Satellite viewing statistics: Does anyone know if they collect them?

[karlrschneider]

We have Dish but the question applies to DirecTV as well...both of these systems have a telephone line connection that "calls home" regularly...ostensibly to report Pay-per-View charges but which obviously could easily include information about what channels were actually watched, for how long and so forth.

Come to think of it, that sort of feedback might be doable with cable as well, I can think of several ways to accomplish it. But what I'm wondering if it IS being done. Anybody know...for real?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. I've had Direct TV since April, 2002 and I've never used a

phone line. When the guy came to install it, he told me that it was unneccesary so I never connected any of the boxes.

[karlrschneider]

3. Ah, okay thanks for the info. I assumed they required a phone connection.

since Dish Network absolutely does...
ks

[EFerrari]

6. They do if you want to buy pay per view with yr remote. n/t

[mitchtv]

7. I had Dish for 5 years

never connected the phone line- it's only for ppv and billing

[left is right]

8. Dish doesn't if you don't order PPV

i have never hooked a phone line up to my box but some tines when I want to check the program guide there is a 2-3 minuted delay while it downloads the most current information.

[EFerrari]

2. Are we sure they need a phone line to phone home?

I have DirecTv and TIVO but rarely have the p/l hooked up.

(And Mike, you can kiss my lovely remote, lol.)

[karlrschneider]

4. I guess I was wrong about DirecTV. Mike is my 'roommate' and he's a Dish installer

oh, THAT Mike
:rofl: :D

[EFerrari]

5. Lol. I meant, ahem, can the satellite thingy collect information

every bit as well as a phone line?

:)

[karlrschneider]

9. Well, shit...I got it ass backward. I just went back and asked him

He installs both Dish -and- DTV. The latest is that Dish doesn't absolutely REQUIRE it but DTV now DOES.
Which doesn't really matter as to my original query (Mike doesn't know either)...which is are they (assuming a phone line IS connected) collecting viewer information. (Obviously that info can't be fed back to them any -other- way)

[EFerrari]

10. Well, when my system goes down, it communicates that to

the satellite and gets the info it needs to come back up again.

So, it looks to me like there's a feed back loop there somewhere. :shrug:

[Trekologer]

11. Yes, DTV "requires" the phone line.

But unless you've ordered anything with the remote (pay per view, sports subscription) the receiver doesn't call home, nor does DirecTV call the receiver. If DirecTV asks if the receiver is still connected to the phone line just say yes, since they won't have any way to know otherwise (unless you tell them).

[EFerrari]

12. But then, how does your system "aquire" information?

:shrug:

[karlrschneider]

14. Okay please don't take this wrong, but how do you "know" it isn't calling

at 4:03 a.m. (or whenever) and reporting what's stored in the receiver's memory? I'm not -claiming- anything here, I just wanted to see if somebody around here actually knows what these things do in the wee hours. (I do know for SURE that our Dish box calls at 0430, I've seen it do it...and I've even thought about trying to hook in a modem to intercept whatever it's transmitting...not that I'd know how to interpret it)

[Neecy]

13. I'm not sure about Dish...

But with DirecTv, you can go into your online billing information and there's an area where you can tell DirecTv you don't authorize any collection of viewing data from your receiver. You might want to phone Dish Network and see if there's a similar opt-out.

[karlrschneider]

15. That's interesting, I never heard of that. I will investigate it...thanks.

ks

[burythehatchet]

16. Of course they ate. That information is gold. They're mining that

shit all day long.