can I get the new satellite on my equipment...

nope.
The phase III dish will only get the old Ku HD channels.
A Slimline 5 LNB dish is needed [along with the newer receivers] for the new HD channels.

bjlc said:

I currently have the older oval dish. and I have RCA receivers that are at least 5 years old. they came with a round dish..

I was told by Directv when I got the oval dish that I was "HD" ready... but since I don't have an HD TV... what is the use..

what I am asking is, will I get signal from the new satellite? and two, am I missing channels other then HD channels?

thank you for not bashing me on my older equipment.. or for "not knowing" this answer..

Click to expand...

When you got the Oval 3 LNB dish five years ago, it was HD "ready". However, that referred to the old MPEG 2 HD channels in the 70s to 90s. Since then, DirecTV has gone to new satellites (Spaceway 1 & 2, DirecTV 10 & 11) in new locations (99° and 103°) transmitting in a new frequency band (Ka) using a new compression scheme (MPEG 4) requiring new equipment (H20/H21/H23 or HR20/HR21). Also, to see HD you will need an HDTV. You'll see a better quality, sharper picture on a SDTV with the HD receivers, but for the complete HD experience, you'll need to upgrade your TV along with your dish and receiver(s).

To add another point to the above posts; I upgraded my system in stages. I upgraded the dish for free and 1 receiver {they gave me a discount of $100 on a HD DVR HR20) before I even had an HDTV. By doing the receiver upgrade got more memory on my HD DVR than I had with my Tivo. Also, as stated above I believe that the picture was improved. A few months later I upgraded the SD TV to an HDTV.

The only flaw with this setup was that I paid the $10 montly HD access fee without the ability to really see HD. To me it was worth it for the above noted reasons.

P.S. I liked that HR20 enough that after getting the HDTV I upgraded another Tivo to an HR20 (for the same reasons above) and have it connected to a SD TV. I'll probably upgrade that later this year or in the spring.

This worked for me but may not work for all. Just thought I'd throw in my opinion. Good luck with whatever you do.