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zmoney8604
join:2014-08-22
Sarasota, FL

zmoney8604

Member

moving to Sarasota, FL need advice

hello all. I live in Ann Arbor, MI but I'm moving to Sarasota, FL next month. I currently have DirecTV, but I'll be living in an apartment in Sarasota. I'm trying to decide between Fios and BHN. I love sports. How is the Fios picture quality? What do you like about Fios TV? How are the on demand selections? Do you have any advice? For people who've had both Fios and BHN, what are the pros and cons of each? Thank you!

guppy_fish
Premium Member
join:2003-12-09
Palm Harbor, FL

guppy_fish

Premium Member

BH is not even 1/10th the upload speeds of Fios, little better at downloads. For TV, there basically the same and pricing is simialr as well

since your looking to live in an apartment, don't do a contract
thetick
join:2009-06-22
White Plains, NY

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Considering you "love sports" you might want to wait too see the SEC channel status at Verizon.
Myzteziz
join:2014-06-26
Port Richey, FL

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I'm pasting my reply from the same post you posted in the BHN forum. I also added a little more.

Here's my take.

Pros to BH:

Has Bay News 9 and a few other exclusive channels.
Channel packages (standard or digital) are simple with the option to add more sports, movies, etc..
They have the SEC network unlike fios who still has yet to add it. BH is very sports fan friendly.
Guide interface is simple.
If you ever need a tech to come out for whatever reason they are pretty quick.
No contracts
No need for an ONT (optical network terminal) unlike fios which its required.
If you have basic cable then a stb isnt needed (this however is changing and soon and at least a converter will be needed)
I believe they do have more HD channels and always add more.
regional sports network fee is less then fios at least right now.

Cons to BH:

Can cost more then fios all depending on what you get.
Doesn't have fiber to the house/apt. so more chances of outages or other issues. When I had BH if the weather was really bad cable would go out. Maybe it was the old BH line here or something on their end.
Shared bandwidth with neighbors with internet
They still use modems and their internet speeds cant even compete with fios speeds esp. their upload speeds. BH's upload speeds are a joke.
The BH website for your account lacks a lot of features that it should have.
All but one package deal is only good for 12 months with the pricing.
They always run far behind on tech. The 6 tuner dvr's still aren't available in a lot of places yet.

Pros to Fios:

Fiber to the house/apt.
Faster internet speeds and they use routers instead of modems.
Several channel packages with the option to add more such as more sports, etc..
Has NFL Redzone (and is even included with the Ultimate package)
Picture is better/sharper then BH although unless you have a large tv you wont notice to much difference.
Far less chances of cable going out due to weather or other issues. I've never had fios go out.
They offer 2 year price deals instead of one and offer no contract and contract pricing.
website is pretty easy to navigate and simple to add/change services.
Usually they give a bonus gift card from $250-$400 if you sign a 2 year contract.
If there's a fios store nearby you can easily switch equipment out or return it if needed rather then deal with it by mail.

Cons to Fios:
No SEC network yet
A recent guide update for their 6 tuner dvr's has a lot of bugs in them which hopefully will be fixed soon.
The ondemand interface isnt to good as its a bit of a pain to navigate it imo.
Customer service can be a hit or miss if needed.
Fios does tend to move channels around from time to time within its channel packages and hardly adds new ones, but does remove some at times.
They are missing a lot of channels in HD that they should have.
If you need a tech it might cost you money (unless its their issue) and they arent quick at coming out.
If you dont have a fios store nearby you have to mail back equipment if needed and wait for new equipment.
Once the 2 year promo pricing ends the packages can go up in price a decent amount unless you sign a new deal.

