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tex_ka95
join:2014-12-29
White Plains, NY

tex_ka95

Member

[Quantum] Is Quantum worth it?

I'm a long time use of FIOS with the QIP7232 DVR, a QIP7100 box and two of the free digital adapters.

My wife and I would love to have the ability to have full DVR control in other rooms, and the additional tuners will come in handy from time to time, although we manage ok most of the time by moving things around on the recording schedule.

My question is....at this point, given some of the bugs that people have been reporting with quantum....and the additional cost.....is Quantum worth it right now? Should I wait?

Thanks
Myzteziz
join:2014-06-26
Port Richey, FL

Myzteziz

Member

This gets asked a lot. Is it worth it? Depends who you talk to. Some will say yes, others will say no.
It all comes down to if you will take advantage of the 6 tuners (12 with 2 vms boxes) and an clients.
Someone like me is enjoying the 6 tuners. Between me and my wife it's pretty much a must have option even though I don't care to pay $22 a month just to use the service not including the equipment fees, but is what it is.
If I could get the current offer where the $22 fee is waived for 2 years I would, but I can't.
As far as bugs go some seem to see a lot while others like me hardly see any.
There is a new guide update coming at the end of January so hopefully any bugs some are seeing are fixed.....of course there's always that chance there will be new bugs with the new update so if you are doing ok with the setup you have right now you could always wait until us quantum users get the new update and see how it turns out or just go for it.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
I think the bugs are minor. Occasionally the main box reboots, or needs to be rebooted because it gets sluggish.

I used to have 2 of the DVRs in the old setup. Even though it worked well, it wasn't as transparent as the new system. With Quantum, it functions exactly as if all your boxes are DVRs, where you can pause and rewind live television, initiate DVR recordings as if you were using the main DVR.

The main box doesn't seem as responsive to me as the older "new" DVR, but I believe that's a software glitch because the client boxes seem much snappier than the main box as well as any of the older boxes.

I've seen the complaints about bugs in the new system, but I wouldn't let that stop you from upgrading - they really are minor.
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

1 edit

Timothy28 to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
You might consider waiting just a bit. There's a huge software update coming for the quantum boxes reportedly on the 22nd of January. Which will give us the UI the older boxes currently have and hopefully bug fixes for the lag. Things should improve considerably then.
optivity
join:2014-10-13
Guilderland, NY

optivity to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
said by tex_ka95:

My question is....at this point, given some of the bugs that people have been reporting with quantum....and the additional cost.....is Quantum worth it right now? Should I wait?

I have been a FiOS subscriber for 3(+) years. I cannot speak for anyone else but I recently upgraded to FiOS Quantum TV and have experienced no problems at all.
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28

Member

My only real issue is the lag that progressively gets worse over a week or so
DCFan
join:2014-12-29
Wilmington, NC
Ooma Telo
ARRIS BGW210-700

DCFan to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
said by tex_ka95:

I'm a long time use of FIOS with the QIP7232 DVR, a QIP7100 box and two of the free digital adapters.

This was the exact same setup I had. I made the switch and am glad I did. There was one hitch in that Verizon considers this a change to the contract regarding the free digital adaptors and started charging me for them.

After pissing and moaning and threatening to switch my 3 cell phones to another carrier (my contract was weeks from renewal) they still charge me for the adaptors but I get a $15 a month good customer credit and free HBO for a year.

amarryat
Verizon FiOS
join:2005-05-02
Marshfield, MA

amarryat

Member

said by DCFan:

There was one hitch in that Verizon considers this a change to the contract regarding the free digital adaptors and started charging me for them.

That didn't happen to me. I still have the free adapters for life, and they never tried to charge me for them.
DCFan
join:2014-12-29
Wilmington, NC
Ooma Telo
ARRIS BGW210-700

DCFan

Member

said by amarryat:

said by DCFan:

There was one hitch in that Verizon considers this a change to the contract regarding the free digital adaptors and started charging me for them.

