Sky Digital - Phone Line?

decbuck

Hi,
What is the story in getting sky digital if you have no phone line? Does it cost extra?

Are some of the features unavailable if you are not connected?


Is there any other way to split the connection to watch two seperate things in two rooms at once, rather than pay for multi room?

Cheers

Mossy Monk

phone lines allows you access Sky Active and participate in Sky News Active polls (wow you say)
Sky News active and Sky Sports Active dont need a phone line.

multi room is the only way you are going to be able to watch multiple sky channels at one time

wayne040576

It also uses the phone line for the billing of box office events. I think Sky may insist that you have it connected to a phoneline at all times in the future. At least that's what the bloke who upgraded us to Sky+ told me. He gave me a flyer from them that basically said your service would be disconnected if you didn't keep the box connected to a phone line.

jor el

What is the story in getting sky digital if you have no phone line? Does it cost extra?

It won't cost anything, they simply won't install it. If you get Sky digital in now they insist on having the box connected to the phoneline for the first 12 months. If you have no phone they won't even consider installing it.

If you have a phone, it'll be up to the guy who comes out to you whether he'll install it or not if you have no phone connection near the TV. I got a big spiel from him about Sky reserving the right to charge for the full installation cost and so on. It hasn't been connected since and never will. I have no intention of paying them premium rates to play Space Invaders or Pacman on my TV.

Multi room will not be installed without being connected permanently to the phone line as it's the only way for them to ensure you don't move the 2nd box to a different house.

Is there any other way to split the connection to watch two seperate things in two rooms at once, rather than pay for multi room?

No. But you could buy a 2nd digibox and get a UK viewing card which would give you BBC1/2/3/4, ITV1/2/3/4, Sky3, Channel 4, Five, Horror Channel, Playboy one, True movies, Chartshow, Classic FMTV and a few others for free.

seansean

If you get a local guy that you know some of them will put down their own phone number as a favour because they dont want to miss out on the commission. You dont really need the phone line, Im on Sky digital since its launch without ever connectint to the phone. Some alarm systems can interfere so if I am ever on to them and they ask is your phone line connected I say yes but I know there is some problem with the alarm system and thats why you cant see me as connected. Box office movies can be booked over the phone and put onto your account. I have been using the 9v battery to get free box office movies for over 2 years now. Connect phone line cable in the back of the digibox, strip the cable and attach it to the terminals of a 9v battery at the same time as you select a movie. Several people have said they tried this and doesnt work but it def does.

wayne040576

seansean wrote:

If you get a local guy that you know some of them will put down their own phone number as a favour because they dont want to miss out on the commission. You dont really need the phone line, Im on Sky digital since its launch without ever connectint to the phone. Some alarm systems can interfere so if I am ever on to them and they ask is your phone line connected I say yes but I know there is some problem with the alarm system and thats why you cant see me as connected. Box office movies can be booked over the phone and put onto your account. I have been using the 9v battery to get free box office movies for over 2 years now. Connect phone line cable in the back of the digibox, strip the cable and attach it to the terminals of a 9v battery at the same time as you select a movie. Several people have said they tried this and doesnt work but it def does.

Used to be able to do that by sticking the phone cable into the wall and then ordering the movie, then quickly removing the phone cable. You don't get charged because the billing info only goes out once or twice a week. The box keeps it in a buffer, but this eventually fills up and the only way to flush it is to connect to the phone line. We had ours like that for over two years then one day it stopped responding. I connected it to the phone line and got a bill in the post a few weeks later that was backdated to 2002 and cost 150 quid. This is why they'll be demanding that every users has their box permantly connected and if they notice that it isn't dialing in regularly, they cut your service.

Sparky

also if you have multiroom, you must keep both boxes connected to the same phone line, even after your 12month contract cover, i suppose its to insure them that your "bedroom" sub isnt in your lovely villa in the south of france

decbuck

But you could buy a 2nd digibox and get a UK viewing card which would give you BBC1/2/3/4, ITV1/2/3/4, Sky3, Channel 4, Five, Horror Channel, Playboy one, True movies, Chartshow, Classic FMTV and a few others for free.

Is this free? Will they even know if I have the main connection in the sitting room? Can I buy the box and card on ebay for example?


Any monthy charge?

wayne040576

decbuck wrote:

Is this free? Will they even know if I have the main connection in the sitting room? Can I buy the box and card on ebay for example?


Any monthy charge?

YOu can get the cards for about 30 quid on ebay. They have a lifespan of about
3 years and have no monthly charge as the channel are free in the UK.

decbuck

wayne040576 wrote:

YOu can get the cards for about 30 quid on ebay. They have a lifespan of about
3 years and have no monthly charge as the channels free in the UK.

