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Denny,

I think you need to assess your needs.  If you want good "CAMPING" or full channel coverage then I would stick to DirecTV and put in a new Winegard.  They are the same as having an exterior home dish and you get the best resolution.  If you prefer DISH, then I think that Wineguard has a DISH (exterior home size) unit.  Past that, the inmotion ones are all Standard Definition and really not what I want to see if I am sitting in my MH and watching a movie or sports event.

So, if you install in motion, you then give up resolution.  So, unless your "driving" hours outweighs your "relaxing and sitting down and watching hours", then the choice is clear.

I don't know about the Starlink for traveling as to the download speeds versus cell phones or a router that works off a cellphone.  Streaming while in motion would be an option.  I have a few small accounts that stream, like ESPN+ and Netflix.  Disney is the most restrictive....and there are some pending lawsuits.  Disney will NOT let you (maybe on the full DISNEY package?) let you mirror or use an HDMI adapter to play your downstream content over an external monitor. I have the Apple device for my ipad and iphone.  BOTH lock up when you plug in the HDMI out adapter.  OTHER streaming does NOT.  So, the "Sticks" or the wireless devices that plug into a USB port in the TV is the only option.  I do not know if you have upgraded your 2009 TV's....we have the same.  I download NETFLIX to my ipad or stream it live using my phone or the CG (sometimes) WiFI.  I am SURE that the Starlink would work well....just don't know about moving.  There are many threads here about StarLink and it looks like a good choice.  

The real issue is how to get the images on your existing TV's.  I can use an Apple TV device and get all the stuff on the TV....via an HDMI connection.  Thus, if you purchase an Apple device (one for the front and one for the rear), you can get all the video on your TV and NOT be locked into the "Will NOT upload from an ipad to at TV" conflict that I run into.

Bottom line.....you will need to determine if your two TV's have USB and will they support all the "sticks".  If not, then my advice would be this...

If you DO NEED>>>>>absolutely....IN MOTION.  Check out the Starlink.  Get two Apple TV devices and stream through them.  

BUT, if you want the best PARKED resolution, then DirecTV is my first choice and DISH is the second using a Winegard device.  You can STILL stream (you have multiple HDMI on the TV's....or at least the front.  The rear may only have one....so the old DVD would have to be hooked up using a different cabling setup.

Apple TV is the best for streaming into an older, NOT SMART, TV.  

Do some research and then sit down and work through HOW you are gonna get the video into the TV....unless you want to upgrade both TV's and go SMART.  

For me, we don't watch that much anymore.  I have given up my "piggy back" DirecTV receivers and download what we want to watch on our ipads...  If we got serious again....then I would put an Apple TV device on the Front and stream to my heart's content.....LIVE when parked as well as LIVE in motion....using my phone to begin with.....and then if that didn't work and I was bound and determined to have inmotion, then I would try StarLink...

My opinion.  We have gurus here that eat this stuff up and are way over my head....

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4 minutes ago, vegaman19760 said:

We have DISH at our home up north and use the Dish Traveler folding antenna on top of our Coach when traveling (presently wintering in Florida).  Works for us

Exactly what we do too, our home DVR receiver goes with us when on the road. The Traveler works fine with any home receiver.

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3 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

Denny,

I think you need to assess your needs.  If you want good "CAMPING" or full channel coverage then I would stick to DirecTV and put in a new Winegard.  They are the same as having an exterior home dish and you get the best resolution.  If you prefer DISH, then I think that Wineguard has a DISH (exterior home size) unit.  Past that, the inmotion ones are all Standard Definition and really not what I want to see if I am sitting in my MH and watching a movie or sports event.

So, if you install in motion, you then give up resolution.  So, unless your "driving" hours outweighs your "relaxing and sitting down and watching hours", then the choice is clear.

