Who Provides the Service?
TV satellite service to the United States is provided by two companies, DIRECT TV satellite TV and DISH Network. Both have comparable packages of programs and cost about the same. All of DIRECTV's regular programs come from one single satellite but DISH Network splits them between two satellites. That complicates things because the antenna must be properly aligned to receive both at the same time and the receiver has to switch back and forth depending on what channel you are watching. Additionally, certain dishes are not compatible with DISH Network- a problem that DIRECT TV subscribers do not have to worry about. Therefore we recommend DIRECTV for all RV owners and the following will pertain to DIRECT TV satellite TV hardware and programming for the most part.
What Equipment is Required?
If you currently have a system in your home you can use a receiver from the house or you can buy an extra one for your RV. Receiver prices range from $49 for standard receivers to close to $500 for the High Definition DVRs. Make sure to get a receiver that is designed specifically for the broadcast service provider (DIRECTV or Dish) that you have chosen for the reason that they are not interchangeable. Additionally, each receiver must have its own access card. You cannot move access cards from one receiver to another because they are tied by the serial number.
New subscribers can currently get a dish and one or more receivers "free" from American Satellite & Entertainment by agreeing to a DIRECT TV programming commitment. American Satellite will equip up to four rooms in your home for free, which means a single dish and one receiver per room. If you need a five or six room system we also have those. You will be required to pay an additional lease fee of $4.99 per month for each additional receiver whether you use it or not so don't buy more than you need. The typical installers as a rule will not install on a RV for free but American Satellite has great deals on these installations. Call (888) 999-7331 for details.
Keep in mind that there is an issue with moving the dish from home to RV and back because of the alignment required so most people buy a second dish for the RV. The least expensive dish to buy is a standard dish and something to mount it on such as a tripod. Additionally, we frequently have these dishes at great deal in our bargain basement section so keep checking back often.
As mentioned above- the most popular way to mount a dish is on a tripod. Contact us for more details if you are interested in a tripod set-up. Another option is a portable folding RV dish. Winegard makes several nice ones that you can buy from American Satellite. We offer a manually aligned one and a digitally aligned one. These are the most affordable solutions for RV owners.
Then there are permanent roof mounted dishes, either manual or with semi-automatic or automatic alignment, and "in-motion" roof systems that can automatically track the satellite as you drive down the road. These are more expensive but much easier to use. Roof mounts sometime have problems because of trees blocking the satellite signal. Therefore, some people have both.
What Programming Subscription is Required?
DIRECTV offers several programming packages. When you buy a system under one of the package plans that offer free equipment you sign a one-year or two-year service contract. After the period is up you have the option to continue on a month-to-month basis. Since you most likely will not have a telephone line connected to the RV receiver you will not be able to use certain DIRECT TV satellite TV program packages and features such as pay-per-view.
RV owners have the option of filing a Mobile Vehicle Declaration Of Intent stating that the system is being used exclusively in an RV. Doing this allows DIRECTV to offer nationwide access to all. |
