Direct TV

Ok can the lawyers or someone who knows for sure please help?  We have direct tv hd recievers in our camper with a direct satellite dish on the roof.  We have always been able while traveling called and gave them the zip code we were staying for the night.  This allows us to get the local channels.  One out two times we are told either they can't do it or it's against the law.  This results in a lot of discussion and eventually we get the local channels.  Any clarification would be appreciated.

Previously.... They did allow this change, now they want you to sign up for extra monthly charge for an account that allows reception of local channels outside of the spot beam.  Last time I checked (couple years ago) this was like $15/month.  When outside the spot beam, we either use the cable in the campground, go without the network (abc, cbs, nbc, fox) channels or use the digital airwaves antenna.

I have been told that the reason that Direct can not give you local channels away from home anymore is not a Direct policy, but a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  It has more to do the Advertisers that are getting free market shares without paying for them. 

Therefore the local channels are put on a "spot beam" that limits reception to approximately 50 miles from your home Zip code.  As a full timer I was was able to get "Distant Network Services" which is the major networks from the west coast, Los Angeles, and the east coast, New York.  Of course to get DNS it is an additional charge on your bill. 

Russ - DirecTV will give you an "Off the Air" tuner box that sits on top of the receiver that will let you get locals.  Hook up your TV antenna to the box and tell the receiver what zip code you're in.  If we're going to have the jacks down for more than a few days, I'll set up for the locals so I can catch local news.

John, will that box work with an R16?

There is confusion here in the answers. The FCC does not prohibit you from receiving locals, but they must be the locals for the service address (zip code) where you are located. The only exception to this is a Mobile Account, which is permitted to receive the major network feeds in lieu of the locals.  So if you have a Mobile Account, you cannot also receive locals at your current zip code. (Note: a few people do get both, either through error or being grandfathered in from before this FCC policy was clarified.)
Some reps at both Direct and Dish are equally confused (i.e.poorly trained) and say "it can't be done" or "it's illegal", but you can ask for a supervisor or simply hang up and call back to get a different rep.

There may be a few areas where you physically cannot receive the local channel spot beam because it is on a satellite your equipment cannot handle. There aren't many of these, but they do exist.

Ned said:

John, will that box work with an R16?

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Not sure Ned, I use it with an HR-21 DVR.

From Direct TV Website....


Can I get DNS in my RV?
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Only residential accounts are available for DNS, but some mobile accounts might be eligible. According to federal regulations, we may offer DNS without screening for address eligibility only to certain types of recreational vehicles and commercial trucks. Boats and other marine vessels do not qualify for this special consideration. For definitions of eligible vehicles, please see the FCC website (item No. 18 of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 fact sheet).

If your permanent residence account lists more than one receiver and one of these is located in your vehicle, you will no longer be able to "mirror" the services on the additional receiver in your vehicle. We will need to charge you the full monthly programming package price for this additional receiver, instead of the $6.00 a month programming mirroring fee you may be paying currently.

Before we can add DNS to your service, federal law requires that you send us the following information:
Photocopy of your vehicle registration.
This Mobile Vehicle Affidavit Declaration of Intent form (please print and complete).
Photocopy of commercial driver's license (if you're requesting service for a commercial vehicle such as a tractor trailer).
Please send to:
DIRECTV
Attn: Mobile Network Services
P.O. Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 80155

After we receive your paperwork, we will need 11 to 14 days to verify that the information is complete and to activate your DNS programming. It is important for you to know that your dish must be pointed to the satellite located at 101 degrees West longitude at the time we activate these services or your system will not be able to receive the signals.

If you are not receiving DNS programming after 14 days, first check to make sure your dish is pointed to the correct position and then call us to request activation. We look forward to receiving your information and bringing you broadcast network services.

SargeW said:

I have been told that the reason that Direct can not give you local channels away from home anymore is not a Direct policy, but a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  It has more to do the Advertisers that are getting free market shares without paying for them. 

Therefore the local channels are put on a "spot beam" that limits reception to approximately 50 miles from your home Zip code.  As a full timer I was was able to get "Distant Network Services" which is the major networks from the west coast, Los Angeles, and the east coast, New York.  Of course to get DNS it is an additional charge on your bill.

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Hey there Sarge, hope ya'll are doing well out there.  Somewhere I have a link to the actual spotbeam map for north america, will try to find it.  Some places you can be like 400+ miles from your home location, others all the way down to 50mi or less.... I'll try and find the map and post it.

Wow, another reason for staying with Dish!  ;D

Direc and Dish both can not deliver "Local" channels for most customers if you are out of your home area, I do not think they ever had that ability.

