Direct TV Sunday NFL Ticket question

[4ms]

Hi,
I learned on this site that I will not get local channels if I travel farther than about 200 milesfrom home. How about the rest of my programming. Should I get everything else that I get at home. Also, I get the Sunday NFL ticket package. Will I be able to get the games no matter how far away from home I travel? Oh, by the way, I just have a dish on a tripod, and bring a receiver from home.
thank you.

[afrank1971]

I have never experienced that 200 mile loss of programming people speak of. I live in southern California, that is where my subscription is based. Last October I was watching my NFL Sunday Ticket just fine in Spearfish, South Dakota. I've been as far as the middle of South Dakota and the western end of Texas / Carlsbad, NM, and have never had any issue, the programing is the same as when I'm at home. I've heard that it has something to do with certain signals only being pointed toward your home area, but I've not seen the effect if it's true. When you're on the road, they don't know where you are, if your dish picks it up, as far as your receivers concerned, you must be sitting at home. Anyway, that's been my experience. I love my DirecTV and NFL Ticket, and watch both every where we go. Enjoy!
Alan

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afrank1971 I have never experienced that 200 mile loss of programming people speak of. I live in southern California, that is where my subscription is based. Last October I was watching my NFL Sunday Ticket just fine in Spearfish, South Dakota. I've been as far as the middle of South Dakota and the western end of Texas / Carlsbad, NM, and have never had any issue, the programing is the same as when I'm at home. I've heard that it has something to do with certain signals only being pointed toward your home area, but I've not seen the effect if it's true. When you're on the road, they don't know where you are, if your dish picks it up, as far as your receivers concerned, you must be sitting at home. Anyway, that's been my experience. I love my DirecTV and NFL Ticket, and watch both every where we go. Enjoy! Alan

This is a common misconception that gets passed along by the few folks who are not effected by spot-beam programming. While your receiver does not know where you are, it can tell where you are not. Most local Network programming is spot-beamed and when you travel outside this beam your receiver will not longer see this beam and will no longer be able to provide the service. I am guessing that your local network programming for S. CA comes from LA. If so, you are amongst a privileged few who have locals that are also available Nationwide. The rest of us will lose our Network programming as we travel.
The NFL ticket is also a programming feature that is available Nationwide. Generally, you do have to have your receiver plugged into a phone line when you sign up for the service (to confirm your location) but you should then be able to unplug and travel as necessary. You may or may not be able to sign up for the next NFL season without being plugged into a phone line.

[Don and Reyne]

I have had NFL Sunday Ticket for 3 years and Directv automatically renews the package every year. I have not had any receivers plugged into a phone line for the duration of my subscription of 9 years with Directv.

[afrank1971]

Thanks Bill for clarifying, it's certainly not my intention to disseminate missinformation, just relaying my personal experience. For the life of me, I don't quite understand how the spot beam works. If all local channels are on that spot beam, then I shouldn't be able to get it either once I travel beyond the beam. So only thing I can figure is they must also broadcast those channels nationwide to satisfy existing/legacy contracts such as mine and perhaps those who live in the boonies, but then new subscribers must be blocked from that national signal and only allowed to decode that spot beam signal. Anyway, it is what it is and it hurts my brain trying to figure out how and why they do things. But yes, truth is, I've been a DirecTV subscriber since the early 90's, so probably have some "grandfather'd" things that they don't allow new subscribers to do. But I'm certainly not going to tell them they're letting me get away with something. I love how my setup works, and can't imagine the frustration if local channels go away every time you travel beyond the beam. I feel for new subscribers if that's the way it is.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afrank1971 Thanks Bill for clarifying, it's certainly not my intention to disseminate missinformation, just relaying my personal experience. For the life of me, I don't quite understand how the spot beam works. If all local channels are on that spot beam, then I shouldn't be able to get it either once I travel beyond the beam. So only thing I can figure is they must also broadcast those channels nationwide to satisfy existing/legacy contracts such as mine and perhaps those who live in the boonies, but then new subscribers must be blocked from that national signal and only allowed to decode that spot beam signal. Anyway, it is what it is and it hurts my brain trying to figure out how and why they do things. But yes, truth is, I've been a DirecTV subscriber since the early 90's, so probably have some "grandfather'd" things that they don't allow new subscribers to do. But I'm certainly not going to tell them they're letting me get away with something. I love how my setup works, and can't imagine the frustration if local channels go away every time you travel beyond the beam. I feel for new subscribers if that's the way it is.

