Question about Direct TV

[rowech]

I have very conflicting information about whether or not you need a land-based phone line in order to have direct tv. I call them and one person says you don't have to have one but then on their website, for their terms and conditions, it says you must be continually hooked up to one. Does anyone know one way or another for sure?

[Eaglesfan27]

I know that once you are hooked up, it is only necessary for ordering pay per view events/movies. However, I'm not sure that you can get a tech to hook it up without one.

Edit: I think it is also necessary to activate some firmware updates for the receivers.

[molson]

I have the same question about TIVO.

[Atocep]

I don't have Directv anymore, but when I had it connected in '04 it wasn't necessary as I didn't have my phone hooked up yet when I they installed.

[Doug5984]

I have direct tv and do not have a land line, haven't had one in 6 years. I also have DVR & HD DVR and you don't need the phone line for those either (even though they say you do)...

The question about tivo- I had tivo without a land line, the one issue there was with the model I had you had to have a land line the first time you hooked it up so it could update the software before connecting or something like that, so i just brought it to a friends house for a few minutes- then hooked it up and never had a problem

Edit to clarify- when I called to order it 2 years ago I was sure to tell them I didn't have a land line, they said it was no problem. As for ordering movies, I just order them online and never have had a problem.

[saldana]

as far as i know, without a land line, you cannot order PPV with the remote, and there is something that could be a problem if you buy the sports packages, but the entire thing will still work fine without the phone line

[Suburban Rhythm]

I have direct tv and do not have a land line, haven't had one in 6 years. I also have DVR & HD DVR and you don't need the phone line for those either (even though they say you do)...

The question about tivo- I had tivo without a land line, the one issue there was with the model I had you had to have a land line the first time you hooked it up so it could update the software before connecting or something like that, so i just brought it to a friends house for a few minutes- then hooked it up and never had a problem

Edit to clarify- when I called to order it 2 years ago I was sure to tell them I didn't have a land line, they said it was no problem. As for ordering movies, I just order them online and never have had a problem.

Doug covered it all...as far as the DirecTV stuff (not sure about Tivo).
We have Direct now, and were told, like you were, we would need to connect to a phone line. When the installer came, he told us it was not necessary, and we have never had it connected, with no problems.

[FBPro]

The only issue is that you will get messages if you have tivo I believe so from time to time I will hook my phoneline up to it so the messages will stop for awhile. But this does not effect how the system works, it's just annoying.

[rowech]

Sounds good guys...thanks.

[lordscarlet]

...also on Tivo.. you can now use wifi or a hard line ethernet connection rather than a hpone line.

[Doug5984]

...also on Tivo.. you can now use wifi or a hard line ethernet connection rather than a hpone line.

I figured that was the case with the new boxes. Mine was first hooked up 3 years ago, and it was an older model at the time.

I really wish Tivo worked better with direct tv, I loved the tivo interface so much more than my DVR.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Don;t believe any specials directv advertises. I have been fighting with them for six months over a rebate I sent in that should take $10 off my bill for 12 months, which they say they received and are "processing." Of course, they expect me to pay the full rate in the mean time...

[dervack]

Weird, I've had direct TV since March and have been getting my $10 off since may and I got a Starbucks gift card to boot.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Weird, I've had direct TV since March and have been getting my $10 off since may and I got a Starbucks gift card to boot.

I've had it since March, they have it on record that they received the rebate form in May, and said that it would take 6-8 weeks for it to take effect after they process it. I call once a month when my bill hits at the full rate and get a runaround... The latest I was told was they would put a "priority" on the issue and would be in contact with me. :rolleyes:

[gstelmack]

Just threaten to leave and watch the freebies they'll pile on you...

[dervack]

I've had it since March, they have it on record that they received the rebate form in May, and said that it would take 6-8 weeks for it to take effect after they process it. I call once a month when my bill hits at the full rate and get a runaround... The latest I was told was they would put a "priority" on the issue and would be in contact with me. :rolleyes:
Just curious, did you fill out the rebate form online or mail it in? I did mine online and am wondering if that's the reason mine was processed so quickly.

[Doug5984]

Just threaten to leave and watch the freebies they'll pile on you...

I once ordered a football game, it let me order it for $22... The game was blacked out in my area, so I wasn't able to watch the game. After being charged and told I would have to pay, I played the "If I am going to get crappy service I might as well go back to cox and save some money" - Quickly the charge was taken off my account.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Just curious, did you fill out the rebate form online or mail it in? I did mine online and am wondering if that's the reason mine was processed so quickly.

I mailed it in. I was told at the time that there was no way to do it online, that I had to print out the form and mail it in. Of course, when I contacted them later on they told me I should have filled it out online and hung up on me. :mad:

[rowech]

Do you guys feel that the channels are much better than cable, both regular and HD channels? This will end up costing us only about $15 more a month for all of the extra HD channels and the sports package but that $200 startup for the HDDVR box has me worried.

[Atocep]

Just threaten to leave and watch the freebies they'll pile on you...

When I left directv instead of offering freebies they tried to milk as much money as they could from me.

I had to call 3 times to actually get them to cancel. The third time I called they told me that they had no record of any calls from me or requests to cancel service. This happened to lap over 2 billing cycles, so they continued to try and squeeze money out of me. After the third call they finally canceled me and I asked them who I could talk to in order to get my bill wiped. Turns out they don't have anyone you can speak with over the phone or even email to dispute a bill, you actually have to write a letter and mail it to someplace in Colorado and wait for a response.

[Eaglesfan27]

Do you guys feel that the channels are much better than cable, both regular and HD channels? This will end up costing us only about $15 more a month for all of the extra HD channels and the sports package but that $200 startup for the HDDVR box has me worried.

It's been about 2 years since I switched to DirecTV, so my memory might be a bit faded. I don't think DirecTV's channels for regular SDTV are better than cable. They probably are worse. However, I think the variety of HD channels and the quality is finally better than cable. For me, DirecTV is an easy choice. I want to watch every Eagles' game and that is the only easy way to do so down here in Louisiana. However, DirecTV is finally delivering on the promise of HD. With local OTA HD in Baton Rouge, I rarely watch anything that isn't on a HD channel now so the quality image of DirecTV's standard channels is a non-issue for me.

[rowech]

Just purchased it....still cringing about it but that's mostly because I'm a cheap ass.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I mailed it in. I was told at the time that there was no way to do it online, that I had to print out the form and mail it in. Of course, when I contacted them later on they told me I should have filled it out online and hung up on me. :mad:

We switched to Direct earlier this year, and I did submit the rebate form online, and took I think like 10 weeks to process. After like 10 minutes I was already into like the 2nd or 3rd stage of the process...and stayed there for 2 months. Seemed like it would never move. Then it finally did finish and I got the check.

Maybe this is for another thread...or probably has been discussed...but why is it they can bill me for service IMMEDIATELY if I order a PPV movie, but it takes 10 weeks to process something they knew I was getting before it was even installed?

[dervack]

It wasn't online when I signed up at first, but then after I got my first bill and hadn't taken advantage of the rebate yet, a slip was included telling me how to file it online. I just wish I could have done that for the free portable DVD player that I kept putting off and now will never get. :mad: