Hello. I have seen a lot of reviews and commercials on their internet and how great it is but how is their TV. Is it better than Direct TV (for example) or cable? Is the home media DVR fast and reliable? I am looking for a little feedback on the TV. Thank you
Hi. For info on what Fios TV has to offer you can check out this link.
http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/FiOSTV/overview.htm
If you decide you want to order I can connect you to a representative who can discuss your subscription options in detail and place your order.
ShawnG
I've had Fios for a little over a year now. I've had Bright House cable, Dish Network and Direct TV in the past. Fios TV is hands down my favorite:
- Picture quality: 1st is Fios, 2nd is Dish/Direct, last is cable (distant last place)
- Loss of picture and outages: 1st is Fios (mine has never gone out), 2nd is cable (only occasional outages), 3rd Dish/Direct due to rain fade.
- Channel options for the price: I find all of these to be very close, but Fios has the ability to bundle which is a huge advantage of the satellite providers.
- Equipment: Having to rent the set top box/DVR instead of purchasing like with the satellite providers can add up over time, but you don't have to worry about up front costs or having it go bad and paying for repairs like the satellites. I've never had a DVR with the other providers. But I know there are concerns with the capacity of the Fios DVR compared to Direct and others. Fios is going to be using new boxes soon that have more capacity and the ability to expand, but they aren't pushing those out yet. I have the 7216 STB (HD/DVR) with Fios and have never had any issues with it.
- Customer Service: My experience with Verizon has been average. I found Dish to be the best, Verizon to be next and Direct to be the absolute worst. It's been so long since I've had cable that I can't remember.
All in all, I am very, very happy with my Fios TV service and I was relucant to leave Dish Network because I never had any problems with them (other than rain fade). I understand Verizon's big problem has been customer service according to many. I don't have to interact with them much though and my minor problems with billing when I first signed up were resolved relatively easily. I think Verizon does a better job with TV than they ever did with phone service (land or wireless).
Good luck with your decision.
I failed to answer your question about the DVR if it's fast and reliable. Yes, mine has been very fast, very responsive to the remote and very reliable. The drawback is the capacity with just 20 hours of HD recording time. It hasn't been an issue for me personally. The DVR will sometimes show less capacity left than it really has which simply requires a reboot to clear up. It's not that often and doesn't impact the performance or actual capacity of the DVR. It's just the displayed capacity that is a little off sometimes. As mentioned before, I can't compare it to other providers' DVRs because this is my first. Many seem to prefer Tivo and Direct's DVRs.
With anything, there are good and bad things about Fios when you compare it to other services. I had Directv and regular cable before Fios. For me, there was no comparison with cable. Fios is much better. Compared to Directv, it is closer. If you are big into sports, there is no comparison. Directv wins hands down. You can get all the regional sports channels across the country. You can't with Fios. Also, you can get the NFL Sunday Ticket. With Fios, you can only get the Redzone Channel. I have the Redzone Channel (I wanted to try it out), and for me, it is not as great as some make it out to be. If you are a fantasy football player, then it is great. If you just want to watch games, it is not. Personally, I would rather watch a game, even with all the boring plays that happen during it, then get skipped around to different games all day. Plus, with Fios, unless you have the top tier package (Ultimate), you pay $50 to get Redzone.
Another way the Fios falls to Directv is their packaging structure. I am not big on the make up of the three packages (Prime, Extreme, Ultimate). As an example, and this one you can find throughout these forums, if you want Hallmark Movie Channel, you either order the Prime or Ultimate Package. If you order the Extreme Package, it is not available (unless you call and do some big complaining and get the right person on the phone). Logic is lacking in this move.
The DVR is a bit disappointing. The Muti-Room DVR is nice, but I think most companies have that now. The capacity is what is disappointing if you don't get a new box. You get 20 hours of HD and 80 hours of SD. You can fill up 20 hours real quick with a couple of movies, tv shows, etc. If they do expand it, that will be better.
Where Fios does do well is the picture. Good resolution. Also, if you have Verizon for other services (phone, cell, internet), you can package the services and get a better deal. I am paying less now with a quad bundle than I did when I had Directv separate.
Overall, Fios is pretty good ( I know the above makes it seem like it is not). It has a ways to go in my opinion, but it is still good. It is just what you are looking for. Overall, I am satisfied.
That whole hallmark is something I will never understand. If its on a lower tier then it should be on everything above it as well. I am hoping when they do my install that they give me the DVR with the bigger hard drive.
fios starts off pretty good but then they start taking channels from you and forcing you to change your contract ,in the middle of it might add, in order for you to keep the channels you initially agreed on youll have to pay more, its actually a brilliant sales move if you dont care about your customers...so in a nut shell ,fios is not what they make it out to be.
They have no Fox HD channel, and channels 508, 514 are unwatchable. Their customer service is horrible, and their tech support knows less than the consumer. Looks like I will either switch back to cable, or try diect tv.
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