I don't know about the Starlink for traveling as to the download speeds versus cell phones or a router that works off a cellphone.  Streaming while in motion would be an option.  I have a few small accounts that stream, like ESPN+ and Netflix.  Disney is the most restrictive....and there are some pending lawsuits.  Disney will NOT let you (maybe on the full DISNEY package?) let you mirror or use an HDMI adapter to play your downstream content over an external monitor. I have the Apple device for my ipad and iphone.  BOTH lock up when you plug in the HDMI out adapter.  OTHER streaming does NOT.  So, the "Sticks" or the wireless devices that plug into a USB port in the TV is the only option.  I do not know if you have upgraded your 2009 TV's....we have the same.  I download NETFLIX to my ipad or stream it live using my phone or the CG (sometimes) WiFI.  I am SURE that the Starlink would work well....just don't know about moving.  There are many threads here about StarLink and it looks like a good choice.  

The real issue is how to get the images on your existing TV's.  I can use an Apple TV device and get all the stuff on the TV....via an HDMI connection.  Thus, if you purchase an Apple device (one for the front and one for the rear), you can get all the video on your TV and NOT be locked into the "Will NOT upload from an ipad to at TV" conflict that I run into.

Bottom line.....you will need to determine if your two TV's have USB and will they support all the "sticks".  If not, then my advice would be this...

If you DO NEED>>>>>absolutely....IN MOTION.  Check out the Starlink.  Get two Apple TV devices and stream through them.  

BUT, if you want the best PARKED resolution, then DirecTV is my first choice and DISH is the second using a Winegard device.  You can STILL stream (you have multiple HDMI on the TV's....or at least the front.  The rear may only have one....so the old DVD would have to be hooked up using a different cabling setup.

Apple TV is the best for streaming into an older, NOT SMART, TV.  

Do some research and then sit down and work through HOW you are gonna get the video into the TV....unless you want to upgrade both TV's and go SMART.  

For me, we don't watch that much anymore.  I have given up my "piggy back" DirecTV receivers and download what we want to watch on our ipads...  If we got serious again....then I would put an Apple TV device on the Front and stream to my heart's content.....LIVE when parked as well as LIVE in motion....using my phone to begin with.....and then if that didn't work and I was bound and determined to have inmotion, then I would try StarLink...

My opinion.  We have gurus here that eat this stuff up and are way over my head....

Some corrections/clarifications.

The Winegard Direct TV Traveler is the exact same mount as the Dish Network Traveler - just uses different Feedhorn/LNBs and software.  The Direct TV Traveler is upgradable to Dish Network with a change in the Feedhorn and software.  But the reverse is not true.  

You can still get HD Dish Network in motion - but it is limited to one satellite.  There is only one feedhorn/LNB in the in-motion models, so you can't watch two different satellites at the same time.  Also, signal strength is less because of the limited reflector (dish) size.  Direct TV moved all the HD content to a different band, that requires a larger reflector (dish) than could reasonably be made or "in-motion" use several years ago.

My experience with Starlink (NOT in-motion) is download speeds well above 75Gigs.  Plenty for Streaming.  But all RV accounts are secondary to Fixed accounts, so they can slow them down in populated areas.  As far as in-motion, that becomes expensive.  It's about $2500 for the equipment, versus around $500 for the fixed.  The same equipment is used for RV roaming (not in-motion) as for fixed, it's just a different account - about $150/month.  

I would think most would have a Smart TV now days.  Don't know if you can even buy one that isn't.  Those all have WiFi built-in, so you just connect to the router (whether Starlink or other) just like you would a computer, tablet or phone.  You still need to have (purchase) a Streaming Plan that allows you to access the actual channels.  I think all streaming is at least HD, some is 4K, I don't know if there is 8K out there yet since I don't have an 8K TV.  I don't think anyone seriously going with Starlink would revert to 5-10 year old "casting" technology as the primary method of getting video to a TV.  I do still use that to get something off my phone or computer occasionally.

