Well that should set back the N.Y. area from seeing the new IMG by another year or two. ;)

If you're lucky:D

Got it in Central Virginia over night last night. I haven't had time to explore the menus or fixes. My box woke me up at 5a - turning itself on & off several times and displaying weird messages while the upgrade was going on.

Why did Verizon have to do the update at 5 in the morning? Couldn't they have done it around 2 or 3? I think there would be less people up around that time - at least sober ones:rolleyes::D.

I was up getting ready for work and around 5:20, whilst my "NEWS JUNKIE" self was watching the local news, the box shut off and started the upgrade. I had to go to work without my usual hour of news to rile me up!!:cool:

Now that I've complained I do have something good to say :eek: - yes, as shocking as it may seem, I quickly checked and it doesn't appear anything was screwed up.

The only difference I saw so far (haven't had a chance to play much yet) was the DVR Status now shows percentage used and remaining.

Hopefully, we'll be able to remove unwanted channels from the main guide now. Has anyone checked this??

Also did a quick search for "HDTV" in On Demand, however, nothing. Only Sunday Night the search pulled up quite a few shows. I guess we'll get "full on" HD VOD soon though.

Oh yeah - and dual buffering seems to work like a charm!!

Oh yeah - and dual buffering seems to work like a charm!!

Can you elaborate. Their was a lot of misinformation on this over on DSL reports. Is the the true dual live buffering that us former TIVO users are so fond of? If so, can you describe the keystrokes to jump back and forth between tuners?

Can you elaborate. Their was a lot of misinformation on this over on DSL reports. Is the the true dual live buffering that us former TIVO users are so fond of? If so, can you describe the keystrokes to jump back and forth between tuners?

Hi anteye!! First of all, I've never been all that elaborate:D - just wanted to clear that up first.

I never had any sort of DVR before, so I can't tell if it is the same.

That said, I will try to explain how it worked:

I was watching NBC 807 for approx 10 minutes and switched over to CW 808 for a few moments. Then I went back to 807 and was able to rewind all the way back to where I first tuned to 807 about 13 minutes ago. I then turned back to 808 and was able to rewind it about 5 minutes to where I first tuned 808. Next I did the same with 807 and PBS 806.

What I didn't do is check to see if it would take me back to the point in the recording I was watching perviously or to LIVE TV (does that make sense??). I believe this is what you are referring to, sorry, it was 5:45 am and I had not yet ingested my normal gallon of coffee.

Can you elaborate. Their was a lot of misinformation on this over on DSL reports. Is the the true dual live buffering that us former TIVO users are so fond of? If so, can you describe the keystrokes to jump back and forth between tuners?

As far as keystrokes back and forth - I just hit channel up and channel down.

I hope I answered your questions, if not, please let me know and I will make another attempt.

Those of us in NJ still have the old guide. Considering we will likely continue to keep it for a while, Verizon should be kind to us. After all we still have to pay the monthly bill. First, show the time not the letters PLA when we are watching recorded material. Second, give us HD on demand like everyone else. Third, make 30 second skip work properly with out that major choppyness (in other words if we press it 5 times it should quickly jump 150 seconds)

Those of us in NJ still have the old guide. Considering we will likely continue to keep it for a while, Verizon should be kind to us. After all we still have to pay the monthly bill. First, show the time not the letters PLA when we are watching recorded material. Second, give us HD on demand like everyone else. Third, make 30 second skip work properly with out that major choppyness (in other words if we press it 5 times it should quickly jump 180 seconds)

I'm sorry jgNJ, I tried to let this pass but I couldn't

5 X 30 = 150 :cool:

Anyway, I understand your frustration, even with the new IMG the skip and replay button do not work consistently. Especially the replay, I've set it for 10 sec, however, every so ofter, it goes back 30 seconds - extremely frustrating and still happening with new "fix" sent through this morning.

As far as keystrokes back and forth - I just hit channel up and channel down.

I hope I answered your questions, if not, please let me know and I will make another attempt.

Thanks for the info. Let me ask it this way.

The following is being asked in a situation where you are not recording anything at all. Just watching TV.

Can you pause what you are watching on tuner 1.
Switch to tuner 2
Pause tuner 2.
Return to tuner 1 and find it still paused where you were?

This is the power of the TIVO dual live buffers. With this feature I can watch two football games at the exact same time and never miss a play on either game.

Thanks for the info. Let me ask it this way.

The following is being asked in a situation where you are not recording anything at all. Just watching TV.