And the Distant network issues they talk about in that one post.. Well DISH is not allowed to deliver DNS at all,  Thanks to, in part, one of Direct's major stockholders (Talk about a conflict of interest).

The solution to that "Mirroring" thing is simple.. Do not get a Direc (or Dish) home account and use the extra receiver in the motor home.

Get a motor home account and.. Well you get what 4 (or more) rooms .. Ok, 1 in the MH and 3 in the house (Just park at home on install day and do your own install on the house units).

What Direc does not know they can not bill for.

And that bit about charging seperate accounts.. That too has always been in the contract language,, They just finally started enforceing it since they now have an "Exclusive" on RV service. (Well DNS).. This too will change when Dish finds another 3rd party DNS company.

Well DISH is not allowed to deliver DNS at all,  Thanks to, in part, one of Direct's major stockholders (Talk about a conflict of interest).

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Dish is not allowed to deliver DNS because they grossly violated the FCC regulations on DNS for many years. And failed to correct their practices after repeated warnings from FCC.  As I hear the story, Direct complained about Dish's repeated violations while Direct had to toe the FCC line, and that eventually led to the prohibition.

Gary RV Roamer said:

Dish is not allowed to deliver DNS because they grossly violated the FCC regulations on DNS for many years. ..

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And that's the way I remember the situation.

John Canfield said:

And that's the way I remember the situation.

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Never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory

John Canfield said:

Not sure Ned, I use it with an HR-21 DVR.

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From what I can find out, it only works with an HD receiver.  I'm going to try to reactivate our DNS in the motorhome when we leave next month, the paperwork is still on file at DTV so I'm hoping we can do that.

This discussion, issue, has been the topic of numerous posts on this and other forums. We have always received our "home" spot beam as far away as Elkhart on the east, and Owatonna on the west, and it seems to be born out by the spot beam map posted above.

My question is this...just curious; why does it matter to get your home networks on Dish or Direct while traveling? You can use your over the air antenna to get the locals where you happen to be stopped. And they will have the national news programs as well. And all of the national programming of ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. You will still be able (if you go for that sort of thing) to watch dancing with the stars.

parttymer said:

My question is this...just curious; why does it matter to get your home networks on Dish or Direct while traveling? You can use your over the air antenna to get the locals where you happen to be stopped. And they will have the national news programs as well. And all of the national programming of ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. You will still be able (if you go for that sort of thing) to watch dancing with the stars.

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I think there is a misunderstanding here.  The purpose of getting DNS is not so you can get your home networks while traveling.  It is to make sure you can get any networks when away from your home spot beam.  If you have DNS you receive either the NY or LA network affiliates no matter where in the country you are.  A major benefit of this is that you can leave your DVR programmed to a specific set of channels that do not change as you move around.  We rarely bother to watch local stations as we travel; any local news and weather we want is readily available on the internet.

Thanks all:  the comment about watching dancing with stars is dead on for my wife.  We summer at Glacier National Park where we work.  We had been stationed on the east side which limited our ability to use antenna.  We have been moved to the west side and am hoping the local channels will come in better on the antenna.

docj said:

I think there is a misunderstanding here.  The purpose of getting DNS is not so you can get your home networks while traveling.  It is to make sure you can get any networks when away from your home spot beam.  If you have DNS you receive either the NY or LA network affiliates no matter where in the country you are.  A major benefit of this is that you can leave your DVR programmed to a specific set of channels that do not change as you move around.  We rarely bother to watch local stations as we travel; any local news and weather we want is readily available on the internet.

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Aha! The light went on! Since we don't have DVR boxes for DTV at home or on the road, I never thought of that. Recording shows to watch later isn't something we do, or ever want to do.

In addition to DNS, we use the over-the-air antenna for current local weather when there's a lot of activity.  The major disadvantage of local stations (e.g. those where we're parked) is that you have no TV guide so you don't know when programs will be on.  Yes, you change your clocks but the Central time zone, in particular, seems to get the shows at different times than in the east or west which can get pretty confusing.  We've also been in areas where there's only one station and they bring in the various networks which is a mishmash for people like us who don't know about their local situation.  As docj mentioned, you can have your DVR programmed on the east-west networks and not have to change them all the time to record your favorite programs.  When you're traveling you don't want to have to reprogram every time you change locations.  With DirecTV we just reset the clock to the appropriate time zone and it still records our shows.  The TV using the roof antenna needs to reprogram at each new location.  At least the new TVs can do that with minimal effort now.

By the way, I recall the FCC vs. Dish controversy the same as Gary.  It was Dish's own fault that they lost the DNS feeds because they refused to follow the rules.

ArdraF