Getting Dish Equivalent to Directv in RV

I hate to drag the dead horse out and beat on it some more, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s feasible to get rid of Directv and go to Dish. Again…

The house is no issue – hopper, couple joeys, done.

The RV, which has ONE TV, appears to be a bigger problem.

With Directv, I have an HR 24, AM21 and a Winegard 1518. I can record or watch ANY of the SD satellite or OTA channels any time – with a maximum of 2 being concurrently recorded (if I’m not watching a live channel). I can watch a previously recorded show while recording 2. And the 2 can be any combination of satellite and/or OTA channels. So, I can record ANY 2 “local” channels, 1 local and 1 satellite or 2 satellite. Or be recording 1 of anything while watching live of anything. So all the available OTA channels are available all the time, as are all the satellite channels.

I’d LIKE more than 2 channels when on the road, but I could live with 2 if they were at least as flexible as I currently have.

I’ve been told the old 1518 will NOT provide HD in the Dish system though it was originally sold as HD on Dish. Something apparently changed, though I don’t know, or care, what. SO, I’ll replace the Winegard 1518 with a Carryout 3 (or OTHER portable dome) – which I’ve been told WILL do HD in the current Dish world. But it specifically SAYS it will NOT work with a Hopper. Is there some OTHER, portable, HD, dome I should be looking at that WILL work with a Hopper? Not a $2000 roof mount that isn’t going to work where we often are – under trees.

I’ve had an incredibly hard time getting consistent information from Dish (or their distributors) about what I use INSIDE the trailer to provide at LEAST what I’ve currently got with Directv.

I presume Dish does the same thing Directv does, and if I get very far from home I lose MY local channels. Other people say they “just call Dish and they change the service address” so you get the locals wherever you are. That is FINE as long as it does NOT cause a problem for the system at home that IS recording local channels while we’re gone. With Directv when they change the service address on the account it breaks the home system recording.

Can Dish, unlike Directv, do whatever they do so I get the local channels where I am WITHOUT screwing up the home system on my single account? ‘Cause if I have to have two accounts, there’s no way Dish will be cost effective compared to Directv.

I read a couple discussions in here (and gotten a half different answers from Dish) and STILL have no idea which equipment is required to get what I’ve currently got in the RV…

Wally only does 1 channel, no it can do 2. You need a 722. And so on.

And what is DPP/DPH and how does it relate to a Carryout 3? Or does it? Is it something that makes a Carryout work with a Hopper?

SO, HOW do I get at LEAST the same capability I currently have with Directv from Dish AND have it be more cost effective?

 

Thanks for the replies. Since information for Dish has been inconsistent and difficult to get, I wound up asking for advice in a couple places. Mostly the answers are coming in the same. Some critical ones differ…

First the bad news, Dish locals work the same as DTV's locals in that they're both spot beamed and the local market all your receivers are authorized to receive are determined by your current service address.
OK, so Dish is the same @#$%^&* as Directv as far as having locals when traveling without screwing up the home system. Unfortunate, but no worse than Directv. Not better, but not worse.

The next bit of bad news is that none of the automatic portable dome receivers work with any of the Hopper series receivers. The only two options for Hoppers are an automatic aiming RV roof mounted full face dish….or a manually aimed portable tripod mounted residential full face dish.
Again, unfortunate, but same problem as with Directv. None of the portable domes will even DO HD for Directv as far as I’ve found, and it appears none will work with a Genie.

Now for some good news, your Carryout 1518 will indeed work with Dish for HD signals with a Wally or VIP 211 series receiver, but not a Hopper.
I’ve been told that the 1518 will no longer work for HD even with Dish. Something (in theory) got changed a couple years ago that made the “older” 1518s no longer work. I don’t know if it’ll still work for SD for Dish or not. I also don’t know if that information is accurate or not.

I HAVE been told that if I get a “current” dome, like a Pathway X2 (I DON’T want to have the East vs West satellite problem), The Wally WILL record two satellite channels as long as they’re on the same satellite. And from what I’ve been told (again, presuming it’s not inaccurate), most of the “normal” satellite channels are on the same satellite. It appeared that mostly sports and other language channels were on a different satellite, but I

A Wally receiver when used with any of the portable dome dishes can only receive one satellite channel plus two OTA channels with an optional USB adapter. The Wally can also be configured as a DVR with the addition of an external USB hard drive and payment of a one time fee.
This one concerns me as it’s directly contrary to what I’m being told elsewhere – that a Wally CAN concurrently record 2 satellite channels as long as they’re on the same satellite, and that I can record any combination of satellite and OTA channels – two maximum (again, given the limit that the 2 satellite channels have to be on the same satellite).
Which information is correct ‘cause if the Wally is absolutely single channel even with a new dome, it’ll make switching more difficult.

The external HDD is a non-issue. I’ve got 1 and 2 TB HDD sitting around and spare self-powered external carriers.

When used with a full face DPP or DPH equipped dish, it (Wally) can receive two satellite channels plus two OTA channels, again with the OTA adapter.
Does this mean with a tripod-mounted dish the Wally can concurrently record 2 satellite PLUS two OTA channels? Or that it will record a maximum of 2 concurrent channels of satellite, OTA or combination?

From what I saw at the recent RV show here almost all of the RV’s had Dish receivers in them. One of the local salesman said that Dish is the more user friendly satellite provider for RVers, allowing them to just add a receiver to their already existing home account and place it in their RV. D* requires you to get a second account and isn’t as user friendly when it comes to changing locals.
Interesting. I had no problem putting an extra DVR for the RV with Directv. There are a lot of things they do that are undesirable and even repugnant, but having a Genie and minis in the house and an HR-24 in the RV wasn’t one of ‘em…

DISH being an all ku DBS satellite system makes it easier for a small dish ... no ka band satellites. Setting up and aiming a ka dish isn't as easy as aiming a ku DBS dish ... especially if one includes the self aiming dishes that only work on ku DBS.
Can you elaborate on which self-aiming dishes this would be? Is it strictly the fixed roof dishes or are there portable self-aiming domes that fit this criteria?

DISH wants a separate account for the RV - but they promote "tailgating" with an extra receiver on the main account (just don't have your tailgate service running as a second home - the intent is a temporary setup for a day or weekend). DISH tailgaters can change their service location, but not as easily as full time RV accounts. I would not recommend changing the service location for a weekend trip.
It sounds like a second account for the RV isn’t a requirement presuming the “tailgating” usage. So, how do tailgaters change their service location without screwing up the home system?

What is it about the process that you don’t recommend changing the service location for a weekend trip? Does this apply to a multi-week trip to a variety of locations?

It looks like other than all the things that Dish and Directv both make difficult (getting locals, using a portable dome with anything approaching current equipment like a Genie or Hopper), the big concern at this point is finding out what a Wally can for sure actually do with a current portable dome…

 

In an earlier reply, there was this:

A Wally receiver when used with any of the portable dome dishes can only receive one satellite channel plus two OTA channels with an optional USB adapter. The Wally can also be configured as a DVR with the addition of an external USB hard drive and payment of a one time fee.
This one concerns me as it’s directly contrary to what I’m being told elsewhere – that a Wally CAN concurrently record 2 satellite channels as long as they’re on the same satellite, and that I can record any combination of satellite and OTA channels – two maximum (again, given the limit that the 2 satellite channels have to be on the same satellite).
Which information is correct ‘cause if the Wally is absolutely single channel even with a new dome, it’ll make switching more difficult.

This is, I think, the only concern I still have... So can someone confirm that the Wally either WILL or WILL NOT record more than 1 satellite channel as long as they're both on the same satellite?