While Direct TV versus Dish Network is a personal choice, I will relate that since AT&T bought Direct TV, they are making it very hard, sometime impossible, to change service address.  Service Address defines what Local Channels (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CW, and others) you get (or won't get).  Dish has a couple of options, depending on the plan you choose.  If you are going with Dish only in the RV (no home fix account too), then it's easy-peasy.  You just log into your Dish Account, and input the new address and they will change your service address and locals.  If, like me, you have a fixed (home) account, and simply take one of the receiver from your home when you travel, you have to call and talk to someone to change it.  But still that is only a 5 minute phone call.  If you don't already have Direct TV, and want to keep it, I recommend looking seriously into Dish Network simply for this reason.

  -Rick N.

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Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I'll stick with the Dish Hopper and a Trav'lr.  Tried streaming a few things at the S/B home but hate being forced to watch commercials (however short) that I can't skip ... when I've tried streaming I get message saying "fast forward is not supported" (but have only tried Hulu & Disney+ as they are included lifetime for free as part of our unlimited Verizon phone plan).  We love the 30 second skip button on Dish to rapidly skip commercials pressing it 6, 8, or 10 times in a row ... and within a second or two we are back in the content past all the junk advertising.  My Trav'lr & Hopper have picked up live TV in Valdez Alaska as well as Port au Choix Newfoundland but naturally it is more difficult in the interior.  No data caps to worry about and total cost each month for what we like to watch is cheaper than all the  costs associated with streaming.

YMMV but that is why people have choices.

Edit to add: We use an over-the-air dual channel USB adapter into the Hopper to pickup & record OTA local channels so we haven't changed our Dish service address in 5+ years. The OTA channels automatically integrate into the guide.

Edited by amphi_sc
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57 minutes ago, amphi_sc said:

 . . . . hate being forced to watch commercials (however short) that I can't skip ...  (but have only tried Hulu & Disney+ as they are included lifetime for free as part of our unlimited Verizon phone plan). 

We signed up for Hulu's premium plan (no commercials) and found it to be well worth it.  Same for Peacock.   YouTube's commercials are short and their commercial free plan is large, so we put up with that on Roku but don't seem to get commercials on the laptop. 

I'm sold on commercial-free plans.  A year of Hulu+ is ~15 gallons of diesel or ~130 miles of driving, for a year.  No brainer.  The trick is to find content worth watching (not into vampires, housewives of whatever, survivor # 23, etc.). 

In contrast, a month of Dish is $148.  Not the cheapest plan but enough to get TCM, Smithsonian, Encore, a $10 movie pack, $7 for 2nd DVR and locals (at home).  No Starz, No HBO, and that's every MONTH.  Some places don't have locals so Dish is all there is.  Except Bybee TN where I can't even get Dish!  That's where the heartburn is. 

The flip side is it's nice to turn on a channel and let it run without having to make a decision on something to stream.  Not very many classics on streaming. 

- bob

Edited by cbr046
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2 hours ago, amphi_sc said:

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I'll stick with the Dish Hopper and a Trav'lr.  Tried streaming a few things at the S/B home but hate being forced to watch commercials (however short) that I can't skip ... when I've tried streaming I get message saying "fast forward is not supported" (but have only tried Hulu & Disney+ as they are included lifetime for free as part of our unlimited Verizon phone plan).  We love the 30 second skip button on Dish to rapidly skip commercials pressing it 6, 8, or 10 times in a row ... and within a second or two we are back in the content past all the junk advertising.  My Trav'lr & Hopper have picked up live TV in Valdez Alaska as well as Port au Choix Newfoundland but naturally it is more difficult in the interior.  No data caps to worry about and total cost each month for what we like to watch is cheaper than all the  costs associated with streaming.

YMMV but that is why people have choices.

Edit to add: We use an over-the-air dual channel USB adapter into the Hopper to pickup & record OTA local channels so we haven't changed our Dish service address in 5+ years. The OTA channels automatically integrate into the guide.

