or watch movies from our large collection. Or as I prefer, just read from the hundreds of books I've downloaded from Kindle.
Dropped the home phone almost 20yr ago and dropped tv almost 6yrs ago.. dont miss either..
Dont see why people waste time with TV... Crap in Crap out...I have my own reality show in my life so dont need to watch anyone else.
Have to say there is not a lot of good programming on most satellites and broadcast TV but it's nice to get the weather and watch for any alerts in your area.
If you have a WiFi card, there are free or low cost alternatives like Acorn, MHz and even Netflix where much of the programming is high quality from the U.K., Europe, OZ and NZ. Acorn even gives you free local news from many stations is the U.S. and overseas.
Yes, we dumped our Tailgater long ago.
Pierce
We like the 'classics':
Yes, nothing like Robert Osborn when he was hosting Turner Classic Movies! Love the old B&W Perry Mason too. 1939 was the best year films ever had with 1940 close behind.
Pierce
We dumped DTV a couple of years ago after 20+ years due to the lack of customer service. We now have a Dish Mobil account. It allows us to change our locals and make programming changes in line online. As others have said you can also turn it on and off if you don't need it for a while.
I feel for you, it's aggravating to have to go through all the changes just to watch Tv, not to mention the expense. The TV over the internet is a good option as long as you have an internet connection and unlimited data.
Good luck on your quest getting everything to talk to each other.
"Seemed things were a lot simpler in 1980."
Yeah and you had to get up and change the channels, got more exercise that way. 😁😁😁
Roland
I have had Direct since I think they started. I guess I have not had any dealings with them to see if better or worse. I read all of the horror stories tho.
What did they do to you Ahall?
I feel your pain, I went through a similar frustration about a 2 month's ago. I am still shaking my head in disbelief.
We have an in-motion also for travel, and a Traveler for HD when parking.
You realize you don't have to change out the Traveler? Dish will be HD on a dome dish. I would sell the traveler, buy a Winegard T4 in-motion, it will do both. That is my plan. I see them on the internet for $600.00-$800.00.
Our DTV contarct comes up in March, we will see what they will do for us, or it's by, by to them.
Here was my posting:
Directv nightmare (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=35372.0)
If there was any way to get NASCAR without DTV or Dish I would dump DTV in a heartbeat. We can get a great deal from Spectrum in our area, but can't get enough cable to follow the coach. Maybe the streaming is an option but out of my skills to get it on the TV.
If you are worried about missing anything i can help....left hand turn... another left hand turn and so on...
I mentioned this before but if you have WiFi then get a Roku. Connect it up and you have free TV (also can watch subscription sites). We watch stuff on at almost exclusively. You can get YouTube on it and that has just about everything uploaded to it. There is always someone, including the networks, uploading the latest programs to it. In addition to regular TV there are an uncountable number of videos on how to do anything. Latest addiction is Thomas Johnson Antique Restoration's videos. After he finishes an incredible job his Yankee enthusiasm rises to "Looks pretty good" As a Yorkshireman he is a man after my own heart.
Keith
Roku (https://www.roku.com/)
https://www.youtube.com/user/johnsonrestoration/videos
Yep, but I want to know who is making the turns and how fast is he making them. My sentiments on golf, hit the ball go chase it and hit it again until it falls in a hole, then repeat.
I'm also curious of what the issue actually was. We haven't had any issues with AT&T on the road nor DTV in our home. In fact we have had fewer service interruptions with DTV than we did with Charter/Spectrum.
My traveler in the coach is kaput and has to be replaced. So we are trying out a stand alone manual setup. (to be delivered next Wednesday) With the new restrictive throttled back cell accounts they call unlimited. One can be unlucky in a heavy use snowbird area and get stuck with old modem speeds.
OR, 'NO MODEM SPEEDS', which happens to us when all you Snow/Rain Birds come in after a long cruise and overload our el cheapo, badly set up wi-fi network. :D We had to sit my Uncle Jack, owner of the KOA Flagstaff down years ago and explain to him what 'campers' wanted these days. He was dragged, screaming ,into reality!
I've hired and fired them all... Pees in a pod I say. Always better offers for new subscribers than a 10 year customer, pees me to no end. I have a ROKU rig and Direct with in motion on the coach I have now Keith but haven't tried to use it yet.. I will get one of the young uns to get it running for me I suppose.. I have no interest in tech but like a couple hours tv before bed. I never would get 1 out of the 4 tvs on that Ahall has in his rig.
That's why I can't see solely relying on cell service and streaming multiple Gig's per day for Telly or Tunes.
