Intellian i5 and dish network

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magna 6882

magna 6882

Guru
Joined
Apr 20, 2020
Messages
694
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Intrepid
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North Pacific/ NP-45 Hull 10
I had the dish installed and dish network is coming tomorrow and from doing some reading not all there receivers will work with intellian. Do any of you guys use dish with intellian and can you tell me the model of receiver that works. I would think they would have a list but they only mention a receiver that is old and discontinued.
Thanks
 
Wally model receiver is what you need.
 
So Dish is installing the reciever side, not an Intel tech?
 
Vip211z or the Wally. Not all the features of the Wally will work. Vip211z can be purchased for $49.
 
Wally, but you need a MIM module to switch between the three satellites automatically.
 
tiltrider1 said:
Vip211z or the Wally. Not all the features of the Wally will work. Vip211z can be purchased for $49.
Click to expand...

You can add a usb hard drive to the VIP211z, call Dish for a one-time authorization and have a fully functioning DVR that records and fast forwards and rewinds live tv.
 
Not certain what features on the Wally do not work that I would care about. Also, a USB hard drive can be added to the Wally as well to serve as a DVR. I have used and have both, the Wally and the VIP211z, and prefer the Wally. Why? I prefer the tuning menus and the program guide of the Wally. One wouldn't think the program guide would be different one from another, but there is a big difference.
Woodland Hills said:
You can add a usb hard drive to the VIP211z, call Dish for a one-time authorization and have a fully functioning DVR that records and fast forwards and rewinds live tv.
Click to expand...
 
Question
I have everything working but am disappointed in how long it takes the intellian to re-engage the target satellite when changing channels. It seems to take 4 or 5 minutes.
Is this normal?
 
Yes. Remember, channels are broadcast on one of three satellites. When switching to a new satellite, the equipment must find the new one. You'll get used to it. Unlike land-based dishes which are parabolic and can see all three satellites at once, the Intellian must be round and can see only one at a time. Sometimes the switch happens more quickly. One thing to remember if you move the boat to another service area (different local channels), you will lose the locals until you update your location through the myDish app. Takes two minutes. Also, many channels are on the same satellite so channel changes occur almost instantly. For example, all your locals will be on the same one.
magna 6882 said:
Question
I have everything working but am disappointed in how long it takes the intellian to re-engage the target satellite when changing channels. It seems to take 4 or 5 minutes.
Is this normal?
Click to expand...
 
Is there a list somewhere indicating which channels are on each satellite?
 
I don't know of any, but probably. Please share if you discover any. In our case we just change the channel and endure the short delay which occurs sometimes.
magna 6882 said:
Is there a list somewhere indicating which channels are on each satellite?
Click to expand...
 
magna 6882 said:
Question
I have everything working but am disappointed in how long it takes the intellian to re-engage the target satellite when changing channels. It seems to take 4 or 5 minutes.
Is this normal?
Click to expand...

4 to 5 minutes to switch? That seems way to long. I am on DirecTV (KVH) and the switching time is 2-4 seconds.
 
Alaskan Sea-Duction said:
4 to 5 minutes to switch? That seems way to long. I am on DirecTV (KVH) and the switching time is 2-4 seconds.
Click to expand...
ASD, with Direct TV, you are looking at just one satellite so channel changes are quick. With Dish, channels are found in one of three satellites so the tracking dish must sometimes be re-pointed.

As to magna's question, switching to a channel resident on the same satellite should take only a few seconds, if that; for example, if watching a network local. Magna, are you tuned to the Eastern Arc or Western Arc of satellites? I am tuned to the Eastern Arc and have found better utility than on the Western Arc. Plus, in my area (Baltimore-Washington) the locals (network channels) are in HD only on the Eastern Arc. The Eastern Arc birds are 61.5, 72, and 77. The Western Arc is 110, 119, and 129. Although the manual suggests just the Western Arc birds, you can tune to either. It took me awhile to figure this all out but once you master the universe, it's not difficult.
 
We are on 2 birds on the west coast. 119W and 110W (?)
catalinajack said:
ASD, with Direct TV, you are looking at just one satellite so channel changes are quick. With Dish, channels are found in one of three satellites so the tracking dish must sometimes be re-pointed.

As to magna's question, switching to a channel resident on the same satellite should take only a few seconds, if that; for example, if watching a network local. Magna, are you tuned to the Eastern Arc or Western Arc of satellites? I am tuned to the Eastern Arc and have found better utility than on the Western Arc. Plus, in my area (Baltimore-Washington) the locals (network channels) are in HD only on the Eastern Arc. The Eastern Arc birds are 61.5, 72, and 77. The Western Arc is 110, 119, and 129. Although the manual suggests just the Western Arc birds, you can tune to either. It took me awhile to figure this all out but once you master the universe, it's not difficult.
Click to expand...
 
