DirecTV and "moving"

[jrbdmb]

In monitoring this board, I have noticed that there is quite a bit of discussion among E* subscribers about moving the service address to qualify for distant NETs, etc. However, there is little to no mention of D* subscribers doing this. I've read in various places over the past year that this is due to:

(1) D* won't give you distant NETs anyway, even if you actually live in a white area
(2) D* won't give you distant NETs if your service address is in a DMA where they provide locals
(3) D* uses the phone line connection to make sure your receivers are really located where you say they are
(4) Any areas where you can get distant NETs are probably in Pegasus territory, so don't even bother.

Which of the above are valid? Are any D* subs out there "moving" to qualify for distant NETs? Does anyone on D* "move" just to get a different pro sports teams (i.e. use a NYC service address to see Yankees games without having to buy a PPV package)?

Note - not currently a D* sub, just curious ...

[spanishannouncetable]

1) Wrong. I live in a white area for 2 networks and got those 2 without waivers years ago. The other 2 nets granted waivers.
2) Wrong. I have both NY & LA's Big4 networks, and my locals are on Directv. That means I have 3 feeds of each of the Big4 nets, plus my local PBS, WB & UPN.
3) Wrong.
4) Mostly wrong. I don't live in a Pegasux area. You have to check Directv's website to find out for sure, but only certain mostly rural zip codes are in their clutches.

People "move" to get distants all the time. Directv plays by the FCC rules more strictly than E*, but they are available to those who qualify by whatever means :)

[mhking]

I live just outside Atlanta.

What's the best way to gain NY/LA distant locals while retaining my Atlanta locals? I know it is a matter of moving. But how far out do I have to move?

Also, where can I find the grade B contours for the Atlanta stations?

Thanks in advance...

M

[dishrich]

Well, I have a D* account that I "moved" to the Chicago DMA. MY main reason for moving was not to get the "distant" nets per say, but to the all of the Chicago locals, which is obviously distant for me. (& since our locals aren't up on either E* or D*) Since it was far easier to get an address out of the Chicago DMA for JUST their locals & NO distants, that's what I went with at the time, which I was very satisfied with. (I also wanted WCIU-26, which E* STILL does not offer)

But, I moved recently (for real) & since I had to take my C-band dish down, on which I had subbed to the Denver 5 nets, but they raised the price on that to over $3.30 a CHANNEL X 5 = $16.50 a MONTH. I decided to just start another E* account & found a Denver DMA address, which gets me all 7 main Denver nets (they are all still on CONUS beams) + NY & LA distants to boot.

Unfortunately, I just got a letter from E* stating I might be loosing 2 sets (both NBC & ABC distants) of my distant networks. If I do, I'll just get rid of the rest of the distants, but will still have Denver & Chicago, which actually would be OK.

[jrbdmb]

People "move" to get distants all the time. Directv plays by the FCC rules more strictly than E*, but they are available to those who qualify by whatever means :)One other thing ... with D*, do you *have* to have a phone line connected? Is this only required if you have two receivers (to verify they are at the same address)? I've also heard that if you don't hook up your phone you may get your sports programming cut off. True?

Again, just curious (though the new E* DVR fees are making me more curious than before :) )

[spanishannouncetable]

One other thing ... with D*, do you *have* to have a phone line connected? Is this only required if you have two receivers (to verify they are at the same address)? I've also heard that if you don't hook up your phone you may get your sports programming cut off. True?

Again, just curious (though the new E* DVR fees are making me more curious than before :) )

No. Directv does not really require a phone connection any more than Dish Network. Both companies have it in their official policy, and both companies recognize the real-world necessity of waiving the requirement for many customers. Whether you have 1 receiver or 8, none are required to be hooked up to phone lines in order to work. I have both DirecTiVos connected, while a third regular STB in the bedroom has never been connected.

Regarding sports subs (NFLST, MLBEI, etc), the primary receiver on the account doesn't require the phone connection at all, but secondary receivers may be disabled from displaying the sports channels, but only if they are disconnected for a while. Sports bars pay a lot more for sports than residential customers, so this requirement keeps bar owners from mirroring their business receivers to their home account.