# Looking for an easy way to watch BOTH Directv AND Dish Network



## JayUSA (Mar 17, 2007)

Hi Everybody,

I've decided that I would like to subscribe to Dish Network as well as DirecTV. I'm looking for the easiest way to watch (i.e. switch between and naviagate around) the two services, preferably using a single universal remote. For example, it would be nice to know if there is some cool way to view a single on-screen channel guide that would span both DirecTV and Dish Network (perhaps by linking the receivers serially?).

Lastly, I currently receive DirectTV using a Gainmaster over-sized dish. It would be nice if my new Dish Network service could "share" the Gainmaster dish since they point at the same points in the sky (perhaps by buying a special LNB beacket?).

Anyways, anyone out there subscribing to both services and doing it in a cool way --- let me know!

[Request: please don't hijack this thread and divert it toward why it is or isn''t "crazy" to subscribe to both services. That's not the question that I'm asking. Thanks!]


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## jarvantgroup (Mar 24, 2006)

JayUSA said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> I've decided that I would like to subscribe to Dish Network as well as DirecTV. I'm looking for the easiest way to watch (i.e. switch between and naviagate around) the two services, preferably using a single universal remote. For example, it would be nice to know if there is some cool way to view a single on-screen channel guide that would span both DirecTV and Dish Network (perhaps by linking the receivers serially?).
> 
> ...


I've only seen that done once using an old D* dish with 3 dual LNBs. The D* 101 position feed a multiswitch and the E* Legacy 110 and 119 positions fed an SW44 or 64 switch. I forget which one. Separate cables were installed to each room and subsequently to each rcvr. After that, there was no further integration of the two providers. :icon_cool


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

About the only way that I can think of that is going to allow you to get both receivers to have guide data in one combined guide is for you to build a HTPC (Home Theater PC) that has a capture card and control mechanism installed for each service. 

If you do this you have lots of other added benifits. PVR w/ archived recordings, ability to burn recordings to DVD, an upscaling DVD player, and lots of other cool customizations with certain applications like viewing and modifying your netflix queue with your remote, getting instant weather info, getting movie times and watching trailers from the latest movies with your remote, watching google and youtube videos, and much more. Plus the interfaces are LIGHTYEARS beyond the standard Dish and DirecTV interfaces.

The only downside to this is that it isn't very easy to get HD from Dish or DirecTV with this method unless you are willing to spend a LOT.

I have a pretty nice HTPC in a case that fits in nicely with my other AV components, and I am running SageTV, and am pretty happy with it. I still use the standard Dish DVR for most things though.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Here's the link to what Jarvantgroup is refering too. 
http://www.techweenies.com/dss-1.shtml


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## jarvantgroup (Mar 24, 2006)

Steve Mehs said:


> Here's the link to what Jarvantgroup is refering too.
> http://www.techweenies.com/dss-1.shtml


Righteous link!!! :icon_cool


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

You're not crazy. This question does get asked here every so often. But I've never seen anyone accomplish sharing one dish for both DirecTV and Dish. The LNBs are not compatible, nor are the appropriate multiswitches. 

So I think you'll need a dish for each service, with the appropriate receivers. Then use two inputs on your TV or AV Receiver to switch between them.


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## Racer88 (Sep 13, 2006)

You can use all legacy Dish IRD's/switches and and that dish to do do 110 and 119 for DISH and 101 for Directv by swapping out the Sat C LNB for a normal LNB I believe.

Any single dish solution will be a compromise of having to use older legacy Dish IRD's/switches and not being able to get all sat positions for either system. You can't have the two systems share any one LNB.


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

Hmmm.... I wrote a really long reply to this and it is gone. Must not have hit the post button.

But, the best (and only solution I can think of) is to build an HTPC with a capture card and control device for each service. This will integrate the guides and allow you to have some really cool interfaces and plugins that will allow you to do some amazing things from your remote sitting in front of your TV. (check and modify netflix queue, check weather, check movie times and watch their trailers, burn dvd's, watch youtube and google videos, along with many more.)

It can also serve as a upscaling DVD player, DVR with automatic commercial skipping, and burn you shows to DVD, or transcode and send them to ipod or any other portable device among other things.

It works great, but its not for the faint of heart to set up, and it can get expensive depending on how much you want the box to do, but it is 100X better than any box you will get from a service provider.

