Like everyone else I want to get rid fo Time Warner and go dish, both Direct TV and Dish Network require a land based phone line to use the DVR, that means i have to deal with Verizon and that sucks. Why the hell do i need a land line for DVR???
You don’t need it for DVR, you need it for pay per view.
Think about how dish works. It’s a one way signal from space. You never send anything back into space, you only receive.
So when you order a Pay Per View, the receiver stores that purchase and once a month or so it will dial out to an 800 number and let the billing department know about it.
And don’t bother just leaving the line unplugged, if they don’t get the “phone home” after so many months they shut you down COMPLETELY until you hook up a phone line.
Dish Network will let you get the service without a phone, but there is an additional $5 per month charge, and they disable the ability to order pay per view via the remote. You have to call customer service to order PPV.
The good news for me, my Dish Network receivers seem to be completely happy with using my Vonage VoIP for dialing out.
I specifically asked if it was for ppv or dvr and they said i needed it for dvr. I think i maight call tomorrow and talk to sombody else cuz it doesn’t seem right that i would need it for dvr.
Well, Dish Network activated me, with full DVR and HD service, with no phone line. At the time I didn’t have any jacks near the receivers. The day after the installers left I installed a couple of phone jacks and hooked up the receivers. I rebooted the receivers (unplug, plug in), waited 24 hours, then called customer service. They said they saw dial outs from both my receivers and cleared the $5 charge from my account.
I work for DirecTV. You DO NOT NEED it for DVR service on DirecTV but they are required to tell you that you do. All it is for it PPV. I will install it for you if they give you a hard time about it. Just order it and tell them you do have a land based phone line, I will take care of the rest.