[mythtv-users] Why did you pick MythTV VS the other PVRs?

[Simon Hobson]

Nate Bargmann wrote:

>  > The thing that turned me forever off Sky was their insistence that their
>>  box be permanently plugged into my phone line. Over my dead body, as they
>>  say. Subsequently, I've not been impressed by their pricing policies,
>>  either. </rant>
>
>So, when you decide you no longer need the landline, are they going to
>provide one free of charge?  What if a person doesn't have a landline
>in the first place?  What if it's nigh to impossible to run a line from
>the telco entrance to the TV?

"Not our problem" will be their response. No they 
won't provide a landline, yes they do care.

Some packages you can do without - but you'll pay 
more. Most of the "get Sky for x, free 
installation" deals have small print telling you 
that the install is subsidised by one of their 
other companies, and that a condition of this 
subsidy is that you keep the phone line plugged 
in for the first year - so they can monitor what 
you watch and target marketing at you.

Some packages **require** the box to be connected 
and if it isn't then they'll turn off the 
service. The notable one here is what they call 
Multiroom - where you can have an extra box at a 
discounted subscription (eg for a bedroom). I 
believe it's something like £10/mo instead of 
whatever your main subscription is costing. They 
need all boxes to be connected so they can check 
that they are in the same house - otherwise you'd 
get groups of friends sharing an expensive 
subscription by ordering multiroom at one house 
but putting the extra boxes at different houses. 
With VoIP, I can think of ways round that now !


Brian Wood wrote:

>If they give you a hard time, tell them the receiver is installed in an RV,
>you might lose the ability to order some of the premium sports packages, and
>the ability to order PPV with your remote (you'll have to call them and pay
>more), but nothing else bad should happen.

As noted above, certain packages mandate phone 
line connectivity, others mandate it for a 
certain time unless you want to pay more.


I too am in the camp of not paying a penny to 
that bunch of <libelous stuff I'll leave to your 
imagination>. And they have the cheek to complain 
to our competition people about Project Kangaroo 
on the grounds that it will decrease consumer 
choice - pot, kettle, black comes to mind on that 
one.

-- 
Simon Hobson

Visit http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk/ for books by acclaimed
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