I use SageTV as it has the most powerful DVR program I have found and has a good free SDK built-in and as a result has a large and active user-community that is constantly building new plugins. But MediaPortal is a good altenative and is open source.

Here is one of the best plugins for SageTV that gives a full-featured interface similar to MS MCE: http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=141 , the pictures there will give you an idea of what the screens look like and a sense of some of what you get with the application.


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

Don't I wish you could get D and E* together without having to buy both.
But this just isn't going to happen  :nono2:


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## JayUSA (Mar 17, 2007)

Wow! Great discussion. Let me clarify that my initial thought was to find a way to share the GainMaster dish across the two services, not to find a way to share LNBs across the two serivces. I had thought that maybe I could simply attach some Dish Network LNBs to the bracket already holding my DirecTV LNBs...


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

oh and as for the switches BECAUSE they point at the same locations it is not going to be possible to get both providers from one dish. It was possiblein the past because DirecTV had all or (almost all of it) on 101, and Dish had all programming on 110/119.

You will need one (or more) dish for each provider... probably can get away with 2. A 5-lnb for Directv and a Dish 1000 for Dish.

Or you CAN do it with a Dish 1000 pointed at 101,110,119 ... but you will only be able to pick one provider per location. Check lyngsat.com and see which channels are on which provider at each location and decide if you can give up one of those.

Personally, I would just do two dishes... But, if I was picking two providers it would be Dish and Bell Expressvu. But, where I am at I can't see the canadian satellites.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

I had both providers for a while but I needed separate dishes to get them both. I just ran everything through an A/V preamp/processor with switching for all inputs and was able to watch either Dish or DirecTV using my universal remote. The guide data comes down from the satellites and the two systems are not compatible so the chances of getting a combined guide for the two of them pretty much ranges from none to no chance in hell.

Having had both of them for a while I'm wondering why you would want the same setup. 98-99% of all channels are common to both carriers with but a few exceptions (particularly the sports packages that DTV offers and some of the foreign language stations and networks) so there's not much to be gained by having both. I'd pick one provider over the other and stick with them. The little extra you gain by having both providers doesn't even come close to justifying the added expense IMHO.


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## JayUSA (Mar 17, 2007)

Please don't hijack this thread and divert it toward why it is or isn''t "crazy" to subscribe to both services. The short-answer is: I live in Mexico, am raising kids to speak English, French and Spanish, want to watch the Yankees, want to watch a Mexican soccer team on Telefutura, want to watch EuroNews... the reasons are very complicated, and in my opinion, off-topic.


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## JayUSA (Mar 17, 2007)

What if I strap 6 LNBs to the bracket of my GainMaster dish (3 DirecTV and 3 Dish Network), and then connect them to separate multiswitches, etc... Would that allow me to get both services from 101, 110 and 119 without buying another GainMaster dish?

Thoughts, anyone?


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

JayUSA said:


> Please don't hijack this thread and divert it toward why it is or isn''t "crazy" to subscribe to both services. The short-answer is: I live in Mexico, am raising kids to speak English, French and Spanish, want to watch the Yankees, want to watch a Mexican soccer team on Telefutura, want to watch EuroNews... the reasons are very complicated, and in my opinion, off-topic.


I don't think the reasons you want to do something is off-topic at all. For one thing it stops the "crazy to subscribe to both services" BEFORE it can get started  But I have always been told that there is no way you can go back and forth between D and E*. How true that is I don't know for sure


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## jarvantgroup (Mar 24, 2006)

JayUSA said:


> What if I strap 6 LNBs to the bracket of my GainMaster dish (3 DirecTV and 3 Dish Network), and then connect them to separate multiswitches, etc... Would that allow me to get both services from 101, 110 and 119 without buying another GainMaster dish?
> 
> Thoughts, anyone?


Getting an adequate signal through one LNB from one satellite means that you cannot put a second LNB in the same physical spot to get signal or adequate signal from the same satellite. I wish it were as easy as strapping on additional LNBs. :icon_cool


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

grooves12 said:


> This will integrate the guides and allow you to have some really cool interfaces and plugins that will allow you to do some amazing things from your remote sitting in front of your TV.


This will integrate which guides?


> It works great, but its not for the faint of heart to set up, and it can get expensive depending on how much you want the box to do, but it is 100X better than any box you will get from a service provider.


The question being how does it integrate with DBS satellite. This probably doesn't allow for HD programming, does it?