Magna, I just now noticed that you are on the West Coast so the Eastern Arc is probably not viable for you. As for a channel listing try uplink.jameslong.name, very odd web address but it works. As for why it is taking so long for all of your channel changes I am now at a loss. Your network locals, assuming Seattle, are all on 119 for SD, and for HD are found on 110 and 129. Perhaps, at least for your locals, there is lots of switching between birds because of a HD/SD issue. We are subject to the vagaries of re-pointing to different birds. I hazard a guess that both latitude and longitude play a role in signal acquisition. Depending on the diameter of the tracking dish, at some point in the northern latitudes, a signal cannot be acquired.
 
The Intellian unit should take only 2 seconds to change channels on the same satellite and 4-6 seconds to acquire a different satellite when changing channels. Startup does take some time to acquire the guide but after that things are in seconds not minutes.
 
Would that were true everywhere. I do not profess to be an expert but I think it's very much dependent on location (latitude and longitude). Where we are, sometimes it takes 4-6 seconds when changing satellites, sometimes much longer. And, I have great difficulty tuning to Channel 217 (Grit) for reasons yet to be determined, just 217.

Another thought magna, do you have a clear view of the sky? I was having an awful time getting anything tuned in at a new slip assignment. Turned out my line of sight was being blocked by a row of sailboat masts. Being in an extra long slip I had the luxury of moving the boat forward 15 feet. Problems solved. Two seasons ago we did the Great Loop. I can assure you that tuning success varied with location. So, IMHO, trying to reach a conclusion based on others' experience is probably not helpful too your particular circumstances.

I did go back and do some more research on the Eastern Arc/Western Arc issue. You may indeed be able to see the Eastern Arc. We are south of Annapolis, MD. Works better for us especially cuz that's where the HD locals are. I recommend that you do some googling. There is a lot of info at hand. By the way, you will be very surprised where those birds fly. It has nothing to do with the Eastern or Western US.
tiltrider1 said:
The Intellian unit should take only 2 seconds to change channels on the same satellite and 4-6 seconds to acquire a different satellite when changing channels. Startup does take some time to acquire the guide but after that things are in seconds not minutes.
Click to expand...
 
I am not an expert on Intellian terminals but since the I5 doesn’t use a heading sensor a satellite change when the boat is swinging at anchor or under way may take longer as the control unit uses the existing satellite it is locked on as a departure point to find the new satellite. With that reference moving it has to default to a search algorithm that says satellite x at this lat long is at this elevation angle and pans the antenna back and forth until signal acquisition. That would account for different acquisition times.
 
I think intellian units have GPS. Do you have the required MIM module?
 
The GPS does not provide a reliable heading at low speed or while anchored. So the primary use of the GPS when aligning a satellite antenna is determining elevation to the satellite from the Lat/Long. I've worked with SeaTel antennas without a heading input and you have to manually enter the heading of the vessel to get the system looking in the right quadrant and then it starts its search. With the Intellian terminal with no heading reference externally it determines its heading from the satellite it is locked on. With a cold start with no heading reference, it could take quite a few minutes for it to acquire a satellite. I think it would interesting to watch how it acquires a satellite from a cold start.
 
I'm currently doing the trade study; DISH vs DirecTV, and KVH vs Intellian. DirecTV does not at all seem interested in mobile customers; they require a 2-yr contract and basic ch package starting at $80/mo and I don't think they offer local.
Whereas DISH has a Dish Outdoors service; its is month-to-month and packages starting at $43/mo., add locals for $12/mo.
From this thread it sounds like people tend to like Intellian over KVH(?)
Definitely don't want to spend 10 boat bucks on an antenna, but perhaps an intellian i2 or i3 if they are adequate.
I'm told KVH TV1 will not work with Wally rcvr. Difficult to get info because the channel providers sometimes tell you to go talk to the antenna builders and vice versa.
I did finally get from DISH that their main is Ku-band but their local programming is Ka-band. I'm curious if anyone is getting local channels from one of these smaller antennas.
 
This is a no-brainer. Intellian with Dish TV service. Even an i4 will cost only about $3,500. An i4 has a larger diameter dish which becomes more important as ypu move north.
 
The sat tv world is always in flux. So what I posted as true last month might not be true any more. What’s true for standard TV might not be true for HD TV. You need to be very specific as to what you want when asking for SatTv advice.

If you are willing to buy a $10,000 antenna, you can get DirectTV in HD with local channels were all the satellites are so close that your antenna will not need to adjust. This means you can channel surf at high speed. You can also record off of different satellites at the same time or if multiple TV’s you could watch different satellites at the same time. However, you can’t have a month to month like Dish.

Direct TV uses both Ku and Ka so getting HD on a lesser expensive antenna is not possible but regular tv was possible. Now DirectTV announced it was abandoning standard TV so for how long you can get standard tv from DirectTV is unknown.

