# Dish Network vs. Verizon FIOS



## ssmark (May 23, 2011)

One of the resolutions I took this January was to reevaluate all my expenses (Mobile, Internet, TV etc). My goal is to save $2500 this year 2012.

I am thinking of dumping DN Top 200 to Verizon FIOS (triple play) but I will need International package from DN (can disconnect Top 200).

Movie Pass 10.00
America's Top 200 59.99
DVR Service 6.00
Protection Plan 6.00
HD 200 Free ($10/Mo) 0.00
HD/SD (2TV) DVR Receiver 17.00
Tamil: Mega 29.99
Starz - 30th Anniv 0.00
....................
Total $ 128.98


Can I keep BBMP with only International package?
What will be my monthly charge? Is it a simple 128.98 - 59.99 = 68.99 OR is another hidden fee for not having a Top nnn package?
What is the difference in quality of channels/service between Verizon FIOS and DN?


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## ssmark (May 23, 2011)

Chatted with DN just now and asked just one question. "I am thinking of ...". She replies back "Yes I have removed the Top 200" 

What the xxx? Can they understand English? She has assured that she has not disconnected/changed my programming.


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## wyattwd (Dec 30, 2011)

"ssmark" said:


> One of the resolutions I took this January was to reevaluate all my expenses (Mobile, Internet, TV etc). My goal is to save $2500 this year 2012.
> 
> I am thinking of dumping DN Top 200 to Verizon FIOS (triple play) but I will need International package from DN (can disconnect Top 200).
> 
> ...


Verizon FiOS sucks! It's not worth the commitment. Verizon said they're not expanding FiOS after they meet their goal. It's likely the FiOS markets will be bought out by a cable co.


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## paja (Oct 23, 2006)

wyattwd said:


> Verizon FiOS sucks! It's not worth the commitment. Verizon said they're not expanding FiOS after they meet their goal. It's likely the FiOS markets will be bought out by a cable co.


Just out of curiosity, is it the actual service from FIOS that sucks or the pq. A friend of mine was out east not too long ago and got to view FIOS( not available here in IL) and said the pq was outstanding. Much better than either sat service and just a shade less than OTA.


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## Reaper (Jul 31, 2008)

wyattwd said:


> Verizon FiOS sucks! It's not worth the commitment. Verizon said they're not expanding FiOS after they meet their goal. It's likely the FiOS markets will be bought out by a cable co.


That's BS, both in terms of quality and suggesting that FiOS will be bought out.

I'm constantly puzzled by those like you that piss on other options so that you can feel better about your choices. If FiOS isn't for you, that's fine - but keep it real.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Fios is great stuff, but there is a strong possibility that Verizon will be selling it or spinning it out because they've halted their fiber buildout and will not be restarting it. There have been several articles about it.


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

We had verizon fios here but they sold the business to Frontier. Frontier wants to get out of the TV business and no longer offers it to new subscribers and instead refers them all to Direct TV. As soon as their contracts are up with the individual counties they are dropping the service and going with internet only. 

Apparently Fios tv here just isn't profitable. I was looking at their double play bundle and their TV service was even cheaper than Dish, and Dish is pretty cheap compared to anyone else. I was all set to sign up and they dropped the service.

Granted this is frontier and not verizon.

PQ should be better with FIOS. Channels seemed pretty equal last I checked. They really rip you off with monthly DVR fees. Easily 3x that of Dish.


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## gobeezer (Jan 3, 2012)

Archer75, when did you last check FiOS?

I'm in Oregon too, and just got off the phone with Frontier. He asked for my address (Hillsboro), then told me that FiOS service IS available, and quoted me monthly prices for Extreme HD package, Multi-room DVD, etc. He said the install cost would be [under $50] and no long-term contract is required.

I said how pleasantly surprised I was given reports of Frontier wanting to exit the TV business, fighting with Oregon regulators, charging $500 for new customers, etc. He said the company HAD been negative on the TV business for several months, but that recently employees were notified that things are back in a positive direction. The Frontier Web site still pushes DirecTV, but he said that should be updated soon.

Like the original poster, I'm looking to switch from Dish, though my reasons are less financial and more that my new plasma TV really exposes the limitations of Dish's "HD lite" picture quality. Everywhere I've searched the consensus seems to be that FiOS picture quality is best. Also, if I do a "triple play" the price will indeed be right.

So, I'm tempted to jump in on the FiOS, but a little hesitant about doing a deal with a company that apparently hasn't been doing good business in our area.


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## Kevin F (May 9, 2010)

Gobeezer, 

Call me a troll but why not check out DirecTV or a local cable company?

