'satellite tv'

2009 Dodge Ram is tough outside, tech inside

When we first laid eyes on the Dodge Ram, a few words came to mind: gargantuan, behemoth, colossal. The words that didn't immediately come to mind when the big ol' truck rolled into the CNET garage were "high" or "tech." However, after--literally--climbing into the Ram's cab and spending some time behind the wheel, we found a surprising amount of drive-train tech and, more surprisingly, some very sophisticated cabin tech.

Satellite TV, a hard drive-based audio system, and in-vehicle Wi-Fi are just some of the ambitious, if unrefined, tricks the Dodge Ram has up its … Read more

AT&T drops Dish for DirecTV

AT&T is switching its satellite TV provider.

The telecommunications giant announced Friday that it will drop Dish Network and replace it with DirecTV, after January 31. AT&T has had a joint marketing deal with Dish since 2003.

Financial details of the new deal were not released.

AT&T had announced in early summer that it would not renew its current deal with Dish. It was not clear at the time, however, whether it would renegotiate its agreement with Dish or switch to DirecTV, the other primary satellite TV provider in the U.S.

Telecoms have … Read more

AT&T ends Dish satellite TV partnership

Satellite TV provider Dish Network said Tuesday that AT&T will end its agreement to bundle its TV service with AT&T's broadband and phone service at the end of the year.

AT&T and Dish have had a joint marketing deal since July 2003, which allows AT&T to package the Dish TV service with AT&T's phone and Internet packages. But AT&T has decided not to renew the agreement, and as required by the contract between the two companies, AT&T is giving Dish six months notice that … Read more

DirecTV in a suitcase for $1,499

If there's a polar opposite to satellite TV in an RV, it would be this. Not only is the "SatGo" small, but it doesn't require a stationary installation; it's so portable that it can be toted around in its own trifold carrying case.

The DirecTV system, which has a 17-inch LCD and laptop-style battery, was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January but didn't have a price tag--which we suspected wouldn't exactly be a bargain. Slashgear confirmed that suspicion, saying it's now available for $1,499. And that doesn't … Read more

Because RVs need TV more than anybody

It's often not hard to spot the RVs and campers that have satellite hookups--they either look like a TV news van or some jerry-rigged version of the truck used in Sanford and Son.

Luckily, the people at KVH are always thinking, and they've come up with a system designed specifically for the mobile-home set. The new "SlimLine" models will beam HD DirecTV signals to your road monster, touted as the "smallest and simplest" of their kind and available either preinstalled or after-market, according to Engadget.

It's not entirely clear to us what features … Read more

Dish Network gives away HD-DVR with new subscription plan

The headline on Dish Network's press release says "free high-definition DVR," but the fine print is a bit less exciting. The company introduced two new programming packages, called DishDVR Advantage and Dish DVR Advantage HD, that are said to reduce the cost of items purchased separately--as much as seven percent for the first package (woo hoo!). The "free high-definition DVR," a ViP-622 normally available for $199, is part of the HD version. For the reasonable cost of $69.99 per month, customers will receive the DVR, the satcaster's 30 national HD channels (more info), … Read more