Check out the local channel packages from both online and compare them to see what you can get. Also do what I originally did. Add everything you want on their sites to see how much per month you'd be spending from both and then go from there.
The only thing I miss about BH is I had a few more channels then I do with the channel package that I have with fios, but overall imo Fios is better then BH.
crgauth
join:2004-05-18
Glen Burnie, MD

crgauth

Member

It was quoted in the SEC thread, that FIOS has in fact added SEC.
But I would think that someone moving from MI would not be that interested in getting SEC IMHO.
Myzteziz
join:2014-06-26
Port Richey, FL

Myzteziz

Member

Thats not an official response. A rep said it was coming the 28th. Until its actually live or a real official word from Verizon comes out I wouldn't believe it just yet.
zmoney8604
join:2014-08-22
Sarasota, FL

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thank you. I love all college football

SeattleMatt
Streaming Tech Director
Premium Member
join:2001-12-28
Seattle, WA

SeattleMatt

Premium Member

ZMoney-
If you like sports, and like HD - no brainer to go with BHN. They have the most HD channels in the country.
46436203 (banned)
join:2013-01-03

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Get Bright House. They have a way better HDTV channel lineup.

eival
join:2008-07-09
Richland, WA

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i doubt you'll find an apartment complex that has Fios (if it does has Verizon, assume its probably non-fios services)

but if you do then go with that, as far as picture quality, there is zero pixelation, even on the SD channels, and the channel ranges are similar to DirecTV, and not scattered all around the place.

i would mention that Fios lets you bundle DirecTV with their internet, but with the frequent random storms we get dont expect your signal to be reliable

Lt Belspur
join:2003-11-15
Sarasota, FL

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Welcome to Sarasota,

What is the zip code or general area your moving to. Or the apt complex.

Bright House serves Manatee County

Comcast serves Sarasota County

There are some parts of Manatee County that have a Sarasota address.

Most Apartments are Comcast

Verizon FIOS serves both counties.
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL

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said by eival:

i doubt you'll find an apartment complex that has Fios (if it does has Verizon, assume its probably non-fios services)

Having looked at quite a few myself, I wouldn't make that assumption.
46436203 (banned)
join:2013-01-03

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That is a lie.

Every provider suffers from macroblocking artifacts.
thetick
join:2009-06-22
White Plains, NY

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said by 46436203:

That is a lie.
Every provider suffers from macroblocking artifacts.

I disagree as I only see macroblocking artifacts with FIOS VOD and even that is rare. Do you have a 90" TV where you see macroblocking artifacts with FIOS HD channels?
Myzteziz
join:2014-06-26
Port Richey, FL

Myzteziz

Member

I dont know about them, but I have a 60 inch tv and do see macroblocking with fios on certain fast motion programming so it does exist. If you can't see any then consider yourself lucky.
There are a few threads from users on the verizon.net forums about macroblocking.
Myzteziz

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said by 46436203:

Get Bright House. They have a way better HDTV channel lineup.

I agree they do have a way better HD channel lineup, but if you want fast internet BH isnt the way to go. The max upload speed they have is 10 mbps and with most people having Lightning 30 or 60 a 2 or 5 mbps upload speed is terrible. One major con BH has going for them.
zmoney8604
join:2014-08-22
Sarasota, FL

zmoney8604

Member

Summer Cove apartments. Sarasota address in Manatee County. They have FiOS and BHN. I want good PQ, but lots of HD. I want good internet too. I watch Netflix, Skype, use iTunes, stream videos, email, and social media.I love sports! I love watching shows like The Leftovers, Game of Thrones, and some network shows. haha I can't make up my mind. Any other insights? Thank you.
zmoney8604

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I have a 50 inch vizio led and a 42 panasonic plasma. Comcast had terrible PQ. DirecTV isn't perfect, but it's a lot better. PQ is important.
Myzteziz
join:2014-06-26
Port Richey, FL

3 edits

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said by zmoney8604:

Summer Cove apartments. Sarasota address in Manatee County. They have FiOS and BHN. I want good PQ, but lots of HD. I want good internet too. I watch Netflix, Skype, use iTunes, stream videos, email, and social media.I love sports! I love watching shows like The Leftovers, Game of Thrones, and some network shows. haha I can't make up my mind. Any other insights? Thank you.

It's going to be a tough choice since BH is good for sports and HD channels while fios is good for internet. I used to always have slow internet and issues with BH. I have 75/75 with fios and its one major reason I havent been back to BH since 2010. I considered switching this year because of they have more HD channels I want, but the internet would be a serious downgrade imo. Their lightning 90 would cost me a lot more then what I'm currently paying for the fios 75/75. I'm also paying a good $30 a month less then what BH wants per month total for tv, internet and equipment.

