Direct TV local stations while travleing??

Digger29 · 10-23-2015, 04:54 PM

I know this question has already been asked on here but I don't remember what the answer was. We're traveling from Ma to Fort Benning in GA for my sons Army graduation in December and we'll be staying there for 2 wks and we'd love to able to watch our local Boston stations for the news and watch the Patriots games while we're there. Do we have any shot at this happening without giving up our first born and 80yrs enslavement?

docj · 10-23-2015, 05:01 PM

I think you've misunderstood the issue of how local channel programming is distributed. Both DirecTV and Dish broadcast most local channels on spot beams. As a result, channels from a specific city are available in a radius of ~100-150 miles around that city (the beams aren't circular and aren't equal).

The discussions that you've read on this forum relate to people who have asked how they can get the local channels in cities they are visiting. There's absolutely no way you can get Boston locals while visiting in Georgia; the Boston spot beam simply won't extend that far. As for watching the Patriots' games, you can always subscribe to DirecTV Season Ticket, which, I believe allows you to watch all the NFL games. But that would be a lot of money for a 2-week need.

Digger29 · 10-23-2015, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docj

I think you've misunderstood the issue of how local channel programming is distributed. Both DirecTV and Dish broadcast most local channels on spot beams. As a result, channels from a specific city are available in a radius of ~100-150 miles around that city (the beams aren't circular and aren't equal).

The discussions that you've read on this forum relate to people who have asked how they can get the local channels in cities they are visiting. There's absolutely no way you can get Boston locals while visiting in Georgia; the Boston spot beam simply won't extend that far. As for watching the Patriots' games, you can always subscribe to DirecTV Season Ticket, which, I believe allows you to watch all the NFL games. But that would be a lot of money for a 2-week need.

Ah... I see, bummer then. No biggie and thanks for the help.

powercat_ras · 10-23-2015, 07:44 PM

True, you will be way out of range of the Boston MA local stations spot beam in GA. But...

If you have a Hopper DVR at home and buy the Sling Adapter for it, then you can "stream" your local channels over the Internet to a computer or tablet, IF you have a broadband internet connection connected to your Hopper at home, and a broadband internet connection for the remote side, too. You are basically controlling your Hopper and can watch anything it can feed to your local TV, including your DVR recordings.

cpoo · 10-23-2015, 11:07 PM

However with sling media you are going to use a lot of Internet so unless unlimited you need to watch the usage. You can call directv and change your address to your campground and that will get you networks from that region. Change back when you get home.

Digger29 · 10-24-2015, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpoo

However with sling media you are going to use a lot of Internet so unless unlimited you need to watch the usage. You can call directv and change your address to your campground and that will get you networks from that region. Change back when you get home.

This is all new to us so please bare with me. Do I have to call D-TV and change our address to get the boxes to work or just to get the locals in GA or will the boxes work after I start up the Wineagard system and is finds the satellites and just not receive any locals down there?

tnteacherguy · 10-24-2015, 08:14 AM

If you really wanted local GA stations you could call dtv and ask them to change your "service address" but I always make sure to tell the agent on the phone to make sure and not change my billing address. I once had an agent misunderstand me and send my bill to the wrong place (not good).

I say this with caution because they (dtv agents) are human and make mistakes.

It might be better to get your locals using an over-the-air antenna or park-cable from wherever it is that you're parked. If it's really rural and remote that might not be a choice.
If you've never used over-the-air before, you could practice at home.

Best of luck, send me a pm if you want someone to discuss options with by phone...

LEHAFER · 10-24-2015, 09:03 AM

You will still get all the cable channels by setting up your dish and connecting the dish to the box and box to tv. The only thing you will not get is local channels unless you call customer assistance to switch local channels from Boston to Georgia.
Larry

Digger29 · 10-24-2015, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnteacherguy

If you really wanted local GA stations you could call dtv and ask them to change your "service address" but I always make sure to tell the agent on the phone to make sure and not change my billing address. I once had an agent misunderstand me and send my bill to the wrong place (not good).

I say this with caution because they (dtv agents) are human and make mistakes.

It might be better to get your locals using an over-the-air antenna or park-cable from wherever it is that you're parked. If it's really rural and remote that might not be a choice.
If you've never used over-the-air before, you could practice at home.

Best of luck, send me a pm if you want someone to discuss options with by phone...

Thanks a bunch everyone. I've already used the HD antenna when we were at a campground and we couldn't get the Winegard to lock in the satellites because of 2 huge trees that were blocking the signal so we tried the HD antenna and it worked amazing. I've always heard how good the over the air HD picture was but we were both amazed at how much better the picture was when using it. Thanks again, Mike