jackgorfin
@rr.com
| Time Warner vs Verizon FIOS
I am having Verizon FIOS tv, internet and phone installed tomorrow. I currently have time warner for tv and internet. I have a hd tv and a hd dvr. I have had pixalation problems on the hd channels off and on. Time warner has not been able to fix the problem. My internet also will shut down on occasion, typically on a daily basis. I will then reboot and the internet comes back on. My speed with road runner averages about 5 down and 500 up. I have been told I will have 20/5 with FIOS. For me this switch is about quality. Price is not my main concern although FIOS is about $40 a month cheaper. Has anyone else here made the switch from TW to FIOS and how happy are you if you have. Is the Verizon DVR guide as bad as discussed on these boards and how does it compare to TW's? Thanks for any help in advance. |
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RolteC
0h
join:2001-05-20
Fresh Meadows, NY
| The DVR is not bad at all. Its not exactly the same as TWC's obviously, but its good enough for now.
As for quality, the service is just about perfect. I made the switch, and I'm very happy.
As for the issues you are describing, sounds like you have a bad drop from the pole to your house, or your splitters are causing the issues.
Picture quality I think is better on VZ when it comes to HD. Another upside is the amount of more HD channels. |
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jackgorfin
@rr.com
| Thanks for your reply RolteC. I did have TW check the drop and the splitters and they said everything was fine and it was for awhile then the problem came right back. I have been with TW for over 15 years and have put up with these problems thinking that I didn't want to go through the problems of setting up a new provider thinking that they would have their own set of problems but I have been told so many good things about FIOS that it seemed worth the effort. I will post the results here after everything is hooked up. I am not going to disconnect my cable until I am sure that I am happy with the FIOS. Again thanks for you help. |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
| It will be interesting to hear of your experience. I currently have both services and I find they match up very well. When I have seen problems on Verizon, I have seen exactly the same problems on TW. Last Sundays FOX playoff game was one example, when the breakup in audio and picture was clearly a FOX issue. An issue with a feed often blamed on the cable company is sometimes an issue on the providers side.
Hooking a bad computer or router to any internet connection will degrade services, a bad NIC card is still a bad NIC card on any modem.
The guide does suck...be careful of any free premiums, if you forget to cancel then it rolls over and you get a bill.
In my area they have a couple of HD channels in their extreme service that TW does not provide. TW has a couple of channels that Verizon does not have. If you are a premium subscriber there are many more.
Support for TW is very local, the call center is in Buffalo, when i have called Verizon...I got Texas and California, who clearly have no local information about the great weather here in the NE.
Keep us updated.
Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Cogdis
join:2007-03-26
Floral Park, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·Teleblend
| reply to jackgorfin
Fios internet blows Time Warner away.
Fios TV also has more channels but a terrible DVR. Expect the DVR to miss many recordings as a result of terrible guide info. You'll also lose picture in picture with Fios.
Fios picture quality is excellent but I thought it was great with TWC also. |
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RolteC
0h
join:2001-05-20
Fresh Meadows, NY
| Also agreed.
But if you want to make sure, just go to scheduled recordings, and make sure your show is on the list. And if not then find it!
One thing I like, is the ease of finding the show at future times in case you missed the beginning and then choose to record them.
I believe TWC said they allow you to go back to the beginning, don't know how that works, I left them right before I heard about that, but I don't care when I ca watch the show at a later date since I have the DVR and can find the shows easily on all channels. |
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Guest
@intelsat.com
| reply to jackgorfin
I didn't switch from TWC but from Cablevision. I had the same problems as you stated with pixelation and slower than stated internet. When I was with CV, some HD channels would get horribly pixelated during prime time. It was so bad at times, you could not watch the show. And one of my services, either TV or internet, would drop about once a month.
I've been with FIOS for 2 years now and I have had 0 outages. Picture quality is fantastic especially the SD. The HD picture is slightly better than what CV offered but the pixelation problem went away once I got FIOS.
As for internet, you should always get close to 20 megs. The slowest download speed I've noticed or tested was 16. This was at least twice as fast as my real internet speed with CV.