Kevin


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

gobeezer said:


> Archer75, when did you last check FiOS?
> 
> I'm in Oregon too, and just got off the phone with Frontier. He asked for my address (Hillsboro), then told me that FiOS service IS available, and quoted me monthly prices for Extreme HD package, Multi-room DVD, etc. He said the install cost would be [under $50] and no long-term contract is required.
> 
> I said how pleasantly surprised I was given reports of Frontier wanting to exit the TV business, fighting with Oregon regulators, charging $500 for new customers, etc. He said the company HAD been negative on the TV business for several months, but that recently employees were notified that things are back in a positive direction. The Frontier Web site still pushes DirecTV, but he said that should be updated soon.


I checked this past summer when it was available and then recently when there was nothing on their website.

I have a coworker who has fios tv now back from when verizon owned it, and he's in hillsboro. His contract is up and he's trying to re-negotiate because his set top boxes are going to $20 dvr fee each and he has 3. He called them up just before christmas and they were still pushing direct even then.

I'm in Gresham so if things change maybe i'll switch. I'd love to get a cable card and plug it in my tivo. Though I could use more than 2 tuners.


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

Kevin F said:


> Gobeezer,
> 
> Call me a troll but why not check out DirecTV or a local cable company?
> 
> Kevin


I can't speak for Gobeezer but for me both cable(comcast) and Direct are significantly more expensive than dish.


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## gobeezer (Jan 3, 2012)

I have looked into DirecTV, and their deals for new subscribers seem comparable to my Dish costs, even after the first few years. However, I've seen varied opinions on Dish vs DirecTV picture quality, with many seeming to think they're a wash. FiOS on the other hand seems to be widely agreed to have top picture quality, which is why I was looking into the Frontier/FiOS option.

Of course I'd love to hear other views from those who have seen FiOS (or DirecTV) on a really good HDTV setup. To me most of Dish's HD channels have the classic bitrate-starved compression look: great picture when everything's still, then back to artifact city when action resumes. On a big plasma set, it's hard to go back to after watching a pristine Blu-ray.


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

gobeezer said:


> I have looked into DirecTV, and their deals for new subscribers seem comparable to my Dish costs, even after the first few years. However, I've seen varied opinions on Dish vs DirecTV picture quality, with many seeming to think they're a wash. FiOS on the other hand seems to be widely agreed to have top picture quality, which is why I was looking into the Frontier/FiOS option.
> 
> Of course I'd love to hear other views from those who have seen FiOS (or DirecTV) on a really good HDTV setup. To me most of Dish's HD channels have the classic bitrate-starved compression look: great picture when everything's still, then back to artifact city when action resumes. On a big plasma set, it's hard to go back to after watching a pristine Blu-ray.


Bluray is also 1080p which you won't get with regular channels from satellite. Dish and Direct offer 1080p with some(or most) on demand stuff. The rest of it is 1080i. And various resolutions below 1920x1080. I think some shows are simply filmed at lower resolutions. I heard someone say some are at 1440x1080, but I could be wrong. Either way don't expect 100% bluray quality on Dish or Direct.

That said, I have had both, dish and direct, and watched them on my projector on a 145" screen and I haven't seen a difference.


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## gobeezer (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks archer. I think the issue with Dish (and it sounds like DirecTV) HD isn't so much resolution but bitrate. A 720p or 1080i picture can be made to look great given enough data, such as the amount delivered on a Blu-ray disc. However when service providers cram so many channels on a transponder they have to lower the data rate for each channel to a point where the compression algorithm has to make serious compromises, especially during high-action scenes, hence the noticeably fuzzy/blocky/high-artifact look sometimes referred to as "HD lite".

What I've HEARD is that FiOS is more liberal with bitrate per channel, meaning they should be able to deliver cleaner HD quality, whether at 720p, 1080i or whatever. Perhaps others with experience can confirm that (ssmark, trying to steer back to your FiOS topic, don't mean to hijack).


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## wyattwd (Dec 30, 2011)

"paja" said:


> Just out of curiosity, is it the actual service from FIOS that sucks or the pq. A friend of mine was out east not too long ago and got to view FIOS( not available here in IL) and said the pq was outstanding. Much better than either sat service and just a shade less than OTA.


FiOS' PQ was great but it's service was not.


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## wyattwd (Dec 30, 2011)

"Reaper" said:


> That's BS, both in terms of quality and suggesting that FiOS will be bought out.
> 
> I'm constantly puzzled by those like you that piss on other options so that you can feel better about your choices. If FiOS isn't for you, that's fine - but keep it real.





