DirecTV at home and road is fraud

[mel s]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

There is one applicable federal regulation that I know of, but it does not say what they told you it says.

IF your home is in an area that can receive network TV over the air, then Direc/Dish has to provide those stations to you, and they do it on a spot beam (This is by federal law) if you drive out of the "Spot" (Think of a spot light, same thing exactly) you will be, in the dark, network tv wise.

Well, they also offer "Distant Network Service" which is a "Flood light" lighting up all of the US, these are stations in NYC, area or LA area or in dishe's case a few other cities as well. You pick.

Your RV, qualifies for DNS... Very likely your house does not.

And that is the applicable federal law.

My advice. Dump the home account, and get an RV account, Usually they will provide "locals" as well as Distant to the RV (NOTE: they are not supposed to) so you can watch CSI both at home and on the road. Of course you use your "Spare" receivers from the RV account in the house... Just exactly as you do now.

wa8yxm
....Spot light/flood light... great analogy!

And good advice about using "spare receivers" in the house and hunting camp if one is paying the additional for DNS in the RV.

I pay $63.20 monthly for my "program package"... plus an additional $6 a month for one additional receiver...plus $20 a month for E & W DNS.

BTW, whether one is paying DTV for "residential programming", (and/or for both "residential" and "DNS programing"), ANY/ALL receivers on that paid subscription will receive the programing anywhere in the U.S..... (like a hunting camp, a RV, a cabin or vacation home), with a dish antenna.

BTW, unlike many other areas of the country, in central WI you can not get "local channels" with the same dish antenna that receives DTV programing from satellite 101.... (a second dish antenna is required because "locals" are "spot beamed" to our area from a different satellite ).

Mel
'96 Safari

[F239141]

Aparently they don't care anymore, had no trouble with them last week when the receiver labeled Motorhome was hit by a power surge

[wa8yxm]

The government passed some kind of law... Many years ago, it's the Communications act of 1934 and Sat TV had not even been invented yet.

For some years now I have been telling people about the fact that a home account does not qualify for distant network service.

Here is what happened.

Many folks, epically RVers were using Distant Network service, EVEN though their homes did not qualify, on home accounts.. Well, there are several advantages to this.

Many times a major "Big leag" ball game, blacked out in your home area, will be broadcast on the distant network station so you can watch.. Thus the ball clubs objected.

You can watch shows at times other than when they are broadacast locally (Since you can get both east and west coast feeds) and this means local advertisers are loosing out on advertising effect.

So law suits were brought and won to stop the free passing out of DNS waivers.. Still Some companies wound up getting sued, IN 2007 DISH was injoined from offering DNS service because of alleged violations (Direct is every bit as guilty of those violations but the fly in the agreement that would have prevented it was FOX, and FOX and Direct I'm told had a major shareholder or two in common).

Now. the hope.

I was notified yesterday of a congressional plan to REVIEW the communications act of 1934.. After all in 1934 there were no cell phones, No Sat tv, No sat phones, No digital communications of any kind other than "The Finger" (The ultimate "Digit" communications) and no internet. We need a re-write.

This will be a multi-year project which means our grandchildren may not live long enough to see it finished but. There is hope.

Meanwhile.. This is what I recommend.

Do not get Direct (or DISH) for our house and use the "Spare" receiver(s) in the RV.

Get Dish, or Direct for the RV and use the spares in the house.. Same thing, only reversed,, WHY, RV accountd DO qualify for Distant Network Service.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

For some years now I have been telling people about the fact that a home account does not qualify for distant network service.

.

Is this really true?

I thought that if one owned a home which was not within any of the sat providers' spot beams, that DNS was the solution they offered.
What do the sat providers tell folks who live outside of their spot beams?

Rick

[Joerpilot]

We use the receiver from our guest room at home. Put it in the motor home and as mentioned by others, all you lose are the local stations when traveling. $6.00 a month

[two-niner]

Think of your receiver as a transponder saying "Hey, I'm here...send me some TV".
Direct TV knows where you are.
Like RickO we were grandfathered in and get dns anywhere (our choice including S&B).
Spot beaming is another story.
Our receiver (SWM) in the RV is stated as RV installed.
DTV has been faultless for us.

