Vonage with satellite TV

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 16, 2007 Posts: 3

Hi,

Does Vonage work with DirecTV? My colleague loves Vonage and has been telling me I should get it, but I've heard that it won't work with DirecTV. Is this true? What about with Dish Network?

Thanks!

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:41 am Post subject:

It.. might work but... the one second... delay might get... rather annoying to... you and the person... you are talking... to. Over. Wink

Several people who have visited the forum in the past have used Vonage over satellite. It's not something Vonage technically supports, but VoIP should work just fine over it. The one second delay from the satellite can, as I understand it, be really annoying, but it should work.

If you know anyone in your area with Vonage, your best bet is to invite them over for a beer, and ask them to bring along their adapter for a short test drive. The colleague who is recommending it sounds like a perfect candidate to me... Wink

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 16, 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks Nate- I actually have a cable modem so the VoIP signal itself shouldn't be a problem. I'm more concerned with DirecTV needing a landline to dial in to update the channel guide. Can it do this over Vonage?

After I made this post I read through some other posts and saw some people have had trouble making their DVRs work, although it looks like it's possible with a little bit of technical know-how.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:52 am Post subject:

Oh, I see. My bad. I thought you meant over the Satellite Internet, not using Vonage for data connections. hee hee.

I've heard mixed results in terms of getting Vonage to do "modem-style" dialup. Though, once again, I suppose your colleague who wants you to go Vonage could stop by and you could try it with his adapter...

Posts: 81 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 81

iluvORANGE wrote:

Hi,

Does Vonage work with DirecTV? My colleague loves Vonage and has been telling me I should get it, but I've heard that it won't work with DirecTV. Is this true? What about with Dish Network?

Thanks!

Shouldn't be a problem. I use a regular Vonage line for faxing. There's a whole section of the forum here about using Vonage with alarms, TiVo or DirecTV.

vonage-forum.com/forum9.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Vonage with Alarms/TiVo Forum

There's also this information on the Vonage help pages.

TiVo and DirecTV

Does Vonage service support DirecTV and TiVo connections?

Many Vonage customers have successfully setup DirecTV and TiVo series2 connections through the Vonage Phone Adapter.

*Note: To connect TiVo through a wireless connection, TiVo DVRs support only the 802.11b wireless network standard and do not support 802.11g or 802.11a.

Possible Solutions

1.
Customers with a Series 2 TiVo DVR using the Home Networking Solution option.The following information from the TiVo website shows customers how to utilize their broadband connection with a Series 2 DVR.

2.

Some customers have been able to use a different dial in number to access their daily updates.
To Change your Dial-In number:

* Software versions 3.0 - 3.2: From TiVo Central, select Messages & Setup; then Recorder & Phone Setup; then Phone Connection; then Change Dialing Options; then Set Dial-In Number.
* Software version 4.0 and later: From TiVo Central, select Messages & Setup; then Settings; then Phone & Network Setup; then Edit phone or network settings; then Phone Dialing Options; then Set Dial-In Number.
* Software version 5.0 and later: From TiVo Central, select Messages & Setup; then Settings; then Phone & Network Setup; then Edit phone or network settings; then Phone Dialing Options; then Set Dial-In Number.

You will need a phone line to run Guided Setup when you initially set-up your new DVR.

After initial setup, your DVR will download the most recent TiVo Service Update during its next connection to the TiVo service. Once you have this update, you will be able to connect your DVR to your existing home network to connect to the TiVo service via broadband. If you plan to use a broadband connection for your DVR and do not have a landline at your location, you may need to take your DVR to a friend's house to access a phone line. From there, you can use the phone line to run Guided Setup and receive the service update, enabling a broadband connection.

After you have completed Guided Setup, the DVR will spend 4-8 hours indexing the new program guide data; the time will depend on the number of channels in your lineup.

You will not be able to force a daily call until the DVR has completed this indexing process. When it is complete, the call status in System Information will be "Succeeded." (To view the System Information screen, go to TiVo Central, New Messages & Setup, System Information).

Channel Down until you see the last call status. If you force one more connection to the TiVo service, you should receive the most recent TiVo Service Update.

You can then set up your DVR to use a cable modem or DSL to make its regular connections to the TiVo service.

Note: If your DVR is having problems connecting, and you have a Linksys RT31P2, WRT54GP2, or PAP2, set the dialing prefix in the TiVo dialing settings to *99, as this automatically sets the Bandwidth Saver to High. If you have a Cisco ATA-186, Linksys RTP300, Linksys WRTP54G, or Uniden UIP1869V you do not need to dial *99, as these devices automatically adjust the settings for you.

Posts: 135 · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:52 pm Post subject:

I use Vonage and my two Dish Network receivers (a 508 and a 501) have been able to phone home regularly. I have Vonage set to the maximum bandwidth (90kbps). I do not use the *99 prefix for dialing but I have checked the box "Wireless Jack" in the Phone System setup screen for both receivers. That seems to make the modems in the receivers more tolerant of distortion that may be caused by Vonage.

I can see activity in the Vonage Dashbord when the receivers dial out. Sometimes I will see multiple attempts before it make a god connection. This is ok by me since the calls to the 800 number do not count against my 500 minutes.