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ncted
join:2010-10-25
Durham, NC

ncted to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3

Re: He's the boss...

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

sleuth3
Premium Member
join:2001-08-30
West Des Moines, IA

sleuth3

Premium Member

said by ncted:

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

Not for the HD dishes. I've been told by two different installers this is no longer an issue. Don't have to worry about any obstructions anymore.
Hanko
join:2001-12-28
Eatonville, WA

Hanko

Member

All satellite TV signals are still "Line of Sight" given the power levels at the receiving end. If you have trouble believing this try offsetting your dish by just 5 degree's in any direction and see if you have reception. Or try standing in front of the dish and see what happens.

The installers were probably indicating they did not have to be as precise at aligning the dish since the satellites are now transmitting at a higher power. This allows a greater range of misalignment but it does not mean you can have a building in the way. You won't be able to point your dish at a distant building and hope the reflection of the signal off of it will be enough to get service. You will still need line of sight.
ncted
join:2010-10-25
Durham, NC

ncted to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
said by sleuth3:

said by ncted:

said by sleuth3:

While I agree Dish is cheaper, I moved from Dish to DirecTV a couple years ago. I'm 100% more satisfied. Dish still used line of site back then, better video quality, and overall satisfaction with the customer service.

Line of sight is required for Directv as well, so I don't understand your comment.

Not for the HD dishes. I've been told by two different installers this is no longer an issue. Don't have to worry about any obstructions anymore.

Don't believe everything you are told. Also, Directv suffers from rain fade more than Dish due to its use of Ka band signals, so dish pointing IS still important for Directv customers.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
The wider HD dishes might be easier to align but obstructions are still a problem. While there are lots of factors as to why obstructions are still a problem, two seem to be on the short list:

1) The transmitters are ~25,000 miles above the equator. In free space (the vacuum of space), an RF signal degrades by 1/4 every time the distance doubles. Since the distance is significant, the signal is not very strong by the time it reaches a base station.
2) They use very high frequencies (above 10Ghz). In general, higher frequencies do not penetrate obstructions as easily as lower frequencies.
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23 to sleuth3

Member

to sleuth3
You were fed a line a BS. I have Directv, first its much better than Dish, but as for line of sight both require it. Obstruction like trees and leaves do in fact cause issues. I had Directv installed 4.5 years ago. Until my LNB just failed I had gone over year without an outage. The reason is a nice install in which they made sure no line of sight issues like swaying trees or roof peaks would cause issues.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru to rradina

MVM

to rradina
said by rradina:

The wider HD dishes might be easier to align but obstructions are still a problem.

The width of the dish has less to do with ease of alignment (or otherwise increasing signal strength). It's with allowing multiple satellites in different orbital locations to reflect their signal to one or more focal points close to each other in front of the dish. If it was about ease of alignment, then keeping the big ugly dishes of yesteryear would have made things even easier to align.