Phone line required??

[Mr Tony]

Do the Dish PVR's need to be hooked up to the phone line? (other than the obvious..to order PPV)

I only have one receiver, and might get a PVR to replace it. But I'm a cell phone only, so if phone line is required then I'm SOL.

 

[gredneck]

Do the Dish PVR's need to be hooked up to the phone line? (other than the obvious..to order PPV)

I only have one receiver, and might get a PVR to replace it. But I'm a cell phone only, so if phone line is required then I'm SOL.

No, you dont.
I have 2 PVR's and neither one of them is hooked up to a phone line.

Just a bit of advice if you get one.

I was messing around in the menu section of my 510 and went into diagnostics,
well it not like the diagnostic menu of my jvc hm-dsr100.
it just has connection, dial out, cancel, or help option I hit the dial out by accident. of course there was an error and after that I couldn't access any channels or my program guide.

I eventually did a memory dump and it resolved the issue.

just thought I'd share that bit of info with you.

 

[Sapient]

I know with the 522, you get charged $5/month if you don't have a land line. I don't really understand why, but I find it is still worth it.

 

[Mr Tony]

I know with the 522, you get charged $5/month if you don't have a land line. I don't really understand why, but I find it is still worth it.

Cant get a 522.....not on DHA

 

[bcshields]

Only the X22 recievers get charged for no phone line.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I know with the 522, you get charged $5/month if you don't have a land line. I don't really understand why, but I find it is still worth it.

I can think of two reasons offhand. One is anti-piracy - making sure that all receivers for a given account are in the same location by checking the Caller ID (BTW, CID blocking will NOT help - by design, it does NOT block CID when calling an 800 number).

The other is more sneaky (if they're doing it). That is, sending your viewing habits back to Dish like a ratings box. Tivo does this - remember the news about how JJs 'wardrobe malfunction' was the most replayed item in Tivo history?

 

[bcshields]

I've suspected this for a long time. I've always thought cable did it throught their connection (digital cable, after all) and that's why Dish/Direct require phone lines for PPV when a simple call system could be used like they did back in the day.

Ever notice after a major event they have that Neilsen rating the next morning? 30+ million people watched...

Major privacy violations for the sake of a sound bite and some stats. *sigh*

 

[GaryPen]

Pardon me while I get my tin foil hat.

 

[SimpleSimon]

This ain't the Orbital Mind Control Lasers or The Men In Black (Illuminati game references ), but something much worse: Big Media, Madison Avenue, and Empty Vee.

 

[bsobel]

I know with the 522, you get charged $5/month if you don't have a land line. I don't really understand why, but I find it is still worth it.

And the unit will display a popup everyday if the phone line isn't attached...
Bill

 

[Sapient]

And the unit will display a popup everyday if the phone line isn't attached...
Bill

It won't if you tell them you won't be connectng a phone line and will be paying the $5/month. I saw that screen just once, prior to activating my account, when the unit was first plugged in.

 

[GaryPen]

This ain't the Orbital Mind Control Lasers or The Men In Black (Illuminati game references ), but something much worse: Big Media, Madison Avenue, and Empty Vee.

Are you saying that my tin foil hat won't work?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Are you saying that my tin foil hat won't work?

Right! You need the anti-Fnord sunglasses instead, and must use them whenever you're watching TV.

 

[ken]

Back in the god ol days when D & E just got going they would not pay dealers if they knew the receiver was not hooked up to a land line (we just said "o ya"), and to this day your best off not telling them that an account with multi receivers are not connected. E* just loves to charge back.

 

[ChrisCoop]

I've got a 322 and 522 under DHA. I have them both set to update (call out) 2 minutes apart from each other at around 5 in the morning. The odd thing is this: The existing phone system in my house has "Line In Use" indicators on all the bases and handsets. Anytime something is "off the hook" the bases and handsets light up with an LED and stay lit until the line is hung back up. So every once in a while when I'm up at 5 in the morning - and actually paying attention - I watch the LEDs to see what's going to happen. The LED comes on so briefly - I mean literally, it's less than a second - that there's no way they can be transmitting info back to the mother ship. To be honest, I'm highly skeptical that it's even really calling anything/anyone. I suspect that the unit just keeps track internally as to whether or not a phone line is available, so maybe at some point down the line they will retrieve that info and bill you accordingly, if necessary. There's no way the thing places a call and exchanges info in less than a second. I just don't believe that's possible. Put it this way, if I blink, I'll miss the light - it's that quick. They both do the same thing with the phone, download the updated program guide - from the sat. - reboot, and acquire signal, so I know they're functioning properly and doing what they're supposed to do.

 

[bcshields]

If you "move" to get locals, should you disconnect the landline?

I did, out of paranoia, but does it matter?

 

[Mr Tony]

If you "move" to get locals, should you disconnect the landline?

I did, out of paranoia, but does it matter?

I'm assuming you kept the phone number on file with Dish as your phone number.

If so, then no, you don't need to disconnect the line.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The sat guide comes from the satellite not the phone line. The only thing the phone line confirms is ppv purchases and whether you are hooked up to a phone line in the same house with multiple receivers.