On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 14:05:02 -0500, Darrel Toepfer
wrote:

Peter Clark wrote:

DirecTV's phone connection only sends Pay Per View usage data back to
their computer, it is not used for authorization or activation of the
receiver. One time I had the phone line connected in a spare room,
but accidentally disconnected the run to the multiswitch. When a
guest wanted to use it (god alone knows how long later) I had to call
DTV and have them hit the receiver, even though they showed that the
box dialed in as scheduled.

It sends viewer data back as well. Or earlier versions of it did...

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/custom..._phoneline.dsp
"Get the most out of your entertainment experience by keeping your
DIRECTV® Receiver connected to a land-based phone-line.

How does staying connected help you?

It allows you to order pay per view movies and events with your remote
control and avoid phone-order assistance fees. You'll also be able to
order other special programming and products through your on-screen
guide such as Local Channels and DIRECTV — The Guide®.

Your sports subscription packages will be mirrored to the other DIRECTV
Receivers in your house.

You'll be able to upgrade to our advanced receivers such as the DIRECTV®
DVR.

You'll be plugged into our system for future interactive capabilities."

Interactive DTV was discontinued at least a year ago. And even that
didn't require the phone line to work unless you were using the B&N
onscreen bookstore. The rest of the information in the above link is
regarding PPV (including sports packages like NFL Sunday Ticket etc).
The basic point is regarding the authorization packet, and that does
not come through the phone connection, just from the datastream coming
through the dish. There is no alternate connection for them to
enable/disable the box - only the data through the dish can do that.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/get_di...tions_cost.dsp
"If you have additional questions, call us toll-free at 1-888-777-2454"

I was referring to the XM Weather subscription and that I didn't know
if it had a suspend option, not DTV. Sorry to not be clear.