FIOS or Dish?

[Lord_Vader]

Just an update. Verizon trenched the conduit this morning and the tech will arrive tomorrow for the install.

@Dish, thanks for the great service all of this time. :
I've enjoyed both the programing and the equipment ( except for that rash of bad 722s last year, lol ). Maybe I'll be back when you have the 4g / whole house thing going.

 

[Ghpr13]

Just an update. Verizon trenched the conduit this morning and the tech will arrive tomorrow for the install.

@Dish, thanks for the great service all of this time. :
I've enjoyed both the programing and the equipment ( except for that rash of bad 722s last year, lol ). Maybe I'll be back when you have the 4g / whole house thing going.

Best of luck with your FIOS. I wish Kentucky would get it. I'm sure we will after someone brings out something better and faster.

Ghpr13

 

[SQUEEZON]

I have been with Dish for over 15 years. I get a kick listening to people who are attracted like Moths to a flame for the latest offer from various providers. Wake Up! They will offer the moon, throw in the stars for good measure on a "promotional price". When its all over you will feel like a fool with a hangover on Jan 2nd! You will think "I gave up Dish for a savings of $20?

 

[cfkillers]

That's already been done Vader.... It looks like $20 or so...

in maryland regular hd ox is 9.99 a monrth hddvr 19.95 a monthplus taxplus rental fee for the modemso if you have 3 hdtvs in house you payin 40 dollars plus just in rental fees

 

[NotMe546]

I have been with Dish for over 15 years. I get a kick listening to people who are attracted like Moths to a flame for the latest offer from various providers. Wake Up! They will offer the moon, throw in the stars for good measure on a "promotional price". When its all over you will feel like a fool with a hangover on Jan 2nd! You will think "I gave up Dish for a savings of $20?

Exactly.
Never mind equipment. I find for the most part other company's equipment just doesn't work the way it should.

 

[NotMe546]

in maryland regular hd ox is 9.99 a monrth hddvr 19.95 a monthplus taxplus rental fee for the modemso if you have 3 hdtvs in house you payin 40 dollars plus just in rental fees

Optimum gets you even worse and they don't even kiss you first.

Digital Cable Box, HD Cable Box or DVR $6.71
iO DVR Service $10.95
So for $17.66 x 4 = $52.98
Don't forget $.24 for each remote.
But don't worry the dollans appreciate it all the way to the bank. Just look at how often you have to reboot the equipment.

 

[Tampa8]

I have heard rumors about Verizon abandoning FIOS for awhile now, but here is the first thing in print I have seen, other than a local (Florida) report of Fios problems. I didn't want to post anything until there was a link to go to. Now there is.
That does not mean someone else won't run it, but it is becoming interesting.

Verizon Wireless makes marketing, airwave deal with three cable companies - The Washington Post

In fact, why would Verizon do this? Could it be falling sales? Is Verizon losing money with Fios?

"They are especially concerned that Verizon — in its push to dominate wireless services and its new obligation to promote other cable companies — will lose interest in FiOS altogether. That business has about 14 percent of U.S. households, but it has been expensive to build."

 

[CK SatGuy]

For a while, Verizon has been wanting to offer 4G LTE internet for the house for areas where FIOS isn't available (which is obviously most of the country). They would offer it as standalone or you could bundle it with Directv. They've been testing the service in Erie, PA and I heard they were suppose to start offering it by the end of the year, but most likely it'll come early next year.

 

[Lord_Vader]

So far, so good.

Got all of my timers input on the DVR last night. I was worried about having only 2 tuners for the "whole house DVR", but having tuners in the HD STBs help. I am going to upgrade the "free SD STB" to a HD STB for another $6 tomorrow just because they don't let you stream HD content to a SD STB. I guess I should have researched that, but its not a big deal.

