SKY - Why do they need a phone line?

M

MandaC

Registered User
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I have to get Sky installed as Chorus or NTL dont do the area.

When they install the sky, why do they need to use a phone line? Does this mean that permanently there is a line from the phone line into the sky point.

I was in next doors house over the weekend and I dont know what way the installation was put in, but there are masses and masses of dark brown cables everywhere and I dont want that.

Also, the satellite dish has to go on the back of the house apparently (south facing). Can they bring the line down the front of the house, pinned to the guttering and then just drill a small hole through to the sitting room.

I want to (appear to) know what I am talking about when they come out to install the sky, so they cant tell me it has to be done a different way.

I havent got my phone installed yet - there are two phone points, one in the hall and the other in the sitting room beside the tv point. Would I be better getting the phone line installed in the sitting room then?

Any advices much appreciated.
 
As far as I know, they use the phone line to get updates etc. There are plenty of houses out there with SKY without a land line, so it is possible to get around it.

I had SKY installed last week. They wanted me to guarantee that the box would remain connected to a fixed line for 12 months. As I am thinking of getting rid of my land line I refused to guarantee, so they said it would cost a once-off extra Eur 37.50 to configure without the land line.

Regarding cables etc, I had mine installed near the gutter. He drilled through into the attic and passed the cable through. The cable is connected to the antenna point in the attic, so no additional cables are required to the sitting room. Downstairs, we just plug into the standard aerial connection to connect to the dish.
 
Had sky out today to fit sky+, they refused to do the installation as we dont have a working phone line, I had read this thread before ordering it and was confident they would only charge €37.50...they said people that didn't connect to the phone line were breaking the law and they would only fit nomal sky with an additional charge of €80!
 
i had the same a few weeks ago.. the guy installing it was very good and just said he would call them and say there was a problem with the phone line.
then they gace me 6 weeks to get it fixed up be eircom.. if i don't i will have to pay a once off37.50.. you pay more if it's sky plus i believe.
also the phone line is needed firstly as a spying mechanism so they can see what u watch and secondly,to make more money from you.. how many times have people been tempeted to press the little red button to watch a movie or a match.. that's where they make the big money from.
 
Another reason for the phone line is to ensure that the Sky box is in your home, and not someone elses. Once the card is activated the box could be anywhere! About once a month your box sends a signal back to Sky to verify where it is. I have Sky+ and a 2nd box for the playroom - since the 2nd box is offered at a discounted rate, the callback from the digibox is the only way that Sky have of ensuring that you still have the box - short of calling round to all their customers!!

On the plus side, I had the same experience as jrewing - dish attached to the chimney, cable into the attic and connected up there - no drilling thru windows or walls, (which was a big concern of mine too)
 
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therave said:
...the phone line is needed ..... to make more money from you.. how many times have people been tempeted to press the little red button to watch a movie or a match.. that's where they make the big money from.
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I have pressed to red button on BBC a few times to look at the various screens available.... am I paying extra for this ?
 
I have pressed to red button on BBC a few times to look at the various screens available.... am I paying extra for this ?
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No. One of the perks of being digital - I use mine mostly on Sky News or when Wimbledon is on
 
It's not the red button at all.
If you're connected to a phone line, you can order Sky Box Office programmes via your remote.
The red button for BBC & Sky News multi-screens doesn't cost you extra.

When I got Sky installed years ago, I trailed a phone extension lead through to the sitting room for when the guy was setting up. Took it away just after he left, and haven't had a problem.
 
Jock04 said:
It's not the red button at all.
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Are you sure? How else is the backchannel from the viewer to SKY implemented other than via the telephone line? After all I doubt that their dishes come with a transponder for sending data back via satellite! Of course maybe the calls back for the red button etc. are free?
 
I did the same as op I trailed a phone line from the hall to the sitting room the day it was installed and took it out that evening and all is fine since
 
Sounds like that's in breach of your contract with them so judging by this. I'm not sure what technical aspects of the setup are affected by disconnecting the phone line though?
 

Those interactive "red button" features don't use the phone line. I often use them and the 'phone line active' led does not light up. I presume that content is just being transmitted on another channel.
 
Leo said:
I presume that content is just being transmitted on another channel.
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But that would mean being sent via the dish and I am dubious that SKY dishes have any transmission capability. Still - if it works for you then something must be transmitting the data!
 
Leo said:
Those interactive "red button" features don't use the phone line. I often use them and the 'phone line active' led does not light up. I presume that content is just being transmitted on another channel.
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True. The red button works for me, and my box is not even connected to a phone line.
 
Anyway, I got my sky installed last week without a problem and without a phone line. The installer was very professional and put the dish and wires etc exactly where was practical and was very thorough and neat in fixing the wire down along the guttering to the front of the house.

He did say if I was going for the SKY+ that they would have insisted on a phone line.

He said if I wanted to get SKY in the bedroom, I would need to get a "magic eye" so that I could watch the TV upstairs or downstairs. Anyone know what this is.

I only want one TV downstairs at the moment, but might look at this later.
 
The 'magic eye' is a small round infra-red thing (bit smaller than babybel cheese), that allows you to watch and control your digibox from a 2nd TV. You can purchase it with or without a sky remote - handy to have another remote tho! - wire it up and away you go!
 
ClubMan said:
But that would mean being sent via the dish and I am dubious that SKY dishes have any transmission capability. Still - if it works for you then something must be transmitting the data!
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ClubMan - the red button content you are seeing is on a different multiplex. It is transmitted the same as a normal channel just in another part of the channel. The interaction is via the box. Same as the EPG. No phoneline required. The phoneline is only needed if you are doing Box Office ordering and other interactive content outside of the red button.
 
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