Distant Network Services (DNS)

[Garypowell]

Since 2012 we have had a DirecTV RV account with DNS. Mostly we have used a Winegard automated portable system to get the signal. I am absolutely no good at pointing a dish....I have even tried the fancy tripod system from some company in the North West......just no talent in that area.

Each time we leave on a trip since 2012 (in our sales territory of 10 states) I call up DirecTV and take the system off of vacation. Usually we get everything but the DNS channels out of New York. I call and someone flips a switch and they are added easily.

But not this trip that started March 15th. Turned on the system and as usual received all stations but DNS. Called to have DNS turned on and was told we were no longer "eligible" because the FCC rules have changed. I called multiple times (as is my practice when I don't like what I have heard over the phone) and was told the same thing every time.

I am told the new FCC rules say if you are in a city that has local stations DirecTV can no longer provide DNS.

Initially I tried to call them each time we moved and gave them the RV campground we were in. Each time I tried it failed. The Winegard system can only "see" satellite 110 and it seems most local stations are spot beamed on 119.

They have explained to me the "new way" is to have an over the air antennae and view local channels that way. And usually we do get good reception but because we work.....we time-shift almost everything we watch.

So being creative I called back and told them I was sitting in Barrow, Alaska on Stevenson Street....with a wonderful view of the Arctic Ocean.

Arrived yesterday in Birmingham, AL and excitedly turned on the TV and system. Sure enough there were the major network stations. But my idea blew up in the fact that they turned on the California stations not the New York ones. So the evening news was like 8:30 last night and Blue Bloods was on at 12 AM.....nice job Gary!

And then this morning I am convicted of lying to DirecTV during my devotions just to get local channels!

My point in this story is two-fold:

1. Has anyone activated their DirecTV system recently and been caught in the circus I described above? Have you figured a non-lying way to get around it such that you can get your DNS as you always have?

2. And if nothing else, to warn you that if you do turn your DirecTV system off and on as I have done....you might want to leave it active and be grandfathered into the old way.

Before someone with DISH chimes in.....I checked them out too during this fiasco and was told (just like DirecTV told me) that in order to get local channels I would need a separate over the air antennae with my Winegard system.

I realize most of my problem is caused by using a Winegard auto system that only receives satellite 110.....and my inability to point a dish.....but again looking for any input on how to work with the system to get DNS.

 

[cookie]

I think you need to read THIS.

Peace
Dave

 

[BouseBill]

Good Luck Gary, After 18 years with Direct TV we finally switched over to Dish. Why?? I refused to pay 148.54 a month to watch the idiot box and Direct refused to work with us one bit!!

We used an independent satellite store that services Direct TV and Dish, for the Dish install in the 5er, while signing up the salesman and OWNER told us that Direct TV, since being bought up by AT&T has only gotten worse in customer service and will not work with customers.....so adios Direct......and hello to an extra $600 a year I can spend on other things.

 

[Garypowell]

Cookie,

Thanks for that article....caused me to think...and go to the Winegard site....my G2 auto system is good for 101 and 119 satellite. Not sure how 110 got into my brain......that might have been our old 1513 winegard....or what ever it is.

I can also note that during this go around the customer service has been "rougher"......only one or two of the people I spoke with seemed to actually care about what was going on.....that's out of about 15 phone calls.

 

[danemayer]

Were you speaking to a rep in the Distant Network Services department? From past experience, I would say the chances of getting a correct answer from any other department is pretty low. If you were not talking to them, I'd call again and ask them to transfer you to the Distant Network Services department.

And the transfer doesn't always succeed on the first attempt.

And depending on now you filled out the paperwork previously, you may have to resubmit with a copy of your current RV registration and a new affidavit.

In my view, the fault here is primarily with the FCC and secondarily with the RVIA and RV companies, and satellite equipment companies not pushing the FCC to help RVers.

 

[Garypowell]

Dan,

Thanks for your comments. About 80% of the time I was able to get through to the actual DNS department. Most would only quote the regulation and tell me that up to 45 days after I had submitted my paperwork would I hear the outcome.

About two weeks ago someone from DNS "took my application" over the phone.....it was based on my Florida address. That's why I called them yesterday to see if I had been approved. They said, "no it was denied" because I had local Orlando stations. Went through the explanation again that I was an RV'r and I was not in the Orlando area when I used the system.

