DirecTV Rumors for April 28, 2006

[RIRWIN1983]

Maybe what we should do it start SUBSCRIBING to DirecTV and then canceling on the 29th day because the HD is not really HD. A bunch of dents in their pocket because of this would have them thinking I am sure.

if in all honesty scott if that was to work, how many companies can we all think that we have done this too, and instead of them going bankrupt they are doing even better. i do however apreciate the light getting shined on d* a lil more finaly from you :

 

[TheDishNetworkInstaller]

I'm more interested in the document I saw relating to D*'s mandating no cost to the customer phone line installs. That screwjob is supposed to start May 1st. What is D* doing for the installers? BESIDES bending them over, that is......

I've been working for a DTV HSP for awhile now (and for a short while as a contractor back in 2003) and this was the standard from day one, just not strictly enforced.


The HSP's are cracking down on installers who don't do this, and it sounds like its coming directly from DTV. In fact the phone line connections actually determine your rate of pay and have for awhile (if you’re on a flat rate pay your getting screwed as DTV pays HSP’s a tiered pay based on the phone line). I'd rather run a phone line then sink a pole 30ft away and bury cable for free just because the customer has a cob up there rear about mounting on the eve of the roof or the side of the house.

 

[Spade]

I've been working for a DTV HSP for awhile now (and for a short while as a contractor back in 2003) and this was the standard from day one, just not strictly enforced.


The HSP's are cracking down on installers who don't do this, and it sounds like its coming directly from DTV. In fact the phone line connections actually determine your rate of pay and have for awhile (if you’re on a flat rate pay your getting screwed as DTV pays HSP’s a tiered pay based on the phone line). I'd rather run a phone line then sink a pole 30ft away and bury cable for free just because the customer has a cob up there rear about mounting on the eve of the roof or the side of the house.

For a merely $81, I would have to work 5+ hours to do a 4bed install with all the phone lines connected. SBC pays $32/hour to just run a freakin' one phone line. Phone lines are BS! Directv do lies about their phone lines connection. They tell customers that they need the phone line to receive new software updates...BS! THE ONLY REASON Directv wants phones lines connected is.....ill tell you guys later when i quit.

 

[TheDishNetworkInstaller]

The reason they want the receivers hooked to a phone line is to be able track it. Use the Caller ID to prevent account sharing. To make sure all pay per use events get reported to D*, and last but not least hope you'll get the urge to order a pay per view. Simple as that.

The software updates, VOD, Interactive TV (Weather, Channel Mixes, other stuff under the active menu) are just to bandwidth intensive for dial-up and are all handled via download for the satellite. Everything right now is one way with Satellite. The only way to make it two way is how DirectWay originally did it. Downlink from the Satellite and uplink via phone line.

That’s the big push for phone lines on the new receivers. Give D* two way communication with the box. And with the reported hacking of the lastest smart card algorithm, its only going to get worse with D* trying to track the boxes.

And for $81 you must work for Mastic as I get paid more than that and I work in a Metro Area. Our traveling techs are getting even more.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

THE ONLY REASON Directv wants phones lines connected is.....ill tell you guys later when i quit.

For Pay Per View.

 

[hdtvtechno]

For Pay Per View.

Nope scott is wrong, and i know the correct answer

 

[Curtis0620]

Vod

 

[lurch]

With the phone line they can tell were your box is.Say,I live in buffalo,ny and cant get good ota reception, I can borrow someones receivers from NYC and get all locals in HD.Or I can get blacked out sports events in my area Like from say NFL sunday ticket.They know alot of peeps are doing this,hence the strickness on phone lines.They kind of make it easy for us though with the rg6 with phone line attached!But I agree sometimes it adds an extra hour to the job.

 

[TheDishNetworkInstaller]

They kind of make it easy for us though with the rg6 with phone line attached!But I agree sometimes it adds an extra hour to the job.

I have a box of that stuff and honestly have never opened it because here power is normally on one side of the house, phone on another.

It would be nice if all services were all in one place but it really very's from house to house where the services enter. Newer houses have power, gas and phone all in the same area, but they are also usually pre wired with phone and cable to most locations where TV's would work. But since I make every effort to place the Dish near my ground (which is normally power) on the older houses I either sell them wireless jacks or end up running separate phone lines.

