TV setup - what do you use?

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TV setup - what do you use?

April 16, 2013, 08:42:01 pm

Have a dome on top of the coach. I do not know if it works or not as we do not have any service and we don't really know if we want it. Seems most times we have cable at the campgrounds we visit and if we don't we have DVDs or Cd's and many times nothing at all. So far that's OK with us. There is so much crap on TV. Sometimes it seems that to have more channels provides more crap. Have read the posts about the Traveler, Mogul and other options that you folks use to watch TV. I have not seen many, if any, posts addressing the portable satellite dish option. It seems to me that if the dish is fixed/installed permanently there will be times where a signal is blocked by trees or bad weather and that causes poor reception. We are truly neophytes with dishes as we have only had cable in our stix and brix. Again - I thank all of you for your input and experience.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #1 – April 16, 2013, 08:52:29 pm

Ummm... all but that last one

Can you edit the poll to allow more than one selection?

We use a roof dish (Winegard Trav'ler) when our site has "a clear view of the southern sky". If it doesn't, we have a portable dish (regular, household-type, modified with a folding LNB arm) from eBay on a Satellite TV for RV - Tripod - Slimline - Dish - DirectTV - RV television - heavy duty tripod (needed in Maine to point through tiny openings in trees). Have used the portable dish for the last 4 summers - 3 in Maine, 1 in Santa Fe, NM.

We use OTA (Jack retrofit head on our Winegard mast) if we're close enough to metro areas for the locals. If not, and if the campground has cable, we'll use cable to get the locals (especially for news, weather, and golf tournament weekend broadcasts).

-M

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #2 – April 16, 2013, 08:52:37 pm

Watch less TV and socialize more, play games, have a camp fire, go hiking, go off-roading, etc...you'll have more of a life...save lots of money.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #3 – April 16, 2013, 09:01:09 pm

Thanks Michelle - Would have liked to have more options.....but.....

Peter - I am more like you. Would prefer to not watch the tube however, the DW likes it on.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #4 – April 16, 2013, 09:04:27 pm

Use OTA or cable where available but mainly just for news/weather, no decent TV anymore just crappy reality shows some of which border on prostitution ( Bachelorette ? ), I am no prude but this ain't entertaining.

Gary B

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #5 – April 16, 2013, 10:09:09 pm

Quote from: Gary Bouland – April 16, 2013, 09:04:27 pm

Use OTA or cable where available but mainly just for news/weather, no decent TV anymore just crappy reality shows some of which border on prostitution

See, now I had you pegged as a "Real Housewives of XYZ" fan

We don't watch any major network TV except local news; but History, Discovery, Golf, and BBC-America are our usual indulgences.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #6 – April 16, 2013, 10:15:42 pm

We have original equipment (1997) TVs in the coach. We have never raised the OTA antenna. We tried a bit of DirecTV, but the unit on the coach was flakey. Six months ago, we canceled all DirecTV. On the road, we don't use the TV. We listen to NPR, surf the 'net, find friends, etc. We get new and weather from the Internet.

At home we watch a lot of TV from OTA using MythTV (geeks' home made DVR).

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #7 – April 16, 2013, 10:19:11 pm

We like to record the music shows and watch local TV for weather when there are storms about, too many years in Tornado Alley.

We have a Winegard Traveler on the roof that works great most times but we have been at an RV Park just west of Saint Augustine where we get a very poor Over the Air network signal and can't get the satellite with the Traveler. Luckily, we have an Winegard Carryout portable dish for just this reason. I found an opening in the trees for the Carryout. We will have been here for two months so having the portable has worked out great for us. I just hooked it up to the Traveler leads going to the DVR.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #8 – April 16, 2013, 10:39:11 pm

We have the original in motion satellite with DirecTV hooked to a DVR . I record anything we want to watch, fast forwarding all commercials. Commercial watching is not in my DNA. I watch mostly movies and my wife likes her favorite series. Every once in awhile the sat is blocked so I carry a DVD selection and a lot of movies on my Mac laptop that I converted from DVD's to a digital file. I don't think I have ever used the OTA antenna more than a couple of times and that was for my wife to watch in the bedroom when she does not like the movie I am watching. Commercials don't seem to bother her.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #9 – April 17, 2013, 01:12:51 am

I took the dish and antenna off the roof for solar room so now and again carry a dish for Canadian TV news and my hockey
John

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #10 – April 17, 2013, 05:43:12 am

I had my OE roof sat (Datron 3000) fail a couple of years ago. I just use a regular house dish (direct TV) on a stand ( which I had to use about half the time anyway due to obstructions), I have a cheap sat locator meter it takes me about 5mins to set it up and works every time. I ran a coax from the reciever out to the bay on the left front. For me as others have said not much on TV any more, the subscription to a sat service is $$$ bad enough, but I'm just going to put $3000.00+ in a dish system on the roof that ends up being blocked by a tree about half the time. Additionally if you then change sat provider changes have to be made to you antenna system.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #11 – April 17, 2013, 07:25:16 am

