Another new install phone requirement ???

[melloyello75]

Ok so the feedback I received previously was that I did not need a phone line connected to my receivers but then I came across this...

I am currently planning on activating 3 boxes...


"If I have more than one receiver, do I pay a full monthly subscription for each receiver? No. DIRECTV allows you to connect more than one television in a single household to our services. If your receivers are connected to the same phone line, DIRECTV© can 'mirror' your subscription. In other words, the programming you request for the primary access card in your receiver is copied for all of the access cards in the other receivers and you are authorized to receive this same level or programming on these televisions. Instead of charging you a separate monthly subscription for each receiver, they simply charge a $4.99 monthly service fee for each additional receiver. When they 'mirror' your subscription to additional receivers, they do verify that all your receivers are continuously connected to the same phone line. If they find that a receiver with 'mirrored' service is not connected to the phone line, they will discontinue service to that receiver and you will need to call them to re-establish that service."

So does that mean i will have to pay 3 separate programming packages versus one pkg and 2 mirroring fees?

 

[charper1]

Of the 4 receivers I have only 2 have EVER been on a phone line, even at install. These are only on because I buy PPV from these. I pay the mirror charges and have NEVER paid additional fees for the 2 not connected.

 

[jsegura]

don't worry about

Only my Tivo has ever touched a phone line... they just say that. I seriously doubt they could ever enforce that w/people moving away from lan based phones to cell phones etc... However must one think that in 7 yrs or so they may require a internet connection for various reasons. Still unlikely though.

 

[Chesterbeag]

I have never had a phone line hooked up to any of my receivers, and I have been a customer for 3 years. All I pay is the separate mirroring fee for each additional receiver.

 

[tjlandberg]

The big thing with the phone line is for future updates for the IRD's. With so much bandwitdh needed for HD and all upgrades will be coming via phone line. The first big update via phone line is coming in May.

I personally think that sucks. I have no phone line and dont plan on gettting one. I cant see DTV screwing customers with no phone line. I think they need to be coming up with something else.

 

[melloyello75]

cool thanks, that makes me feel a lot better about the pending install.

 

[charper1]

don't the receivers update their software via the satellites?

 

[tjlandberg]

don't the receivers update their software via the satellites?

They do now but not for long.

HD will take all of that transponder space away and phone lines are going to be the only way to get the upgrades to the customer. Thats one of the reasons why Dtv is so big on phone lines. I have no idea how they are going to get the upgrades to the customers with no phone line.

 

[cr0mag]

Only my Tivo has ever touched a phone line... they just say that. I seriously doubt they could ever enforce that w/people moving away from lan based phones to cell phones etc... However must one think that in 7 yrs or so they may require a internet connection for various reasons. Still unlikely though.

This is something that D* (and others) seriously need to address.... With more and more ppl going to VOIP and cell phones vs. old telco systems, why on earth can't they put a $10 NIC card in the back of their boxes? If they had a "live" internet connection to all of their installed boxes, they would be able to offer much greater interactive content and they would be able to upgrade software at will.
Of course they could also monitor what you watch and tell the wife about you ordering Spice PPV which would suck.... lol
Anyway, my vote is always for more bandwidth, be it from the sats or over the cable or DSL modem.

 

[Hogarth]

don't the receivers update their software via the satellites?

They do now but not for long.

HD will take all of that transponder space away and phone lines are going to be the only way to get the upgrades to the customer. Thats one of the reasons why Dtv is so big on phone lines. I have no idea how they are going to get the upgrades to the customers with no phone line.

Source, please?

I find this extremely unlikely.
Satellites are very efficient at broadcasting. In addition, a new release of software for a given receiver will have an infitesimal size compared to a given HD broadcast.

To deliver all that data over the phone lines seems inefficient -- you would have to retransmit the software over and over again to individual requestors, and then would run the risk of having a large number of users unable to receive the up-to-date software.

Even TiVo has migrated most of their data flow from phone lines to a daily broadcast from paid programming on the discovery channel.

Lately, the phone line call mainly serves to deliver a "wake up call" that says "Aha.. new software.. you can get it now."

I could easily be wrong, but would like a definitive source to disprove me.

 

[tjlandberg]

Only source I have is our HSP trainer. So I can't prove you wrong. For all I know I could be wrong. I try and get more info and a source for you.

 

[fkostyn]

an update is maybe 1mb?? this would take seconds over a satellite, and it could be broadcast to thousands of users at once. I also agree that the updates would come over a satellite, not via a phoneline. Also, to my knowledge, the only boxes that "phone home" currently are DirectTivo's. All of my other boxes have NEVER dialed out. (I use vonage, and it shows what calls have been placed).

 

[jsegura]

I think D* fears that if they put an ethernet connection on receivers it will somehow make them vulnerable to hackers.. which I could understand their concern with all the trouble they had w/signal pirates. But I agree the old land based phone line has to go. Maybe they should come out w/some type of adapter for a cell phone. They need to give us customers a choice and not impose requirements that cost $$.

 

[foolish]

phone lines are supposedly coming into play when dtv brings online all the interactive programming they have planned (sports betting, some sort of movie on demand service and such like things)

but this is coming from the same people (my hsp local office) that try to claim dtv is buying tivo (highly unlikely in my opinion, what with the tivo/comcast deal).

all i know is 90% of the installs i do, maybe 1 receiver gets a phone line. half the time in vermont there is ONLY 1 phone jack in the entire house. and unless they have every call the receivers make be to an 800 number, i dont think some people will be too keen on their receivers making a butload of calls.