[MattN03]

Can anyone confirm if a 625 DVR will accept a ethernet connection? I don't have a land line phone and would like to avoid the $5 monthly fee. I have contacted Dish and the CSR said the 625 would accept the ethernet connection. I contacted a local Dish installer and they said the 625 would not accept the ethernet connection. Who's right??

 

[scooper]

Absolutely will not.

 

[MattN03]

Are there any SD dual tuners that would accept an ethernet connection?

 

[scooper]

I do not believe that is a feature in anything but the HD 2 tuner models at this time.

 

[BobaBird]

Only the ViP line, which is currently and foreseeably only MPEG4 HD receivers, has an ethernet port.

See the 625 on the TechPortal for an illustration of the back panel.

 

[MattN03]

Only the ViP line, which is currently and foreseeably only MPEG4 HD receivers, has an ethernet port.

See the 625 on the TechPortal for an illustration of the back panel.

I see.

 

[MattN03]

We used to subscribe to DN, but have been away for a while. I have two 508 models from before. As a new customer once again, could I use the 508's without paying the $5 fee or any DVR fees?

 

[BobaBird]

You would pay $5 for the second receiver, DVR or not ($7 for MPEG4 models). The 508 continues to have no DVR fee, as well as the 501 and 721.

 

[dixonba]

Here is a possible solution that I'm using for my situation (no land line). I have two dual tuner boxes (625 and a 322) that need phone connections or I will have a $10 per month fee tacked on my bill. I bought a device called the "magicjack". Its basically land line phone service for $20 a year. There is about a $20 cost for the pseudo ata device. You get the first year with the purchase for like $50 or something. You plug the magic jack into your usb port and your phone lines into the magic jack. I currently have a three way splitter with my two satellite boxes and a cordless phone running into them and they are dialing out just fine and my phone works.

Pros:
-dish phone fees add up to $120 a year. Magicjack for the first year is $50. $70 savings for the first year and $100 for the second.
-additional land line capability
-on screen caller id
-vmail
-free long distance

Cons:
-magicjack customer service sucks
-sometimes hard to get this thing to work right. I had to set the magicjack.exe priority to high to get my dish boxes to dial out correctly
-you can only use magicjack if its plugged into your computer and your computer is on and networked.
-because of the last point you are using your electricity. I use a low power draw laptop as my MJ host
-MJ is hard to uninstall
-on screen ads with the MJ softphone and maybe some spyware? This is why i use it on a dedicated laptop.
-not all area codes and prefixes available...you may have to use a number that would be long distance for your area

Basically this device isn't the greatest but you are really getting what you pay for. It works for my situation and keeps me from paying the phone fee to dish. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Blowgun]

Cons:
-magicjack customer service sucks
-sometimes hard to get this thing to work right. I had to set the magicjack.exe priority to high to get my dish boxes to dial out correctly
-you can only use magicjack if its plugged into your computer and your computer is on and networked.
-because of the last point you are using your electricity. I use a low power draw laptop as my MJ host
-MJ is hard to uninstall
-on screen ads with the MJ softphone and maybe some spyware? This is why i use it on a dedicated laptop.
-not all area codes and prefixes available...you may have to use a number that would be long distance for your area

Basically this device isn't the greatest but you are really getting what you pay for. It works for my situation and keeps me from paying the phone fee to dish. Your mileage may vary.

Wow, to be completely honest the Magicjack sounds like garbage. I've seen a glimpse of the infomercial and always thought it looked cheesy in the ad. Personally, I think having a phone line or Ethernet connection connected should be an option and not a requirement. I doubt I would do either one or pay their incentive fee.

 

[dixonba]

I agree that the phone connection should be an option.

I wouldn't go as far as to say the magicjack is garbage. It works perfectly for me. I plugged it in, it worked (voice communication). It wouldn't let the dish recievers call out but I changed a setting on my laptop and everything was fine.

You get what you pay for really. Its just a cost effective answer to dish's phone fee for those of us without landlines.

 

[puckwithahalo]

I agree that the phone connection should be an option.

it is an option. the access fee is basically the additional outlet charge for the second tv off the receiver. hook up the phone line and it gets waived.

 

[harsh]

MagicJack is not a land line service. It is a VOIP service.

It does work for voice, but chances are almost non-existant that it would work for an analog modem connection.

 

[dixonba]

MagicJack is not a land line service. It is a VOIP service.

It does work for voice, but chances are almost non-existant that it would work for an analog modem connection.

Chances are non-existant? It works just fine for me. I must be hallucinating then

...and I'm aware that its not a land line service. Maybe I should have clarified that it is indeed voip service.

 

[ImBack234]

MagicJack is not a land line service. It is a VOIP service.

It does work for voice, but chances are almost non-existant that it would work for an analog modem connection.

Are you saying all VOIP service don't work?
Maybe I should get a land line service cause I've been using vonage for years with out any charges.

 

[harsh]

Are you saying all VOIP service don't work?

When compared with POTS lines, VOIP isn't entirely predictable as to whether or not it will work. MagicJack officially doesn't support modems or fax machines (though some appear to work).

 

[Blowgun]

I agree that the phone connection should be an option.

I wouldn't go as far as to say the magicjack is garbage. It works perfectly for me. I plugged it in, it worked (voice communication). It wouldn't let the dish recievers call out but I changed a setting on my laptop and everything was fine.

You get what you pay for really. Its just a cost effective answer to dish's phone fee for those of us without landlines.

My apologies if you took any offense by me calling the MagicJack garbage. Based solely on several of your cons did I come to that determination. You probably meant adware, not spyware, but in the case you really did mean spyware, that's totally unacceptable even on a separate notebook. If it does what you need and you trust it then great, it just that I wouldn't support any product that questionable.

 

[dixonba]

No offense. I gave the pros and cons to avoid being labled a magicjack fanboy or one of those "one time signup to promote my product" guys. I wouldn't say that its the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I wouldnt say its garbage.

I was just offering a cost effective solution to the OP problem of not being able to connect the 625 to an ethernet connection. I think the MJ is a pretty nifty gadget and am happy with it. I do realize it has its drawback and issues. With the spyware/adware, I haven't confirmed either way but I have my suspicions. IF you're really tech savvy you could extract the sip credentials and use your own ata but MJ may ban your sip creds if they catch you lol.