Distant Network Services (DNS)

[murry135]

Hummm.

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[2psnapod2]

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.

Dan that is why I suggested maybe a discussion forum seminar. I don't think any of us are experts in the area. Maybe someone from the Vendor could maybe talk and then just a discussion. Just saying it would be a good subject for sure as many of us are using a Dish of some sorts as we RV.

 

[Garypowell]

I always appreciate the input but Dave10A hit the bulls eye for what I was looking for....THANKS!

And then Dan took it a little further but he did say were he found his information. In Dan's it is "point 11" but what Dave10a provided only went up to "point 9"

But from looking at both of these DirecTV is not following what the FCC has written. My guess is they are simply taking a very narrow path to keep out of trouble with the FCC. I do realize most of who I spoke was working from a script as they all said basically the same thing. They only spoke of if I had local service where the system is at....or the RV that is.

I also noted the "permanently attached"....but as long as I only use it with the RV I don't think that is an issue.

What is an issue is getting to speak with anyone at DirecTV who can understand the problem and follow the FCC rules.

All of this has caused Linda and I to have some long conversations about our "TV entertainment" and what value we put on it. With our DirecTV bills going north of $90 with the "Alaska DNS" we arranged......we are not sure it is worth it.

I would have responded sooner but I went out and got a Tivo Bolt. We use Tivo at home....and it works great. All we want/need is the ability to time shift. Certainly it would be nice to have more than just local channels....but then again at what cost. Hooked it up....it is working great in the RV. We can bring a Tivo Mini from home next trip and set it up in the bedroom.

I'm going to put the DirecTV system back on vacation and see how the Tivo works out....and then we can make a final decision. We'll be home in 3 weeks and then leave again in June for 4 months so there is time to figure this out.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[jassson007]

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

Jim I might be interested unless you seek this setup before goshen. I have forgotten how much you were wanting though.


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[TXBobcat]

I'm not sure if I am current with the FCC rules. However I agree with Dan.

I have had DirecTV since 1996. I transferred it to my RV in 2007 and included DNS for both the East and West coast.. They started to remove my East DNS and I called them I was paying for both the East and West services. They told me it would cost me $20 per month to keep both services. I have never changed my address to get local stations. I just use the OTA antenna when available so I can get mainly local weather. However I use apps on my cell phone to check that now.

I have the 18" SD dish and an old receiver. I can only record 2 programs and must use two cables to use the receiver.

To access the satellite I got tired of trying to locate it with a .buzzer, so I spent about $350 and purchased a Birdog meter at SatPro...

For the newer satellites I need a different meter or have mine updated and get the SWM technology..

BTW.. I can usually access the 101 satellite in about 5 minutes or much less. Also there is an App for the iPhone that helps alot. Dish pointer, DP AR Pro.

Also I use Satellite Dish Pointer....

Here's one that I found that may work for the newer systems at SatPro.

Dan is much more informed than me but this is about what I use.

BC

 

[porthole]

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.

I see no reason for the average consumer to need to read and understand any federal law when it comes to watching TV. That would be equivalent to all boaters reading the FCC regs regarding marine radios or users of the FRS, Family radio service, just not going to happen.

 

[porthole]

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.

I'll consider ourselves lucky since I still am not sure what DNS is or why I would need it. Our TV viewing is no different when at home or on the road. The only real difference is how I get the picture from the blue sky to Deb's TV

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.

Dan, you should know, whether you have a problem or not, it would ultimately be up to supreme court to decide what convoluted reason lawmakers had when putting pen to paper.
Besides, "recreational vehicle" is already defined by the US Tax code. The FCC reg just adds confusion. And here is the specific text from the previously linked FCC code:

24 CFR §3282.8
(g) Recreational vehicles.
Recreational vehicles are not subject to this part, part 3280, or part 3283. A recreational vehicle is a vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) 400 Square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;
(3) Self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
(4) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Some knuckle head in Washington could counter we don't qualify according the the above.
400 square feet is now out the window.
"permanently towable" You would need a subsection to define that
Full timers would be non qualified based on the last line.

And, that FCC reg does not even address boats - which the US Tax code does for the same tax proposes that covers RV's. SAT TV for boats has been around for quite some time, long before it was available for RV's.

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.

When I required about a second DVR receiver to keep in the trailer I was advised DTV allows only one DVR per account.
When I required about a second account I was advised only one account per address.

 

[cookie]

When I required about a second DVR receiver to keep in the trailer I was advised DTV allows only one DVR per account.

Duane, I have two DVR's from DTV. You can only have one Genie but if you require more tuners another two tuner DVR will be supplied.

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

I'll consider ourselves lucky since I still am not sure what DNS is or why I would need it. Our TV viewing is no different when at home or on the road. The only real difference is how I get the picture from the blue sky to Deb's TV



Dan, you should know, whether you have a problem or not, it would ultimately be up to supreme court to decide what convoluted reason lawmakers had when putting pen to paper.
Besides, "recreational vehicle" is already defined by the US Tax code. The FCC reg just adds confusion. And here is the specific text from the previously linked FCC code:

24 CFR §3282.8
(g) Recreational vehicles.
Recreational vehicles are not subject to this part, part 3280, or part 3283. A recreational vehicle is a vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) 400 Square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;
(3) Self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
(4) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Some knuckle head in Washington could counter we don't qualify according the the above.
400 square feet is now out the window.
"permanently towable" You would need a subsection to define that
Full timers would be non qualified based on the last line.

