Competition's Advertising in Verizon FIOS TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20477611 en Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:28:22 EDT Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:28:22 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20483616 robjlevin : The beauty of all of this is that the competition is driving improvements for all of us.

I switched to DirecTV in January and can tell you that the HD DVRs have been rock solid. I've yet to miss a show and they hold about 50 hours of HD.

I kept the internet and phone and I'm still saving money right now and will continue to for the rest of the first year. After that it will be pretty much a wash.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20483616 Wed, 14 May 2008 20:19:23 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20483249 Mark F : As a stated above, the Ed Begley Jr. DirecTV spots were on TV, the Dish "Recordifier" ads were in the newpaper, and the Comcast ad was a full-color thing we recieved in the mail.

Sorry for any confusion. Mark F.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20483249 Wed, 14 May 2008 19:06:39 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20481032 gregg62 : Hope you're right. That gives me some hope for the future.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20481032 Wed, 14 May 2008 12:21:51 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480685 FIOSHD :
said by gregg62 See Profile :

Directv does have MSG HD which is a big plus if you are a Rangers or Knicks fan. VZ will probably never get MSG HD thanks to Dolan. As much as I would love to have that channel, I agree, it's not worth it. I think VZ is superior in every way. By the end of the year, VZ will have just as many HD channels as DTV with the exception of MSG. Plus, if you switch to DTV, you have to get internet service somewhere else. Without the package discount, you'll wind up paying more for internet.
I wouldn't say never on the MSGHD thing. Right now it makes sense for the Dolans to withhold it because they can use it as ammo against VZ in their marketing to try to slow down VZ's penetration rate. But at some point, things will stabilize and each will have their market share (maybe 35,35,30 VZ,CATV,DBS) and their won't be any financial incentive to withhold the channel and give up whatever revenue they would gain by allowing VZ subs to view the channel. My point is this is all based on good ol' fashion business decisions and at some point the economics will outweight the marketing interests. I suspect this is why the Dolans gave it up to Directv. Their penetration battle is basically stabilized and it just wasn't worth walking away from the money any longer.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480685 Wed, 14 May 2008 11:20:32 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480557 gregg62 : Directv does have MSG HD which is a big plus if you are a Rangers or Knicks fan. VZ will probably never get MSG HD thanks to Dolan. As much as I would love to have that channel, I agree, it's not worth it. I think VZ is superior in every way. By the end of the year, VZ will have just as many HD channels as DTV with the exception of MSG. Plus, if you switch to DTV, you have to get internet service somewhere else. Without the package discount, you'll wind up paying more for internet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480557 Wed, 14 May 2008 10:57:43 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480475 FIOSHD :
said by robjlevin See Profile :

said by Mark F See Profile :

So, if they want to compete against FIOS, it will take more than they are offering. Mark F.
Well, I for one am living proof that you're wrong. I dumped FiOS TV for DirecTV and don't regret it one bit. I'm saving money, the DVR is far superior, the guide data is better, and the picture on the MPEG4 HD channels is fabulous.

About the only thing I miss is the local weather but I can always visit weather.com for that...or just look out the window. :)
I left Directv for FIOS in October and have not looked back. The Directv DVR was just as buggy as the FIOS DVR, and Directv started tiering their HD's. I also ended up paying much more in equipment over the years and in the final year I didn't even own what I had bought. No thanks on D, except for the Sunday Ticket (which they made so unaffordable that I cancelled that too) I see no reason to use them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480475 Wed, 14 May 2008 10:37:38 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480108 JPL :
said by robjlevin See Profile :

said by Mark F See Profile :

So, if they want to compete against FIOS, it will take more than they are offering. Mark F.
Well, I for one am living proof that you're wrong. I dumped FiOS TV for DirecTV and don't regret it one bit. I'm saving money, the DVR is far superior, the guide data is better, and the picture on the MPEG4 HD channels is fabulous.

About the only thing I miss is the local weather but I can always visit weather.com for that...or just look out the window. :)
Even though it's a DirecTV ad, I believe Mark was comparing FiOS to Comcast - not to DirecTV.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480108 Wed, 14 May 2008 09:21:42 EDT Re: Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480095 robjlevin :
said by Mark F See Profile :

So, if they want to compete against FIOS, it will take more than they are offering. Mark F.
Well, I for one am living proof that you're wrong. I dumped FiOS TV for DirecTV and don't regret it one bit. I'm saving money, the DVR is far superior, the guide data is better, and the picture on the MPEG4 HD channels is fabulous.

About the only thing I miss is the local weather but I can always visit weather.com for that...or just look out the window. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20480095 Wed, 14 May 2008 09:18:31 EDT Competition's Advertising http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20477611 Mark F : I think those DirecTV spots with Ed Begley as the head of Big Cable are funny, Especially where the guy says that they should raise their prices to attract wealthy subscribers who are workaholics and don't watch much TV. "They wouldn't know HD if it jumped in their lap and called them Mama", he says. In another spot, he says they need new customers because the ones they have now are angry all the time and call up and complain a lot.

Those are much funnier than the Recordifier and Decider ads for Dish and their "most HD, best DVR". But, the battle for our subscriber dollars, and the HD and DVR promises, are far from over.

In the mail today came an ad for Comcast that promises over 1,000 HD choices by the end of the year. They didn't define 'choices".

They also listed a few of the great channels they offer- History, Discovery, MTV, HGTV, ESPN and the Hallmark Channel. That made me laugh a little as Comcast once announced that they would carry the Hallmark Channel in Fort Wayne. I was happy because they carried Columbo, Hawaii Five-0, Kojak, and similar shows. 4 years later, we finally got the Hallmark Channel, but instead of Columbo, etc. we got Matlock 3 times a day.

Comcast also bragged about their IMG and it's advanced search functions (do they know that many of their former customers miss their "search by channel" feature?).

And, they talk about their VOD, Channel 1, and how most of their VOD movies are free. You don't have to subscribe to HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. to watch them, another thing some of us miss. But, they don't mention the problems many of us had accessing their VOD and staying connected.

And, they offer new subscribers get a year of free HBO and Starz and a HD DVR. Maybe that's to make you forget their erratic equipment or lesser PQ, two things we don't miss.

One reason we, and many others, left Comcast is that FIOS offers a bigger channel lineup with many channels Comcast doesn't have. Comcast is mum when it comes to adding more overall channels. They don't even have Pacer games, despite the promise they once made to show them.

So, if they want to compete against FIOS, it will take more than they are offering. Mark F.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20477611 Tue, 13 May 2008 19:53:44 EDT