My job has transfered me to Rio, Brazil and I want to know if I can
use my US Directv system. I know they have Directv Brasil, but that is
in Portuguese. I want to keep my US programming. I've been told I can
leave my account registered in the US and just take the receivers down
with me and buy a new (larger) dish. I have a friend in the Dominican
Republic that did this and his system works perfectly, he just needed
to upgrade to a 6 ft. dish. I have no idea if the necessary satellites
can be accessed from Rio though.  I need a satellite expert to
research the longitude and latitude (or other variables) of Rio and
determine if this is possible. If it is, I need to know specifically
what equipment I'll need and any other relevant info. I prefer that
someone specifically with satellite experience/knowledge responds. I
need a definitive answer, not a maybe!

Unfortunately, it isn't possible.

The reason is that signals from direct-broadcast satellites are
beamed; that is to say, they aren't omnidirectional. DirecTV, which
operates under the authority of the Federal Communications Commission,
markets only in the United States, and its signal is aimed at the
contiguous United States. Of course, the signal area isn't precise;
DirecTV can be received in many parts of Canada. It also can be
received in southern Alaska with a large dish. But it can't be
received much further south than Cuba.

The coverage area of a satellite is known as its footprint.

Satellite technology
"Satellites are used for voice, data, and TV communications
world-wide. Signals are beamed from the 'uplink' sites to the
satellites which then beam the signal back down over a target area or
'footprint' such as the US, Canada, or other parts of the world.
Programming can be received only within the footprint, or a little
outside the footprint sometimes with a larger dish."
http://www.satellitetech.com/basics.html

You can see DirecTV's footprint on this map, provided by KVH, an
antenna manufacturer:

DirecTV Coverage Map
http://www.kvh.com/footprint/DirectUS.html

As you can see, the coverage area comes nowhere near Brazil.  The map
is also consistent with the information provided by your friend in the
Dominican Republic, where a signal can be received only with a dish
much larger than usual.

The question you ask has come up frequently in various Usenet
newsgroups. I am listing several related discussions here because they
go into some attempts (unsuccessful) to receive U.S.-beamed satellite
signals in South America:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=2NOV199416335840%40eisner.decus.org&rnum=24&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Ddirectv%2B%2522south%2Bamerica%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26start%3D20%26sa%3DN
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=34494B68.8EA%40ibm.net&rnum=19&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Ddirectv%2B%2522south%2Bamerica%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26start%3D10%26sa%3DN
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=74089n%24sb8%241%40nnrp1.dejanews.com&rnum=6&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DISO-8859-1%26q%3Ddirectv%2B%2522south%2Bamerica%2522%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=32F2D14A.3A49%40intergate.bc.ca&rnum=11&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Ddirectv%2Bbrazil%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26start%3D10%26sa%3DN

I regret this wasn't the answer you were hoping for. Best wishes in
finding an alternate source of programming.

Sincerely,

Mvguy-ga (a licensed ham radio operator who is familar with the
peculiarities of signal propagation)





Google sesarch term used: directv footprint
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=directv+footprint&btnG=Google+Search

Google Groups search term used: directv "south america"
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=directv+%22south+america%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N

Hi!!
I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina and asked to Directv Argentina about
this and they told me that it is not possible here.