That didn't happen to me. I still have the free adapters for life, and they never tried to charge me for them.

I'm shocked that Verizon applies different standards for pricing. I figured someone in the NYC metro area would chime in since their charges are different but not Mass.
tex_ka95
join:2014-12-29
White Plains, NY

tex_ka95

Member

Thanks everyone. Were you all allowed to hold onto the old DVR for 30 days so you can watch what was already recorded?

Also, did you do a self install or did VZ force a tech install on you? I live in the suburbs of NYC.
crgauth
join:2004-05-18
Glen Burnie, MD

crgauth

Member

You have 30 days to return or you will be charged for both sets of equipment. I would only wait maybe 2-3 weeks tops to give it enough time to be received.
Yes, you can do a self install. It is very important that you follow the instructions (make sure you disconnect everything before starting upgrades).
And make sure you don't power off the old DVR if you want to watch what is still on it.
danman48
join:2007-10-11
Huntington Beach, CA

danman48 to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
Also...you need to take into account the power consumption. If you've got the older DVRs and a bunch of regular settop boxes, switching to a single DVR (which is much more energy efficient than the older boxes) and the little IPC boxes can save a non-trivial amount of money on your electric bill.
Teddeli
join:2006-12-06
Merrick, NY

Teddeli to DCFan

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to DCFan
said by DCFan:

This was the exact same setup I had. I made the switch and am glad I did. There was one hitch in that Verizon considers this a change to the contract regarding the free digital adaptors and started charging me for them.

After pissing and moaning and threatening to switch my 3 cell phones to another carrier (my contract was weeks from renewal) they still charge me for the adaptors but I get a $15 a month good customer credit and free HBO for a year.

I had the same problem. Verizon hesitantly admitted that since I had the free digital adapter before I could have it with quantum. My argument was that nothing has changed but the boxes. The adapter still sits in the same place on the counter with the same four marks where the feet are. One CSR even said the adapter doesnt work with quantum. He had no answer when I asked him then why are you charging me for it?

I was credited each time but the charge always reappeared. After about 7 phone calls I was told it was escalated with a ROC number (whatever that is) Still nothing

on the eighth call I finally got a CSR who knew what he was doing. He told me the case never got to the right place and was never acted on. The next day I received a new order from verizon and on the line for the adapter it said fee waived

We shall see what happens. This also serves as an example of how much I hate Cablevision
Teddeli

Teddeli to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
said by tex_ka95:

Also, did you do a self install or did VZ force a tech install on you? I live in the suburbs of NYC.

I did a self install It would have been very easy but they did not include the power adapters and cables for the new boxes that were UPS'd to me They said they would overnight them but sent them UPS snail. I called to complain and said you are charging me $25 installation for this?

They overnighted a second set and said keep both and waived the $25

Aside from that the self install went very smoothly. Besides a few bugs here and there I am very happy I switched. Quantum seems to be ironing out the bugs
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28

Member

It's definitely getting there. Hopefully it'll improve more with the coming update in January.
kennye
join:2009-02-05
Carrollton, TX

kennye

Member

For me, the only issue with the Quantum is the lack of external storage. I have two 7232s with 2TB drives for a total of 5TB. Personally, I would wait until the Quantum platform is more stable. If you like the leading edge, go for it.

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

SeattleMatt to tex_ka95

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to tex_ka95
For $10/month more? F yeah.
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28 to kennye

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I would like that to be added too but it's not as big a deal since they have 1tb drives and 2tb if you get premium. I don't think it is that unstable honestly. Not when you compare it to how it was when it first became available. The initial release firmware was quite rough around the edges. The biggest complaint from everyone now is the lag that gets worse over a few days to a week. Which will hopefully be resolved with the next firmware.
webcobbler
join:2013-03-09
Rumson, NJ

webcobbler

Member

said by Timothy28:

The biggest complaint from everyone now is the lag that gets worse over a few days to a week. Which will hopefully be resolved with the next firmware.