And, that FCC reg does not even address boats - which the US Tax code does for the same tax proposes that covers RV's. SAT TV for boats has been around for quite some time, long before it was available for RV's.




When I required about a second DVR receiver to keep in the trailer I was advised DTV allows only one DVR per account.
When I required about a second account I was advised only one account per address.

Duane,

I'd also like to be able to just place an order to a service provider and not have to investigate rules and regs.

But RVers don't have anyone lobbying on their behalf when it comes to Satellite, or Cable TV, or Telecommunications in general. So things get done that make life difficult for us. And the regulations are often confusing to the people who have to implement them.

In 2012, the major cable companies went to the FCC asking permission to drop analog cable service and to encrypt all digital signals. IIRC, around 50 groups expressed various objections and an accommodation was carved out for every one of them. RVers and campgrounds didn't participate and got no accommodation. So now, at some RV parks, to get cable TV, you need to use a set top box. And of course, in many RVs, hooking up a set top box is not a small deal. If RVIA or a campground association had been paying attention, that whole mess could have been avoided.

Same thing with satellite. There's no one speaking for RVers. So regulations get put into place that negatively affect us.

In 2012 we were staying in a state park east of Grand Junction, CO. There was no radio or TV reception or internet. The only way to get news was via satellite. We needed local stations, but weren't allowed to get them because the Grand Junction local stations weren't available on satellite. And because we were located in the Grand Junction TV market, we weren't allowed to have the Denver stations, even if the spot beam reached us. We needed information on the fires that were burning near us and in many other Colorado locations, but the rules denied us important safety information. I think the RV industry needs to lobby for us to be allowed access to ALL local stations while traveling - without a phone call.

 

[murry135]

Duane,

I'd also like to be able to just place an order to a service provider and not have to investigate rules and regs.

But RVers don't have anyone lobbying on their behalf when it comes to Satellite, or Cable TV, or Telecommunications in general. So things get done that make life difficult for us. And the regulations are often confusing to the people who have to implement them.

In 2012, the major cable companies went to the FCC asking permission to drop analog cable service and to encrypt all digital signals. IIRC, around 50 groups expressed various objections and an accommodation was carved out for every one of them. RVers and campgrounds didn't participate and got no accommodation. So now, at some RV parks, to get cable TV, you need to use a set top box. And of course, in many RVs, hooking up a set top box is not a small deal. If RVIA or a campground association had been paying attention, that whole mess could have been avoided.

Same thing with satellite. There's no one speaking for RVers. So regulations get put into place that negatively affect us.

In 2012 we were staying in a state park east of Grand Junction, CO. There was no radio or TV reception or internet. The only way to get news was via satellite. We needed local stations, but weren't allowed to get them because the Grand Junction local stations weren't available on satellite. And because we were located in the Grand Junction TV market, we weren't allowed to have the Denver stations, even if the spot beam reached us. We needed information on the fires that were burning near us and in many other Colorado locations, but the rules denied us important safety information. I think the RV industry needs to lobby for us to be allowed access to ALL local stations while traveling - without a phone call.

Way too much info that I don't need to read or understand like Porthole stated, VERY CONFUSING. Just the facts!
Right now I use my home account and I am very satisfied where ever we go. However in the future when our home sells and we are full timing I will need pay as you go services so I too am looking for info on this type of account. Oh we have Direct Tv and like to keep that service.

 

[porthole]

$$$

With a 48 BILLION dollar purchase of DirecTV there are no lobbyist for the consumers.
Someone has to pay that $48 billion, and it will be us.

The last time any of the governmental acronyms really did anything for the consumers is when they broke up Ma Bell.

Since then all they seem to be doing is allowing monopolies that they once fought to break up.

- - - Updated - - -

The FCC change to digital came about long before any cable company requested it in 2012
I don't know about the rest of the country, but cable set top boxes have been required of some sort for as long as we have had cable here, 1985 IIRC.
Cable ready TV's were a joke, since we still required use of some box.

- - - Updated - - -

Duane, I have two DVR's from DTV. You can only have one Genie but if you require more tuners another two tuner DVR will be supplied.

Peace
Dave

The basic 'genie' was a 5 tuner receiver & DVR that allowed up to 8 receivers when I got mine. If you require more then 5 tuners-receivers the newer system can have up to 16 tuners IIRC.

Hasn't been a problem for us yet. But at one camp we tried to share our SAT signal with our neighbor (JB).
We had a clear shot to the SW, JB had a goose egg.

We tried multiple variations, split before rig, after rig, output from the DVR etc.
In the end, either he could watch TV or we could, but not both. His DVR adding the 5 extra tuners was causing an issue.

Deb won and Jim lost