Direct TV in the Bahamas

[PeterK]

I spoke with Bruce Morrison today and he told me he has a client with a brand new pricey Direct TV dome and was not able to get signals anywhere in the Bahamas. As I just bought a dome, I am wondering if anyone else has heard of this or has had a problem first hand. I will be more than a little peeved if I spent some some hard earned money for something I won't be able to use! Although the way the Bears are playing, I don't really need the aggravation...

[GJH]

Depends on what system you have. Here is KVH's guide to what their various Direct Tv units cover. Always a good idea to get this info before making a selection!

http://www.kvh.com/Pages/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/TracVision-Maps/North-America/DIRECTV-US-Marine.aspx

[PeterK]

I was really asking if Direct was blocking the signal of anyone who is using their dome in the Bahamas.
I got an M7 with the HD kit installed so the dish is big enough to get a signal almost anywhere west of the Turks and Caicos.

[Tim Powell]

I was really asking if Direct was blocking the signal of anyone who is using their dome in the Bahamas.
I got an M7 with the HD kit installed so the dish is big enough to get a signal almost anywhere west of the Turks and Caicos.

if you do not mind me asking about10,000

[Pascal]

We have an 11 year old 18" KVH on the boat I run, And directtv works fine all the way down to barreterre great exuma. Just 10 miles south at Emerald we start loosing signal and another 20 nm in GTown we get nothing...

[seasalt]

Peter,

Which KVH dish do you have?

[PeterK]

An M7 with the HD upgrade kit. It has a 24 inch dish.

[GJH]

Direct doesn't block anything. The KVH map shows you what a 24" Hd dome will cover. All of the Bahamas proper, Turks and Caicos not so much. Call KVH if you are paranoid.

[Dan Mapes]

The only thing you may lose is local channels depending on where you are based. For example, Miami locals come in fine over on Elbow, and down to Spanish Wells. The more South you go, the more things fade. You can see the rig in the photo below, while we are at Staniel Cay.

We are using Track-It TV with a 3LNB 18 inch oblong.

16325

[foleyjt]

Warwick RI --- Bears??? (As in Chicago Bears?)

At least I have no choice. There are plenty of better choices for you between here and there?

[Fanfare]

If DirecTv learns you are anywhere outside the continental United States they will turn off your signal. Their explanation is that they are not licensed to broadcast in other countries. The good news is that they can't tell where you are unless you tell them. Your dish only receives, not transmits. I wouldn't try connecting your receiver to their phone network from the Bahamas for that reason. Especially since you don't need to do this.

The local channels are somehow spot beamed to the area where your bill is sent. DTv will give the east and west coast network feeds to RVers but not to boats. Go figure. For an RV they require a copy of your vehicle registration.

I take my Tivo, modified to have a 2 Tb hard drive, on the boat with me. It holds 302 hrs. of HD or several thousand hours of SD movies which I record at home and then can replay even if my antenna is off. Nice for rainy days.

[seasalt]

But, if one decides to go to the Bahamas which KVH or Intellian dish should one buy?

[PeterK]

If DirecTv learns you are anywhere outside the continental United States they will turn off your signal. Their explanation is that they are not licensed to broadcast in other countries. The good news is that they can't tell where you are unless you tell them. Your dish only receives, not transmits. I wouldn't try connecting your receiver to their phone network from the Bahamas for that reason. Especially since you don't need to do this.

The local channels are somehow spot beamed to the area where your bill is sent. DTv will give the east and west coast network feeds to RVers but not to boats. Go figure. For an RV they require a copy of your vehicle registration.

I take my Tivo, modified to have a 2 Tb hard drive, on the boat with me. It holds 302 hrs. of HD or several thousand hours of SD movies which I record at home and then can replay even if my antenna is off. Nice for rainy days.

This was the answer I was looking for! Thanks and I'll keep mum to the sat provider as to my where-abouts...

[PeterK]

But, if one decides to go to the Bahamas which KVH or Intellian dish should one buy?

Are yo going to use direct or dish? Go to each of their websites and they have coverage maps they reflect different dish size ranges.

I wanted Direct with HD capability that would range down past the Exumas. I needed a 24" dish. The M7 I got has a KVH kit that allows it to process Ka band which is what they send High Def over. You need a pretty pricey Intellian or KVH with duall band capability if you want high def.

Dish only uses Ku band so most any dish will receive their high def signal.