They said, "well once you get to your location you'll have to file for DNS and then we can tell you if you are eligible"....."but if there are local stations where you are staying....then you will be denied again."

So I hung up and called again....getting DNS and a different person and said, "I am now in Barrow, Alaska (even gave them an address based on my GPS software) and they took my "application" again. Within a few minutes they said I had been "approved" to go to the next step. The next step, "was to have the local stations agree to let me get DNS". I said, "but there are no local stations in that part of Alaska".....but all they would do was repeat back the same sentence.

About an hour later I check account on line and "PBS" had been added. But I was not about to put out the dish just to test this. Drove to Birmingham and put out the dish....PBS did not show up in my guide so I refreshed the system....and that's when all of the stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox) along with PBS showed up on my guide....and they worked. So if there is any good news here it does seem the approval is taking a lot less time.

Except they worked on the west coast feed. So last night I went to bed thinking....."OK I can put up with this for a few weeks and then I'll tell them I have moved the RV to New Brunswick, Canada....to get my channels on eastern time.

Which then brings us to this morning when I realized I did not want to lie about this just to get those stations.

So far no one has chimed in on how to beat this new FCC regulation morally so looks like I'll be dropping DirecTV. This means my next task will be getting out of my contract that still has 6 - 7 months on it at $20 per month.....maybe I can talk someone into letting me out free since the "deal" has changed.

I know that will be difficult because it seems the FCC has changed things.....and that is not really DirecTV's fault....and I am sure that's what they will tell me

My fall back is we use TIVO at home...and it really works great. Next trip I'll move it in the rig and see how it works there. Usually with the generally poor reception we get I have not wanted to try that.....but maybe I'll come up with a ladder mounted aerial that I can raise up to do a better job....and yes I have the Jack.....

Sorry for the ranting.....I feel so much better now!

 

[porthole]

Gary, - coming to Goshen? I can show you what I do to find the SATs when my rooftop dish can't see.


If you keep Direct, maybe time to upgrade for the the new stuff. The 99-101-103 SATs are not to difficult to locate, as long as you have a relatively clear sky. I have some pictures on my SAT thread where I am looking though a small hole in the trees and still getting a signal.

BTW, since I have been using SAT TV I have never called for a location change. I consider 'local' channels to be my New York network, channels, not the channels where we are.
We have been able to watch the NYC channels from Myrtle Beach to New Hampshire and as far south west as West Memphis Arkansas.

BTW, with the newer DTV receivers you can USB connect an over the air tuner that will integrate with the main receiver, giving you truly local coverage.

 

[Garypowell]

Duane,

How are you getting New York stations when in other places? My assumption is they are only spot beamed to the NY area. So do you have DNS? Or some other trick.....'cause I am happy to see New York stations when on the road.....that's what we get when on the road in the past via DNS.

And....sorry not coming to the rally.

 

[jassson007]

I get my swla locals all the way to atleast the west side of Houston


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[porthole]

Duane,

How are you getting New York stations when in other places? My assumption is they are only spot beamed to the NY area. So do you have DNS? Or some other trick.....'cause I am happy to see New York stations when on the road.....that's what we get when on the road in the past via DNS.

And....sorry not coming to the rally.

a) I don't know - if you look at the "cones" of the coverage area I really shouldn't be getting them, but I do. The spot beam is a fairly large area though.
b) I don't know what DNS is

 

[Garypowell]

Thanks Duane!

when we leave Melbourne I can still get locals when we stop in Gainesville. When we arrive in Tallahassee we stay at a place that has a ridge and trees that block the signal but if we stay a couple of hours west of there no more locals.

Still ll looks like I am going to be pulling the plug on DIRECTV.

 

[murry135]

Gary,

I also get my home package with Direct TV as far south as Florida and as for north as Canada. I am not a guru on this stuff but I have all my boxes listed at our home address in NY and assume that is why. I however have the equipment Porthole is talking about for sale which if you are interested we can talk about. TV4RV tripod, swm1 dish and signal meter. If interested PM.


Jim

 

[Garypowell]

Jim,

you guys from New York have something going that seems not available to me.

