Question about digital lines

[shinoco]

I see people are saying digital lines wont work. I was able to play Quake 3 on my DC with this same phone line, although I'm wondering are they referring to phones that connect directly to a modem or computer, as I use the phone jacks in the walls throughout my house, and DC was able to use an ISP and connect to Quake 3 servers.

Either way I'm buying a Netlink today or tommorow, its worth a try, and I just may buy a phone service if it dosent work. I know I should be able to browse the net with it, which would still be cool on a large tv.

[Warp2063]

The NetLink relies heavily on the timing of signals coming through for a stable connection. Analog phone lines were excellent for this, because it was essentially a dedicated connection between you and your opponent. However, the internet is highly asynchronous, and unless you're a large company, it's rare that you have a dedicated connection between two sites. When games started being written that could be played over the internet, programmers realized that games had to be written to tolerate latency (as they're passed along from data center to data center), or else they would always time out and fail. The NetLink was before this realization, while the Dreamcast came after. That's why Dreamcast games (designed to tolerate delays) work over digital phone connections (which are passed through the Internet), while NetLink games (designed to rely heavily on timing) do not.

[shinoco]

Well with my setup I dont have my phones going through my modem or computer, I have regular phone jacks throughout my whole house. Does this make a difference? I heard possibly it would make it unplayable if I had it wired through the modem itself or a computer adapter.

[Warp2063]

Do you have digital phone service or analog phone service? Do you get your phone service through a coaxial cable, or through a regular phone cable? Do you have DSL or Cable internet? Do you have caller ID on your TV? Do you have a Vonage, or similar box, where you connect it into your home network or cable/DSL modem and the other end to your phone? Do you use dial-up internet?

These are all questions that can help. If you have caller ID on your TV or if your phones are connected to a box that's connected to a cable or DSL modem or router, then you have digital phone service. If your phones are simply plugged into regular phone jacks around the house, then there's a pretty good chance you have analog phone service, although I've heard of at least one other setup that looks the same but was actually digital, where they had their digital converter box plugged into one phone jack, and it shared the line with all the other phone jacks in the house through the existing lines in the walls.

[shinoco]

I have digital, its just I dont use the PC or the Modem. It goes through my house like a normal phone line even though it's digital. I use all the standard phone jacks just like analog, although with Brighthouse it is digital, just no connection to any modem, or computer. You can check brighthouses site if that helps, it is definately digital, maybe just a different form.

Well I bought a Netlink, I will get Sega Rally as soon as I can and I will test it. Either way, if it dosent work I'm going to try to find a analog service for the jack next to my TV.

[shinoco]

Well I decided to check the cable modem, I had forgot it's been so long since we got it, theres a phone cord from the modem to the wall, I guess it's linked to all the jacks in the house.

Still I'm going to try an ISP when it gets here, and I'll try Sega Rally when I get it. If it dosent work I will have analog ordered for the one jack by the TV.

[Warp2063]

Well I decided to check the cable modem, I had forgot it's been so long since we got it, theres a phone cord from the modem to the wall, I guess it's linked to all the jacks in the house.

Still I'm going to try an ISP when it gets here, and I'll try Sega Rally when I get it. If it dosent work I will have analog ordered for the one jack by the TV.

I'm assuming there's also a coaxial cable plugged into your cable modem.

[shinoco]

If the coaxial cable is the standard wire for connecting things like cable boxes to TV's, then yes its just that, the phone cord going into the wall, and an ethernet cable to the computer.

[Warp2063]

If the coaxial cable is the standard wire for connecting things like cable boxes to TV's, then yes its just that, the phone cord going into the wall, and an ethernet cable to the computer.

Okay. I'm quite positive that you have digital phone service, then.

[shinoco]

Yes I do have digital, Brighthouse says it is. Yet I am wondering have people tried with this type of digital setup compared to running it through a PC adapter or through a modem as I will just be using a standard phone jack in the wall near a TV.

[Warp2063]

Yes I do have digital, Brighthouse says it is. Yet I am wondering have people tried with this type of digital setup compared to running it through a PC adapter or through a modem as I will just be using a standard phone jack in the wall near a TV.

I don't totally understand what you're saying. The NetLink will not work when plugged into any type of PC adapter or other modem. It needs a direct, analog connection to the other person's NetLink, without anything else in the way to delay it. You can get the Web Browser to work that way with some specific software, but not the games. As long as the wall jack that you'll be plugging into is connected to an analog phone line and not your digital one, it should work.

[JerryTerrifying]

Ask whoever pays the bills if you've got a regular phone line. Are you paying a phone company or are you just paying the cable company for phone/internet/whatever else? The bill payer should know what's up.

[shinoco]

Ok, I know its digital, you can go to brighthouse.com all they offer is digital phone service. It's just a different setup, I dont connect through the modem or a computer, its setup to every jack in my house. I have a 2 phones in the living room, one in the kitchen, my mom has one in her room for example. The only thing is its digital, we get things like caller id on tv, without having a phone plugged into the modem itself or the pc. It's just like a normal setup, with every jack in the house being functional, except it is digital. My company handles internet and phone, and their website www.brighthouse.com says they only offer digital phone, yet its not a pc adapter. They are one of the biggest providers, they set it up so you can use every phone jack in your house. So maybe it will work with this type of setup.

This is what I mean, my mom said she had heard some things dont work with digital lines, but she said she heard that about using a PC adapter or plugging right into the modem itself. I use standard phone jacks, in the walls, these same jacks could be setup with a different company to be analog, I will try it. I can at least try the browser possibly today, it was shipped Wednesday, and most things get here in 3 days from across the country.

[shinoco]

The Netlink didn't arrive today. It will most likely be here Monday, usually dosen't take longer than 6 days, so around Wednesday at latest.

[Warp2063]

This is what I mean, my mom said she had heard some things dont work with digital lines, but she said she heard that about using a PC adapter or plugging right into the modem itself. I use standard phone jacks, in the walls, these same jacks could be setup with a different company to be analog, I will try it. I can at least try the browser possibly today, it was shipped Wednesday, and most things get here in 3 days from across the country.

I have not heard of any situation within the last three or four years where a connection via digital phone lines has been successful. My guess is that the companies are using a newer, more efficient analog-to-digital conversion standard, which unfortunately has the side effect of interfering with the timing accuracy that the NetLink needs to maintain a stable connection.