So how much do the boxes cost? Do I need special cable to connect it to the dish?

I presume it won;t affect the main reception?

wayne040576

decbuck wrote:

So how much do the boxes cost? Do I need special cable to connect it to the dish?

I presume it won;t affect the main reception?

I think you can get the boxes for about 100 quid. Again, check ebay or some online electronics stores. You'll need Satellite coax (I can't remember the correct name for it). You should be able to get that in places Peats. It's no that expensive.

Oh, one very important thing I forgot to mention. If you don't already have something like sky + or multiroom. You'll need a quad LNB
something like this :
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/page10.htm

decbuck

wayne040576 wrote:

I think you can get the boxes for about 100 quid. Again, check ebay or some online electronics stores. You'll need Satellite coax (I can't remember the correct name for it). You should be able to get that in places Peats. It's no that expensive.

Oh, one very important thing I forgot to mention. If you already have something like sky + or multiroom. You'll need a quad LNB
something like this :
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/page10.htm

Thanks a million for all the help. To be honest I do not have sky yet. Was thinking of getting the base package anyway, but the only thing that was putting me off was the fact that I refused to pay the 15 quid a month for the multi room. Looks like this solves my problem.
Cheers

jor el

Check ebay for the quad LNB aswell. I got one for about £12 sterling and it's fine. The UK viewing card should also work in an Irish digibox, so you might be able to pick up a cheap 2nd hand one in the Buy and Sell, or in the For Sale forum here.

kc66

I ordered sky digital last week through a local guy. He said there is a charge if you dont have a phone line, which we don't. Think its around €39. Is this standard or is he pocketing the money and giving sky another phone number?

John R

jor el wrote:

It won't cost anything, they simply won't install it. If you get Sky digital in now they insist on having the box connected to the phoneline for the first 12 months. If you have no phone they won't even consider installing it.

If you don't have a phoneline but still want Sky then pay for the box and installation yourself and ring up sky for a card.

jor el wrote:

No. But you could buy a 2nd digibox and get a UK viewing card which would give you BBC1/2/3/4, ITV1/2/3/4, Sky3, Channel 4, Five, Horror Channel, Playboy one, True movies, Chartshow, Classic FMTV and a few others for free.

All of those except Channel 4 and FIVE are available freely without any card needed.

apprentice

you can get sky without a landline. you just need to pay the installer on the day an enabling fee of about $40

byte

apprentice wrote:

you can get sky without a landline. you just need to pay the installer on the day an enabling fee of about $40

We're unable to do it that way. We have to ring Sky, tell them about the NPL install, then Sky will speak to the customer. Customer will give Sky their credit card or Laser details (can't be done via Direct Debit for some queer reason), and then it's all systems go. The charge is €37.50

jor el

John R wrote:

All of those except Channel 4 and FIVE are available freely without any card needed.

Yes I know, but half of them are through the "Other Channels" in the services menu, which don't appear in in any of the menus or TV guide, so it's a bit annoying. A UK card solves all these problem, plus you get C4 and Five to boot.

tinkerbell

You need a phoneline to get Sky installed.

However, when the dude came out to install our Sky at home, the TV is too far away from the phoneline. So my dad said to just hook the Sky up and when he'd get a chance later on, he'd drill a few holes in the wall and connect up the wires.

Yer man said twas no problem!

However they were a bit annoying when we rang up after to get something and the phoneline hadn't been connected yet (my dad hadn't gotten around to it) and they were a bit narky, but we just said that he had to drill first, and then he'd do it. So they were ok about it then.

apprentice

worked for my mate

wayne040576

jor el wrote:

Yes I know, but half of them are through the "Other Channels" in the services menu, which don't appear in in any of the menus or TV guide, so it's a bit annoying. A UK card solves all these problem, plus you get C4 and Five to boot.

I've had a uk card for a few months now and I was always able to get C4 with it. But since last night, C4 is gone. I get the "upgrade your subscription to view this channel" message. Is anyone else having this problem?

byte

I assume you remove the card at intervals or unplug the Sky box.

What you need to do is leave the card in the skybox for at least 24 hours or so until the card picks up the latest keys, and then it will descramble the channels again.

wayne040576

byte wrote:

I assume you remove the card at intervals or unplug the Sky box.

What you need to do is leave the card in the skybox for at least 24 hours or so until the card picks up the latest keys, and then it will descramble the channels again.

Thanks,

I suspected that's what I'd need to do. Only problem now is trying to keep the card in the box for over 24 hours before somebody takes it out to watch sky movies or sports etc.