As previously referred to (but not by name) I bought the TV4RV system after our automated system died a year ago.....could not get it to reliably work.....and that seemed to be a personal problem. I have added a dishwasher and induction cooktop to my rig but can't seem to point a satellite dish to save my life!!!

sometimes the satellites would show up like magic and then next stop I could never find them....so we went back to an automated system that I can just plug and chug with......but now this DNS problem.

But it you bring up an interesting thought.....I wonder with this new FCC ruling if locals are not spot beamed any longer......maybe they are more broadly sent out.....hum....

no....I bet it is because NY stations are the ones that are sent out on DNS so you can see them anywhere you go.....without DNS....

interesting.

 

[porthole]

Jim,

you guys from New York

Jersey-ite here - them New Yorkers are something else though ........

Look at this post.

https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...t-disappointed?p=379306&viewfull=1#post379306

- - - Updated - - -

Sometimes the forum software really stinks. Between the lack of word spacing when quoting to the pre-mature closing of threads.

On my above post I had a link that to a page that has not ben updated, but the info still seems valid. Just keep tha tin mind when looking at it.

Another example of 'coverage' through the trees.

https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...t-disappointed?p=454774&viewfull=1#post454774

 

[padre44]

I also switched to Dish - much less expensive. Had an automatic dish for Direct and to get local stations needed another small box. If I call Dish and give them the local zip code, they can make a change to allow me to get local channels where I am. Problem is that changes all my programming, so my DVR box which is set up for local channels where my permanent home is now won't pick up and record the new local channels. I'll now just use cable or over the air antenna for the major network channels and dish for all else.

 

[danemayer]

On Directv, the DNS channels from NY are 389, 390, 392, 394, 396, 398. I think the CW channel 394 actually is local to Wash. D.C.

Those channels are not spot beams; they're broadcast across the country.

 

[dave10a]

When it comes to satellites and the respective services, one needs to do their home work. First understand the law https://www.fcc.gov/media/television-broadcast-stations-satellite and second have some knowledge of the technology and the respective services policies. Flexibility is the key, but it takes a fair amount of homework to achieve that goal.

 

[2psnapod2]

Maybe we need to have this topic as a seminar at the Goshen Rally! Dan how about you? A discussion group type might be a good thing.

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[murry135]

I agree.

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[danemayer]

Maybe we need to have this topic as a seminar at the Goshen Rally! Dan how about you? A discussion group type might be a good thing.

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After searching for info, I think a lot of the new answers are resulting from confusing and incomplete information at the Directv end. The requirement for you to get agreement from the local station seems to be related to residences in a served area, where you want DNS on an exception basis for some good reason.
The FCC documents say that RVs are exempt and are considered "unserved household". AT&T's Directv documents also says this and link to the FCC document.

11. How does the exemption for recreational vehicles and commercial trucks apply?
If you are a subscriber whose dish antenna is permanently attached to a recreational vehicle or a commercial truck, you are deemed an “unserved household” and are eligible to receive distant analog and digital signals. The "recreational vehicle" must meet the definition contained in regulations issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The "commercial truck" must meet the definition contained in regulations issued by the Department of Transportation. The owner of the recreational vehicle or the commercial truck must produce the required legal documentation and include a signed declaration that the satellite dish is permanently attached to the vehicle or to the truck. The SHVIA statute specifically states that the terms "recreational vehicle" and "commercial truck" do not include any fixed dwelling, whether a mobile home or otherwise.

I have some difficulty with the term "permanently attached" but have decided that it is about having equipment only used in the RV, and not shared with a residence, rather than about the mounting technique for the dish. If you move the equipment between residence and RV, they cannot legally give you DNS.

This seems to have triggered renewed emphasis on a requirement for a separate account for the RV, which requires a 2nd programming package. To avoid redundant expense, they say you can suspend one or the other accounts up to 4 times per year to avoid a huge increase in billing. When I set ours up some years ago, they required the 2nd account to be created, but after many phone calls decided to merge the 2 accounts so I only need 1 programming package. I did have to get separate receivers for the RV. But I don't know if they're still willing to create a 2nd account and then merge them.

As for a seminar, that's really a discussion with Jim. I think the agenda is full. And I'm not sure how confident we can be that any of us can explain accurately how Directv is going to act.