Buying your own Equipment
RobbyTech
Newbie

Has anyone bought their own set top box and had them activated?Did Verizon just do it?Where there fees involved?Any help would be great.

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Re: Buying your own Equipment
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

The Motorola QIP STBs and DVRs used by Verizon are not available for resale.  The only Motorola boxes you'll find for FiOS are stolen, and Verizon does not activate stolen equipment.

If you want your own equipment, your only options are the MoxiHD ($799 w/o fees) and TivoHD ($199 at Sears with fees, $600 w/o fees).  These products require one M-CARD from Verizon ($3.99/mo) to support both built-in tuners; this plugs into the front of the box and authorizes all the channels you pay for.

Generally, one does not save money by buying their own equipment.  Verizon FiOS, like most cable companies, does not make money on their equipment.  They subsidize the boxes and make their money on the programming.

The primary reasons to buy your own equipment include better DVR functionality, better reliability (thanks to superior guide data), increased storage capacity and storage expansion, and the ability to download recordings to your computer.

Message Edited by KenAF on 03-11-2009 06:12 PM
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Re: Buying your own Equipment
prisaz
Legend
Dito on what KenAF has said. Also if you do use your own equipment you will not be able to get Verizon Video On Demand, Channel Guide, or Widgets. The Cable Card unlocks subscribed channels but does not provide the three items previously mentioned. Some like the Tivo Guide and do not care about the Verizon features mentioned. If you have a DCR Digital Cable Ready HD TV it  can use the Cable Card, but it will not be a DVR and will not have a guide.
Message Edited by prisaz on 03-11-2009 06:01 PM
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Re: Buying your own Equipment
dojo
Newbie

Some TVs generate menus from the TV Guide data.  What is nice about these menus is that you can personalize them - put the channels you actually watch together.  You can even blank out channels you never watch - the infomecial and leased channels for example.  While the service providers would like to control what you see, you can by pass them with a cable card.  Of course you don't get any of thier content like "on demand" services, but when you control things there is no need for a box.  Or at least it is supposed to be that way.  Freedom of choice and environmentally friendly.

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Re: Buying your own Equipment
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1

When the "all digital" finally goes through for everyone, they are expecting in future to have more manufacturers of converter boxes to be sold to the general public.  That is why the 7k series contains a small cable card in the back.  I am guessing in the near future you can go out and buy, for example, a Sony converter box.  All that Verizon will have to provide is a cable card to initialize/activate your services for your converter box to work. 

More manufacturers = more competition = better prices for all of us.  Smiley Wink

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Re: Buying your own Equipment
Keyboards
Master - Level 3

@DzWR wrote:

When the "all digital" finally goes through for everyone, they are expecting in future to have more manufacturers of converter boxes to be sold to the general public.  That is why the 7k series contains a small cable card in the back.  I am guessing in the near future you can go out and buy, for example, a Sony converter box.  All that Verizon will have to provide is a cable card to initialize/activate your services for your converter box to work. 

More manufacturers = more competition = better prices for all of us.  Smiley Wink


Actually, the 7xxx series has a cable card (not just a slot for one) because the FCC mandated separable security.

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Re: Buying your own Equipment
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1
I know, thats why I said it contains one.  Smiley Wink
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Re: Buying your own Equipment
cgquadman
Newbie

Rental on a Home Media DVR box is $19.99 a month or $239.88 a year and the HD DVR costs $15.99 or $191.88 a year. Those are hefty fees and after a couple of years would justify the purchase -- if you could purchase them. Electronic equipment proces are always falling but these rental/lease boxes never do.

I can't imagine Verizon -- or any other content provider, doesn't make some money off these fees.

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Re: Buying your own Equipment
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@cgquadman wrote:

Rental on a Home Media DVR box is $19.99 a month or $239.88 a year and the HD DVR costs $15.99 or $191.88 a year. Those are hefty fees and after a couple of years would justify the purchase -- if you could purchase them. Electronic equipment proces are always falling but these rental/lease boxes never do.

I can't imagine Verizon -- or any other content provider, doesn't make some money off these fees.


Modern cable DVRs cost between $300 and $400, but that does not include the cost of the software.  I think you would be very surprised at the amount of money that is spent on DVR software development.

Cable DVRs also tend not to last as long as you might expect.   The average usable lifetime for a deployed cable DVR is less than 30 months. Some DVRs fail because they are mistreated (ex: used in poorly ventilated cabinets), some are mishandled during repeated transport or removal, some have their drives fail prematurely in normal operation, and other boxes are never returned (and never paid for).

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