Re: Satellite TV onboard
If we don't tell that the dish is mobile, how can
we get network feeds? <<
Bob and Vicki....
As I recall, with DirecTV, everyone gets the same network feed
regardless of location. They feed one East Coast station and one West
Coast of each major network, and one national, generic PBS, for a
total of, I think, seven stations in the Network package. You get
those seven stations, regardless of your location. We live in
Massachusetts, and when we had our satellite active, our network
stations were, I think, New York, Raleigh, Detroit, LA, Seattle, and
Portland(OR). They also switch the stations around from time to time,
so maybe, for example, they would drop Detroit and add Pittsburgh.
My guess as to why they don't like mobile addresses would be A) they
don't want to listen to you whining about bad reception while you're
constantly moving your dish; and/or B) they're worried that if
you're TOO mobile, they won't be able to catch up with you if you
don't pay!!
Disclaimer: I have zero experience with Sat TV on a boat; my
experience is limited to land based use, with which I was dissatisfied
enough to go back to cable.
Regards,
John Gaquin
If we don't tell that the dish is mobile, how can
we get network feeds? <<
I can understand your question, DTV has a restriction on getting network
feeds if you live in the "routine" coverage area of a major broadcast city.
I've owned a dish for almost 2 years and one thing I do remember (even
though I don't qualify for the network feeds) is that they told me that
after six months, if I really wanted the network feeds, I could get them.
Also, they probably don't like mobile accounts because they use a telephone
line as a large part of their security process. Initially, the box calls
them to authenticate the security card when you activate it, then, the box
calls their system at night (via an 800 number) and gives them usage
information (what channels you're watching when) and billing information (in
case you've elected to watch a pay per view program).
You may have to "activate" the system at home, then move it to the boat. I
suspect that the system, at some point, will stop working if it can't call
in from time to time (maybe as infrequently as quarterly or yearly) or it
may not - I don't know enough about their security.
Good luck!
Capt. Paul Shirley
Newport RI, & Stuart FL
I can attest that if the phone is unplugged for a long period of time they will eventually cutoff your pay per view access. What happens is that the little card has a memory chip inside and it has a limited capacity. I inadvertently left my phone unplugged and about 6 months later pay per view was denied. After it was plugged in, it was 24 hr (probably after it was polled by the 800 number) before it would do pay per view. All of the other channels continued to work fine. It turned out that there was 46 movies stored on the card and I got billed for them on the next statement.
Jim Monahan
jmonah@ktxh.com
MV FINALE
President 43
Seabrook, Texas
http://www.flash.net/~jmonah
On 4/10/99 at 10:58 PM Paul Shirley wrote:
If we don't tell that the dish is mobile, how can
we get network feeds? <<
I can understand your question, DTV has a restriction on getting network
feeds if you live in the "routine" coverage area of a major broadcast city.
I've owned a dish for almost 2 years and one thing I do remember (even
though I don't qualify for the network feeds) is that they told me that
after six months, if I really wanted the network feeds, I could get them.
You may have to "activate" the system at home, then move it to the boat. I
suspect that the system, at some point, will stop working if it can't call
in from time to time (maybe as infrequently as quarterly or yearly) or it
may not - I don't know enough about their security.