# Thinking of Switching to FiOS TV



## hallrk (Apr 15, 2010)

I am seriously thinking to switching to FIOS TV. I currently have FIOS Internet and phone. I have been deal offers to go to the triple play and I may just pull the trigger on it. They look to have a very good channel offerings and the receivers seem good also. I currently have DirecTV and am happy with them. One issue I am having is that trees are starting to interfere with the signal. The dish is on my fence and I could get them to move it to the roof to solve the tree issue but I am afraid snow/Ice would become an issue this winter and no way to remove it.
I was just wanting some input on the pros and cons of FIOS TV? Is it reliable most of the time? Service good or bad if I have problems? The offer I have now is for a whole home DVR with no charge for a year. How much recording copacity does that have for SD and HD? Also would get a set top box. I am assuming I can access the DVR with set top box? When Verizon comes to install the TV service I am assuming they can use the cables currently used for DTV? I saw a video they had about this and it seems they can.
I would also be getting the Ultimate package with these receivers.This would save me about $50 a month from my DTV bill now plus more channels than I am getting currently. I believe it's a very good deal. 
Any input would be very welcome. Thank you.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I have no FIOS experience, but I do generally suggest suspending your DirecTV account instead of outright cancelling.

Also, in pricing, be sure that you are factoring in all costs and fees, including any increases if the price you are seeing is a promotional price for the first year.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

My two year contract with FiOS ends in October after switching from DirecTV. I am happy with the service itself, not so happy with the billing, although I did indeed save $40 per month the first year and $20 per month the second. I suspended my DirecTV service initially but within two weeks I cancelled. Verizon VOD offers many more programs than DirecTV did, both free and paid.

I couldn't notice any difference in picture quality between the two services on my 40-inch HDTV, but the SD PQ was much better with FiOS, notably on TCM, which isn't yet offered in HD on FiOS.


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## hallrk (Apr 15, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. I have Verizon scheduled to install for TV on Saturday. I am going to just suspend my DTV service for as long as they will let me just to make sure everything works out with Fios.


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## hallrk (Apr 15, 2010)

I had Fios TV installed Saturday. Everything went very well. The tech got there at just past 11 am. My window was 11 -2 pm.. So that was great. The install went off without a hitch. He installed two boxes in just under an hour. He was a very good technician. He did his job efficiently,professionally and was very friendly. I got a whole home HD-DVR and a set top HD box. The whole home dvr is a Cisco CHS 435. Just using it for a couple of days it seems great. Great picture quality. Better than both satellite services I have had. Looks like it has about 200 hours of standard digital space and the tech said it had about 100 HD hours. That's better than any previous DVR I had ever had. At first blush this seems like a good system I will be happy with. I was not that disatisfied at all with DTV but this saves me $50 a month the first year and $30 a month the 2nd year. With taking on some extra debt lately I thought this was a good way to save a little each month. I did suspend my DTV service until December just to make sure everything works out well with Fios. Overall it was an initial good experience. Thanks for the input of the two posters that took the time to answer some questions for me.


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## Strejcek (Sep 28, 2006)

I made the switch almost 4 years ago and haven't regretted that decision for a second. Welcome to the FIOS family.


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## Cobra611 (Apr 17, 2010)

Congrats and welcome. I made the switch from DirecTV & Cablevision to FiOS about 3 weeks ago and I have enjoyed this triple play service a great deal.


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## Jimmy 440 (Nov 17, 2007)

I'm switching to FIOS next month when I move to my apartment.I don't want to switch but I have NO choice.There is NO LOS at my new place,
FIOS seems my best choice,I want nothing to do with Cablevision.FIOS looks like it has a great channel lineup.
Anyone have MLB EI or NHL CI with FIOS ?? I'd like to hear any comments pro or con on their HD or lack of HD games,


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## celticpride (Sep 6, 2006)

I have fios and one of the reasons i'm thinking of going back to directv is because they dont carry ALL of the NBA league pass,NHL center ice or MLB baseball package in HD!. Other than that fios is awesome! I think hockey and baseball package has 9 HD channels NBA league pass only has 5 HD channels,You might also keep in mind verizon does NOT do every game with DUAL FEEDS like directv does! This is one of the main things i dont like about verizon,I like to watch my celtics announcers for both home and away games.but its hit and miss with verizon,I must admit i get most of the celtice home games with my teams announcers but when i watch a road game i usually get the other teams announcers. At the very least verizon should have every GAME IN THE SPORTS PACKAGES IN HD BUT THEY DONT!!!


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## hallrk (Apr 15, 2010)

The free preview for MLB Extra Innings just ended for Fios. I was not impressed by how they do EI. None of the games were made available in HD. There were a few games that had both broadcasts but not many. Last night I tried to DVR the Reds/Dodgers game and it was cut off after an hour and 19 minutes. I don't know what happened for certain but I suspect they cutoff the free MLBEI at about that point. I'm glad I can get MLBTV and not worry about the FIOS version of EI. Not impressed at all with this aspect of FIOS.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

They been starting to move some channels from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, which should free up space. Also wondering if they'll start to make more use of IP directly going forward.


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## LI-SVT (May 18, 2006)

IPTV may be difficult for them. They have to support cable cards.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

I switched about 7 months ago. While I like Fios quite a bit, I *SORELY* miss the far more advanced features of the DirecTV DVRs I had. However I don't miss the higher bills so I can suffer with the DVR's.  I'm probably saving over $60/mo vs. what I was paying on DirecTV considering triple-play cost vs. DirecTV + phone + Fios internet plus I got 75MB internet included vs. the 20MB I had when I didn't have the T.P. + HBO & SHO included which I didn't have w/DirecTV. (although I could easily live without HBO & SHO).


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