The best reference available, to fully understand how holiday viewing works
now, is
this link.
The confusion that this thread shows (including mine) is because MC has screwed up this facility for more than 15 years! The last time I tried to make use of Holiday viewing was in the phase when MC allowed you to activate at any time but would only deactivate after a month.
Now there are three options available as per the
new process.
"Switch", "Activate", and "Take it with you". Excluding DStv Now, which comes with a whole new batch of complications.
Considering the old days, when all you had to do is go and buy another decoder, take your Smart Card with you and plug it into the decoder at the holiday destination, either your own or whatever decoder was available at the destination.
Then the Security paranoia set in. The PVRs arrived on the scene, the SCs were married to the decoders and the whole process broke down. MC then went through all sorts of corporate stupidity phases before arriving at the existing process. In the process many of us lost interest and just opted out.
The billing chaos that resulted from switching to holiday homes and back, the one month rule, the need to travel with your existing decoders and the suspensions and re-connect charges was just not worth the effort.
Now, having updated myself, I think just maybe, this new process will work.
It is back to pay for the days you use, while allowing you to keep your home account live, as well as shutting down your home account for the period away, and, most important,
the customer has the choice which is what we all had effectively, way back in the early 2000's, 18 years ago!
I see that MC also will allow you to set up an Xtraview setup with more than one decoder at your holiday destination. Details are not available and you have to phone MC to do that.