"Reaper" said:


> That's BS, both in terms of quality and suggesting that FiOS will be bought out.
> 
> I'm constantly puzzled by those like you that piss on other options so that you can feel better about your choices. If FiOS isn't for you, that's fine - but keep it real.


I'm not making things up. Verizon is getting into the cable business and said they wouldn't expand FiOS after their goal is reached.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/opinion/sunday/verizons-worrisome-cable-deals.html

Their customer service is complete and utter BS. They're way too over priced. FiOS is glorified cable. End of story.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

You misunderstand. Verizon isn't getting into the cable business; they purchased wireless spectrum owned by several cable companies.


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## SergeantPinback (Feb 21, 2006)

I've had FIOS for internet for about eight months and haven't had any problems. I've got numerous wireless devices in the house and love it.

The only problems with getting the TV service is that, according to their site, they're still missing some HD channels that I watch, (BBC America HD and AMC HD). Also, they state their DVR can record up to 80 hours of standard programming, which translates to about 13 hours of HD. That's just not going to cut it for me.


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## gobeezer (Jan 3, 2012)

For FiOS DVR, I understand their 1.9 firmware enables use of an external eSATA drive. Also, their model QIP 7232 DVR comes with a larger internal drive to start with. So, either Verizon's site needs updating, or maybe they intend "at least 80 hours SD" to just cover the worst case (older DVR model, AND you don't add an eSATA drive).


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## MCHuf (Oct 9, 2011)

archer75 said:


> They really rip you off with monthly DVR fees. Easily 3x that of Dish.


But FIOS uses QAM. So, unlike sat providers, you at least have the cable card device option to save money on dvr's and extra stb's.


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

MCHuf said:


> But FIOS uses QAM. So, unlike sat providers, you at least have the cable card device option to save money on dvr's and extra stb's.


Yes, and I have a tivo but it's still twice as much as the dish dvr fee's. And only two tuners. I actually run a tivo and a dish box so I can have more tuners.

Even if I got fios i'd probably keep their box and still use my tivo so I can have 4 tuners.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

archer75 said:


> Bluray is also 1080p which you won't get with regular channels from satellite. Dish and Direct offer 1080p with some(or most) on demand stuff. The rest of it is 1080i. And various resolutions below 1920x1080. I think some shows are simply filmed at lower resolutions. I heard someone say some are at 1440x1080, but I could be wrong. Either way don't expect 100% bluray quality on Dish or Direct.
> 
> That said, I have had both, dish and direct, and watched them on my projector on a 145" screen and I haven't seen a difference.


The way I understand it you can get 1080p PQ with Dish Network when you use the Logitech Revue and Google TV.

I would imagine it's 1080p60 as BluRay is 1080p24,when I watch a upconverted DVD in my Samsung BluRay Player it's 1080p60.

I have both OTA and Dish Network and both HD PQs look awesome on my 55" Vizio LED/LCD 240Hz.HDTV.


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## Reaper (Jul 31, 2008)

wyattwd said:


> I'm not making things up. Verizon is getting into the cable business and said they wouldn't expand FiOS after their goal is reached.
> 
> Their customer service is complete and utter BS. They're way too over priced. FiOS is glorified cable. End of story.


How does it matter that Verizon doesn't plan on expanding FiOS anymore _if_ it's already available in the OP's area? It doesn't, that's how.

The article you site only speaks to Verizon buying unused mobile wireless spectrum from cable companies - it doesn't have anything to do with cable TV service.

Verizon's customer service/billing does indeed suck - I can agree with you that much at least. I'm in Frontier territory and have had pretty good luck with their CSRs and billing lately though. 

Technically, FiOS _is_ cable. I'm okay with that because it's _next generation cable _and they are the only major provider that does not add compression to their channels.

Overpriced? That depends on what you order. I certainly paid more for DIRECTV or Dish Network plus phone/Internet than I do for the FiOS triple play.

So, you're a FiOS hater. End of story indeed.


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## jsk (Dec 27, 2006)

I currently have FiOS phone & Internet and am happy with it so far. When my Dish contract is up in 1.5 years, I might reevaluate. However, I am happy with my 722K and like the Home Distribution output that allows me to feed my 5 TVs without any additional charge. With Comcast or Verizon, I would need to pay per TV if I would like to watch DVR recordings and be able to see the full channel lineup from my other TVs; that might negate any savings that I get through bundling.


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## ssmark (May 23, 2011)

There is a hidden (not so hidden actually) charge that I forgot to take into account. They charge DVR fees (whole home DVR) which puts it much more costlier for me as I need International channel and Vonage. So FIOS was replacing only my Comcast and Dish US channel list.

Thanks to all those replied.


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