We manually set up a dish back when they first became available(we've been full-timing for 21 years). We never liked the Datron on the coach, which was always breaking up with dew, trees, etc. We got the Trav'ler when it was introduced and haven't been happier. Two weeks ago was the first time we had to change sites because of one tree in the way.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #12 – April 17, 2013, 08:12:04 am

Quote

See, now I had you pegged as a "Real Housewives of XYZ" fan

We don't watch any major network TV except local news; but History, Discovery, Golf, and BBC-America are our usual indulgences.
Report

Michelle, You are right I was a closet fan oi DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES but only because I thought that at some point there would be some redeeming social value, I was WRONG.
Gary B

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #13 – April 17, 2013, 12:59:05 pm

Michelle, as of last trip, options 1,2,3 & 4. Next trip probably option # 5 because of the current trend in viewing options.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #14 – April 17, 2013, 01:03:49 pm

Quote from: Carol & Scott – April 16, 2013, 09:01:09 pm

Thanks Michelle - Would have liked to have more options.....but.....

I edited the poll to allow up to 4 votes per user - so you can choose 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you do all of those like we do.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #15 – April 17, 2013, 03:28:10 pm

Thanks Michelle - great idea. And thanks again for your assistance.
An interesting side note: I contacted TracStar and we went through the process of determining that the mounted dish does work. That's good. I then contacted Direct TV to inquire about service. Wow - what a tangled mess they have woven. Contract length discounted first year and then another discount the second year, + additional $15.00/month for ABC, NBC etc., NFL, Movies, cancellation of services, yada, yada, yada. I think we will pass. Their process is so complicated my head was swimming. On top of that I would have to hire someone to come to the coach @ $235+/- to bring the equipment, install and activate and if I want a dvr it costs more. An additional problem is that the installer is not able to tell me how much the first bill would be. I think I will pass on this amazing service/offer.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #16 – April 17, 2013, 05:36:50 pm

We watch OTA for news and hopefully a PBS station. Other than that it's a DVD of some BBC series or another. Currently we are watching an old series from the '80s called "Only Fools and Horses" Very funny but I have to be an interpreter all the time as DW doesn't understand the Cockney dialect. Quote from show "Dad was in the navy and all of the ships he was on were torpedoed - one of them after the war"

Was in Escanaba a couple of weeks ago. Motel had 87 channels on the TV. None of them watchable except some local show on hunting where a steady stream of guys came on carrying their trophy antlers describing how they shot the thing. Amazing. There is only so much content and way too many channels to spread it over.

Keith

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #17 – April 17, 2013, 05:42:21 pm

The only time we use OTA or campground cable is when a local station is the only way to watch an NFL game. 90% of the time we use our Motosat HD satellite dish for DirecTV and DVR.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #18 – April 17, 2013, 05:56:56 pm

Over the air and Dish Tailgater. As long as I get to see NCIS, I'm happy!

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #19 – April 17, 2013, 10:57:51 pm

I used a portable starchoice dish with a starchoice receiver for several years and aiming the dish became quite easy. Then, I spent one year being frustrated because I could not seem to reliably aim the dish. I discovered that the problem was caused by an eratic receiver. Starchoice replaced the Receiver as soon as I phoned, however, I was so frustrated that I have not yet turned the new Reciever on. I have had this Receiver for three years, well, maybe next year.

I watch very little "over the air" TV in California because most of the stations broadcast in Spanish and I rather enjoy being outside for warm evenings.

In Canada, where I spent the summer months, my house has Shaw cable.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #20 – April 18, 2013, 12:53:47 am

I have a TracStar "in motion" system and DISH. I also get ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX east and west coast feed ($15/mo). DISH will let you get a additional receiver on your existing home account so you can keep it in your RV for only $5/mo........it great for me! If you are not a full timer, you can get the nationals broadcost channels for a monthly charge as you need them......if you do not travel for a month you can suspend and reinstate later.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #21 – April 18, 2013, 08:25:22 am

Commercial television has replaced quality with quantity. We have OTA and DirecTV in the coach. Our preference is to watch the PBS channels OTA and National Geographic on satellite. Almost all the entertainment shows on commercial TV are enamored with violence, infidelity, mass shootings, ridicule of our law enforcement people, our government, and our moral values. Not worth watching.

Re: TV setup - what do you use?

Reply #22 – April 18, 2013, 04:02:15 pm

Understand.....I only have national channels for an occassional sport games otherwise I watch DISH and then ususally ESPN, Discovery, Travel, NG or similiar channels

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