I have an older OTA USB Adapter that works poorly...as far as receive sensitivity.  I only use it when the Dish supplied "Locals" are not local (think Phoenix in Quartzsite) when I want local weather, and sometimes news.  But even though mine integrate into the Guide, they don't integrate into the Hopper Prime Time Any Time Recordings.  That is the best feature of Dish Network and the Hopper's, in my opinion.  You never have to decipher and reprogram the channel numbers to get locals recorded.  The Hopper "knows" what channel the four networks are on, and automatically records all four during prime time.  I never even use the guide.  Does you OTA USB Adapter allow the OTA Local Channels to be recorded in Prime Time Any Time?

  -Rick N.

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23 minutes ago, waterskier_1 said:

Does you OTA USB Adapter allow the OTA Local Channels to be recorded in Prime Time Any Time?

Hi Rick,

We aren't "prime time" watchers so don't even have that feature turned on in the Hopper.  We use the guide to select movies to record and certain shows.  Some news shows I set to "keep 1" so they automatically roll off with the next day but recorded in case I want/have the ambition the watch it.  My original single channel USB adapter bit the dust I think when I had some combination of antenna power boost on and a park cable feed at the same time.  So I replaced it with a dual channel from eBay.  Works better than the built in tuner in the main drop down TV.  I might use the tuner built into the TV to fine tune the antenna rotation before letting the Hopper rescan OTA channels.  shsh... I guess I'm grandfathered somehow as I get the 5 major networks out of NYC coast to coast and Alaska and I don't plan to rock the boat.

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YouTube TV (not YouTube) now $72.99/mo has local channels and too many others to mention, records anything, has unlimited recordings.  You can skip thru commercials ab 15 sec per click. Any program or channel can be streamed live if you want it in the background if you subscribe to enough GB/month (not saying this is the best use of your internet).  Access thru SmartTV, Roku or Amazon Firestick, or Google dongles, or laptop, tablet, or phone.  Internet access is of course required (which has become an essential regardless of whether you go with streaming or satellite).  Compare the costs to that of a satellite dish (about $1700?) and monthly recurring $129-159?  Insane! 

And I still use my bat wing antenna to pick up HD OTA broadcasts if I need to conserve bandwidth or want local news and weather that I can't get easily on my phone with an app.

If satellite were cheaper, I might add that to the equation.  I'd have to find out if my rooftop dish even opens and works first.  For the money it would cost, why bother?  It's a Betamax tape player at this point in it's life. 

 

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We have a Mofi 5500 router with a pep wave 4x4 mimo antenna on the roof. It picks up very faint cellular signals and makes them usable. We were just at Vogel state park in Georgia and the cell service is non existent there. Are friends that came with us have a we boost and it didn’t work at all. We were able to stream Netflix and use the internet without any problems. Are friends who were on the site next to us just used our Wi Fi. I don’t think anyone in the park had service but us. We use as I said Netflix, HBO max which is free with att and Prime video. Also we have a new Samsung tv in our bedroom with all the streaming apps and also Samsung TV which I had never heard of. It has a ton of channels including all the big news networks like Fox, Newsmax and a bunch of others and it’s all free. I would like to get a cloud DVR like YouTube tv and other tv services have eventually but for now this works for us when we are on the road. Here is a picture of my setup and cellular roof antenna.

 

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ADD897DE-7760-4D13-88EE-459D00B053A7.jpeg

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For OTA I use Tablo.  You can record anything you want and have access to the DVR anywhere via the internet in the home or export via the internet to a remote location as long as your able to remotely log into the Tablo device.  You can also fast forward through all commercials.

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Guest Ray Davis

Yeah,  they got you guys packed in there.    I am really impressed with your super neat wiring in the cabinet.  

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On 3/16/2023 at 3:38 PM, Ray Davis said:

When I was a kid never heard of tv finally a neighbor go one.  All of us kids would invade their home at dark to watch Charlie Chan mysteries.

Might even watch a test pattern.  Ever heard of those?

Not only heard of them, I used them to adjust the horizontal and vertical controls to get the circle "perfectly" round and the lines straight.  Later we had to generate our own color pattern to align the Red, Green and Blue lines on top of each other so the picture was not smeared and distorted.

