FIOS with TIVO?
forya1
Enthusiast - Level 3

I am happy with my Channel selection, and the Picture Quality with FIOS, but not happy with the Software/Hardware of my 7216 1 Box.  It locks up when going through menus, It sometimes turns off when I am going through the ON-Demand Listings, and the guide is terribly laid out and not widscreen, so you can fit less info on it.  I heard you can use a TIVO and that it has a much better interface, is this true and how is it working for you?

I would hate to have to go back to Dish Network after my 1 year is up, but the audio dropouts/lockups/and turnoffs are killing me

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
Justin46
Legend

Yes you can use a Tivo with FiOS, but I don't have one so I can't give you any advice or experience. However, there have been multiple threads here about using Tivos with FiOS, just do a search on Tivo.

Now, are you aware that Verizon is in the process of distributing new software to all STBs, including the 7216? I have the new level, 1.7 on my 6416, and have created a thread here titled IMG 1.7 Experience, you might want to take a look there to see some user's experience so far. Keep in mind that distribution of the new level just started this past Tuesday and so far is only available in Texas and California. But within a month or so at the latest you should have the new level, and I am pretty sure from what I have read that it will fix at least some of your problems.

Now to the Guide: several people have reported that on the 7216 the Guide is now full screen width. Unfortunately apparently it is just the current Guide stretched; some people like it, some don't. But speculation is that it is the forerunner of a true 16:9 Guide, but that is just speculation and no time frame has been mentioned that I have seen.

KenAF here on the forum is very knowledgeable on using a Tivo with FiOS, hopefully he will see this thread and give you some good, solid experience and suggestions.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416, IMG 1.7, Build 09.82
Keller, TX 76248

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
Weaver_Family
Newbie

The drop-outs have happened quite a bit to us the past couple months. We'll be browsing through On-Demand & all of a sudden the box will just die. Then it takes a couple minutes for it to recycle & come back on. Annoying. Especially when you're trying to order a movie, and you've pressed the commit button. Then you have to go through the motions all over again, and hope that you're not being charged twice for the movie.

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
spacedebris
Master - Level 2

TIVO has both pro's and con's to it. Most however find that the Pro's far outweigh the cons.

You would need a TIVO series 3 box (needs to have a cable card slot)

With this you have these pro's

  •  same great picture quality
  • no widespread hdmi issues that pleague the Verizon motorola boxes
  • a far superior guide set up (they've been doing this for much longer than Verizon so they have the bugs worked out now)
  • tends to have a much more stable picture (when the picture problems are related to the software on the box)
  • Expandable storage

The cons are pretty much limited to the verizon interactive features

  • No VOD
  • No Widgets (twitter, facebook, weather, Red Zone, and Fantasy football)
  • No multiroom DVR (although if you get multiple TIVO systems I think TIVO has a similar system but not sure)

And you must also subscribe to TIVO. So extra $$$. But this is usually considered worth it by TIVO users

I think you will find that people who like TIVO will encourage you to use it. And I'm one of those. I use both the TIVO and Verizon DVR's and While I'm one of the ones that dont seem to have issues with the Verizon DVR's I still feel that the TIVO's are superior and the reason I'm not using TIVO exclusively is because I dont have problems with the Verizon DVR's and I like the interactive features. But I'd say, if you have problems with the Verizon DVR's then TIVO is an excellent option for you.

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
stevelogan1028
Enthusiast - Level 2

I agree with spacedebris on all except this one point:

"a far superior guide set up (they've been doing this for much longer than Verizon so they have the bugs worked out now)"

The TIVO's interface is MUCH MUCH better for DVR browsing, recording and show management, however, I don't like it's live TV guide.  Actually, I thought Comcat's onscreen guide was the best of the 3.  Tivo seems very slow when paging through.  The VZ one is too clutter and has too much info.  The basic Comcast one was, imho, the best - it's kind of like Craigslist.org keeping a super simple interface for maximum usability.

That being said, I think we're going to go with a new Series 3 TIVO for our FIOS - I just can't stand the lack of storage on the Motorola DVR anymore.  It's an absolute joke.

You can get the Tivo 3 for $199 (upgrade or refurb price) and then buy a 1.5TB drive and with a little patience and tinkering, get that huge drive installed and working in an afternoon.  Plus - it has Netflix ondemand which we think is just about the greatest thing ever (we use it ALL the time on our Xbox 360).

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
prisaz
Legend

I love my new previously enjoyed $199 TIVO but have not ugradded the drive yet., and yes I did take my Verizon DVR back to the Verizon store. Received a receipt, and yes it came off my bill this month. When Verizon comes out with a new DVR, I may order one for another TV, and send one of my SD STBs back.

