Can anyone tell me

[DetFan]

If i absolutely have to have a phone line for DIrect Tv?
Ive searched and I found some stuff, but none of really tells me for sure. I have 8 phone lines unfortunately for me none of them are landlines..

I want to know before i order then they show up only to tell me no..

 

[damaged]

Plenty of people have D* with no landline connected and are fine. Some models (incl. the D*TiVo I believe) may require a landline for initial setup, but afterwards it is not needed.

However, latest word from their training video is that the phone line hookup is mandatory, so, YMMV.

 

[johnml]

It isnt needed - I have two receivers which have never been hooked up to the phone line and its been 5 years and no problems. The only problem is that you can order PPV's up to a set amount before you will have to hook up to a phone line so your card will be reset. Its not a problem if you dont care about that. I know somebody who knows somebody who maxes out their receiver cards before they get a new receiver and just throws the old receiver away - That way you can watch 20 PPV's and not be charged.

 

[DetFan]

It isnt needed - I have two receivers which have never been hooked up to the phone line and its been 5 years and no problems. The only problem is that you can order PPV's up to a set amount before you will have to hook up to a phone line so your card will be reset. Its not a problem if you dont care about that. I know somebody who knows somebody who maxes out their receiver cards before they get a new receiver and just throws the old receiver away - That way you can watch 20 PPV's and not be charged.

First of all, I am only getting this(already Ordered) so that I can watch the Sunday Ticket, 1 tv after my contract is up I will shut it down in the Summer and spring.

I am not interested in PPV, nor am I interested in RIPPING off PPV movies, I only wish that they would have told me when I ordered this that I had to have a line.

Oh well if they don't hook me up they just don't.

 

[charper1]

I have had the NFL ST since its inception back on BUD; once DBS arrived I got it in 95/96 and have never had a phone line on it. I do not do remote ordering at all.

 

[realplaya3tn]

if you want to order ppv's isn't there a way to do it online...

 

[damaged]

if you want to order ppv's isn't there a way to do it online...

Yes.

 

[DetFan]

Well they left me an email telling me that in order to watch Sunday Ticket I needed to be connected a phone line, so if this is the case when they get out here, I guess they will be turning right around and not installing here, this is the only reason I ordered. I personally think that if your ordering online there should be something to prevent you from ordering if this is mandatory. In this day an age there are million's of people I am sure with cell phone only homes.

This is what they sent me, and I am just not buying it.

We ask customers to connect a phone line to their DIRECTV System for billing as well as program ordering and viewing purposes. The phone line sends us account information from your system's receiver box. This important link lets you order pay per view movies and events with your remote control, get access to your local Regional Sports Network (if it's included in your monthly package), and watch popular sports subscriptions like NFL SUNDAY TICKET and NBA LEAGUE PASS. This connection will not interfere with the use of your phone. Unfortunately, a cell phone does not meet either of these criteria because it is mobile and usually not left on at all times.

If you don’t have a continuous telephone connection you won’t be able to access local professional and other select sports programming or order pay per view with your remote control. Of course, you can always order pay per view online, pay a $1.50 service fee to order through our automated phone system or pay a $5.00 service fee to order through a representative. But as you can see, having a land-based phone line continuously connected to your DIRECTV Receiver allows you to take full advantage of your DIRECTV System.

If you can't connect your receiver to a standard phone line, several manufacturers offer wireless phone jacks that are compatible with DIRECTV equipment. There may be some limitations to using a wireless connection so we recommend that you check with your local electronics dealer to find out if one will work for you

 

[Jhon69]

I think more people would have phone lines if they knew that cell phones are not secure.Even though I have one myself you will never hear me give out personal information on one.This is information that I feel everyone should know when they
have a cell phone.

 

[DetFan]

I think more people would have phone lines if they knew that cell phones are not secure.Even though I have one myself you will never hear me give out personal information on one.This is information that I feel everyone should know when they
have a cell phone.

LOL, what does this have to with my post? Please, some helpful information, instead of this paranoid jibberish..I have 7 people in my home, Cell phones make more sense...What type of personal info would I Give to anyone?

 

[charper1]

If you really want to do it, and there is no real reason NOT to have a phone line connected IF you have a land line in your home; just go to Radio Shack, Wal-Mart or Ebay and get a set of those wireless jacks or pick up a spool of "telephone wire" and a jack and wire it behind the receiver's location. I did the add a wired jack option for my mom, neighbor and in-laws; it easy very easy to do also.