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12 hours ago, Steve P said:

YouTube TV (not YouTube) now $72.99/mo has local channels and too many others to mention, records anything, has unlimited recordings.  You can skip thru commercials ab 15 sec per click. Any program or channel can be streamed live if you want it in the background if you subscribe to enough GB/month (not saying this is the best use of your internet).  Access thru SmartTV, Roku or Amazon Firestick, or Google dongles, or laptop, tablet, or phone.  Internet access is of course required (which has become an essential regardless of whether you go with streaming or satellite).  Compare the costs to that of a satellite dish (about $1700?) and monthly recurring $129-159?  Insane! 

And I still use my bat wing antenna to pick up HD OTA broadcasts if I need to conserve bandwidth or want local news and weather that I can't get easily on my phone with an app.

If satellite were cheaper, I might add that to the equation.  I'd have to find out if my rooftop dish even opens and works first.  For the money it would cost, why bother?  It's a Betamax tape player at this point in it's life. 

 

Everyone's case is different. I pay dish $97/month for the stations I want including the Hopper DVR & Joey.  To switch to YouTube streaming it looks like $73 plus another $14 for the other channels I want.  Add in the additional StarLink cost of $150-$200 /month to stream so now we are talking at more than double+ the cost to stream vs Dish satellite.  Looks like YouTube TV can handle the three TVs without additional cost whereas I do need the Joeys which are currently priced into my current cost of $97 / month.

Plus $600 to $2500 in start up costs for StarLink equipment.  Our existing Verizon phone hotspots are adequate for our non streaming uses, but if going to attempt to stream TV I'd need a better plan on top of what comes with my phone plan so wouldn't be able to lower the phone bill as I would still need the same data plan on the phone for our basic non streaming needs when away from the RV / home WiFi.

Conclusion: For some, streaming may make sense, for others it would be totally insane!  For me, Dish is definitely cheaper than a streaming option.  And it has known reliability in my case.

YMMV

Edited by amphi_sc
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Guest Ray Davis
4 hours ago, herbstark said:

Not only heard of them, I used them to adjust the horizontal and vertical controls to get the circle "perfectly" round and the lines straight.  Later we had to generate our own color pattern to align the Red, Green and Blue lines on top of each other so the picture was not smeared and distorted.

Ah,  the good old days, except for TVs.    TVs now don't even have vertical or horizontal controls and what good is TV without a rolling picture?  👀 😁  

Didn't Elvis shoot his TV?  I don't know why but it could have been a rolling picture.  👿

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We have Starlink at the house and gave up on Dish.  We are going to southern Arizona next winter.  My plan is to move my Starlink with me.  But, Starlink is not available yet where we are going.  They say it's coming this year.  We'll see.  It was a long wait to get it for the house.  Starling is a blessing for us since we live very north, almost in Canada, and there is no cell service here.  Starling gives us internet and cell service via wifi calling.  We did not save any money due to all the add on's for the different streaming services.  If Starlink does become available in Arizona where we are heading it will be another 25 bucks a month to move the dish temporarily.  We'll pay it since we no longer have any satellite service.

Nice job on that MOFI install.

Woody Miller

09 Dynasty

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1 hour ago, woodylmiller said:

We have Starlink at the house and gave up on Dish.  We are going to southern Arizona next winter.  My plan is to move my Starlink with me.  But, Starlink is not available yet where we are going.  They say it's coming this year.  We'll see.  It was a long wait to get it for the house.  Starling is a blessing for us since we live very north, almost in Canada, and there is no cell service here.  Starling gives us internet and cell service via wifi calling.  We did not save any money due to all the add on's for the different streaming services.  If Starlink does become available in Arizona where we are heading it will be another 25 bucks a month to move the dish temporarily.  We'll pay it since we no longer have any satellite service.

Nice job on that MOFI install.

Woody Miller

09 Dynasty

Where in Arizona?  I have friends who used Starlink in Quartzsite, Yuma, Phoenix, and Casa Grande within the past 3 months.  I'll move on to Tucson next month so can report on that if interested.  Also, I was in Indio for the FMCA Western Area Conference and several had their Starlink "dishy" out and working there.  If you currently have a residential account, you'll have to change to a roaming account to use Starlink outside your "home" geofence area.  

