Morning!
Was wondering, with Fios getting ready to launch in the next 2 to 4 weeks, what HD channels we'll be getting. I'm wondering this because since they are eliminating all the analog channels everywhere, will we even start out with any analogs? What I hope is they will do it right and not launch any analogs and go completely digital from the start and give us the HD's from the start.:clap So here's to hoping that this is the route they take!
On a side note, Everett has given Verizon a franchise agreement. Kenmore (my city) looks set to vote Monday evening (I hope YES) on their agreement.
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What does anyone else think on this?
Thxs!
Eric
If you're a brand-new market, no you won't get any analogs. I'm guessing that you'll get all the HD channels that Verizon is adding currently to their existing markets, and you'll likely get a channel line-up that's in line with the markets that have already been converted. Not sure how many HD channels you'll get right off the bat - I'll bet it's at least 50, though. There's much speculation about what's happening.
NYC recently granted Verizon a video franchise too, and Verizon wants to start there with a bang. As a result, NY and Northern NJ will get 100+ HD channels starting next week. So, right now the older markets (including mine) have ~30 HD channels. Markets that have been upgraded (to date Ft. Wayne, IN, Portland, OR, and NY) got an additional 18 HD channels and a couple new SD channels.
Next week Northern NJ gets updated too, again with those 18 new HD channels. Then late next week/early the following week, Verizon is going to up the ante and give NY and NJ a total of 100+ HD channels (so they'll be adding 50+ HD channels to those markets).
The other markets will follow suit shortly after that - from what I understand that means that all will have ~100 HD channels by October.
One thing that's great - these are honest to goodness HD channels. I've seen the list published (someone carried the list of new channels to a thread on this forum). Other carriers get really creative in determining what counts as a channel. For example, DirecTV likes to tout it's 95 national HD channels. But a quick look at their list turns up some interesting results:
1) They count national network feeds (abc, cbs, nbc, fox) - both east and west feeds - this despite the fact that very few customers can even qualify for these feeds.
2) They count EVERY HD RSN in their line-up (even though no one can get all of them since they're regional).
3) They count 15 HD PPV feeds.
When all is said and done, Verizon will have ~100 HD channels per market, which are made up of: local HD, national cable HD, premium HD, and RSN HD for each market.
I really hope it's the Aug. 24th time as it will be easier to make the switch to them because my DVR will be empty with most of my shows still in rerun mode!
