Direct TV "Residential Customer Agreement"- Moving Hardware Around

hanknjoycew · December 21, 2017

I just received a Direct TV "Residential Customer Agreement" which states (in Section 1g) that leased equipment must be directly connected to the same land-based telephone line or internet connection and, "if it is determined that the leased equipment is not at the Service Address identified on the account we may disconnect the Leased Equipment....". There is more wording, but this seems to say I cannot take the Genie from my house and plug into the RV when we travel. We currently have an older DVR/equipment suite in the MH and a new Genie system in the house. I was planning to do the SWM upgrade to the Winegard and plug in the Genie so we can have the added benefits of the Genie for the X months a year we are on the road.

I don't plan to rattle DTV's cage because my MH acct is already on suspension (good). But since our Service Address for the MH is Arizona (where we got the MH acct and were still then considered full-timers) and we now live in a stick house in Custer SD, does anyone have any insight whether I should worry about this 16-page "agreement"?

Hank
SKP 67414
2005 Mandalay DP
2012 Honda CRV

Mark and Dale Bruss · December 21, 2017

Dish TV looks better all the time

docj · December 21, 2017

At one time connection to a phone line did permit DTV to exercise a bit of control over where its receivers were, but even back then, they mostly used the phone line as a way of accounting for your pay-per-view. I know for fact that you could order pay-per-view movies without having a phone connection until your accrued bill got to some number ~$20-50 I think. At that point the receiver would refuse to authorize any additional movies until you connected it to a phone line.

I wouldn't be surprised if the current internet-connected receivers operate in much the same way. I know that when mine gets disconnected from the internet nothing changes with regard to reception and after a few days I'll get an email telling me all the good things that I would get if I connected it. Since IP addresses don't provide actual location information and can be easily spoofed, there's no way that DTV can use this information to track where a receiver currently is.

I'm sure you are aware that there are lots of RVers on this forum who do with their receivers exactly what you've proposed without any issues being raised by DTV. The Customer Agreement provides DTV with all sorts of reasons why they have a right to terminate your service if you violate its TOS, but, in reality, I suspect the kind of people they are more concerned about are those who order half a dozen receivers and then rent them out to friends to use at their own homes. These days, a single Genie could, in theory, service several miniGenie's in nearby houses if one wanted to go that route.

IMHO I wouldn't worry about your planned use of the hardware.

hanknjoycew · December 22, 2017

Joel,

Thanks for the insight - good advice which I will take. BTW we also have a Ready Brute towbar - have used it through 2 motorhomes and 3 cars since 2003..simple and effective.

Hank

Dutch_12078 · December 22, 2017

I wonder how DTV handles the many "POTS cord cutters" that do not have a landline to plug in?

Biker56 · December 22, 2017

I have been Full time since 1999 and my DirecTV receivers have never been connected to a land line.
I don't even have them connected to the Internet because when I did that, the Genie would start to record shows using data I didn't want to use. Thus I unhooked the Genie from the Internet.

Now it keeps popping up a box wanting to connect to the Internet. I just keep clicking to remind me later.
DirecTV has my receivers location at a address they have never been at for over 18 years.

docj · December 22, 2017

3 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

I wonder how DTV handles the many "POTS cord cutters" that do not have a landline to plug in?

All current DTV receivers that I'm aware of are capable of wifi connection to the user's network and from there to the internet. I don't know if they even provide the phone jack anymore.

Edited December 22, 2017 by docj

docj · December 22, 2017

3 hours ago, Biker56 said:

I don't even have them connected to the Internet because when I did that, the Genie would start to record shows using data I didn't want to use.

With all due respect I think you must have had some incorrect settings. I have an HR44 Genie connected to the internet most of the time and it never records shows I don't want it to record.

Biker56 · December 22, 2017

8 hours ago, docj said:

With all due respect I think you must have had some incorrect settings. I have an HR44 Genie connected to the internet most of the time and it never records shows I don't want it to record.

I am guessing that you are not searching for and putting in new shows coming up in the future(over 2 weeks ahead) to record.
When you do that it will input to record all channels and that includes the On Demand ones.

Now when I do that I check the record manager and if it puts in All Channels and not a 280 etc. I delete it out until it shows up on the guide(2 weeks out). Or it will use data and record older shows not the new series ones.

I have the older HR34 Genie. Maybe that doesn't happen with newer Genies. But it definitely happens with mine.
I haven't found any settings to prevent it picking the All Channels setting.

Next time you see a advertisement on a upcoming show that is 3-4 weeks out. Try putting that in your HR44 recorder and then check what channel it will record on. Let me know how that works out for you.

docj · December 22, 2017

1 hour ago, Biker56 said:

Now when I do that I check the record manager and if it puts in All Channels and not a 280 etc. I delete it out until it shows up on the guide(2 weeks out). Or it will use data and record older shows not the new series ones.

Since we have DNS I don't use the "all channels" record option. All my regular shows record on their DNS channels. A few weeks ago it did try to record an on-demand channel, but, as you described, it was a case in which I searched for a future event and let the DVR decide when to record.

Dutch_12078 · December 22, 2017

11 hours ago, docj said:

All current DTV receivers that I'm aware of are capable of wifi connection to the user's network and from there to the internet. I don't know if they even provide the phone jack anymore.

Ok, that makes sense then. Our Dish Hoper does have a phone jack, but as far as I know, it's only used for caller ID when there's a WiFi or Ethernet connection. We have ours connected to our VOIP adapter.

eddie1261 · December 22, 2017

1 hour ago, docj said:

Since we have DNS

Domain Name Service? Is satellite TV based on your DNS somehow?

Dutch_12078 · December 22, 2017

"DNS" in this context is "Distant Network Service". It refers to an option offered by the satellite services that allows mobile RV'ers and OTR truckers to get certain east or west coast major network stations anywhere in the country.

docj · December 22, 2017

3 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

Domain Name Service? Is satellite TV based on your DNS somehow?

Dutch has already explained that Distant Network Service allows us to view the network channels out of NY (an alternative would have been LA) regardless of where we are located in the US. Since we don't care about local news or weather, this works for us.