Indeed. I can't wait for me NOT to have to reboot every week. If it does not get fixed, and by that, I mean that "Memory Leak" Bug in particular , I bet there will be a whole bunch of Kanipshins, that they will have to sort out FAST.

I am personally counting down the times I have to reboot. 0 = awesome. 4 times left for me lol.
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

1 edit

Timothy28

Member

It has to be a leak. I just now checked the memory usage in the diagnostic menu. There's only 475mb of 2 gigs free. That's using more then half the available memory. My computer barely uses half! So it must not be releasing the ram properly. While i was just looking at that i saw there's a greyed out option 3 motoplyr. I wonder what that is for? Perhaps future streaming capabilities.
Timothy28

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Out of curiosity, i just rebooted the VMS to see what the memory load would be after a fresh start. Immediately after the free RAM jumped from 425mb to 1.171gb and the CPU load dropped from 30-40% to 20%. So it is quite obvious there's a very bad memory leak here.
webcobbler
join:2013-03-09
Rumson, NJ

webcobbler

Member

I was just about to ask what is it normally after a fresh reboot.

So if it is about 1 GB of RAM out of 2GB, then the remaining 1GB is used for what then?

I don't believe that it is reserved for the IPC boxes, because they have there own RAM. 1GB total , if I remember correctly.


WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state

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to tex_ka95
Can the January update be confirmed?
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28 to webcobbler

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Good question. I know it slowly gets used up as the system slows down. It's definitely not being released as it should be.
Timothy28

Timothy28 to WK2

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Well VzKid confirmed the OD update fix and was correct about that. So we have no reason to doubt his validity on the January update he says is coming.
webcobbler
join:2013-03-09
Rumson, NJ

webcobbler

Member

Indeed. But I just hope that they will roll it out like they did will the VOD fix. Over several days. And that no new Bugs will emerge. And only the Bugs now will be fixed. Especially the Memory Leak Bug.

I know I have said that before. But I want to engrain it within any VZ personnel that are reading this thread.

No disrespect to them, by any means. I just don't want anything to go wrong.
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28

Member

I think we all echo your sentiments with that.

johnf2
VHO8
Premium Member
join:2001-12-31
Feasterville Trevose, PA

1 edit

johnf2 to Timothy28

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to Timothy28
said by Timothy28:

My only real issue is the lag that progressively gets worse over a week or so

timothy28 & webcobbler ...

The specs for the VMS1100 show 2 GB SDRAM.

I have two VMS1100.

Checked the Memory Usage in the Diagnostic Menu:

VMS1100 # 1 - a lot of lag due to memory leaks:
Memory free 70MB / Total CPU Load around 25%. VMS was rebooted a week ago

WMS1100 # 2 - a lot less lag than first VMS:
Memory free 322MB / Total CPU load around 25% It is loading the guide data

Just rebooted VMS1100 # 1: Checked the Memory Usage again:

Memory free 1139MB / Total CPU load 49%
Stepped out the guide to 12 days:
Memory Free 917 MB / Total CPU load 25 %

Edit/Update: VMS1100 # 1: two hours later after adding and programming one new Series Recording from the guide the Free Memory dropped to 746MB

To free up the memory reboot the VMS. I do it once a week and will do it until we get to the week of January 22, 2015 and problem is addressed with new firmware.

johnf2
Timothy28
join:2006-05-13
Lewisville, TX

Timothy28

Member

Wow, one was down to 70mb? Yikes!
webcobbler
join:2013-03-09
Rumson, NJ

webcobbler to johnf2

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to johnf2
john,

That is extremely low. I can't even open an app on my computer, If my RAM gets that low, while doing rendering, or things of that nature. I don't even want to check what mine is.

I also reboot once a week. And will do the same until this is fixed.

But I still wonder what the extra Gig is used for? The Operating System? What? Or after they fix this, will it be at 2GB, and not just around 1GB after a reboot. Theoretically, of course, because the fix will fix this issue. So we don't have to reboot.