DirecTV with no land line and is it still HD lite?

[RonH]

I'm about ready to jump ship from TWC cablecard over to DirecTV but have a few concerns that I thought you guys might be able to help me answer.

1) I don't have a land line and don't ever intend to get one.  Last I checked DirecTV said you must have a land line or you have to pay the full subscription price for each box in your house.  Is this still true?  It seems like 90% of direcTV subscribers I know don't have their boxes hooked up to the phone line, but they HAVE a phone line, so at least they may have plugged them into the phone at some point during installation.

2) With DirecTV DVR, do you still need a land line so it can make a call every night circa 1980s technology?

3) Is DirecTV still HD lite (reduced number of horizontal of pixels, but still 1080 vertical) even with the new mpeg4 encoding?  If I sign up, how do I make sure I am getting a new mpeg4 capable box?

4)Does direcTV lease boxes now like TWC or do you still "own" the box?

[murdoc]

I'm about ready to jump ship from TWC cablecard over to DirecTV but have a few concerns that I thought you guys might be able to help me answer.

1) I don't have a land line and don't ever intend to get one.  Last I checked DirecTV said you must have a land line or you have to pay the full subscription price for each box in your house.  Is this still true?  It seems like 90% of direcTV subscribers I know don't have their boxes hooked up to the phone line, but they HAVE a phone line, so at least they may have plugged them into the phone at some point during installation.

2) With DirecTV DVR, do you still need a land line so it can make a call every night circa 1980s technology?

3) Is DirecTV still HD lite (reduced number of horizontal of pixels, but still 1080 vertical) even with the new mpeg4 encoding?  If I sign up, how do I make sure I am getting a new mpeg4 capable box?

4)Does direcTV lease boxes now like TWC or do you still "own" the box?

1.  I've never heard of D* charging more if you don't have a phone line.

2.  D* wants a phone connection for PPV purchasing.  All D* boxes make a call once a week or so to tell D* if you've ordered any PPV movies.  You do not need a phone line, but you will get a nag screen telling you to make a daily call soon.  You can still order PPV movies online or over the phone.  If you order online the PPV signal is active on every box in the house.  If you order over the phone the PPV signal goes only to one box that you select.

3.  Yes D* still has HD Lite.  All new D* boxes are MPEG4 capable.

4.  All D* boxes are now lease units.  You do have the option to purchase boxes if you want, but they cost upwards of $300 or so.

[Bebop]

I have DirecTV and don't have a landline. Just remember, signing up with DirecTV requires a 2 years ontract.

I don't know what is the availability of U-veser in you neigbohood, but it probably a better option if it is available.

[FiberOptic]

Just switched from TWC to Directv and I have no land line either.  There is no extra charge involved.  The only thing I miss from TWC is INHD, but other than that I love Directv:guitar: