The DISH Network Corporation is one of the most prominent Direct-to-Home or Direct Broadcast Satellite service providers in the United States offering many of the most sought-after channels, programs, and enumerable features. But the name aside, you are probably asking yourself a very important question: do you have to have a satellite dish installed in your house to use DISH Network? The short answer to the question is yes, a satellite dish is necessary to receive the signal transmission. Here is a closer examination of the points mentioned as to why a dish is needed and the available choices if one cannot or does not wish to install a dish.
The Importance of the Satellite Dish in DISH Network
The nature of the satellite television services is that DISH Network, as well as the main competitor DirecTV, uses satellites that are located in the geosynchronous orbit over the Earth. This makes it possible for the satellites to be fixed to a point in the sky while transmitting signals over a large area on the surface of the earth. Your home satellite dish captures, gathers, and focuses these signals to feed to your DISH receiver to decode and play the video and audio. If there is no dish, then there would be no way through which one can tap into DISH’s satellite signals to watch the programs. The only way to legally receive the programming on DISH Network is if you sign up for professional installation of the satellite equipment, which entails positioning the dish to face the satellites depending on the area you live in.
What services are included in a typical installation service package?
When you sign up for DISH service, a standard installation includes:
- The satellite dish—often an 18-inch to 24-inch elliptical dish that is attached to a pole or wall
- Screwing on the hardware to stabilize the dish
- Dish to become connected to the DISH receiver through coaxial cables
- A compatible DISH Network reception HD receiver (lent from DISH Network)
You will only need to install the satellite dish because a professional DISH authorized technician will assess where the best place for the dish would be and all the equipment installations and connections will be done by this technician. The installation usually takes 1-2 hours including the time required to configure settings, etc.
Extra receivers and speaker wiring for use in a multizone system will be charged extra apart from which they can often be installed at the same time as the first zone.
A company with a nickname as the name suggests, should know why DISH can’t work without a dish.
The current broadcasting technology employed by DISH Network is direct broadcast satellite technology. If the dish antenna is not directed toward these satellites, the signals that DISH needs to transmit cannot even get to your house.
DISH does not have cable wires extending to people’s homes or even fiber to the premises as is the case with cable television providers. And, as already mentioned, currently they do not provide any remarkable amount of Internet streaming at all. Therefore, satellite communication with the help of dishes remains the only channel implemented throughout the entire network.
Possible Alternatives if You Can Not Install a Dish
While full DISH Network service is contingent on getting a satellite dish installed, there are some alternatives in certain situations:
- RV Service: DISH also provides a unique satellite service for RVs with smaller dishes than those mounted on a tripod. This makes it possible to receive DISH programming while on the move or in a situation where you have no permanent physical place to call home.
- Commercial Buildings: Companies who are unable to mount dishes can consider DISH’s commercial IPTV service; this provides select DISH programming feeds over internet protocol networks rather than satellite.
- Streaming Only: If unable to set up any satellite equipment, services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or DIRECTV STREAM more closely resemble DISH in terms of channels without the need for the dish. However, they have some drawbacks: the monthly charges are higher than those for DISH plans for the same content.
- DISH On the Go: Current DISH customers can watch specific live channels and DVR programming through the internet on electronic devices in other locations where the customer has reception, without the use of their home dish.
- Temporary Dishes: The Digital Video Recorders will offer a small portable emergency satellite dish for a local disaster or faulty equipment, although it will not be capable of tuning to full DISH programs.
Therefore, conclusively, to obtain the entire DISH Network service and all its channels, a subscriber will have to put up a permanently installed satellite dish that has an open signal path to the transmitting satellite. Still, options may include streaming TV or RV dishes in case scenarios where direct dish mounting is not feasible. If you cannot install a traditional satellite dish, then you should contact DISH to find out what other solution may be possible for your area. While setups will differ, they do not stick to a rigid procedure as much as possible in an Endeavor to be of service.
Ready to upgrade your TV experience? Call us now at (877) 471-4808 to find the perfect Dish Network plan for you! Don’t miss out on great entertainment—our team is here to help you choose the best package and get you started today.