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Can you mount an antenna where your dish used to be?

I may not like it, but it’s a fact. Fewer people have satellite TV than they used to. Both DIRECTV and DISH have seen declining numbers of satellite subscribers as people choose to go to streaming-only services like DIRECTV for Internet and Sling. Some folks are choosing to abandon live TV altogether, but I have a feeling they’ll be back. An antenna gives you free live TV with no monthly fee On the other hand, streaming app prices are soaring. It’s now to the point where subscribing to the five most popular streaming apps costs more than the average pay-TV subscription. So where does live TV fit into all that? You might find that you miss live news and sports and the old-school feeling of just sitting down and relaxing in front of the...
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HANDS-ON REVIEW: DIRECTV Sports Central

DIRECTV has a long history of offering interactive experiences using their receivers and DVRs. The latest is Sports Central, which offers something that the company’s never offered before. Is it worth it, or is it just a gimmick? I spent some time using it in order to find out Where you can find the Sports Central App The Sports Central app is available on DIRECTV Gemini devices. It’s not available on the company’s traditional receivers or Genie devices. You will need to have a Gemini in order to use it. The reason for this is simple: despite its conservative looks, Gemini is the most powerful piece of consumer hardware the company has ever made. The HS17 Genie 2 has a lot of capabilities and it probably beats the Gemini in raw...
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Ken Reid and Tabitha Stevens

July 7-13, 1979 This week Ken welcomes former adult actress, Howard Stern Show Hall of Famer, world’s greatest Assistant movie theater manager and all around gem of a human Tabitha Stevens to the show. Ken and Tabitha discuss end of the world heat waves, Death Valley, Las Vegas, moving from Long Island NY to Las Vegas as a teenager, dressing up to go into New York for culture, Barney Miller, having a great disdain of cigarettes, tanning booths, skin cancer, bleach, frosted tips, heavy Long Island accents, being scared of New Yorkers, being bullied, Vegas Showgirls, The Brady Bunch, having your fan mail accidentally send to Erin “Tabitha from Bewitched” Murphy, Tabitha Soren, The Rainbow Room, the Sunset Strip, pagers, booking...
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Solid Signal is a DISH Premier Local Retailer. What does that mean?

You might have noticed the graphic at the top of this article. I’ve put it at the top of several articles on this blog in the last few months. It’s something I’m very proud of. We have been awarded DISH’s Premier Local Retailer status and trust me, that’s a big deal. How big a deal? I thought I’d explain What is a Premier Local Retailer? Only about 10% of DISH dealers reach Premier Local Retailer Status. It’s not just the number of accounts that a dealer gets. In fact, that’s only a small part of it. It’s about how a dealer takes care of those accounts. In order to be a Premier Local Retailer, you need to offer all the services DISH offers, from satellite TV to streaming to smart home and more. You need to have experts on site who can...
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Can you use a phone charger (or your TV) to power your Gemini Air?

DIRECTV’s Gemini Air device is a compact little miracle. It’s a streaming device not much larger than a flash drive. Today, that might not seem very miraculous, with Fire Sticks and Chromecasts being about the same size. But it’s a pretty cool thing nonetheless. It’s also the first DIRECTV device to be powered by USB-C. DIRECTV has had other USB-powered devices before but they’ve always used the much-maligned MicroUSB connector. You know the one, it’s the only connector that you have to somehow turn upside down at least twice before it goes in right. The Gemini Air comes with its own power supply which gives 5 volts and 1.5 amps max draw. It’s small enough to go anywhere you need it to go. But what if you want to use something else...
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Podcast #544: A lot to say, not a lot to watch

In this podcast, we wander around a lot of issues that need to be voiced. It’s a good listen! Check it out, shop at Solid Signal - Signal Solutions including HDTV Antennas, DIRECTV and DISH Network satellite equipment and home entertainment supplies and accessories, and call 888-233-7563 for personalized communications solutions. Listen to the podcast your way! Just choose one of the following: Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you! Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below on your mobile device. If you want us to add another...
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Choosing the right lens for your Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera

I’ve been working with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K camera for several months now. It’s hands down the best camera I’ve ever used, video or still. Its 19-megapixel sensor can capture stills or 6K video (hence the name) that’s up to broadcast standards. It has a large touchscreen which makes adjustments easy and quick. And boy is it customizable. It has a wide variety of automatic and manual settings that I’m still learning to use. It also has a full-sized HDMI port and a USB port for an external hard drive. There’s only one thing it doesn’t have when you buy it: a lens. That’s right, it doesn’t come with a lens. That may seem kind of weird if you’re an amateur photographer. Blackmagic Design is selling something that doesn’t come...
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Computers should not work

