New Landlord Wont Allow Dishes :(

[bitwise]

Well, I just move to San Francisco from Boston, and took a leap of faith by leaving my current dish in Boston and hoping the Mover's Connection would solve all my worries.

Its very hard finding places in San Francisco, and now that I have found the place I want to live, of course my landlord doesnt allow dishes. Ahh! I am not going to be able to use my DirecTivo box anymore :mad:

My question is what are my options? I like Tivo alot for its ease of use, and features (Season Pass, etc.) and Directv for its killer quality (5.1 dolby, great PQ). Is there anything that will compare to the setup I was using before?

I havent entered the HD world yet, so thats not a factor (yet) :)

Thanks for any help!
Dave

[goony]

Check out http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=313176 - it has a link to http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Basically, if there is an area that is exclusively for your use (i.e. your private balcony, your private patio, etc.) you cannot be prohibited from installing your own DBS antenna. You may be prevented from drilling holes for mounts and cables; but there are ways around that.

[codemstr]

Does your landlord pop by often? just tell him you forgot :)

[or270]

Well, I just move to San Francisco from Boston, and took a leap of faith by leaving my current dish in Boston and hoping the Mover's Connection would solve all my worries.

Its very hard finding places in San Francisco, and now that I have found the place I want to live, of course my landlord doesnt allow dishes. Ahh! I am not going to be able to use my DirecTivo box anymore :mad:

My question is what are my options? I like Tivo alot for its ease of use, and features (Season Pass, etc.) and Directv for its killer quality (5.1 dolby, great PQ). Is there anything that will compare to the setup I was using before?

I havent entered the HD world yet, so thats not a factor (yet) :)

Thanks for any help!
Dave

I used a pier block out in the back yard, worked great.

[d_trick]

I had the same problem, when I moved a couple of years ago.

My new landlord, would not allow me to get satellite TV, because he did not want the installer, making any new holes, in the house that I was renting from him.

He told me to just get cable instead.

He said all his other previous tenants, had cable TV too.

I asked him if it would be OK, if I had the satellite TV company, come out and do a pole mount installation, next to where the cable TV feed, came into the house.

He said I could, as long as the installer, didn't make any new holes in his house.

I called DirecTV up, and I asked them if they could do that for me.

They said they could, but they would have to charge me, to actually come out, and do a pole mount installation.

They told me to call the people, who were in charge of doing all their installations, and get more details from them about it.

To make a long story short, they came out and did the installation, and I had to pay them for it, but then they credited my account, for the amount of what the installation actually cost.

The only catch was, I had to make an annual commitment, to stay with DirecTV, for one whole year.

Don't know if they are still offering that type of deal anymore, but you could call them up, and ask them if they are.

First, you have to see, if your landlord will actually let you do a pole mount installation or not.

Because you have to have the landlord's permission, before DirecTV will come out, and do that type of installation. (if you are not the actual owner of the property)

[bitwise]

ahh, thank you guys. i will look into the pole mount option. i have a feeling she will still say no, shes old and set in her ways :( plus its a nice part of the city, so she is worried about neighbors having to look at an 'unsightly' dish.. bleh i will let you know what happens.

[JimSpence]

Print out a copy of that FCC document and show that to your landlord.

Also, there are covers for dishes that look like large rocks. So if you can get line of sight at ground level, look into one of those.

[gastrof]

...i have a feeling she will still say no, shes old and set in her ways :( plus its a nice part of the city, so she is worried about neighbors having to look at an 'unsightly' dish...


Read this again, from the someone's reply above-

"...if there is an area that is exclusively for your use (i.e. your private balcony, your private patio, etc.) you cannot be prohibited from installing your own DBS antenna..."

Legally, she doesn't have a leg to stand on.

[bitwise]

The FCC doc looked very promising, but I dont have any space outside to mount it that isnt considered a 'common area'. I have a fire escape, but that would be considered unsafe, and isnt covered in the rule either.

I think the main thing she is concerned about is drilling into the building and creating leaks.

There is currently a normal cable run coming into the building, so I would think I could piggyback on that. However, I would need another lead for my 2nd tuner, which might require more drililng.

If I do have to go with a cable option, how bad is it gonna be? Like I said I dont have any HD sets. I haven't read up on the series 3 boxes yet, should I look into those if I am non-HD?

[goony]

If cost is a factor you can often put in your own 'pole' first - for small dishes, they use 1 and 5/8 inch pole, which is the exact diameter of a chain-link fence post. You would have to ask your installer the diameter of the post that would be needed if you are not sure. Installers are very happy when this is already done for them.

I dug my hole, put in the fencepost, mixed the bag of concrete and poured it in... waited a few minutes for it to slightly firm up, then used a level to make sure the pole was exactly plumb. When it was set up, it was perfectly ready for the dish install.

For a less permanent version... some people do this same trick with the same type post (shortened a bit) + concrete into a 5 gallon bucket.

[goony]

If I do have to go with a cable option, how bad is it gonna be? Like I said I dont have any HD sets. I haven't read up on the series 3 boxes yet, should I look into those if I am non-HD?You probably want a dual-tuner "DT" Tivo standard-def box (see Tivo website for details; there are two:80 hours (http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series280hrDTDVR) and 180 hours (http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series2180hrDTDVR)) - Tivo corp. only came out with these a few months back. An S3 is way too expensive and overkill since you are not using HD.

Be aware: Standalone Tivo recording hours are quoted in 'basic quality' record mode; if you use the 'best' record quality you may only get 20-25 hours on that 80 hour box. DTivos have only one record quality, thus a 40 hour DTivo is going to end up being pretty close to 40 hours capacity.

Be sure to read the fine print of what each tuner on a DT Tivo can do... both tuners are not identical in regards to what source they can record from.

[ewolfr]

For a less permanent version... some people do this same trick with the same type post (shortened a bit) + concrete into a 5 gallon bucket.

This is my exact setup. A 5 gallon orange home depot bucket + a bag of quikrete = very stable setup for your Directv dish.

[JimSpence]

How about the big rock option I mentioned? Anyone use one of those?

[TomF]

Read this again, from the someone's reply above-

"...if there is an area that is exclusively for your use (i.e. your private balcony, your private patio, etc.) you cannot be prohibited from installing your own DBS antenna..."

Legally, she doesn't have a leg to stand on.

I think she does have a leg to stand on. She is prohibiting any alterations to be made to her house, which is her legal right. She is not prohibiting him from receiving a satellite signal.

Most rental regulations allow pictures to be hung because that is 'normal use', drilling into the house itself would probably not be considered normal use. If she won't allow a pole mount that's a different story. Just like she can't prohibit a picnic table and umbrella in the yard as that would fall under normal use.

I can't believe that none of here neighbors have a satellite dish though!

[TiVoCrastinator]

Check this (http://www.dish-rock.com/) out. Kind of a funny looking rock, or a VERY odd looking satellite dish.