Dumped DISH 622 and went with FIOS !!!

[Ncc1701]

Let me say, I have been a huge Dish Fan and subscriber for 7 years. I live on Long Island and recently switched to Verizon FIOS and wanted to share my opinion.

First off, DISH is and was terrific. Their HD DVR's have always been fast, the PQ superb, and I loved their HD channel selection. So why leave you ask?
I left because FIOS offerred comparable or better PQ, a monthly price about $10/mo less than what I am paying for all 3 services (TV internet and phone) and a much faster internet experience than DSL.

Here's the Lowdown:
1. Is the FIOS Motorola 6416 DVR as good as my old 622...No. BUT you know what it's really not that bad either!! Yeah its a tad bit slower but it does everything I need it to. 30 second skip and all. Works great with my Harmony remote. The 622 had PIP and swappable dual tuners, the 6416 doesn't but I can live without those features. I'm now able to see my photos stored on my PC Hard Drive on my TV with a few clicks and by the end of the year, I'll be able to program the DVR using my Verizon Cell Phone!

2. In a few months, I'll get the download for FIOS's new Interactive Media guide which will blow away any other guide available. Have you seen the screenshots? Here's an interesting link: Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Hands On With Verizon FiOS TV 2.0

3. These summer thunderstorms in the evening hours were knocking out my Dish signal usually just for a few minutes but sometimes for hours. Don't have to worry about that anymore.

4. With Dish there was always something to watch that was stored on the hard drive. Now I have that plus OnDemand. I never realized how great OnDemand is. My wife and kid love this new feature. HD on Demand coming soon too.

5. Channel selection. I loved it on Dish. Love it even more on FIOS. When I first got the Voom channels on Dish it was great but after I while I noticed I really wasnt watching them as much. I spent most of the time watching HDNet, Universal, TNT, FOOD. Now with FIOS I have those and a few new channels I'm really excited to see....MTV HD and Wealth HD and the wife loves Lifetime HD. None of these were on Dish.

6. PQ : The HD PQ on DISH and FIOS I feel are about the same. Less pixelation with FIOS. BUT OH MY GOODNESS what an incredible difference FIOS gives on the SD PQ!!! on my Samsung DLP.

Bottom Line...FIOS is really nice. It was worth the switch and I don't miss DISH one bit. If you have questions ask away!

 

[riffjim4069]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the switch to FiOS TV. FiOS has been available in my area (franchise agreement) for the past year, but they are still three miles and two years away. I would gladly get rid of Comcast, but would hate to part with my 622s. However, as you mentioned, FiOS PQ can't be beat.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

I live in the middle of silicon valley and have no hope of ever seeing any type of FIBER to the door technology...

Geesh.....ya lucky bass

 

[bpickell]

I just made the switch from Dish to FiOs as well. Overall I'm pleased, but there are a couple quirks that bug me.

1. The program guide always shows all channels, no way to display just what you subscribe to.

2. Due to number 1) I set up favorites to be just what I subscribe to. Well the only way to get all favorites to show up, is to scroll all the way to the bottom of the list and then scroll all the way back to the top again. Then and only then will all of the channels show up that you have chosen for favorites.

3. The remote has to be aimed exactly at the receiver in order to function, best I can tell you can't even have a 5* window.

Other than those issues it is great. I love the PQ, and the fact that I'm saving 20 bucks over Dish for way more channels including HD. Which I didn't even have with dish, cause I refused to pay the kind of money they wanted for the receiver. Plus I didn't want the commitment they were asking for.

 

[jgantert]

1. The program guide always shows all channels, no way to display just what you subscribe to.

Not true. Go to menu->setup->Channel List And Favorites->Change Channel List. Here you can remove channels from the program guide.

-John

 

[bpickell]

Not true. Go to menu->setup->Channel List And Favorites->Change Channel List. Here you can remove channels from the program guide.

-John

I did that, but if you look at number 2 in my reply above it states that it won't scroll through all of my channels. There is like a limit to how many favorites it will scroll through or something. It will stop somewhere around channel 540 and then I will have to scroll all the way back up to channel 2 and then all the way back down again in order to see the rest of the channels after 540.

 

[jgantert]

Why would you need to do that? Couldn't you just set the channels you get to the channel list, then use the favorites for your actual favorite lists?

I've never had the problem you are describing, and I have my channel list set to only the channels I get (Premier & Movies).

-John

 

[Ncc1701]

The New Interactive Media Guide should be rolling out to most areas by the end of this month. Itlooks like the most amazing interface created in a very long time. Can't wait!

 

[bpickell]

The new Interactive guide is what I have.

jgantert, As far as I can tell no I can't set my channel list. There is no where to set it. The only place that will let you alter the channel list is the favorites.

 

[jgantert]

The new Interactive guide is what I have.

jgantert, As far as I can tell no I can't set my channel list. There is no where to set it. The only place that will let you alter the channel list is the favorites.

