HD DirecTV Box with a NON HD DISH????

BRAINS!

Ok, so the bowl games are coming up and we are going to the mountains for new years.
This being said, there is only sat available. We want to see the bowl games, but I have cable. A friend said if I can get someone with a DirecTV box, he has an unused sat dish we can use with our RV.

I found someone that will lend us a box, but the box is HD. The dish is NOT.

Will the box still work, but without HD??? If so.. great! I don't need HD while camping. But I also don't want to waste anybodies time it we have no chance of getting it to work.

ALSO, If this does work... does anyone know the angle and degree for aming a DirecTV dish?

Thanks all.

Satan.

Like ElJeffe said when he closed the very same thread in D&D, it isn't going to work. Jesus man, read the reply beyond one line.

amateurhour

This won't work.

First, you need a tech to tell you which way to point the dish, although most of the time all I hear is "east". Granted that should be information you can get by calling direct tv.

Also you have a Dish that isn't programmed to receive HD signals, and a box that is, so no.

BRAINS!

I'm geting some yeses and nos depending on the forums. I'm looking for more opinions before I decide on spending money. If you don't want to contribute move on please.

thanks to anyone else that has any input.

ElJeffe

Here's an easy way to distinguish the answers from one another:

The ones that say "this will work" are wrong.

The ones that say "no way in hell" are right.

I mean, I suppose if you opened up the box and the dish and reprogrammed and rewired them and then used your knowledge of telemetry and satellite positioning to deduce where to point the dish you might have a shot.

BRAINS!

Everyone, I'm just trying to find a way to have a good time with family this new year's. I'm a scientist, not IT. So plese understand I am just trying to understand. I just received this reply from Driect TV:



Thanks for writing about getting DIRECTV service while spending some time on the mountains with your family. I understand that you're planning to set up your father's old dish and one of the HD receivers. Even if the dish is not HD-capable, you may still receive standard definition programming on the HD receiver as long as this receiver is active on the account and the equipment is correctly installed. For installation information, please see your owner's manual. If you don't have an owner's manual, you can find copies of them on our web site at directv.com/manuals.

Also, you may find some helpful information at the DIRECTV Technical Help forums. Just visit http://forums.directv.com/pe/index.jsp to find answers to your questions.

You can find the correct elevation and azimuth for your dish by visiting our web site at directv.com/dishpoint where you'll find valuable installation information. You may also call our technical support center at 1-800-531-5000 and select the option for technical assistance.

ElJeffe

Man, for some reason I thought you were talking about a Dish Network dish with a DirecTV box. I M dum.

If DirecTV says it'll work, I'd assume it'll work.

amateurhour

ElJeffe wrote: »

Man, for some reason I thought you were talking about a Dish Network dish with a DirecTV box. I M dum.

If DirecTV says it'll work, I'd assume it'll work.

I still don't think it's going to work depending on the box firmware. We had a hell of a time trying to get a separate non HD dish to work with a separate HD box during football season and ended up having to go a different route

BRAINS!

Sorry to those I aggrevated. ElJeffe directed me to this forum and I was hoping for more exposure.
Thanks for understanding.

embrik

Yeah, this should work OK. When you go to aim the dish, if you've got it attached to the box & tv, there's signal strength indicators that can help with aiming. Mine even makes noises so you don't have to be looking at the screen while you do it. And as DirecTV said, as long as the box is on an account that's active, it'll work. It (the box) obviously doesn't care where it is, as long as its attached dish has a clear view of the southern sky.