Hello there. The family is considering a switch to Verizon FiOS from Verizon DSL/phone and regular cable from Comcast. So I'll get right down to the questions.
Question 1. Is it possible to move a STB (I know there are several types offered by Verizon, advice is helpful on any of the models) between different tvs in the house? We have 2 TVs we rarely use and it doesn't make sense for us to have a dedicated box for them, and pay for that privilege monthly. (If it matters, we have in total 5 TVs, 2 are HD. The "main" TV is not HD. Of the rarely-used TVs, one is HD and one is not.) I understand the smallest box w/o VOD capability can be moved easily.
Question 2. Are there fees associated with changing equipment configurations? For instance, Verizon is offering free Home Media HD DVR service for 3 months right now. We would like to take advantage of the special but we think we'll probably downgrade to a regular DVR or STB once the offer is up, as the monthly rental fee on those is less. We might also buy new (HD) TVs in the future and would probably change to HD boxes at that point.
Thanks for the advice!
@dianal_1 wrote:Hello there. The family is considering a switch to Verizon FiOS from Verizon DSL/phone and regular cable from Comcast. So I'll get right down to the questions.
Question 1. Is it possible to move a STB (I know there are several types offered by Verizon, advice is helpful on any of the models) between different tvs in the house? We have 2 TVs we rarely use and it doesn't make sense for us to have a dedicated box for them, and pay for that privilege monthly. (If it matters, we have in total 5 TVs, 2 are HD. The "main" TV is not HD. Of the rarely-used TVs, one is HD and one is not.) I understand the smallest box w/o VOD capability can be moved easily.
Question 2. Are there fees associated with changing equipment configurations? For instance, Verizon is offering free Home Media HD DVR service for 3 months right now. We would like to take advantage of the special but we think we'll probably downgrade to a regular DVR or STB once the offer is up, as the monthly rental fee on those is less. We might also buy new (HD) TVs in the future and would probably change to HD boxes at that point.
Thanks for the advice!
1. you can move all the stb's all you want as long as there is a working jack in the room to use.
2. the home media portion is a feature that does not require swapping equipment if you want to downgrade to a plain DVR. If you decide to change boxes itself, as long as you will do the work yourself, they will mail you the replacement boxes, there is no fee to change them.
Keep in mind that the Verizon Digital Adapter (Smallest Box - Motorola DCT700) can not process the HD Channels. Even if it could there are only Coax and Composite Outputs so it would not be seen as a HD Signal by the TV.
Thanks for the quick replies! All the TVs have coax connections currently so it looks like we'll be able to move boxes around as necessary and save a bit of money by doing so.
@dianal_1 wrote:Thanks for the quick replies! All the TVs have coax connections currently so it looks like we'll be able to move boxes around as necessary and save a bit of money by doing so.
One item I might mention. The Verizon boxes use IP (Internet Protocol) for the guide updates, VOD, and widgets. The coax will require a bidirectional splitter for these functions, and this splitter will also need to handle higher frequencies. You should also have good quality RG-6 coax. With older RG-59 coax you could run into issues. If you use the digital adapter for the box you move around, it does not use IP and support those features, so older coax to those locations should not be an issue. When Verizon comes out to do the install, they will probably replace the splitter or splitters anyway, plus inspect existing coax to prevent issues in the future.
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