Necessity of phone line?

[dtcarson]

 :hi: Hi all,

We got Dish installed Saturday, and so far really like it.  But I was wondering:  

 Why a phone line? And how essential is it?  The installer didn't say a thing about hooking up a phone line, although he gave us phone cables.  I think I read that it recieves the EPG info over the satellite overnight.  We don't plan to use PPV, so what would happen if we don't hook up the phone line?

 

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by dtcarson
so what would happen if we don't hook up the phone line?

  Nothing. Don't worry about it. Hooking up the phone line is not a requirement.

[JohnL]

Originally posted by dtcarson
 :hi: Hi all,

We got Dish installed Saturday, and so far really like it.  But I was wondering:  

 Why a phone line? And how essential is it?  The installer didn't say a thing about hooking up a phone line, although he gave us phone cables.  I think I read that it recieves the EPG info over the satellite overnight.  We don't plan to use PPV, so what would happen if we don't hook up the phone line?

 

PPV ordering from the remote is the only reason you have to connect a phone line. If you have Caller Id Service some of Dish Networks receivers have caller ID software. If you enable the caller ID feature, a dialog box with appear at the bottom of the screen with the Number and Name of the caller.

John

[HTguy]

Originally posted by Chris Blount
Nothing. Don't worry about it. Hooking up the phone line is not a requirement.
Well, actually it is a requirement. Read your residential agreement w/E*. It's just that they don't enforce it for the simple reason that it's not always even possible & they're not going to lose a sub over it.

PPV ordering from the remote is the only reason you have to connect a phone line. If you have Caller Id Service some of Dish Networks receivers have caller ID software. Well there's more to it than that. Actually you don't need a phone hook-up to order PPVs; it's just cheaper & easier if you do. But they do want "impulse" PPV sales to be possible & that's one reason for the telco hook-up.

Another is security. For multiple rcvr accts they want to be able to verify that all the rcvrs are in the same house. This is to reduce piracy in the form of "Account Packing."

Finally, the new interactive features such as Customer Service in DISH Home (Ch 100) need the phone attached to work.

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by HTguy

Well, actually it is a requirement. Read your residential agreement w/E*. It's just that they don't enforce it for the simple reason that it's not always even possible & they're not going to lose a sub over it.

Actually you are correct. I was speaking in terms of the reality of the situation which means it's really not necessary to hook up the phone line.

[papillo-j]

I have to agree with the others. If you are doing nothing more than watching TV then you don't need a phone line. My wireless phone jack died a while ago and I have not bothered to replace it. The phone jack gives you several advantages

1. pay per view is possible for minimal cost. To call up and ask for a movie from a live person costs something like 4-5 dollars extra

2. Dish at home - you can play games, add programming, view your bill, etc from the receiver.

I have 2 suggestions for you.

1. If you have a phone jack nearby then you can run a long phone cord to the jack. You don't need to leave it there all the time, you just need to do it when you are using dish at home, or every
once in a while if you want pay per view.

2. for about 40 dollars at home depot you can get a wireless phone extension. This plugs into an electric outlet near your dish and the phone plugs into it. The main unit plugs into the outlet someplace else in the house where you do have a phone jack.

I was doing solution 2 until I got a 2.4G wireless phone and it trashed my wireless unit. Now I just keep a long phone cord coiled up behind my receiver and I plug it in when I need it.

Import thing to note, if you want a pay per view, you can go ahead and order it. The reciever will unlock the movie on credit. Then when it is convient you plug into the jack and sync up. The limits on this credit are this.... 1.number of movies (I think that you are limited to 7) 2.dollars on credit (you will not get $100 on credit) 3. time since last sync (they want you to get around to syncing up in a reasonable amount of time).

[Geronimo]

Why would a wireless jack hurt a 2.4G phone? Just asking. Maybe Ia m missing something.

[Mike123abc]

I have been a dish network customer for more than 2 years, but have never hooked up to a phone line (one of the rooms does not even have a phone line in there). Never had a problem.

[papillo-j]

It is not the wireless jack that hurt the phone, it is the phone that hurt the wireless jack. I suspect that the filters are not very good on one device or the other and the phone blew out the recievers in the wireless jack. That is just a guess though.

All I know is that it was working fine until that new phone came home. Then if I unplugged the phone (INCLUDING POWER) it would work again but work VERY BADLY. I plug the phone back it and I have no functionality on the wireless jack. I have a plan to run cat5E from another jack in the house and drop in a line but it will not be a really easy run so I am putting it behind other projects around the house.

-J

[Jacob S]

As long as you do not have 4 or more receivers on the account you should be fine. You can get phone line surges too where it can do something to the phone modem.