Leaving DISH

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ItsMyLife

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jan 1, 2007
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Well, I made the decision to leave DISH after almost 2 years now that Verizon FIOS TV has become available in my area. I already had Verizon phone and internet and the bundled discount was just too good to pass up.

Being that I just bought a 50" HD set... I did not have Dish HD, only SD... this was a perfect opportunity to jump to FIOS TV which just became available. The availability of FIOS TV kinda made me pull the trigger on the TV since I'd been contemplating it for a while.

With the bandwidth they have coupled with their potential in offering HD down the road, I figured I'd likely be giving them a chance sooner or later. I've also read that they pass the HD signal through as they get it from the broadcaster with no additional compression.

I did enjoy DISH and will consider them again in the future should I be unhappy with FIOS.
 
ItsMyLife said:
I've also read that they pass the HD signal through as they get it from the broadcaster with no additional compression.
Click to expand...
Don't believe everything you read.

You will certainly enjoy the world of HD. You may well kick yourself for not having jumped sooner.
 
harshness said:
Don't believe everything you read.

You will certainly enjoy the world of HD. You may well kick yourself for not having jumped sooner.
Click to expand...
Do you have any information/proof indicating they don't pass the original signal just as it is? Please post it.
 
FIOS TV was not a good thing for me. Granted, I had it 1.5 years ago but the DVR system was the worst I had ever seen, constant freezes and corruption. They would do their test and say that everything was fine but half the shows I recorded would be blocky or the DVR would freeze. If you disconnected the unit to move it, it would take days (yes DAYS) to get the channel data back. I would constantly lose half my channels for days at a time. They replaced the reciever but that did not help. Plus since it took so long to download channel data, you couldn't make the tech stay around to see the problems.

FIOS internet on the other hand is great.
 
Just read the fine print and make sure you know how long it is that you can still back out. :eek:
Good luck.
 
jasonstx said:
FIOS TV was not a good thing for me. Granted, I had it 1.5 years ago but the DVR system was the worst I had ever seen, constant freezes and corruption. They would do their test and say that everything was fine but half the shows I recorded would be blocky or the DVR would freeze. If you disconnected the unit to move it, it would take days (yes DAYS) to get the channel data back. I would constantly lose half my channels for days at a time. They replaced the reciever but that did not help. Plus since it took so long to download channel data, you couldn't make the tech stay around to see the problems.

FIOS internet on the other hand is great.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on the Internet...it is the fastest and most reliable out there. However, I don't share your experiences of the FiOS HD DVR. We have only been with FiOS since we moved back in April, so perhaps they worked out many of the bugs. Anyway, the FiOS HD DVR is way behind the Dish 622/722...small hard-drive, no external hard-drive support, and the IMG lacks features. However, I found it to be better than Adelphia and Comcast Motorola and SA boxes. Plus, FiOS TV is in the midst of rolling out a new IMG (more features), 100+ HD channels, etc. Additionally, their picture quality is 2nd to none (almost no one will dispute this). Moreover, I have been told to expect external storage support along with a slew of new products and services after the New Year when their nationwide digital transition is complete.

As far as guide data...we lost power a dozen or so times during hurricane Ike, and DVR rebotted and repopuled the guide within a minure or so, each and every time

If people don't like the FiOS HD DVR, they can still go with a TiVO HD. Although the TiVo HD had some nice features, it too was still way behind the Dish 622/722....and it was too expensive (when you add up sales price, subscription fee, and leasing cablecards) and, more important, it was toooooo slooooooow. To be honest, we have used 7 different HD DVR models and my wife and I both liked the FiOS HD DVR better than the TiVo HD.

We would have stayed with Dish Network (still have 3 622 sitting in the closet) if it weren't for year, after year, after year of DishHD-Lite (circa Oct 2005). We still miss the 622, but the FiOS HD PQ is spankingly good!
 
ItsMyLife said:
Well, I made the decision to leave DISH after almost 2 years now that Verizon FIOS TV has become available in my area. I already had Verizon phone and internet and the bundled discount was just too good to pass up.