Bottom line the phone line is for receiver tracking. Even if you block your outbound Caller ID via your phone company. Directv uses backbone call center technology (same tech phone company's use) which gives them direct access to the number that called them and is how your calls are tracked by your phone company to determin which calls you make are long distance and which are local calls. (I know simplistic break down)

 

[stevo/65]

It also has the option for customers to use as neilsons rating.
With phone lines hooked up big brother can see what you are watching, like with tivos do now.
Again phone lines being installed for free is a great deal. , I wish i can go to a buisness and buy a service for free with a 2 year contract,then get a bunch of extras for free worth a couple of hundred dollars knowing it does not cost the buisness a dime or me. it is at the expense of the sucker who is putting it in.
Can you say slave labor , because that is exactly what it is.

 

[newsposter]

Bottom line the phone line is for receiver tracking. Even if you block your outbound Caller ID via your phone company. Directv uses backbone call center technology (same tech phone company's use) which gives them direct access to the number that called them and is how your calls are tracked by your phone company to determin which calls you make are long distance and which are local calls. (I know simplistic break down)

what's the point of blocking a number if a company can read it anyway? Is this legal even? Seems if you get caller id you should have a blocked number...period ..except 911, toll free of course.

 

[TheDishNetworkInstaller]

what's the point of blocking a number if a company can read it anyway? Is this legal even? Seems if you get caller id you should have a blocked number...period ..except 911, toll free of course.

Caller ID is a totally separate technology from the technology POT's providers use to track your phone calls. And since most call centers are right on the back bone they have access to the same tracking information and no its not illegal as there not bypassing the Caller ID technology and are technically a mini telephone company and have every right to know who's calling there mini telephone network.

 

[scooby2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_identification

 

[lovswr]

Caller ID is a totally separate technology from the technology POT's providers use to track your phone calls. And since most call centers are right on the back bone they have access to the same tracking information and no its not illegal as there not bypassing the Caller ID technology and are technically a mini telephone company and have every right to know who's calling there mini telephone network.

Yes, that is correct. SS7 (Signaling System 7 or Feature Group D), it was quite the amazing technology back in the seventies when the first all digital switched appeares (things like todays Nortel DMS 250/500 or the GE Galaxy 500 & the like). If your phone company would let you in the CO you would see this huge switch wtih your 3 digit prefix right on the side. Your 4 numbers are actully the station (your phone) & when , say, our mother makes the weekly call to you, SS7 kinda "remembers" & will have actually made the connection by the time you get to the 4th or 5th digit. It does a lot of other stuff too (mainly for billing...most phone companies have the billing computer so tightly integrated with the switches, that if they die, you can't make calls), but making the POTS fully automated was its main purpose.


edit: SS7 has nothing to do with scooby2's link above either.
.

 

[dishcomm]

I'm more interested in the document I saw relating to D*'s mandating no cost to the customer phone line installs. That screwjob is supposed to start May 1st. What is D* doing for the installers? BESIDES bending them over, that is......

That's news to me..I used to work for a D* hsp..We were not permitted to charge the sub for a phone line..D* considered the hd wire phone line to be part of the job..
I ran into a supervisor for D* a few months ago..I asked a bunch of questions. One of which was the phone line issue..He told me that on jobs where the tech had to run the line, it was N/C ot cust and the tech did not get paid extra for it either..
It's complete horse crap ..That's why I will not work for a D* HSP..
Now for the semi good news..D* no longer requires the hd wire phone line for multiple receivers to be activated....

 

[dishcomm]

For a merely $81, I would have to work 5+ hours to do a 4bed install with all the phone lines connected. SBC pays $32/hour to just run a freakin' one phone line. Phone lines are BS! Directv do lies about their phone lines connection. They tell customers that they need the phone line to receive new software updates...BS! THE ONLY REASON Directv wants phones lines connected is.....ill tell you guys later when i quit.

When I do deals for our retail side(we are primarily a DN retailer/contractor) I do not install the phone lines..If the cust wants them, they must pay for each one...But again, that's a retail deal...

 

[Stargazer]

I install the phone line on the dual tuner receivers to save the customer $5 as long as it is not too much of a job to install it. The single tuner receivers I do not bother with hooking up a phoneline unless it is nearby or the customer really wants it connected.

 

[arxaw]

what's the point of blocking a number if a company can read it anyway? Is this legal even?.

Yes it's legal.

The owner of an 800# is paying for the call (basically an automatic collect call). They have the right to know who's calling.

 

[fkostyn]

That is correct, I used to work with a company, and we had 8 800#'s for dialin and with used the ANI info to locate where the customer was calling from, and in some cases, used the first three digits for even more localized info.

 

[newsposter]

i forgot the dtv call was 800, already knew they could read those..i thought they meant if i had the number 201 555 1212 and blocked it that they couldnt read it