I waited a long time for IMG 1.9 to get to FIOS before switching. I saw previous releases at other people's houses and really didn't like the software / menus at all. IMG 1.9 is pretty close to what is on the 722s IMHO. I think Dish still has a lead on ease of use, but 1.9 is at least tolerable. I see that Verizon is also incorporating some features of WMC as well. I also waited for the newer HD DVR to get the larger hard drive. Its still not that big at 500 GB, but beats what they had before.

I do really like the multiroom functionality. Other that pausing live TV, you can't tell that you are streaming to a STB from another room. I think I will move the HD DVR to the loft TV ( old SD Tube TV ) so that the tuners can primarily record and just stream to the family room and MBR.

Biggest improvement has been the internet. I can't really compare the 35/35 to anything else that I have ever had. Even when I first got 10/2 from Comcast years ago, there really isn't a comparison between them. Netflix launches instantly now. With comcast, it would buffer for 8-10 seconds, and now it starts as soon as I select the show/movie. Call quality on my voip ( not verizon voip ) is much better now. My comcast was dipping to 4/2 yesterday just before Verizon came out. Between faulty equipment in the line and the neighbors saturating the line, it has slowed to almost DSL speeds.

So far the hardest thing has been trying to learn the remote. After almost 11 years with Dish, I could operate the Dish remote in my sleep (and dark).

I was happy that Dish just politely closed my account this morning. I explained to her that the main reason was the internet and she just gave me the standard script and closed the account. There were some other reasons around cost and dvr fees, but I didn't bring them up. I figured there wasn't any reason to.

 

[Ghpr13]

I wish you good luck with your new FIOS, Lord_Vader.

Ghpr13

 

[navychop]

May I ask, my Lord, what precise brand and model DVR did you get?

 

[Lord_Vader]

May I ask, my Lord, what precise brand and model DVR did you get?

Sure.


Family Room: QIP7232-P2

Loft: QIP2500

MBR: QIP7100-P2

I am going to pick up another QIP7100-P2 tomorrow and put that in the family room and move the QIP7232-P2 to the loft. I'll probably hook up the QIP2500 to the TV tuner card in the PC in the office.

Let me know if you need anything else.

 

[Super Dave]

I have been with Dish for over 15 years. I get a kick listening to people who are attracted like Moths to a flame for the latest offer from various providers. Wake Up! They will offer the moon, throw in the stars for good measure on a "promotional price". When its all over you will feel like a fool with a hangover on Jan 2nd! You will think "I gave up Dish for a savings of $20?

$20? Really? My Dish bill was $136/month, Comcast Internet was $50 and Vonage was $30. Now I pay $126 for all 3, same amount of TVs and a Whole House DVR. I am saving $90, better picture, Comcast Sportsnet(Dish still can't offer) and ALL of my local HD channels including the CW and PBS. I thought after 11 years of Satellite I would miss it, but truthfully I don't, and we all enjoy the On Demand. And Dish charging me to return my boxes has still left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

[rapidturtle]

That charge to return your receivers really makes you think twice about going back with the company. Lots of people switch, and would consider going back, but that return receiver charge will really piss me off if I decide to switch. Pretty stupid on Dish's part, from a PR standpoint.

 

[SQUEEZON]

Thats an exception. Comcast is charging $155 here in Oregon for the equivalent of "Dish 250 lineup" and $18.00 for HBO and Starz. Comcast uses Oregon for their test case to increase prices nationwide
and are constantly in front of the Northwest "FCC" board. They recently announced a price increase effective nationwide of $15 effective Jan 1
Better picture? Wait my friend Wait. Dish has never claimed they are better in providing sports, but that will be changing next year at contract time.
I have never met a Comcast subscriber who didnt eventually hate their service-which is NONE.
But good luck I wish you the best.