I figure that we have paid for 7 months of DTV service by using a black out curtain and curtain rod from Home Depot $50 for the front windshield and NOT having a 1CB MCD remote control day/night shade system installed.
Ahall, We have had Directv for 20 years and it works quite well for us. All systems have issues. Our Winegard Traveler finds all 3 sats everytime, our SWM Geni works fine. Looks like you understand SWM and should be able to get your stuff together. Nice to be able to record some internet on-demand sources.
What problems are you having that are making you leave what you understand? The next choice may have its own problems.
"Tis better to light one candle than curse the darkness"
I guess I don't understand the rejection of technology by the generation that created it. Why not embrace it for what it is, the new paradigm, and bend it to your needs. Whether it's directv, ip protocols or cyberknife these technologies have changed the world for the better. No, I don't long for the old days, they would be dark days for me for without modern tech I would be blind.
Yet Chuck. I see so many blindly jumping at high tech solutions for low tech non-problems. Like my example of the MCD shades. A CB for the windshield simply because a person can't get their ever growing back side out of a chair to walk 3 feet and draw the shades.
Tech is great. But tech just for the sake of tech can make a simple thing more complicated, expensive and problematic than it was before the tech.
The tech in cars is the number one reason for bringing a vehicle in for warranty work. The voice command in my Garmin GPS is utter nonsense and is simply a tech gimmick that you think you need because it's new and all the cool kids use it. It's usually faster to just type in my request.
True enough Bigdog. You've got to pick and choose and much tech is just needless noise. But the generational longing for a simpler age is questionable to me. Yep, it was easier when you saddled up old Bessie and rode to town, assuming most of the residents weren't dead from the latest cholera or flu epidemic.
What caused me to NEVER have GPS were two stories: A elderly couple was told by 'the nice lady' about a shortcut from the south to Flagstaff which turned out to be a 4-wheel drive wagon track. They got high centered, he hiked for help and died along the way, she was rescued by some ATV folks. The other was some friends of mine that were told of a 'shortcut' to get from I-5 in Portland to I-84 eastbound. They had a Prevost with toad and found themselves in downtown Portland at rush hour! I remain a 'paper Atlas' traveler. ^.^d
AHall, I feel your pain. We have Dish with the Travler and it has been acceptable. We have Dish at home and ordered an extra Hopper and Joey for the coach for very little more. We hook it to a dish on the shop when it's parked inside at home so the DVR will keep recording. That has a worked well for us. We sometimes wind up where we need to use different satellites and usually just don't bother with making it work, although it wouldn't be that difficult I suppose. ATT support is pretty worthless. I spent over an hour recently getting two accounts combined and then had two more calls that were more than an hour each getting what they messed up the first time corrected. On my last call I got some Texas redneck who spoke English as a first language and he said "dang, this thing is all messed up" and proceeded to get it fixed.
With the other options (Amazon, Roku and Apple TV) all available in the coach we don't use sattelite as much as we used to, but there are times when the cell signal isn't that good despite the booster on the roof. I just hate spending what we do to own the coach and not have satellite available if we want to flip channels.
I look at the route on paper or Google maps prior to using the GPS and ignore it and let it reroute on the fly. The RV 770 I use has my coaches width, length, Height, Weight in it so it will not route me to any suspect areas where clearance or tight turns would be an issue. So like Reagan, I trust but verify.
You have to research brands and apps before purchasing or a GPS can be a real headache. We find that GoogleMaps, Here and Maps.Me are excellent and FREE. They work almost anywhere in the world and don't require an internet connection except to download new maps. TomTom and Sygic are also good paid alternatives. All of the above work on smart phones and tablets. Try using a paper map while driving/walking in Cairo or Istanbul.
I use Avare and Fltplan on phone and tablet to navigate while flying. Both excellent and free. On a trip across the U.S., I had three GPSs running as sub zero temps (on takeoff, lower at altitude) make any mistake fatal in winter. The latest sectionals are downloaded when online and will show any restricted areas for fires, football games, etc. All FREE.
With an internet connection (MiFi card), they overlay NEXRAD weather radar on the screen.
And for boaters, a GPS takes almost ALL the work out of navigating. How many today (or yesterday) can use sight reduction tables?
Sure, we use paper maps/atlases to plan and watch our progress but while in the coach, the GPS is a good backup, especially in a unfamiliar city.
For those unhappy with satellite programming and support (me), FTA satellite is free and available all over the planet.