I thought seriously about doing what you propose, but I still need internet service at my house when I'm gone for Security & Camera monitoring.  I'm hoping the cost will come down, since I'm not getting good service now with my MiFi (Hotspot) -type cellular service.  I have a Wilson Amp (Booster) and have great signal strength, but very poor bandwidth.  I noticed the same at the Quartzsite RV Show.  I had full bars of 5G service, but less than 250MB download.  Just goes to show that signal strength doesn't guarantee good bandwidth.

  -Rick N.

 

Edited by waterskier_1
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2 minutes ago, waterskier_1 said:

Where in Arizona?  I have friends who used Starlink in Quartzsite, Yuma, Phoenix, and Casa Grande within the past 3 months.  I'll move on to Tucson next month so can report on that if interested.  Also, I was in Indio for the FMCA Western Area Conference and several had their Starlink "dishy" out and working there.  If you currently have a residential account, you'll have to change to a roaming account to use Starlink outside your "home" geofence area.  

 

Not available in that they are already full with customers on their satellites. 
 

Ask me how I know

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2 minutes ago, JDCrow said:

Not available in that they are already full with customers on their satellites. 
 

Ask me how I know

Are you saying you can't qualify for new Residential Service, or are you saying it won't work with an existing Roaming (what they used to call RV) account.  If the later, where specifically?

  -Rick N.

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2 minutes ago, amphi_sc said:

Looks to me like there's a wait list for much of the country for roaming service.Screenshot_20230319-065639.thumb.png.f5375e76cc17d8b04c36b9d761681710.png

If I'm interpreting the map correctly, the light blue, which covers most of the West, is AVAILABLE.  The dark blue on the West coast, and the area East (of what appears to be roughly the Mississippi River) is WAITLIST.  But I thought the conversation was about using an existing account in Arizona, not obtaining a new account.  

  -Rick N.

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6 minutes ago, waterskier_1 said:

If I'm interpreting the map correctly, the light blue, which covers most of the West, is AVAILABLE.  The dark blue on the West coast, and the area East (of what appears to be roughly the Mississippi River) is WAITLIST.  But I thought the conversation was about using an existing account in Arizona, not obtaining a new account.  

  -Rick N.

I thought the conversation was about attempting to use StarLink and streaming TV as an alternative replacement for Satellite TV ... "Replacement Satellite" implying new service.

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Starlink only allow x active users in a given area.  You can travel away, come back and your Starlink "spot" is gone.  You can also search for addresses on the fringe of where you are (I think up to 10 miles) and get a spot next door that's still in range.  There's a few tricks . . . .

And you need a clear sky.  With Dish I could find a hole in the trees and pick up the satellite.  Not so with Starlink as the satellites move while the antenna tracks the bird.  When it gets out of range it picks up and tracks another bird.  This would work in an RV megapark where the first thing they do is mow down the trees but not so good in a State Park where trees are a main attraction. 

- bob

 

Edited by cbr046
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4 minutes ago, cbr046 said:

Starlink only allow x active users in a given area.  You can travel away, come back and your Starlink "spot" is gone.  You can also search for addresses on the fringe of where you are (I think up to 10 miles) and get a spot next door that's still in range.  There's a few tricks . . . .

And you need a clear sky.  With Dish I could find a hole in the trees and pick up the satellite.  Not so with Starlink as the satellites move while the antenna tracks the bird.  When it gets out of range it picks up and tracks another bird.  This would work in an RV megapark where the first thing they do is mow down the trees but not so good in a State Park where trees are a main attraction. 

- bob

 

So east of the Mississippi and the west coast you might not be able to stream TV via Starlink? whereas I've never had a capacity problem with Dish.

I think I'll stick with Satellite TV and leave our minimal internet use (5-10 gig/month) to hot spotting off my phone.

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