 

[DetFan]

I DO NOT want a landline here..LOL why would I?

 

[charper1]

Some people are paranoid without it. Some people in areas that need a security system may even REQUIRE a land line to be installed (think ADT or Westinghouse). I think there may even be some "special hard line your telco can provide specific to that purpose and you can't make or receive any calls on it; it only services the alarm.

I myself have a cell and VoIP with no land land for more than 3 years now; it provides true e911 service so no issues there either. Never had one complaint from my DBS company about it. I have NFL ST and my regional sports without issues. I do not buy PPV or anything else via the remote. My DVRs are all 100% ethernet/network connected so never needed a land line there either.

 

[bgilga]

My cousin does not have a phone in his apartment at all and he is able to watch the NFLST and his RSN. He does not even have an account with a phone company other than his cell phone. I would say you do not need it.

 

[DetFan]

Some people are paranoid without it. Some people in areas that need a security system may even REQUIRE a land line to be installed (think ADT or Westinghouse). I think there may even be some "special hard line your telco can provide specific to that purpose and you can't make or receive any calls on it; it only services the alarm.

I myself have a cell and VoIP with no land land for more than 3 years now; it provides true e911 service so no issues there either. Never had one complaint from my DBS company about it. I have NFL ST and my regional sports without issues. I do not buy PPV or anything else via the remote. My DVRs are all 100% ethernet/network connected so never needed a land line there either.

Are your DVR's through DTV? and can you set them up on your home network? I had a TIVO once just by itself and had it set up that way.

 

[charper1]

Nope, I do not like integrated DVR service. I prefer set-top connected via my network. I use ReplayTV 4500 series. No need to upgrade to HD models DBS or cable offers, because there is no way to DVD record it yet, but I can archive all my SD programming just fine.

 

[johnml]

Well they left me an email telling me that in order to watch Sunday Ticket I needed to be connected a phone line, so if this is the case when they get out here, I guess they will be turning right around and not installing here, this is the only reason I ordered. I personally think that if your ordering online there should be something to prevent you from ordering if this is mandatory. In this day an age there are million's of people I am sure with cell phone only homes.

This is what they sent me, and I am just not buying it.

We ask customers to connect a phone line to their DIRECTV System for billing as well as program ordering and viewing purposes. The phone line sends us account information from your system's receiver box. This important link lets you order pay per view movies and events with your remote control, get access to your local Regional Sports Network (if it's included in your monthly package), and watch popular sports subscriptions like NFL SUNDAY TICKET and NBA LEAGUE PASS. This connection will not interfere with the use of your phone. Unfortunately, a cell phone does not meet either of these criteria because it is mobile and usually not left on at all times.

If you don’t have a continuous telephone connection you won’t be able to access local professional and other select sports programming or order pay per view with your remote control. Of course, you can always order pay per view online, pay a $1.50 service fee to order through our automated phone system or pay a $5.00 service fee to order through a representative. But as you can see, having a land-based phone line continuously connected to your DIRECTV Receiver allows you to take full advantage of your DIRECTV System.

If you can't connect your receiver to a standard phone line, several manufacturers offer wireless phone jacks that are compatible with DIRECTV equipment. There may be some limitations to using a wireless connection so we recommend that you check with your local electronics dealer to find out if one will work for you

You DONT need a phone line hooked up to order PPV's - All the phone line when its hooked up does is "tell" directv that you ordered therefore Directv can bill you for it.

 

[bonscott87]

So just hook up a phone cord so the installer can hook it up. He won't care or know that it's not actually working. Seriously, you can do this.

If you have VOIP service like Vonage this will work with the DirecTV receivers no problem. I've been doing it for 4 years now. Only trouble you might have is with some Tivo units.

Without an actual connection you just can't order PPV.
It's rare but you might have an issue with sports like Sunday Ticket but it's pretty rare they would even check and only then if you had multiple receivers. I've gone a couple seasons of Sunday Ticket before with no phone line connected with no troubles. But I did have a friend that had it shut off because his phone line was disconnected by the cat.

So YMMV but for Sunday Ticket I'd say you're 98% safe with no phone line.