My main reason for switching is similar to yours, quality and reliability. For those two reasons, Verizon has lived up to that end. People complain about VZ's customer service but I have yet had to call them and that's the best customer service of all. |
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billy2
@aol.com
| reply to jackgorfin
I went to FIOS from Time Warner in August 2008 and tested their services, didnt care for the TV , HD is excellent , better than TW Cable, but after no progress in getting MSG HD and MSG Plus HD plus Staten Island Local Programming and a Local NYC News Channel like NY 1, on FIOS , I went back to Time Warner in October 2008 and got 200.00 for going back. If you want Local SPorts in HD and Local where you live stuff, stick with TW Cable or Cablevision , depending if you live in NYC. Still no word on when and if Staten Island / NYC Local programming , or mSG HD and MSG + HD will be on Verizon FIOS . TW Cable has a better guide and Caller ID on TV , which you don't have with FIOS. Full backlit remote control which I like too. Still waiting for Wireless with One Bill with Time Warner Cable and Sprint like Verizon has with Verizon Wireless. So its your choice of what you want to do. if Verizon picks up what I mentioned, I will go back and have my services on one bill. I have Verizon Wireless currently, but well see what happens in 2009. With Internet , TW Cable and Verizon is the same and with Digital phone from TW , I don't have to dial 1 + area code when dialing outside 718 area code, Verizon I have to. Now Verizon will have that option with their new thing called FIOS Digital Voice, but its not in all markets yet. With FIOS Digital Voice, you can just dial 10 digits without the # 1. |
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billy2
@aol.com
| Also SD Picture is the same, HD is better on FIOS as I said, HD is fine with me on Time Warner Cable. I have no complaints. People also said the 1.5 IMG SD PQ was bad on FIOS and was better on some 1.6 and some not on the 1.6 guides, well it was the same PQ for me on both guides, and come to think of it, TW Cable has a slightly better SD PQ than FIOS, and better after I went to FIOS , when I left TW Cable, and the SD PQ on TW was pretty bad. |
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jack gorfin
@verizon.net
| reply to jackgorfin
well, everything installed and working....took about 6 hours in total, one man, did a good job, took the time to walk me through everything...everything fine so far, internet speed is a sold 20/5 and works great...HD picture is great, no pixalation or freezing at all...guide is not that bad from what I can see, comparable to Time Warners...will get back with more details as I use everything but so far glad I made the switch... |
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cwiggins
join:2008-10-19
Brandon, FL
| reply to jackgorfin
We had TWC for years (along the way it changed names to Brighthouse in our area). When FIOS came to our street we switched - couldn't be happier.
With TWC we were never able to get able to get a clear picture (analog) or non-pixelated picture (digital) on all the channels we subscribed to. The local NBC and Bravo were particulary bad. The picture on FIOS TV has been perfect on all the channels, all the time, with the possible exception of SD VOD.
(Granted, part of the problem was the TWC junction box was behind the property, on the edge of a pond, and was half-submerged most of the time. To be fair, they eventually did fix it, by switching to a box on the street - it only took nine years. And they caused a two day outage when they did the switch. Interestingly, Verizon was already burying fiber on our street at that point, which makes me think they knew about the problem all along, but it suddenly became a priority.)
The new FIOS guide was bad, really bad, when they first rolled it out, but it has steadily improved with each release. It is now comparable in functionality and usability to the old TW guide. The only things missing, compared to TW, is the PIP and the ability to record to VCR on a separate output. (I never used PIP, and the only time I used the VCR feature was to record shows off our old Brighthouse DVR when they were installing FIOS.)
The ONLY outage we've had was due to a bad ONT early on, and they resolved that fairly quickly. The TW technicians weren't bad, but I would definitely rate the Verizon guys as better - one of them gave me his cell number when he left and told me to call if the problem happened again. I've never had anyone at any other cable company do that. Now, he may have only done it because he was absolutely confident he had fixed the problem, but either way I was impressed.
The few times I have called customer support have been an acceptable experience. Not great, but certainly no worse than TWC, maybe a hair better. I've heard the horror stories about billing, but so far we seem to be immune. (I did get tweaked about the whole Premier vs Extreme package thing, and my bill did go up, but it's still less than I was paying before.)
Picture quality has been outstanding - consistently better than TWC on its best day. Internet speed goes without saying, it's awesome - no comparison.
In short, it's not perfect, but it's probably as close as you can get. For us it was a BIG improvement over TWC/Brighthouse. I've never considered going back, not for a second. Brighthouse still sends big fancy junk mails now and again trying to coax me back with special offers. It brings a smile to my face every time I see one. |
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toocents
@rr.com | reply to jackgorfin
fios dvr is 10 times better than time warner's home grown maestro software. passport software boxes are ok. at least fios has multi room dvr which tw doesnt |
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jackgorfin
@verizon.net
| reply to jackgorfin
well I had to get back to everyone and just say that after about 5 days of use I am very happy about making the change from TW to FIOS. I am very picky and I was concerned about making this change but I cannot say enough good things about FIOS TV and Internet signal so far. My HD TV quality is great, no pixalation, freezing, or any other problems, and to me with the untrained eye, it is a better picture that TW's. The guide is fine as far as I'm concerned, and the ability to update and program the DVR over the internet is a great feature. Internet signal is a strong and consistent 20/5 and has not failed me once, unlike TW RR which used to go down on a daily basis. I trade stocks so the internet reliability is a big factor in my decision. To me this has all been a big positive and I will be returning my cable box and router this week, goodbye TW. |
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nyckosmic
@verizon.net
| I've just changed from TWC Manhattan to FIOS (like Sat 1/10/09). We're the 2nd apt in our building to get it. Had TWC for years and was fairly satisfied with the service. Refused to change from their Passport box to their new Maestro box as I've heard horror stories about it. While FIOS is a good service, and has more HD channels, my wife and I can't get over how bad the Motorola DVR.