I was leaning toward a track-it system (about $900 and you supply the dish for the track-it mount) but you cannot mount a dual band dish on it as they are too heavy. The track-it is nice as elevation does not normally need adjustment at anchoring or at a dock. It does track the azimuth once locked on the satellite.

[seasalt]

I don't care about HD. I just want the TV to work with either DTV or Dish.

Locals are not an issue either as I am used to seeing NYC news and crime reports from my service area of Liberty Landing. NJ.

What I am learning is that it will take at least a KVH TV3 or an Intellian i3 to get service in the most popular Bahamian destinations.

[PeterK]

From KVH (Coverages are the same for Intellian):
Direct TV: http://www.kvh.com/Pages/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/TracVision-Maps/North-America/DIRECTV-US-Marine.aspx
Dish: http://www.kvh.com/Pages/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/Satellite-Coverage-Maps/TracVision-Maps/North-America/DISH-Network-US-Marine.aspx

[GJH]

If DirecTv learns you are anywhere outside the continental United States they will turn off your signal. Their explanation is that they are not licensed to broadcast in other countries

That's not really true, and that is why KVH specifically shows their coverage for Direct TV extending well beyond CONUS. They cannot sell their service to residents of other countries, though they do have a large operation in Mexico for that country. Their Customer Agreement has no such geographical restriction, only that you attest that you are over 18 and are a US resident. They are quite aware their mobile units for RVs, boats, etc travel to other countries.

[magnawake]

We are in Biscayne bay at a marina with cable. Big surprise huh. Well, the guy next to me, which we are working at the plant together has a digital antenna picking up 80 stations. We bought a splitter and ran the cable to our boat. Its working great and the picture is very clear. I'm wondering how far it will pick up without going to a satelite dish. I thought about a dome but just didnt want the extra aggrevation and expense.

[Dan Mapes]

Large city areas will have good coverage of OTA channels. If you are outside those areas, don't expect much.

[Ross Macdonald]

We are running a KVH M7 24" unit with no HD. We have one receiver for DTV101 in the U.S. and another receiver for GLA 95 for Latin America. When you get farther south than about Ensenada then DTV101 will not work. So before we depart we subscribe to Direct TV Latin America that is headquartered in Trinidad. In past trips they were headquartered in Puerto Rico. They must serve some of the Caribbean because many of the commercials are for the Virgin Islands and P.R. We are presently in La Paz, Mexico and the service has been good except for the network feeds. ABC,NBC and FOX feeds come from New York. We have lost ABC and FOX have been blocked during prime time viewing hours a couple of times and when we contact them in Trinidad they say there is some contractual issue with those networks. But all other channels come in fine and the monthly cost is a bit less than DTV101 at home. Ross

[PeterK]

The sat tv maven with the outfit I bought the unit from called yesterday. The HD upgrade kit does NOT allow the unit to receive Ka band as I had thought. You have to go to the much more expensive KVH HD units to receive both Ku and Ka. I will keep the M7 as it has a 24" dish but now I must decide if I want to go with Dish and get HD or use Direct with standard definition.

[Fanfare]

I have a 24 in. KVH in standard definition. It has worked well as far south as Emerald Bay Resort on Great Exuma. Haven't been farther south then that since it was installed. I believe I will hang on to mine as long as I can since about the only thing I need TV for is the Weather Channel. I have HD at home for my Tivo and the previously-recorded movies I bring down will certainly suffice. However, every few weeks I receive an notice from DirecTv that they are offering additional channels in HD which I suspect are old SD channels being converted to the more modern format.

[GJH]

Having experience with both, I find DISH much easier to deal with, better customer service.

[Dan Mapes]

I have been considering a move to Dish from DTV because the antenna will provide HD without the extra band technology.

[Tinman]

We are in Biscayne bay at a marina with cable. Big surprise huh. Well, the guy next to me, which we are working at the plant together has a digital antenna picking up 80 stations. We bought a splitter and ran the cable to our boat. Its working great and the picture is very clear. I'm wondering how far it will pick up without going to a satelite dish. I thought about a dome but just didnt want the extra aggrevation and expense.

Recently replaced our tube TV's with led flatscreens. Our boat has satellite and a ota Glomex omnidirectional antenna with a signal amplifier. We were surprised at the ota channels we were able to receive being a fair distance from most towers. The tube TV's did not receive any ota signals. I may not bother with satellite tv service again.