Can I use Direct TV at home and on the road at same time?

[lacofdfireman]

We have a subscription with Direct TV and just recently bought a Motorhome with In Motion Satellite. I go out to the desert a lot with just my kids and the wife will often times stay home so here is my question. I figured I could just take one of my receivers out of my house as we have 4 of them and use it in the RV. Someone told me that it is illegal to have 2 satellite signals coming from 2 separate locations at the same time. So if I take the receiver with me in the Motorhome my wife cannot watch satellite tv at home or we could be in big trouble. To me this sounds stupid. I pay for the receiver so why can't I use them where I like, even if they are at different locations? Was this person wrong or am I wrong?

[SolidAxleDurang]

mikestock wrote:
The word, "illegal" is key.

I don't know if you can technically say it is illegal to use your account in two different places at the same time but you are probably violating an implied agreement you have with DTV.

I, like many here, take my receivers on the road but, as long as I pay my bill I don't think DTV is making any great effort to limit my use. If they were really concerned, I think they would turn off my Distant Network access, since I have 5 receivers on my account. But, that would cost them $20 a month in revenue.

It is not against (my) terms of service to have a reciever is a different location - place that I own; I.e. my RV.... My cabin...

However it would be against the TOS to allow someone else to use service at their location - I.e. A neighbor has your box and uses it in their home to avoid paying the base services.... This might also be "illegal" as "theft of services".

[mikestock]

The word, "illegal" is key.

I don't know if you can technically say it is illegal to use your account in two different places at the same time but you are probably violating an implied agreement you have with DTV.

I, like many here, take my receivers on the road but, as long as I pay my bill I don't think DTV is making any great effort to limit my use. If they were really concerned, I think they would turn off my Distant Network access, since I have 5 receivers on my account. But, that would cost them $20 a month in revenue.

[Bill_Satellite]

No, none of the DirecTV receivers require an HD antenna. You only need an open face antenna if you want to receive the HD programming but all of the HD receivers do fine working with SD only. You might be thinking of DirecTV SWM receivers but they don't require an HD antenna either.

[wa8yxm]

Can you do it: YES, but.. 2 issues.

ONE: if you are too far from home (How far is too far depends on your direction of travel, and your home's location) you will loose your "Local" stations (Assuming you get local stations at home) Those are the networks, ABC, NBC, and so on.

Second, An In-Motion Dome can NOT, get HDTV on DirecTV.. Works fine with DirecTV, just not DirecHDTV.

SOME of Direc's receivers insist on the HD antenna I am told. Since I told Direc to shove it.. I can not tell you which ones.

[Bill_Satellite]

The same thing is true for Dish Network customers who have a Hopper. The Joey's are NOT satellite receivers so at a minimum you must bring the Hopper leaving no service at home or add a separate Vip 211 receiver to your account for the RV exclusively. Dish does not allow you to add any receiver to a Hopper account. Currently they are only allowing the 211/411.

[knshook]

Family home watching Direct TV and we are on the road using it,too. Never had a problem.

[SolidAxleDurang]

ChopperBill wrote:
I do it every year. Be aware if you have the Genie with all clients you are stuck with one location at a time. I have a Genie but it is coupled to the regular HD receivers so I can still do it.

I recently upgraded my DTV equipment. Your point is important for folks to understand. The Genie Mini's are dependent upon the Genie.... Must be using the same dish as the "main" Genie - they communicate through the coax.

Prior to the upgrade, I had a HDDVR (den), and 2 HD receivers (master bedroom and office)... I would take the office receiver in the RV all the time. 3 total receivers on my account.

At upgrade, I swapped to the Genie equipment. I have 1 Genie (den) and 2 Genie Minis (master bedroom and office)... I returned the two regular old HD receivers that were in the office and master bedroom... I did however KEEP my old HDDVR - for the RV. So now I have 4 receivers on the account.

Eliminates the need to take the one receiver back and forth between the office and the RV... And I now get a DVR in the RV.

[Bill_Satellite]

Yes, use it on the road. Yes, use it with your in-motion antenna (not different satellites). If you move to far from home (hundreds of miles, not just outside your zip code) you will lose ALL of your local Network programming via satellite. You cannot call DirecTV to change your location since the home receivers would then lose their Network programming.
As long as you are the owner of the equipment you are welcome to take the receiver in your RV. It's illegal for Mom and Dad to "borrow" a receiver from their adult son's home and use that in their RV. It's also illegal for you to loan it to a neighbor (home or RV) but there is nothing at all wrong with your plan.

[FlatBroke]

I do it every year. Be aware if you have the Genie with all clients you are stuck with one location at a time. I have a Genie but it is coupled to the regular HD receivers so I can still do it.

[RoyB]

We do it all the time here as well. As mentioned above we will lose our local channels about as soon as we get outside our home ZIP CODE area.

I puchased a portable SAT DISH for Directv and use the two ports on it to feed two SAT Receivers we bring with us from home. Then I use the VIDEO OUTPUT of the two SAT RCVR and feed the VIDEO INPUT of the the HDTV in the living room and in the bedroom. This allows me to select SAt TV or CABLE/OTA TV by using the trailer mounted TV remotes. Works great for us.

You may run into a problem with your SAT IN MOTION thing. I am not in the know on how all that works. It may even be on a differnt SAT?... But bringing along your bedroom SAT RCVRS from homes will work like gang busters for you.

My SAt RCVRs are older models and sometimes they lose their SETUPS when I disconnect them. Then I have to call DIRECTV on their 800 number or online and reactivate the RCVR when we are at the camp ground. So be sure to have your account info with you. I have my info taped on each SAT receiver. When I do this I say it is in my RV but came from bedroom 1 etc. They have no problem at all with this and reactivates it right away.

Here more recently however since the Natl Broadcast System has gone to their digital HDTV mode I have stopped bringing along my DIRECTV Sat items. They are a pain sometimes setting up. Now we get full blown high def TV OVER THE AIR using the BATWING Antenna from the local towns and it is in full blown HDTV mode and FREE to use. Looks alot better than our SAT TV standard signals. We usually only like to watch the NATL BROADCASt channels anyway. Got to get my NCIS and HAWAII 5-0 haha...

You can also sign up for RV SAT TV from DirecTv too if you like and want to pay for another account. Some folks are doing the oposite now. Dropping their home DirecTV account and using the RV SAT TV account when at home as well...

If we want to watch some of the cable channels on the road we can always downstream then over the internet but that does require a pretty big 20GB DATAPLAN.

Roy Ken

[SolidAxleDurang]

lacofdfireman wrote:
We have a subscription with Direct TV and just recently bought a Motorhome with In Motion Satellite. I go out to the desert a lot with just my kids and the wife will often times stay home so here is my question. I figured I could just take one of my receivers out of my house as we have 4 of them and use it in the RV. Someone told me that it is illegal to have 2 satellite signals coming from 2 separate locations at the same time. So if I take the receiver with me in the Motorhome my wife cannot watch satellite tv at home or we could be in big trouble. To me this sounds stupid. I pay for the receiver so why can't I use them where I like, even if they are at different locations? Was this person wrong or am I wrong?

Some people make stuff up when they don't really know. Some people also blindly repeat information they have heard without questioning it - taking it for the truth despite the fact that it was also made up.

It is not `illegal` to do what you are asking about. Many of us do it all the time.

[jim_isham]

Directv will never know. What they don't like is two or more families with several receivers and just one account.

[tandkj]

cpaulsen wrote:
I have used mine in the 5th wheel while the other one was home being used....never had an issue.

Same here!

[trop-a-cal]

Can ET phone home?