I’ve heard this rumor too. It’s generally something that RV dealers say when they don’t know how to install a satellite dish. But, there’s somehing you need to know. It’s easy to understand the confusion around HD in RVs. The thing is, people say you can’t get HD, but it’s not true. The truth is you can get HD service in your RV, if you know what you’re doing. There are some limits and if you know them ahead of time, you’ll be all set.
Here is what you need to know about getting HD and even 4K in your RV.
If you’re not moving, you can have whatever you want.
If you’re only planning on watching TV when you’re parked, there are nothing but options. You can put a dish on a tripod or mount it on the RV. Almost all of the options we have available will do HD, and you can even choose a regular HD dish like the sort you’d put on your home and it will work great. You just need to use a tripod and aim the dish yourself if you want to use the same sort of dish you have at home.
There are self-aiming satellite dishes. There are even ones that will get HD and 4K for DISH and DIRECTV. I will be straight with you though. If you get one of those small, inexpensive self-aiming satellite dishes, the ones like the King Tailgater, there are limits. They are the same limits that in-motion dishes have, and for the same reason. I’ll explain below.
If you’re moving, you can still have HD, but there are limits.
If you want to watch TV while you’re in motion, there are options. You can put in a setup like the Winegard Roadtrip T4 is going to give you the ability to look at one satellite at a time. For DISH customers, this may simply mean a longer-than-normal wait when you change channels. However, if you have DIRECTV, you’ll only get a handful of HD channels. That number is growing, but it will take time.
There is a simple reason behind this: Most of DIRECTV’s HD channels use a different broadcast frequency than their SD ones, and DISH’s don’t. DIRECTV uses what’s called the “Ka band” for HD broadcasting so they can have a virtually unlimited number of 4k channels, but it requires a different dish technology. Right now, the only in-motion dishes that use the Ka band are really too big to put on an RV.
The story with DIRECTV HD
The surprising savior of the RV market is… the airline market. There are several airlines that have contracts with DIRECTV for in-flight service. In the past, these planes have used standard-definition receiving equipment. However, we’re finally moving away from standard definition service on DIRECTV. It was first announced that all SD programs would be turned off by 2019, but that didn’t happen. The next two years slowed everything down as well, especially air travel. However, the push is on to upgrade these systems and that means at least 40-50 HD channels on DIRECTV’s 101 satellite. That satellite location has recently been upgraded with a massive new satellite that can handle up more than 100 HD channels using the same tech that was once used for SD only. As channels move to that satellite location, you’ll be able to get them in HD in your RV, no matter what equipment you have.
Keep up to date with the latest
Whether you want to upgrade your RV now or sometime in the future, you’ll want to build a relationship with the experts. The folks at Signal Connect activate more satellite accounts for RVs than anyone else in the world. We’ll give you the service and support you deserve. It all starts with a call to 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
