What is the latest DVR?

[Jonhern]

I think I currently have 15/5. Can't tell for sure, Verizon web site is down again for checking current status or upgrading. Next step up around here is 25/25 for $5 more.

yeah, if its just $5 more i would go 25/25, for us it was $10 more, and we really don't need higher upload speeds. So right now you are paying $17+$6=$23, if you have service plan, $29. Fios would be $19.99+$15.99=$35.98. And you will still save $34 a month. Hopper would be $7+6+4= $17 or $23w/ service plan, and you would save $28 with fios. And if you have 2 722s now I don't think a hopper one joey would cut it for you, there was another member who did that and it is causing conflicts. If you stay with dish i would stick with the vip stuff.

 

[navychop]

Current Dish bill:
$00.00 First ViP722
$17.00 Second ViP722
$6.00 DVR service
$64.99 AT250, grandfathered with no locals so it's $5 less
$10.00 BB@Home
$6.00 Protection Plan

$103.99 TOTAL, actually about $107 with taxes etc. I pay Verizon about $102 for the Double Play.

TOTAL OF BOTH, TODAY: $209

Estimated Verizon Fios Triple Play:
109.99 Extreme
15.99 HD DVR
19.99 Multi-room DVR
6.99 Required FiOS inside wire maintenance plan
21.82 taxes and fees

174.78 Total, reflecting $20 per month credits. After two years, 194.78. So you can see I'd save $14 or initially, $34. If I dropped the second DVR and used a cablecard with my Sony DHG-HDD500, I'd save about $12 more per month, for as long as that setup can last. And lose the whole home feature, which is a big part of the appeal of making the move in the first place. If I kept the current Internet plan, I'd save another $5. So max possible savings right now seems to be $31 or $51 initially. I understand receiver fees are going up $1 in April.

There is some doubt about the Sony, anyway. I used it for analog OTA, and later gave it to a relative for use with cable. He never could get it running. I got it back, flashed it for digital OTA, and it's running great. But there's that lingering doubt- maybe it does not in fact work with cable for some reason. After all, I got it as a returned item, as is, from a store and discovered the previous owner had used it, or tried to use it, with cable. Sigh.


I am still considering a 2 Hopper system, if we go that route, at the end of the summer. I would not consider Hopper until after some more debugging, seamless Hopper integration, and full OTA support.

Estimated 2 Hopper 0 Joey cost:
69.99 AT250 w/locals (I'd lose my grandfathering by changing receivers)
6.00 DVR fee
4.00 Whole home fee
7.00 Second Hopper fee
10.00 BB@Home
6.00 Protection plan

102.99 Total before taxes/fees. So I could save a dollar by going to Hopper. If they'd ever let me go with a 2H/0J system. For a 2H/1J it'd be $7 more per month. I might consider such, as we have a 36" SDTV used on occasion by my MiL or other guests. Who knows what they might allow or find impossible to support, 6 months from now?

I'm tempted to go to the local FiOS store, maybe with an appointment, to discuss. And see if they're willing to set up the Sony to see how it would work (& if). But even if they'd do that, how long to populate the EPG to see anything at all?

 

[Jonhern]

i don't think the bundle credits go away after two years. I might be wrong however. Those credits are there for bundling, not for signing up. I think you get an extra $5 the first year or two with a contract for signing up. Unless you buy the second hopper, or both, I don't think they will give you one or two. On the website if you try to sign up just one tv they give you a 612. If you try to do 4 or less it won't let you change from 1hopper 3 joeys.

 

[navychop]

Yep. Things would need to change at Dish, policy wise. Best bet would be thru a retailer, I guess, a few months from now. Yes, I'd have to pay $100 for the second Hopper. First one also, probably.

From the "Estimate of Monthly Bill" from FiOS:

$5 24 Mo. FiOS Digital Voice Discount Included
$15 24 Mo. Bundle Credit Included

 

[ewindowman]

If you have verizon wireless you can add it to your bundle for a $10 one bill credit. $25 total off your bill .You can also change your bundle any time you want For better deals with no change fee. Every time you change you just start over on your 24 Mo. I pay $130 -25. $105 Plus $20 For all movies half price for 1 year. $39.00 = 1 mrd + 3 hd . 16.00 dvr also $10.00 for a second phone line I think it is a good deal and if i see a better bundle I will switch .