Some items that drive us nuts:
1. The guide is unclear and cumbersome
2. Response between the remote and DVR is pathetically slow
3. The tree like menu system is awkward to navigate
4. Fast forward and reverse of a recording is difficult to handle
5. Dropped scheduling is a big problem - Should NOT have to keep checking the schedule for series which have been selected (and the menu marks episodes that are repeats as new)
6. The old TWC Passport box took a SATA drive to expand recording capacity, don't expect this box to (but I'm still investigating)
7. SD can't do a zoom on it, it only does stretch which causes the boddies to look 'fat'
8. Can't jump forward or backward in 15 minute increments on either recorded or OnDemand playbacks
9. Test of the emergency broadcast system knocked my wife out of an OnDemand show (causing her to take 8 minutes of fast-forwarding to regain her position in the show)
We're starting to sway in the direction of going back to TWC unless there's someway to use a Passport based (or similar) system -- or the above points can be remedied. Advice or comments? |
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Robotek
join:2008-06-06
Brooklyn, NY
| reply to jackgorfin
If the installation is done right the picture quality will be far better in all aspects with FIOS compared to cable.
The quality of connections neccessary for Fios are much higher than cable because of the higher bandwith. If the cabling is not upgraded/tested, you may not achieve the clarity Fios offers.
FiberOptic directly to your house allows so much bandwith that the TV signal from the provider is unaltered whatever they dish out is what you get. Also cable has to send TV, phone and internet over the same coax and share that bandwith with all your neighbors. simply put...FIOS blows cable away |
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Kingscup
join:2006-03-01
united state
| reply to nyckosmic
said by nyckosmic :
I've just changed from TWC Manhattan to FIOS (like Sat 1/10/09). We're the 2nd apt in our building to get it. Had TWC for years and was fairly satisfied with the service. Refused to change from their Passport box to their new Maestro box as I've heard horror stories about it. While FIOS is a good service, and has more HD channels, my wife and I can't get over how bad the Motorola DVR.
Some items that drive us nuts:
1. The guide is unclear and cumbersome
2. Response between the remote and DVR is pathetically slow
3. The tree like menu system is awkward to navigate
4. Fast forward and reverse of a recording is difficult to handle
5. Dropped scheduling is a big problem - Should NOT have to keep checking the schedule for series which have been selected (and the menu marks episodes that are repeats as new)
6. The old TWC Passport box took a SATA drive to expand recording capacity, don't expect this box to (but I'm still investigating)
7. SD can't do a zoom on it, it only does stretch which causes the boddies to look 'fat'
8. Can't jump forward or backward in 15 minute increments on either recorded or OnDemand playbacks
9. Test of the emergency broadcast system knocked my wife out of an OnDemand show (causing her to take 8 minutes of fast-forwarding to regain her position in the show)
We're starting to sway in the direction of going back to TWC unless there's someway to use a Passport based (or similar) system -- or the above points can be remedied. Advice or comments?
Maybe you should try a TivoHD with cable cards. The cost of subscription with cable cards is probably a few dollars more a month depending on which service plan you get but it is so worth it. You will lose widgets, PPV and video on demand though. PPV is not a big deal as you can download a movie from Amazon via Tivo or if you subscribe to Netflix, you can stream a movie to your Tivo, |
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jackgorfin
@verizon.net
| reply to jackgorfin
Hi All:
One issue that has come up is that I am getting the "currently unavailable" message very frequently. I guess this is a know issue with FIOS from reading these boards. It is getting very irritating to say the least. Anyone have a solution that works, or is it just going to have to wait until they fix the software. I have a Motorola 7216 HD DVR and a Sharp Aquos 52" TV. |
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blm
join:2007-10-18
USA
| said by jackgorfin :
Hi All:
I have a Motorola 7216 HD DVR and a Sharp Aquos 52" TV.
Known issue with the 7216. Have them replace it with the 6416 (assuming the supply in that area stil has them). |
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