I researched FIOS and my current cable provider. FIOS just became available in my area. Though I would like to switch to FIOS, I currently enjoy the fact that I can use my TV's remote control and have no conversion box. My cable provider is going to have that capability in the next year. Verizon has no plan, at least that is what they say. I have been waiting for FIOS for 2 years and was excited when I saw the trucks digging up my yard. Now that excitement is lost, Verizon did not get my business, even at less cost than I am paying today.
I get a piece of mail from Verizon at least once a week. I got a call today from the "phone-spam" asking me to sign up. I let the guy go through his little oration. I then asked if I could use my TV remote to change the channels (of course I knew the answer). But, at least they had a person on the phone that was courteous enough to not pester me when he did not have what I wanted and took down my request.
I would have gladly paid an appropriate fee for a total home conversion box that has a 4 set split in it. This is not difficult technology.
Why is it that companies create a service and never get the voice of the customer?
Does anyone know any better news? And, Verizon, before you go build something, how about asking those of us that want to be your customer what is that we want to buy.
{please keep your posts courteous}
You can have no boxes and FiOS in four rooms. You just have to replace the TVs with something other than 1947 inards.
@NotYet wrote:Though I would like to switch to FIOS, I currently enjoy the fact that I can use my TV's remote control and have no conversion box. My cable provider is going to have that capability in the next year. Verizon has no plan, at least that is what they say. I have been waiting for FIOS for 2 years and was excited when I saw the trucks digging up my yard. Now that excitement is lost, Verizon did not get my business, even at less cost than I am paying today.
Unfortunately, you were misinformed by your cable company.
Verizon allows you access to SD and HD local channels without a box today, provided you have a modern TV with a QAM tuner. The same is true of other cable companies, and for good reason. This is required by the FCC. If you want to access digital cable channels, then you'll need either a "cable box" or a device (such as a TV) with CableCard slot.
Verizon allows you to use your TV's remote and built-in tuner if it has a CableCard slot. The same applies to other cable companies. We have CableLabs and FCC to thank for making this possible. All major cable systems encrypt their cable HD channels, as content providers require in their carriage contracts. This is not going to change to suddenly allow your TV to access those digital channels without a box (or CableCard slot). Such is not permitted by their carriage contracts. To decrypt these channels, you need either a cable box or a device with a CableCard slot.
Some existing TVs, and all upcoming true2way televisions, incorporate CableCard slots. A CableCard is essentially an access card. It plugs into front of your TV and authorizes all the channels you pay for. If your TV doesn't have a CableCard slot, you're not going to be able to use your TV's tuner to change channels, either now or in the future, regardless of your provider. Your cable provider probably forgot to mention that, or if they did, you didn't quite understand what they were talking about. Or perhaps they mentioned something they'd heard about, without any real understanding of how it worked or what would be required.
@NotYet wrote:I would have gladly paid an appropriate fee for a total home conversion box that has a 4 set split in it. This is not difficult technology.
The device you want (one box for the home support four legacy TVs and remotes) is not yet possible in a digital world, and won't be for many years to come. Realistically, it will never materialize, because the industry is looking forward, not backward.
Within the next 12-24 months, CableCard slots will become standard on most TVs, eliminating the need for the cable company box to tune all channels.
@NotYet wrote:Does anyone know any better news? And, Verizon, before you go build something, how about asking those of us that want to be your customer what is that we want to buy.
With new technology, sometimes you take one step back for every three steps forward. The transition to digital and encrypted digital on cable obsoletes analog NTSC tuners designed back in 1953, requiring either a cable box or a device with a CableCard slot. But the transition to digital also brings with it new and life-changing technologies, such as digital video recorders
Based on your post, I'm guessing you've never used a DVR before. You might want to watch this Youtube demo to see one example of how modern technology is changing television in ways that produce lifestyle change, much like the microwave did back in the 1970s. For now, this particular technology requires a box.
click here to learn more
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