Pierce
We have a garmin '770 and for the most part it works well enough, what I cannot get over is the "no RV info" as soon as I turn it to a state park or RV park. One would think that when I do the update on express that my updated info vis a vis "no RV info" might show up, sadly no. Baffled 😮
Mick
Yes, technology is a good backup. I love progress, but change for the sake of change is typically a waste of time. Got rid of the satellite TV service about 12 years ago or in other words about $14,400 dollars ago. Don't miss it, wish I would have punted it years earlier. Sirus radio for the coach if I could subscribe in week increaments.
Yes those work great on my iphone. EXCEPT that I have not been able to increase the font size within those programs. I only need reading glasses and I can't drive with those on. So I find the Iphone route guidance useless as the text is so bloody small. On our sooby's starlink. I can get the maps to display from the iphon. But then the ipod function of the phone goes away. and I don't do radio, So Garmin is it.
Two stories.
When digital television was first coming out we looked at the new televisions in Wal-Mart. An employee was raving about how much better the new sets were than what we had. I asked him if the new sets had better shows than the old ones. At first he said yes. Then he figured out what I was asking and said, "No, you will have the same programs as you have now, but the pictures will be a lot better." I asked, "Then what's the point?" and walked away.
When we're traveling in the Foretravel Jo Ann has the proper State's highway map out, her iPad and her iPhone going. She has already programmed the initial route into my iPhone, which is plugged into the radio and gives me directions. Sometimes she decides that the general route is fine, but she wants to change it a bit, so she tells me to turn the radio down and she will give me directions. When we're in places where there is heavier traffic and/or a highway change I ask her to divide her eye time between the maps and the outside world as sometimes the voice on the speaker isn't as precise as I'd like it to be.
I agree about the new. Drove from Vegas to south Orange County today in the afternoon in our 08 ls460.
Waze and road overhead electronic signs said road closed to la? .WHAT.
So asked nav system for alternate routes. Thankfully we were at the last cop turnaround.
Turned around took the route to pahrump Nevada then to Baker. 70 extra miles.
Listening to satellite radio. Nav system showing turns and miles. Wife texting her business people handling issues as we drove. Cars automatic windshield wipers coming on as needed. automatic air conditioning self adjusting, insulated glass lowering noise in car, heated/Air condioned seats, articulated drivers side windshield wiper, auto open and close windows and moonroof.
27 mpg at nearly 90.
Like most here I lived in the "old days" not interested in going back.
My cell phone rang and the cars systems allowed me to talk handfree.
12 way power leather seats.
Aqua hot. Gel batteries. Inverters. Solar. Diesel gens. Dual pane windows.....
I already have the Garmin (and it works great) I also have an Iphone, Imac, And the Asus for VMSpc. I do have an old Gen 1 Ipad that while it works just fine. It's not upgradable to the latest IOS and so has become unstable. I like tech, But I don't want to have to do a juggling act. Let's see I need this tech for that function and this other tech for another function over there. It becomes (to me) self defeating to need tech to tell me what tech I need for certain issues. I don't want the already long coach pre/post-flight check list to get even longer.
OK, if you want larger print, bluetooth to your radio, an excellent built in GPS receiver, AMOLED screen that Apple has not implemented yet, an SD card, consider an Android tablet like the Samsung TAB S, S2, S3. Available in several sizes, it works really well. I also use an iPad 3 and love it. It just does not have the receiver. Earlier iPads work well but need an external receiver. Note that only a few external receivers will work with an iPad. Garmin's GLO is one.
The huge plus is the cost on the used market with typical used models available on Craigslist in the $100-$200 price range.
The photos attached show the receiver capability while inside our house in the middle of a storm. All apps/apks are free. The map photo is of Avare, a free aircraft navigation app. It does show the highways and features a weather overlay. I have the weather in a light transparency so the ground/highways etc. can be easily seen. Anyone can download and use at no cost. You do need an internet connection for the weather to be included.
There is also a new navigational app/apk coming out with turn by turn directions with a NEXRAD overlay that will change your route depending on the weather. Not free but pretty low cost: TurnCast Is A Sat-Nav App With Predictive Weather Smarts To Reroute You... (https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/10/turncast/) . Again, you will need an internet connect to get the live weather.
The other photo is all the satellites that are available including the GPS U.S. satellites as well as the Russian GLONASS satellites. Having both to use for navigation makes the accuracy and availability much better in big cities with tall buildings, bad weather and forests with the sky partially blocked.
A actual photo of Avare in operation is available for anyone interested.
Pierce
Funny how life outlook changes: I used to like 'bell & whistles' in audio and then, irrigation. Now, I care nothing for that: I am a member of Brett's club: "KISS". ^.^d