 

[navychop]

I have a grandfathered unlimited plan with AT&T wireless, and a cheap grandfathered Family plan, plus I find GSM better for use overseas. So, that's one bit of my business Verizon isn't likely to see.

 

[navychop]

I learned that the inside wiring coverage can be deleted. And that by moving from 15/5 (or is it 20/5 - depends upon where you look) to 25/25, my bill, rather than going UP $5, went down $3.89. Something about changing from the standard phone plan to the digital plan, same price, but taxed at a lower rate. And providing more features for the phone that we will never use.

Of course, after the $5/month credit expires in 24 months, I'll have a slightly higher bill. Could always downgrade then, if I wished.

 

[riffjim4069]

Navy you're over-analyzing things...I tend to do the same thing. You know the fact, just pick and option and stay the course.

 

[navychop]

SWMBO and I have in fact come to a conclusion. The way EHDs work with FiOS and the risk of large numbers of recordings being lost, and the Cooking Channel only in SD, and some minor things, have led us to conclude we will stay with Dish.

Yes, I beat it to death, then resurrected it, beat it to death.......

However, this time no reconsideration. SHE HAS SPOKEN!

 

[riffjim4069]

There is some doubt about the Sony, anyway. I used it for analog OTA, and later gave it to a relative for use with cable. He never could get it running. I got it back, flashed it for digital OTA, and it's running great. But there's that lingering doubt- maybe it does not in fact work with cable for some reason. After all, I got it as a returned item, as is, from a store and discovered the previous owner had used it, or tried to use it, with cable. Sigh.

I don't know why it wouldn't work based on Rovi (or whomever owns TVGOS these days) still providing guide data via OTA. My HDD500 is still working with FiOS in Dallas, and I don't know of any TVGOS problems in the DC area. Okay, two reasons why the previous owner had problems with Cablecard:

1. Most Cable techs don't know what they're doing with Cablecards. I've been using Cablecards for years and have had numerous problems in all my experiences except with the Verizon FiOS techs: 1) cable techs do not bring cards that have been properly provisioned and 2) nobody (exception one person in all of cabledom) knows how to authorize these devices (e.g., it always winds up in the system with the same code as a cable-owned set-top-box with internal cablecard, and they cannot override the system until they locate the one person I mentioned. Of course, many cablecard woes have "magically" disappeared now that customers can self-install and pick-up provisioned Cablecards directly from the Cable Company.

2. I remember the Sony HDD-250/500s needing an "electrical modification" of sorts in order for Cablecards to properly work. Of course, this was a long time ago and it may have something to do with the type/brand of cablecards being used at the time. I don't know. In fact, when I picked-up my HDD500 in February 2006 (can't believe it has been six years) I sent it for warranty repair because I was told Cablecard (for my Scientific Atlantic Cablecard) wouldn't work with the SA card unless I got the mod. Anyway, I had Sony perform the "mod" and update the firmware. Nowadays, I have no idea if Sony will even touch the HDD500...and it will probably cost $100 being that it's out of warranty. Anyway, check out this thread and these posts about the modification.

AVS Forum - Search Results

 

[Jonhern]

SWMBO and I have in fact come to a conclusion. The way EHDs work with FiOS and the risk of large numbers of recordings being lost, and the Cooking Channel only in SD, and some minor things, have led us to conclude we will stay with Dish.

Yes, I beat it to death, then resurrected it, beat it to death.......

However, this time no reconsideration. SHE HAS SPOKEN!

I know you are thinking about going to the hopper, why don't you switch for a few months, try out fios off contract, if you like it stay, if not go back to dish and get the hopper for free as a new customer. or just try it out for a couple of months, go down to welcome pack on dish so you don't lose anything on your ehd, and try out fios. You will still be paying less than you are now, as you said you would be saving around $30, and the welcome pack is $15. Of course you would need to send back one 722, unless you own it, to avoid paying the extra $17 fee, but you would need to do that anyway when you move to the hopper.
I am actually still with dish, have our owned 222k on the account with welcome pack, just waiting for the dam boxes to send back the others so i don't have to pay for it. With the change to welcome pack i did not need to pay anything to continue into April. Boxes should be here Monday and then i will cancel dish. Also did that to make sure fios dvr was good and that i was happy with the move, and it is, liking the move very much.

 

[navychop]

Actually, that was the plan. But the way Fios handles EHDs and a few other things killed the whole FiOS idea.