Do all satellite receivers require a phone line? (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

I have about a zillion newbie questions regarding satellite tv & HDTV, but the first one is a deal breaker: Do all setups require a phone line? I ditched my landline in favor of a cable modem and cellphone, so this might mean satellite tvv isn't even an option for me...

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Luis C]

In short, yes you need a phone line...

 

[Dave F]

Bah! Nuts.

Thanks for the info, though.

-Dave

 

[Lee Petty]

uh, no you dont have to have one.
the phone line is only for ordering ppv movies. the receiver never uses it otherwise.
the only time it "has" to be hooked to a phone jack is when the installer hooks it up, it is required to be plugged into a phone jack. after we installed our receivers, we unplugged the phonelines from them and never needed them since.

 

[Kwang Suh]

I have never connected my receivers to the phone... And they work great.

 

[Luis C]

Yes, that is correct... only necessary for PPV... it will work without the phone line but if you ever get "card zapped" you will need to have a phone line. Sorry for the misdirection.

 

[Dave F]

What is "card zapped"? And do you guys have any basic info websites that you would recommend? I appreciate the info - even the dealers here are completely clueless!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Lee Petty]

as far as i know, only pirated cards get "zapped". i havent heard of a normal card to just die. anytime you have trouble with getting a signal, you can call directv or dish network and give them your system info, and they can usually fix any problems that way. if the card is broken, you would have to send it back to them anyways.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I had a DirecTV system for a little over a year. When the installer was setting it up he connected it to a phone line just to make sure the phone-dialer thingy worked right and then disconnected it for me.

Ten months ago I switched to Dish Network and did the install myself. That receiver has never been attached to a phone line and it works fine.

The only two things that require the phone line are pay-per-view movies and some of the personal video recorders (PVRs). Plain-old direct-broadcast satellite receivers get everything they need through the dish.

 

[Ben Menix]

I've never had my DishPlayer receiver connected to the phone line, and it has worked perfectly for almost 2 years. Maybe year and a half, can't remember now. Anyways...never needed the phone line.
Ben Menix
[email protected]

 

[Dave F]

Since NFL Sunday Ticket is subscription based, and not per-view, can I still get by without a phone line?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Jeff Mills]

The phone line is only needed for Pay per View. Thats it. The satellite companies will tell you it needs to be plugged in as this is a way they can detect people who have illegal "pirate" cards in their system.

Yes you can still get Pay per View without the phone line plugged in, all you need to do is phone your satellite provider when you want to watch a Pay per View movie or football game or whatever and order it verbally over the phone. They can then send down the signal to allow you to view the movie.

 

[Chip E]

Never had a phone line connected to my satellite box.

 

[Neil White]

Note that ordering PPV via phone yourself usually incurs a service fee (in addition to the fee for the movie or event).

IF you do a lot of PPV ordering I think, although I'm not sure, that a phone line connection is necessary if your card becomes full (with data on the PPV orders). I'm pretty sure the receiver does a dial-up overnight, maybe once a month (if connected of course) and the card will be cleaned-up if full. I may be wrong on all this but I'm sure I remember reading it somewhere. But, in short, you do NOT need a phone line to run things normally. As others have said, the sat companies just tell you to do it so they can monitor pirate cards. When I recently added two additional receivers, they told me the phone line connections were so they could mirror the cards. Bullshit. It's done via the satellite signal.

N