Being that I just bought a 50" HD set... I did not have Dish HD, only SD... this was a perfect opportunity to jump to FIOS TV which just became available. The availability of FIOS TV kinda made me pull the trigger on the TV since I'd been contemplating it for a while.

With the bandwidth they have coupled with their potential in offering HD down the road, I figured I'd likely be giving them a chance sooner or later. I've also read that they pass the HD signal through as they get it from the broadcaster with no additional compression.

I did enjoy DISH and will consider them again in the future should I be unhappy with FIOS.
Click to expand...


I may be following you out the door. AT&T UVERSE is now available and I'm probably going to give them a try. The television , phone, and internet will cost me about 75 less a month than I'm paying three separate providers for now. I'm getting the everything package with hd . I'll be getting all the hd channels I currently have with E and some channels that I really want that E doesn't have like Thrillermax and BET Jazz. I don't know anyone who has used the AT&T hd dvr but it does record four shows at once. By October, it will be an all house system. The best thing is NO CONTRACT plus they gave me a slew of promotions like 10 off a month for the hd 6 months, 20 off the total bill for a year on top of another 14 a month for a year on the package I took. Then free hd dvr and installation.
 
Good luck. I refuse to give Verizon any money so I will not be getting FIOS any time soon. I have some friends at AT&T who have UVERSE in their homes, but at this point they are lacking in programming and do not get Big10 network in our area yet. Hence, they are at my house on weekends watching the games...
 
Stew said:
Do you have any information/proof indicating they don't pass the original signal just as it is? Please post it.
Click to expand...
It depends on what you mean by "original signal". Technically, they claim that they pass what they get, but what they get is itself compressed. Verizon FiOS TV spot boasts of "uncompressed" HD - Engadget HD

There is some compression inherent in QAM too.

I'm still baffled by Verizon's claims that they don't use MPEG2 and that MPEG4 is inherently worse than MPEG2.
 
Well, I think we all know that HD is compressed in some manner at some point... however Verizion passes the signal as they get it and that's a big deal.

The picture looks absolutely amazing... often breathtakingly stunning.

I'm certain that I'm giving up something with Verizon vs. Dish... you gain some and lose some when you make these transitions. The DISH DVR definitely is more refined than the Verizon DVR. That's not a deal breaker for me... as long as it records shows, I can live with it.

DISH also offers a lot more HD at this point, but Verizon did just add a bunch in August and is slated to roll out 15 more channels by the end of October. If they continue to add channels over the next year and can get on par with Dish/DirecTV, that'll be great. They already offer more than Comcast.
 
ItsMyLife said:
I'm certain that I'm giving up something with Verizon vs. Dish... you gain some and lose some when you make these transitions. The DISH DVR definitely is more refined than the Verizon DVR. That's not a deal breaker for me... as long as it records shows, I can live with it.

DISH also offers a lot more HD at this point,
Click to expand...
You can say that again!!! :eek:
Go look at the chart you maybe surprised.
The Official AVS National HD Channel Lineups - Cable, DBS, Fiber - Updated 8/30/08! - AVS Forum

Image1_1x1.jpg
 
I might switch in a couple years when I am out of contract for Direct just to get the Sunday Ticket. Maybe. They have the AT&T FOIS here and I know someone that went with it and they stopped it since their DVR didn't have dual tuner capacity, but that's been awhile, they may now.
 
I am also leaving Dish for Fios. I do not have any problems with Dish service (except may be that I had some bad periods in recordings before I exchanged my 622 after its HDMI died) and I am aware of the shortcomings of Fios but still have a few reasons to switch:

1) Bought a second HD TV and found out that adding HD service for the second TV is quite expensive with Dish ($75-100 install plus 24-month commitment plus lease and other fees). I especially don't want a commitment and looked at buying 621 but decided that it is too risky since I had to replace my 622 two times.

2) Fios picture quality is reported to be somewhat better than Dish

3) Fios (at least in some areas) has more HD channels than Dish (I cannot post URL, do a search on "The chart: HD programming compared") and I will have RSN's full time instead of just for games.

4) With Fios bundles and promotions I will save hundreds during the first year.

Fios has its problems but with so many advantages I decided that it is time to try Fios.
 
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