You are not grandfathered into anything, it has to do with where you locals come from. Once they changed from CONUS broadcasts to spot-beam your equipment can no longer receive the programming outside the spot-beam as it no longer exists. You did not address that so I will ask you where do your locals come from. If it's LA then that is why you get them everywhere.
The NY and LA (and I believe one or two other smaller markets) are still broadcast on a CONUS beam and available to all of us DNS network subscribers.

[4ms]

So, basically I should get every channel I get at home including the NFL package with the exception of the local ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX etc. when I am on the road? That's how I understand it. I just want to be sure I will get all of my regular programming other than the locals. Don't want to lug the dish around if I won't get anything. I'll settle for getting the locals off of the antennae if it works.
Thanks

[afrank1971]

Yes Bill, I am out of the LA market, and that makes tremendously more sense as to why I get my signals where ever I go. I hope they don't ever decide to take the LA and NY signals and switch them to a spot beam.

[Route 66]

Quote:

I hope they don't ever decide to take the LA and NY signals and switch them to a spot beam.

I don't think there's much chance of that.

There are a lot of us paying extra for those DNS channels.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4ms So, basically I should get every channel I get at home including the NFL package with the exception of the local ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX etc. when I am on the road? That's how I understand it. I just want to be sure I will get all of my regular programming other than the locals. Don't want to lug the dish around if I won't get anything. I'll settle for getting the locals off of the antennae if it works. Thanks

That is correct.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afrank1971 Yes Bill, I am out of the LA market, and that makes tremendously more sense as to why I get my signals where ever I go. I hope they don't ever decide to take the LA and NY signals and switch them to a spot beam.

It's unlikely that DTV will change their NY and LA signals from their current CONUS coverage. For those of us who do not have (or choose not to use) a home address, DTV and Dish Network can provide RVer's and other "unserved households" with both NY and LA Network programming. While I don't get locals with DTV I do get to watch both the NY and LA Network programming. This gives me the flexibility to watch the programming at a time that is convenient for me depending upon where in the US I am.
Dish Network did change theirs recently, however. They use to broadcast the East Coast programming from Atlanta and they changed over to NY. They broadcast their West Coast programming from San Fran.

[MaverickBBD]

I have had Directv more years then I can remember now along with the NFL package and occassionally Nascar. I subscribed to east and west network feeds from day one (for an additional fee). I still get both. I was told by a tech. once not to get rid of my original recievers as I will loose the east coast networks. I subsribed to High Def networks out of L.A. but was unable to get network High Def out of N.Y. I have since disconnected the High Def network option as I thought it too pricey. Still get both L.A. and N.Y. in non high def. As far as the N.F.L. package, even if you are not within the blackout region your "local" team will be blacked out when it is blacked out in you home area. With NCAA I am able to overcome this by switching to the region of the visiting team.

[Route 66]

Quote:

I was told by a tech. once not to get rid of my original recievers as I will loose the east coast networks. I subsribed to High Def networks out of L.A. but was unable to get network High Def out of N.Y.

Unfortunately, there is so much incorrect info out there on satellite issues.

The tech was mistaken.

You will not lose any channels by using a new receiver.

You can receive SD channels from both east and west coast.

However, you can only receive HD channels from EITHER the east or west coast depending on your service address.

[MaverickBBD]

Thanks 66 I may not have stated it clearly. Yes I have seven receivers and they ALL receive east and west networks.