Sounds like feature-loss. Too bad, that was one of the benefits Verizon had against Comcast (no channel lists with Comcast). Hopefully they don't remove too many features that I feel compelled to go back.

-John

 

[garlandtxuser]

Here Is How To Do It

The new Interactive guide is what I have.

jgantert, As far as I can tell no I can't set my channel list. There is no where to set it. The only place that will let you alter the channel list is the favorites.

OK, I will walk you through it step by step.

Select Menu then Settings.
Select Channel Lists and Favorites
Select Change Channel List
Scroll through the list and press OK (enter) to remove the check next to any channels that you do not want to show on the main list.

Hope this helps.:

 

[bpickell]

OK, I will walk you through it step by step.

Select Menu then Settings.
Select Channel Lists and Favorites
Select Change Channel List
Scroll through the list and press OK (enter) to remove the check next to any channels that you do not want to show on the main list.

Hope this helps.:

Yeah, like I said earlier I already tried that and there must be a limitation as to how many channels it will display on the first time through, cause it will stop short by about 30 channels of displaying my whole list.

If I run all the way through the list till it stops, I then must scroll all the way to the top till it stops, then I can scroll all the way through and it will show all of my channels. That is the only way it will show all of my subscription channels.

Either there is a bug in the release, or I have a defective unit.

 

[garlandtxuser]

Yeah, like I said earlier I already tried that and there must be a limitation as to how many channels it will display on the first time through, cause it will stop short by about 30 channels of displaying my whole list.

If I run all the way through the list till it stops, I then must scroll all the way to the top till it stops, then I can scroll all the way through and it will show all of my channels. That is the only way it will show all of my subscription channels.

Either there is a bug in the release, or I have a defective unit.

OK, I am running software version 1.3.19 (5882S) type DCT-FE-1.7H Platform 643.

If you are on the same version it may be the box.

 

[bpickell]

OK, I am running software version 1.3.19 (5882S) type DCT-FE-1.7H Platform 643.

If you are on the same version it may be the box.

I'll check my release version when I get home. Thanks

 

[bpickell]

Ok, I brought up my system info and here is what I have:

Release: 1.0.3
Build: 03.32
Platform ID: QIP-6416 P2

I couldn't find anything that said type

 

[garlandtxuser]

Ok, I brought up my system info and here is what I have:

Release: 1.0.3
Build: 03.32
Platform ID: QIP-6416 P2

I couldn't find anything that said type

It appears that we have different devices. Perhaps someone else with the 6416 can check their system for the version to compare.

 

[jgantert]

OK, I am running software version 1.3.19 (5882S) type DCT-FE-1.7H Platform 643.

If you are on the same version it may be the box.

I'm 13.19, but otherwise the same. I'm on the FIRST software version, but the problem is with the new software.

-John

 

[bpickell]

You wouldn't by chance know if verizon is aware of the problem would you? Or if there is plans on fixing the problem? It really is quite annoying.

 

[Brikp]

I'm in same boat, what to do?

Just the info I have been looking for! Thanks for the comparison.

I have been a dish customer since the model 1000/4000 days, over 10 years I think. Really since about the first year of Dishnetwork.

I have nothing bad to say about them. I jumped on the DVR bandwagon at the model 501 and currently use a model 721 and my 501 for two different sets. I used to be an "everything pack" customer until this year when I went to the family pack to save some cash.

Anyway, I am getting ready to move to HD. I am considering a 1080p front projection display for my movie room. Obviously I will want HD content in addition to either HD DVD or BlueRay. I can get my locals OTA.

I have been very happy with DISH. I love my dual tuner 721. I record/watch a fair amount of locals.

I am only considering switching to Verizon FIOS due to price. Just for grins I have compared Dish's Everything pack + HD to Verizon's similar offering. Here is what I came up with.

Dish
622 upgrade $49, $6 DVR fee, $20HD, $90 Everything = $116/mo and $49 one time. I think I got all that correct.

Fios
12.99HD DVR, 42.99 for 200 basic channels, 12.99 for 'Movies' and $25.99 for HBO/Cinemax = $95/month

Thats a difference of $21 per month. I may be able to get a better deal if I combine my phone service and Internet. Additionally one bill would be nice. I currently use a CLEC for my phone service, FiOS for Internet and Dish for video.

I have also read that there will be new FiOS guide software rolling out that is really nice. (did I read that on this thread?)

So, I'm torn. I wont do anything for a few weeks while I save my pennies and Benjamins for my HD projector. By then the 722 will be out.

Oh, and my other consideration would be to dump sat altogether and build a Myth TV box and just do OTA HD! Hmmm.

Soooo, what to do?

 

[bpickell]

With fios tv you don't need the ota, it includes HD locals already.

But yes your figures look correct. I'm saving about 20 - 25 bucks a month as well, and I don't subscribe to any movie channels.

I have the new program guide and as you see from my previous posts there are some bugs. Overall though I'm hooked.. We had a really bad storm roll through last night and didn't lose signal or pixelize once.