If you go with the quantum dvr service there's no comparison with BH and fios picture imo. There is a big difference in picture sharpness with the new quantum dvr's vs the old dvr's. Quantum also offers 1080p as an option not just 1080i. I know BH has their own 6 tuner dvr's now in some areas, but don't know what the video settings are like on it.

Here is BH's channel lineups »apps.brighthouse.com/cha ··· ult.aspx

and here is Fios »www.verizon.com/home/wid ··· ?zipcode

Compare both and see whats more important to you in the packages they offer then compare prices.

A lot of people have Netflix issues on Fios....I dont personally, but that might be something to consider.
I just found out that the SEC network will indeed be on fios if thats important to you.

You can also go here to see the amount of hd channels fios has compared to BH and who carries what. I find this very informative. »www.avsforum.com/forum/3 ··· 4-a.html

eival
join:2008-07-09
Richland, WA

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said by 46436203:

That is a lie.

Every provider suffers from macroblocking artifacts.

every Cable provider does, FTFY
46436203 (banned)
join:2013-01-03

46436203 (banned)

Member

Click for full size
Yes. And Verizon is a cable provider.

Here's a screenshot of Verizon FiOS TV at its worst. I recorded this Kesha performance on Conan a while back, and it stands out as one of the most egregious examples of MPEG-2 being a shitty codec and Verizon FiOS being far from immune to the effects of bitrate starvation.

This screenshot is captured losslessly from the recorded transport stream; you will note that it is also a PNG and not a JPEG so you can't shift the blame off on to the image format either.

Strobing lights on any FiOS TV channel will make the picture go to crap as this screenshot clearly demonstrates.

eival
join:2008-07-09
Richland, WA

4 edits

eival

Member

wow that 1 still frame captured from a broadcast an interlaced broadcast!

what have i been doing wasting my time with FIos these last 4 years after having Cablevision (a much more established provider at 8th in the nation while serving only the tristate area although mostly because they locked down so many areas, i lived on main street within an upscale part of NJ and by the time i left in 2010 Fios was still no where near getting lines rolled out) meanwhile BH which is 10th yet considering BH's headquarters is in upstate NY they dont even serve any state within 2000 miles) but like the rest of traditional cable providers have to rely on boasting about how many HD channels they have cause all their SD looks worse than youtube 144p (bragging about having MSG exclusively in HD was a daily occurrence by CV) and their HD looks simlar if not worse than your photo, under actual live speed broadcasting and viewing distances

guess ill cancel my Fios now along with my 80/80 internet...even though ive been voluntarily recording the SD stations of some of my shows because literally zero compression artefacts (under realistic viewing distance and speed) just turned on NESN 97, showing highlights of last nights Red Sox games. no ghosting, no artefacts, no picture noise, just standard blurriness from upscaling and a lower and this is with their new VMS which is having issues of sending out the right resolution.

oh god but those few obscure (or overhyped upstart) stations that Fios doesnt have in HD yet...once again, the first SEC channel game with Texas A&M is reairing on ESPN U, in HD or online via WatchESPN later that night and if you're that much of an SEC fan, you couldnt watch/pay attention to every game at the same in the past, which means the only thing SEC channel would be doing is reairing those games, or showing highlights...which if you're content with seeing a 30 second breakdown of the games than it shouldnt matter.

and literally every major school (especially the SEC ones) have their own online streaming subscription models for years now, which makes the hype and hyperbole of the network that much more ridiculous.

Neulion runs "college sports live" for pretty much the top 100 relevant Div 1 schools in football and basketball (including Michigan for OP's interest)

the current BCS champs for example: »www.nmnathletics.com/Pre ··· ID=32900

oh by the way »www.secsports.com/articl ··· -network
tnsprin
join:2003-07-23
Bradenton, FL

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Okay, Here's an official announcement.
»newscenter.verizon.com/r ··· -lineup/