Will any of it work in Canada? (DirecTV)

[Gr8grab]

I apologize in advance for my ignorance but any help is greatly appreciated. Work brings me from Maryland, U.S. to Edmonton Alberta for quite some time. I'm currently with Directv HD in Maryland and have two HD Dvr's hooked up to my 5lnb Dish. Is there any way that I can bring these pieces up to Canada with me and get them to work with Bell, or Star choice? I see the prices for the HD PVR's in Canada @ upwards of $400 and I'm praying that I didn't throw the money down the drain in buying them just 2 or 3 yrs ago.

Thanks in advance,

GG

[PlaceHolder]

I'm not an authority on this, having never done it, but based on what I have read elsewhere in this forum you can keep your current subscription and just relocate the hardware... Should be possible to make it work in Canada. The coverage for your current service likely bleeds over into Canada... the trick of course is that you'll need to find an installer who can properly aim the dish for you...

If for some reason it won't work when relocated, then you would need to have the proper STB from your chosen Canadian supplier... they won't supply service for someone else's hardware because of the risk of piracy (and other technical reasons I'm sure.) BellTV does have a rental arrangement... so you could rent the equipment while you're here... but its normally on a 2 year contract basis, so you'd want to talk to them about that before choosing to sign up. (Unless your long visit here is actually 2 years or longer :-)

[Pinza]

There is no way to use your receivers with any of the Canadian Satellite services.

I agree with placeholder that it should be possible to just have the Dish installed and carry on using the existing service. As for the legal issues surrounding that, well that is up to you to deal with.

You will have to maintain an American address for billing purposes as the second you tell them you are now in Canada your screen will go blank.

[hugh]

Is there any way that I can bring these pieces up to Canada with me and get them to work with Bell, or Star choice

No. Directv equipment will not work with Bell or Star Choice.

It is illegal for Canadians to subscriber to Directv or DISH network for a bunch of contractual reasons that are beyond the scope of this thread.

Since you are an American with a U.S. address you likely can maintain your subscription and simply set up your equipment here in Canada. If Directv finds out, however, they may cancel your subscription since they are not supposed to be offering service in Canada.

[Donnybrook]

Is there any way that I can bring these pieces up to Canada

No point bringing these to Canada. Even if you keep your US address, your local net feeds are on Ka band spotbeams that will not be viewable in Alberta.

[Pinza]

If the OP is not concerned about his locals, it might still be worth bringing them.

[HankMoody]

You can buy Directv multi-LNBF dishes at almost any satellite store in Alberta, let alone ebay, the problem you may find is the signal may be fairly weak that far north for standard Directv dishes. If you do keep your sub to Directv when you move up here (which I highly recommend)... don't plug your phone line into the receiver!

[nakedgord]

Originally Posted by hugh

It is illegal for Canadians to subscriber to Directv or DISH network for a bunch of contractual reasons that are beyond the scope of this thread.

When you say illegal do you mean "illegal" the sense of Direct TV/Dish will not deal with a paying customer in Canada for any reason or "illegal illegal" where, even with a paid invoice for service from a US sat company, the RCMP/Crown Attorney would be able to bring someone to court for paying to access a US signal?

Reason I ask is that I'm exploring how legitimately paying Direct TV/Dish could work for a Canadian.

Thanks for any insight!

[hugh]

illegal means illegal.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that it was illegal to watch encrypted tv signals from the U.S. regardless of whether you paid for them or not.

[ohmagic]

Originally Posted by hugh

illegal means illegal.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that it was illegal to watch encrypted tv signals from the U.S. regardless of whether you paid for them or not.

And what a silly ruling that was.

I feel that the amount of censorship and control our government has put on TV is ridiculous.

It shouldn't be up to the government what I want to watch. If I want to watch 100% American content, and not watch CBC that should be up to me.

I know plenty of friends receiving American signals into their homes with multiple American dishes on their roofs. Ether pirated or a legit sub. One of them actually works for the RCMP.

The supreme court may have ruled that in 2002, but I can almost guarantee you will not get in any troubles decrypting a foreign signal in this country. It may be the law, but a very loosely enforced one.

Also, HBO Canada is a joke. Nothing like the "real" HBO.

[bete_noir]

Gr8grab, you should be able to get these units working in Canada, although the signal might be a little weak - as long as you have a clear shot of the south-eastern sky from your building. You can check your azimuth/elevation with an online aiming tool, just enter the coordinates for Edmonton.

Just remember that you will not be able to order the PPVs since you are located in Canada (and don't hook up your telephone line), but your subscribed card(s) and hardware will work fine. Now, as Hugh says, *technically* it isn't valid for a subscriber to receive the service in Canada but since you have a valid sub and a US credit card, personally I don't see how it could be considered "piracy"....

Just my $0.02....I am NOT advocating piracy of the DirecTV signal.

Note: as Donnybrook said, your Maryland local spotfeeds won't work in Edmonton but everything else should....

[peano]

You can order PPV online and you can get the Networks if you "move" to a white area. Setting up the Slimline 5 LNB dish can be a pain without a good meter. I recommend the Acutrac III. It measures Ka signals. No dithering required. dishpointer.com will give you the exact aiming coordinates for the dish.

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by ohmagic

And what a silly ruling that was.

As silly as you might think the ruling is, it is the law.

I feel that the amount of censorship and control our government has put on TV is ridiculous.

It shouldn't be up to the government what I want to watch. If I want to watch 100% American content, and not watch CBC that should be up to me.

The government is in no way deciding what you can watch, just whom you can purchase TV content from, and even that they aren't making the ultimate decision, they are only putting legal teeth on the rights of corporations.
It is ultimately up to the domestic providers to work to provide forein content, or the foreign content providers to play the game to get their services licensed here.

[PhotoJim]

I agree. It's actually really easy to watch 100% American television here. And it's equally easy to never watch CBC.

Canada is a sovereign nation and separate from the US. It has its own advantages and disadvantages. If a person doesn't like them, and feels the US offers a better balance of trade-offs, one should apply to emigrate there.

As much as I hate simulcast substitution here, I enjoy having a fair public health care system, the freedom to purchase goods and services from any nation (Americans are restricted, e.g. no Cuban goods like cigars), etc.

[jfoley85]

I have DTV on my computer. Forget about bringing the equipment to Canada. If you have DTV in the USA and live in Canada or you can find someone that has a slingbox in the USA you can pay them for the services you use to stream it on the web, I think that kind of method is GREAT, because its the owners right if they are paying and want to share for a fee. I can change to any channel I want as well.