 

[Lord_Vader]

The whole house DVR is pretty solid. I liked the 722s, but I was essentially recording most of the same shows upstairs and down just to be able to watch them. Its nice now that the kids can watch their cartoons upstairs. Having 2 tuners recording and one for live TV at the STB is just enough for us. I did briefly get confused the other night when I couldn't pause the news on the STB, but then I remembered. lol

The thing I am most happy about is the internet. Netflix actually looks pretty good now. Before I would get "HD", but it was only so-so. Now it is really nice looking, and my VoIP sounds excellent. I'm sorry that Dish was an innocent bystander in the deal, but I just couldn't take the comcrap internet anymore.

When I get my first bill, I guess I will see how I end up.

 

[Super Dave]

Thats an exception. Comcast is charging $155 here in Oregon for the equivalent of "Dish 250 lineup" and $18.00 for HBO and Starz. Comcast uses Oregon for their test case to increase prices nationwide
and are constantly in front of the Northwest "FCC" board. They recently announced a price increase effective nationwide of $15 effective Jan 1
Better picture? Wait my friend Wait. Dish has never claimed they are better in providing sports, but that will be changing next year at contract time.
I have never met a Comcast subscriber who didnt eventually hate their service-which is NONE.
But good luck I wish you the best.

In case you didn't realize, we have FIOS not Comcast. We switched from Dish/Comcast/Vonage to the FIOS Ultimate triple play that includes Showtime, TMC, Epix, Redzone and Cinemax.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Got my first bill and my taxes/fees came in at $10.75.

Current Activity

• • Find your full month and pay-per-use charges here. In this example, Current Charges include bundle charges as well as others for products purchased outside the bundle. Except for pay-per-use and certain voice services in MA and RI, Verizon bills for these one month in advance.
    New DIRECTV[SUP]®[/SUP] Customers, please ensure that you've redeemed your DIRECTV[SUP]®[/SUP] Rebate Offer online at directv.com/rebate to get the most savings from your bundle
• Current Charges

  • 1/7	2/6	Triple Play	109.99
    		•	FiOS Digital Voice UnlimitedView Call Details	30.00
    		•	FiOS TV Ultimate HD	74.99
    		•	FiOS Internet 35/35	40.00
    		•	24 Mo. FiOS Digital Voice Discount thru Dec 2, 2013	-5.00
    		•	24 Mo. Bundle Credit thru Dec 2, 2013	-10.00
    		•	24 Mo. Bundle Credit thru Dec 2, 2013	-5.00
    		•	Holiday Bundle Credit thru Dec 2, 2013	-10.00
    		•	24-Month Contract Discount thru Dec 2, 2013	-5.00
    1/7	2/6	Multi-Room DVR Package - 3 Room	33.99
    Current Charges Subtotal	$143.98

• Change in Service and Partial Month

  • 12/10	1/6	Multi-Room DVR Package - 3 Room (added)	30.59
    12/10	1/6	Multi-Room DVR Package - 2 Room (removed)	-25.19
    Change in Service and Partial Month Subtotal	$5.40

• Current Activity Total

  $149.38

Taxes, Fees and Other Charges

• • This section lists your applicable federal, state and local taxes, surcharges and fees as well as Verizon surcharges. Late and returned-payment charges will also display here.
• Taxes, Governmental Surcharges and Fees

  • 		VA Communications Sales Tax	3.89
    		E-911 Tax	.75
    		VA Public Rights-of-Way Use Fee	.83
    		VA State Sales Tax	1.97

• Verizon Surcharges and Other Charges and Credits

  • 		Federal Universal Service Fee	1.74
    		PEG Grant Fee	1.49
    		Regulatory Recovery Fee - Federal	.08

• Total Taxes, Fees and Other Charges

  $10.75

Total New Charges
1/7/2012
$160.13

 

[navychop]

Thank you. Something I can use to compare.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Np. That doesn't include the $10 discount I can get through work. The CSR said she could add it now, but I might want to wait until the gift card comes so that I don't mess that up. I didn't know that I was supposed to add the discount code when I ordered. She said the best thing to do is to wait after the GC and pick a renewal bonus through the website. It always lists "renewal deals" and I can change packages that way. I just need to wait for a comparable deal and then add the code.