Think about this for a second. Imagine doing a billion things, and doing all of them 100% accurately. Even if these were the simplest things in the world, I can’t imagine I could do all of them with that level of accuracy. I mean I take about 22,000 breaths a day, something that I absolutely need to do, and at least once a week I have to cough or clear my throat, or get the hiccups. So I can’t even breathe 150,000 times without messing up, and that number is much smaller than a billion. Yet, the computer I am sitting in front of does roughly four billion things every second and does them with a level of perfection that simply boggles my mind. Common sense tells me that this should not be possible. Miracles like solid state technology...
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Crisis Communication in Business: Could You Get Help in an Emergency?

Reprinted with permission from the weBoost blog. According to FEMA, just 37% of small businesses have a disaster preparedness plan in place. FEMA surveyed business owners to learn that among small businesses with less than 50 employees, 60 percent of owners say they don’t need such a plan. Among businesses with 300 or fewer employees, 51 percent don’t see the need to prepare for an emergency. Still, ask any small business owner who’s been through a crisis, and they’ll tell you that businesses need to be prepared for emergency situations. You never expect the worst to happen – until it does. Communication is a critical part of crisis mitigation, and today that means reliable cellular connectivity is paramount. The implications in...
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Are your Wally and Tailgater having problems with Western Arc lately?

Thanks to members of the SatelliteGuys forum who contributed opinions and source material for this article. I’ve recently read several threads on enthusiast forums about people whose Tailgaters stopped working in the last month. It may be that people are just now realizing the problem exists now that football season is here. There seems to be a quick fix that works for most people. What does the problem look like? When you turn on your Wally and Tailgater, you’re presented with a screen that lets you set your location, like this: If the Mode is “WA 1 TV(110,119,129)” then you might experience the problem. The problem comes when the device scans for satellites in the sky. It will get to the point where you see this on the screen...
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The FCC finally has a full set of commissioners!

In a surprisingly quiet move, the US Senate finally confirmed a fifth commisioner to sit on the Federal Communications Commission. That seat has been empty since January 20, 2021. Even in our current political climate, it’s unheard of for a position this important to have sat empty for so long. But, let’s not look backward. Let’s look forward. About Anna Gomez Linkedin Anna Gomez, the new commissioner, has served in several capacities that make her well-suited to the position. For most of this year, she’s been part of the Biden administration as a “Senior Advisor for International and Communications Policy.” She’s also been a communications attorney for both the US Government and for Sprint. This should mean that both sides of the...
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How do you connect a Gemini to the internet using Wi-Fi?

Note: This article is about the DIRECTV Gemini for Satellite. If you use the DIRECTV service without a satellite dish, this article may not be the most accurate information for you. DIRECTV has had wireless client technology for a decade now, starting with the C41W Wireless Genie Mini. You can read the initial review of that box here. However, the way that you connect your Genie client has changed depending on what generation of DIRECTV equipment you have. If you have an HR44 or HR54 Genie, which look something like this: That sort of Genie DVR requires a second piece of hardware to work with a wireless client. The Wireless Video Bridge from DIRECTV adds the capability to use wireless clients. All you need to do is connect it via...
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NICE AND EASY: Can you record streaming content on your Gemini?

This is another one of those articles that could be one word long if I wanted it to. And, that word would be: No. But of course, there’s a little more to the story than that. There’s the question of why you can’t do that. Gemini: the best of both worlds With the DIRECTV Gemini for Satellite, you get one device that acts like a DIRECTV DVR and also like a streaming box. Using the Android TV operating system, Gemini can run practically any streaming app in the Google Play Store. It also runs a special, purpose-built app called “Gemini” which makes the box look and act exactly like a Genie client. It’s a cool idea if you think about it. Since Gemini was first released, it’s become really popular. As the first new Genie hardware from...
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Why is RG58 cable so expensive?

RG58 cable can be really pricey. Take for example this 1000-foot spool, which at over $3000 is a real price premium over a RG6 cable, which can generally be found at less than one-twentieth the price. RG58 cable is used for older industrial installations and can still be found in professional-grade cell booster installations. The traditional wisdom is that 50-ohm cable like RG58 is more compatible with sending voice and data signals through the house, while RG6 is better for video. RG58 just isn’t that common Unfortunately, while RG6 has enjoyed great success as part of pretty much every cable TV, satellite or TV antenna installation in the last 40 years or so, RG58 cable has stayed out at the margins. Even most consumer-level cell...
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