As of last year Dish only used ku band. This ment you could get HD, standard Tv and locals on small less expensive antenna such as the I3. The rub is the distance between satellites. You can only record or watch one satellite at a time. Channel surfing becomes almost impossible unless you only surf the one satellite.

Then there is range. I wish I had bought the I4 instead of the i3 as I run out of HD service long before I run out of Standard Tv service.

Finally, of all the accessories I have added to my boat. Satellite TV has turned out to be the least rewarding. I now find myself using cellular technology to stream my TV. I run out of cellular options only a day before I run out of HD range on the SatTV. Yes I still have the Sat option and I sure like the Dish month to month program but it’s been 3 years since I Have been outside of cell range.
 
All the problems and disappointments i was hiving with my setup turns out the system that was installed used a gen one mim (black in color) . Come to find out it does not like the wally and i need a gen 2 (white in color). Got it yesterday and installed it today. Now the channels change as expected. Had this thing for 2 years and multiple calls for technical help and just now figured it out. I have direct tv at home so going to post how to get that working with intellian. Intellian tech support has no idea how to hook that up.
 
tiltrider1 said:
The sat tv world is always in flux. So what I posted as true last month might not be true any more. What’s true for standard TV might not be true for HD TV. You need to be very specific as to what you want when asking for SatTv advice.

If you are willing to buy a $10,000 antenna, you can get DirectTV in HD with local channels were all the satellites are so close that your antenna will not need to adjust. This means you can channel surf at high speed. You can also record off of different satellites at the same time or if multiple TV’s you could watch different satellites at the same time. However, you can’t have a month to month like Dish.

Direct TV uses both Ku and Ka so getting HD on a lesser expensive antenna is not possible but regular tv was possible. Now DirectTV announced it was abandoning standard TV so for how long you can get standard tv from DirectTV is unknown.

As of last year Dish only used ku band. This ment you could get HD, standard Tv and locals on small less expensive antenna such as the I3. The rub is the distance between satellites. You can only record or watch one satellite at a time. Channel surfing becomes almost impossible unless you only surf the one satellite.

Then there is range. I wish I had bought the I4 instead of the i3 as I run out of HD service long before I run out of Standard Tv service.

Finally, of all the accessories I have added to my boat. Satellite TV has turned out to be the least rewarding. I now find myself using cellular technology to stream my TV. I run out of cellular options only a day before I run out of HD range on the SatTV. Yes I still have the Sat option and I sure like the Dish month to month program but it’s been 3 years since I Have been outside of cell range.
Click to expand...

We use an Intellian i3 with Dish TV. Yes, it is true that channel surfing mimics home cable but only when for those channels on a single satellite. However, our experience with changing to a channel on the other satellite is not anywhere close to impossible although it does take a 5 to 15 seconds waiting for the tracking dish to orient to the new satellite. Somewhat annoying but we get along just fine without the instant gratification but if you want to define channel surfing as instant changes I guess that counts as "impossible". It does not for us. What we liked about the Dish service - we had an RV account - was that when we entered a new broadcast market changing to the locals could be done with an app in just a few minutes. And the RV account can be suspended at will and restarted as needed on a monthly basis.

The Intellian is A solution, not petfect but it just plain works and gets us anything we wish that could be gotten at a dirt house. However, there are other good but not perfect solutions that work for other folks. For example, we sometimes take our T-Mobile home internet box to the boat for short cruises - $50/month, no data limit - and use it for YouTube TV. But, we need to be close enough to a cell tower. A good solution, most but not all times.
 
What i was playing with was looking to see how the direct tv looked so i grabed it from teh motorhome and took it down to the boat. Intellian was stumped when it comes to hooking anything up. i have an hr24 reciever that swm and it ans for a multi switch or a swm. Intellatec says i dont need swm but i remember from my early day we needed to ad b band converters to the receivers or add a powered swm. I have the dish working good now but was curios what the tv looked like in sd and the advantage of 2 tuners, I was hoping to find someone who has hooked up a unit to an i5 and what they did for cabling and setup or if it even work at all. I dont want to damage the dish playing around.
 
I equate channel surfing to instant gratification, 5 second delays is an eternity.

I have completely left all live TV sources like YouTube TV, Dish, DirectTV, etc. I stream everything now.

For a while I hung on to YoutubeTV for sports but I can now stream sports live.

Streaming TV gives me much better TV coverage at cheaper prices.

What works for me might not work for everyone else.

I have a Hot Spot for work reasons. This unit is the size of a cell phone and travels around the world with me. I never need to get on an unsecured hotel network. I can also watch my TV where ever in the world I end up. I just plug a Roku stick into the hotel TV and stream. The hot spot works on the boat most of the time.

Starlink has caught my attention because it will work on the boat all the time. Starlink wont replace my hot spot as it doesn’t fit in my pocket. Starlink service can be turned on only when needed.

This brings me back to my Intellian dish. I haven’t turned it on in 2 years
 
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