Kerry

[FlyingDiver]

Originally Posted by RickO

Is this really true?

I thought that if one owned a home which was not within any of the sat providers' spot beams, that DNS was the solution they offered.
What do the sat providers tell folks who live outside of their spot beams?

Rick

Lack of spot beams isn't the major factor in qualifying for DNS service. To get DNS, you need to be out of the OTA range of whichever station(s) are in the DMA you're in. That is, you need a waiver from the stations officially supplying service to your area. If you can't get their OTA signal, and the sat provider doesn't have your locals, then you can qualify for DNS.

[FlyingDiver]

Originally Posted by two-niner

Think of your receiver as a transponder saying "Hey, I'm here...send me some TV".
Direct TV knows where you are.

No, the receiver is not a transponder. It doesn't have any transmission capability at all. Neither it nor DirecTV know where you are.

[docj]

Originally Posted by FlyingDiver

No, the receiver is not a transponder. It doesn't have any transmission capability at all. Neither it nor DirecTV know where you are.

Some people get the mistaken impression that DirecTV is "talking to their receiver" and that's how you can do things like set your DVR to record using your web browser. My understanding is that your online actions cause a message to be sent to all active DirecTV receivers that says something like "if you are John Doe's living room DVR set yourself to record Homeland on Sunday at 9pm." Any receiver other than the intended one simply ignores the request.

As FlyingDiver said, DTV has no idea where your receiver is or even if it is on and connected to an antenna.

[FlyingDiver]

My understanding is that your online actions cause a message to be sent to all active DirecTV receivers that says something like "if you are John Doe's living room DVR set yourself to record Homeland on Sunday at 9pm." Any receiver other than the intended one simply ignores the request.

Correct. It sends the receiverID and the ShowID pair in the main data stream, which all receivers get.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by two-niner

Think of your receiver as a transponder saying "Hey, I'm here...send me some TV".
Direct TV knows where you are.
Kerry

Kerry
I disagree!

DirecTV can only know if, (or where), a DirecTV receiver is being used:
1.) If you tell them.
2.) If your DirecTV receiver is connected to a telephone line.

If your receiver is not connected to a telephone line they only
know 4 things:
1.) Your billing address.
2.) What receiver you have.
3.) That you have a subscription for/to their programing.
4.) That you are paying for that subscription.

DirecTV receivers are not transponders!

Mel
12 year DirecTV customer.
'96 Safari

[tlkhorses]

Originally Posted by mel stuplich

Kerry
I disagree!

DirecTV can only know if, (or where), a DirecTV receiver is being used:
1.) If you tell them.
2.) If your DirecTV receiver is connected to a telephone line.

If your receiver is not connected to a telephone line they only
know 4 things:
1.) Your billing address.
2.) What receiver you have.
3.) That you have a subscription for/to their programing.
4.) That you are paying for that subscription.

DirecTV receivers are not transponders!

Mel
12 year DirecTV customer.
'96 Safari

Not quite correct. If I leave my "home" area then I no longer get my local channels. So though it is not a transponder it knows something.

[FlyingDiver]

Originally Posted by tlkhorses

Not quite correct. If I leave my "home" area then I no longer get my local channels. So though it is not a transponder it knows something.

Nope, it still doesn't know anything. Your locals are spot-beamed. Once the antenna leaves the beam footprint, it can't get those channels anymore.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by FlyingDiver

Nope, it still doesn't know anything. Your locals are spot-beamed. Once the antenna leaves the beam footprint, it can't get those channels anymore.

FlyingDiver
That is correct!

Nearly all DirecTV local channel signals are spot beamed from the satellite.
If/when the dish antenna can't see the spot beamed locals the receiver can't send them to the TV.

Mel
'96 Safari