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

DirecTV and Dish Network both operate multiple satellites. No single dish is going to be able to access them all. Different programming comes from different satellites.

In order to receiver all or most of either providers programming, you will need multiple satellite dish installations (for each company). There is no way to combine that all into one dish.

As others have noted, you can use a programmable remote control to give you the one remote option, but that's about as consolidated as you will get without extreme expense and/or technical expertise on your part to design your own system that would draw from both providers.

As a side comment, it is not legal to receive either service outside the U.S. I know that doesn't stop many from doing so.

Carl


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

harsh said:


> This will integrate which guides?The question being how does it integrate with DBS satellite. This probably doesn't allow for HD programming, does it?


The only way it works with HD is with the r5000 HD which is not cheap... $500+ for each box. http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm

Whichever guides you want, OTA, Dish, DirecTV, Cable, and any other provider you can think of. If you set it up as a source, it will show up in your guide.

So, $1000+, for just the tuners, plus the cost of the box and the software tp run it if that is what you want.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Threads combined -- please don't start threads about the same topic in multiple forums.

:welcome_s JayUSA

Most people who have both DirecTV and Dish Network do it the easy way ... two receivers. Trying to combine the program guides is beyond the design of the receivers of both systems. Do you want to watch TV or debug wiring?

Obviously you will be buying receivers ... especially if you try the R5000 modification on the 622 or 211. One should not modify receivers one does not own - so a lease is out.

DirecTV and DishNetwork are not in the same place in the sky. DirecTV is primarily at 101° with additional signals at 110° and 119° (depending on what you subscribe to) and DishNetwork is primarily at 119° with additional signals at 110° and 129° (or 61.5°) again depending on your subscriptions.

Your dish would have to hit an arc of satellites for one dish to provide both services. Being outside of the coverage area doesn't help. For a good signal you are looking at multiple dishes. The sweet spot of a dish is only so big ... and 101° to 129° is quite a spread -- especially in the "deep south".


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

JayUSA said:


> Please don't hijack this thread and divert it toward why it is or isn''t "crazy" to subscribe to both services. The short-answer is: I live in Mexico, am raising kids to speak English, French and Spanish, want to watch the Yankees, want to watch a Mexican soccer team on Telefutura, want to watch EuroNews... the reasons are very complicated, and in my opinion, off-topic.


When your favorite tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Having said that, maybe what you need is some kind of motor with a linear/circular LNBF added to the DirecTV LNBF(s). You could get FTA, and your FTA receiver could direct the motor to move the dish where you need it.

And I am compelled to point out that not only are you raising kids to speak languages, you are also teaching them that lying is okay in the pursuit of what you want. If you live in Mexico, it's better karma to work with the Mexican satellite service (http://www.sky.com.mx/). If you want lots of US programming, maybe that's an indication that you'd prefer to live in America.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

I believe that Sonora Design makes some unusual stuff for doing some of these combo systems.

A triple dish (101/110/119) with all "legacy" LNBF's can be used to feed both D* and E* receivers, but you need to use a frequency translator, split off the 110 LNBF, for the D* equipment.

If you are not using "legacy" receivers....i.e.: you're looking for HD and stuff off the newer side-satellites, you probably need to talk to them directly:

http://www.sonoradesign.com/OLD SITE/index.html


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## brownclown (Feb 28, 2007)

FTA Michael said:


> When your favorite tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Having said that, maybe what you need is some kind of motor with a linear/circular LNBF added to the DirecTV LNBF(s). You could get FTA, and your FTA receiver could direct the motor to move the dish where you need it.
> 
> And I am compelled to point out that not only are you raising kids to speak languages, you are also teaching them that lying is okay in the pursuit of what you want. If you live in Mexico, it's better karma to work with the Mexican satellite service (http://www.sky.com.mx/). If you want lots of US programming, maybe that's an indication that you'd prefer to live in America.


 Not to mention under his user name he claims to be in texas:icon_hroc


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## Ext 721 (Feb 26, 2007)

It is possible to have an old D* phase 1 oval 3 dish with a standard LNB in place of the special "c" LNB and get both services from that dish. Services CAN share LNBs...HOWEVER, the D* HD channels that are currenly on the "c" sat won't show, because D* used a special LNB that downconverted the signal from the 110.

I forget who had the diagram and where, but I saw it here once upon a time.


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