electronics question

[jim rosenthal]

This is only somewhat marine-related, but worth asking:

Could someone describe to me the satellite TV services that are available using a KVH antenna system? This is actually for my house in the Outer Banks of NC. First we had Charter/Spectrum cable, who were terrible on service. We got rid of them, and got DirectTv, who were even worse. At this point, there is only Internet via cable, which works fine. (Silicon Travel Inc, who are very good) Since we rent the house sometimes, we have to have TV; I am thinking about just Internet streaming television, lke SlingTV or DirectTV Now, who don't require contracts, you just pay as you go, but I wondered if it was worth looking into a marine television system such as the ones KVH make. Any thoughts?

We do have high-speed broadband internet, and not many problems to date, which is since 2011.

Thanks for tips, in advance.

[RonNP]

I use Direct TV NOW streaming through broadband on my boat. I love it. $45 a month has DVR service and HBO so I can watch Game of Thrones.

[Boatsb]

Kvh and others use dish or direct TV in the USA. I dont know of other options.

Kvh makes the tracking platform but uses the receiver from the service to get picture.

If direct TV is not reliable there it's probably because you need a bigger or better antenna. The 18" dish is marginal in many places.

[jim rosenthal]

It wasn't the reception, so much as other problems with service and some other program difficulties I won't go into. The service had issues, but that wasn't the biggest problem. AT&T are terrible to deal with.

[tonytrakovich]

Like Scott said, the KVH is only an antenna with a lot of expensive parts inside. If you sign up for Dish or Directv, they give you a fixed antenna with no moving parts for free. The kvh will give you no better service or other options. You are correct that dealing with the dish companies is a challenge and expensive. I use directv at home and use the same account (4 more receivers) on the boat. Where I live, my internet isn’t fast enough to stream properly.

[oscarvan]

It wasn't the reception, so much as other problems with service and some other program difficulties I won't go into. The service had issues, but that wasn't the biggest problem. AT&T are terrible to deal with.

Don't know how long ago your experience was, but as a (forced) Direct TV and AT&T Wireless customer I can attest that the merger had some serious operational issues..... Not unlike some Airline mergers I've lived through. That said, it seems like they have gotten their proverbial sh1t together as the last few calls I had to make were pleasant and efficient.

You could try again.