1. I like the TIVO guide data from Tribune Media Services, and it is much more detailed.

I hear Verizon has enhance their guide data with the new 1.7 IMG, and with the use of data from a second provider in addition to FYI. But there has been some negative feedback based on the new guide display.

2. VOD from Verizon is not possible with the TIVO, but I have Neflix for $8 a month. Streaming video with one DVD in the mail at a time. I cancled all my movie channels a while back. Saved $35 a month. Netflix locks up on the TIVO from time to time, which makes me angry. Some times I don't have any issue, but Friday night it took me almost a half a hour to get the Tivo reboot and connected back to Netflix. Tivo's netflix implementation leaves much to be desired. But I have a media PC connected to my 46" Samsung and it streams a really good picture from Netflix.

$12.95 Tivo subscription with Tivo hardware features.

$3.99 Cablecard from Verizon

$16.94 Monthly total. Which is a little more then Verizon's DVR.

There are some trade offs, but I never wanted multiroom DVR for $20 a month, and I do not miss the VOD from VZ.

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
forya1
Enthusiast - Level 3

Is The Netflix On Demand in HD? and do they have the HBO and Showtime shows?

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
prisaz
Legend

@forya1 wrote:

Is The Netflix On Demand in HD? and do they have the HBO and Showtime shows?


Some of the Netflix streaming movies are available in HD at 720. Netflix.com will alow you to stream movies to your PC or TV. I have a PC at my TV connected via HDMI and can view netflix through the PC or TIVO. Netflix  does provide some Starz video. No Netflix does not provide HBO or Showtime. That is a deal that cable providers have with those channels. If you want cable channel on demand features, you would need them from your cable provider. Currently cablecard customers can not get on demand from Verizon. To get on demand you must have a Verizon supplied STB.

I had a Verizon DVR for a few years. The Verizon DVR is a good product and I was pleased with it. I was looking for other features the Verizon DVR does not have. I know this does go a little off topic as far as what you asked, but here are some of the reasons I bought a Tivo.

Tivo - Reliable guide data from Tribune Media Services. Verizon FYI that provides little information on shows, and was sometimes wrong.

Tivo - Native Pass through of signal, or Hybrid signal for sets that support all but 480i. Verizon has Fixed output.

Tivo - Large Storage with the ability to upgrade or expaned drive size. Verizon 160gig maybe 20 hours

Tivo - Network capabilities with the ability to copy video to a computer. Verizon No.

Tivo - Sharing Video between multiple DVRs. Verizon No.

Tivo - Download movies from Amazon. Verizon no

Tivo - Streaming from Netflix. Verizon Video On Demand No Netflix.

Tivo - Youtube, Verizon  was in Beta. But even after Beta it crashed my DVR.

Tivo - Walt Disney Studios. Verizon no. But Video On Demand.

Tivo has the same picture and video abilities as the Verizon DVR when it comes to sharing media from your home computer. There may be some slight differences.

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Re: FIOS with TIVO?
prisaz
Legend

@stevelogan1028 wrote:

I agree with spacedebris on all except this one point:

"a far superior guide set up (they've been doing this for much longer than Verizon so they have the bugs worked out now)"

The TIVO's interface is MUCH MUCH better for DVR browsing, recording and show management, however, I don't like it's live TV guide.  Actually, I thought Comcat's onscreen guide was the best of the 3.  Tivo seems very slow when paging through.  The VZ one is too clutter and has too much info.  The basic Comcast one was, imho, the best - it's kind of like Craigslist.org keeping a super simple interface for maximum usability.

That being said, I think we're going to go with a new Series 3 TIVO for our FIOS - I just can't stand the lack of storage on the Motorola DVR anymore.  It's an absolute joke.

You can get the Tivo 3 for $199 (upgrade or refurb price) and then buy a 1.5TB drive and with a little patience and tinkering, get that huge drive installed and working in an afternoon.  Plus - it has Netflix ondemand which we think is just about the greatest thing ever (we use it ALL the time on our Xbox 360).


Comment on this.

I have the Tivo HD and the guide browsing is not slow at all. Much better data. The Tivo HD is based in the previous Series 3, but without the display on the front panel. As far as upgrading the drive, you can get the software image with a program called Instant Cake, Load that image on a new drive and keep the origional drive as a spare. This will keep you from having a chance of crashing your factory supplied drive and being dead in the water. Remember if you change the drive you will probably have to reset the cablecard through tech support. If you remove the cover of your Tivo you will void the warrenty. Keep your original drive without pluging it into a PC. Or just add an external drive to keep from trashing your box.

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