Can you pause what you are watching on tuner 1.
Switch to tuner 2
Pause tuner 2.
Return to tuner 1 and find it still paused where you were?

This is the power of the TIVO dual live buffers. With this feature I can watch two football games at the exact same time and never miss a play on either game.

Man, that does sound nice!!! And, of course, I didn't check for it - will do so when I get home tonight and report back.

Is anyone with today's upgrade at home right now and able to check?

I'm sorry jgNJ, I tried to let this pass but I couldn't

5 X 30 = 150 :cool:

Anyway, I understand your frustration, even with the new IMG the skip and replay button do not work consistently. Especially the replay, I've set it for 10 sec, however, every so ofter, it goes back 30 seconds - extremely frustrating and still happening with new "fix" sent through this morning.

Thank you for the correction. I fixed the math.

I guess the frustration has a lot to do with loosing features when changing providers. I had Comcast which was not great but their DVR was better. Although zero defect software does not exist, most software is able to reliably perform the fundamental functions that it was designed to do. In most workplaces, a QA person who does not report the most basic of bugs like 30 second skip not being fluid would not keep his or her job.

Either VZ has a very bad QA department or management doesn't care about tarnishing their companies reputation.

Well that should set back the N.Y. area from seeing the new IMG by another year or two. ;)

Not sure that I understand this issue. VZ has told me that all their STB's are designed to be 'ON' all the time. Never turn one off is my understanding.

Man, that does sound nice!!! And, of course, I didn't check for it - will do so when I get home tonight and report back.

Is anyone with today's upgrade at home right now and able to check?

Nope, the pause feature does NOT work!!

Not sure that I understand this issue. VZ has told me that all their STB's are designed to be 'ON' all the time. Never turn one off is my understanding.
You can turn the DVR "off" without problems. Or at least I used to be able to do so. But turning it "off" only turns off the video output and front panel display circuitry; the hard drive, RF hardware, and other electronics stay on. IIRC, the 6416 draws about 38 Watts when it is "off", so it is one of the biggest 24/7 power hogs in my house.

I checked the updated DVR a couple of hours ago and it is losing the caption format settings even when on. I set them, turn the box on, and several minutes later, the CC drops back back to black background, large white text which are the default settings. I hope this is the result of some reset signals being sent out during the day to make sure they are getting all the boxes updated. If this CC glitch does not go away, it will drive me nuts. But I should leave detailed discussion of the bugs to the QIP 6416 sticky thread in the Recorder hardware forum.

You can turn the DVR "off" without problems. Or at least I used to be able to do so. But turning it "off" only turns off the video output and front panel display circuitry; the hard drive, RF hardware, and other electronics stay on. IIRC, the 6416 draws about 38 Watts when it is "off", so it is one of the biggest 24/7 power hogs in my house.

I checked the updated DVR a couple of hours ago and it is losing the caption format settings even when on. I set them, turn the box on, and several minutes later, the CC drops back back to black background, large white text which are the default settings. I hope this is the result of some reset signals being sent out during the day to make sure they are getting all the boxes updated. If this CC glitch does not go away, it will drive me nuts. But I should leave detailed discussion of the bugs to the QIP 6416 sticky thread in the Recorder hardware forum.

To paraphrase Bill Clinton: I guess it depends on what the meaning of 'off' is? :D

Not sure that I understand this issue. VZ has told me that all their STB's are designed to be 'ON' all the time. Never turn one off is my understanding.

Then why do their on-site techs program the Verizon universal remote to power on/off the TV and the STB simultaneously?

Unless your box is in the optimal arrangement for venting (i.e., no obstructions from any direction), I would definitely not recommend leaving it on all the time. I've noticed the STB gets pretty warm after just a few hours.

I recently bought a new TV stand that optimizes breathing room for all my equipment, but I generally still turn the box off when I'm not using it, even if the TV's on and I'm just watching a DVD or on the Xbox. You're just wasting energy if the STB is on for no reason. I think the EU (or maybe just the UK) recently passed a law requiring stand-by/power-down modes for all STB-esque equipment because generally they waste a ton of energy. Unfortunately we don't have such a law here in the U.S.

I just completed a review of today's new version of the IMG. I was amazed to see that the English and Spanish language versions of the same networks are still joined like Siamese twins. You cannot add/delete one without the IMG doing the same to its counterpart. Unbelievable. :(

Those of us in NJ still have the old guide. Considering we will likely continue to keep it for a while, Verizon should be kind to us. After all we still have to pay the monthly bill. First, show the time not the letters PLA when we are watching recorded material. Second, give us HD on demand like everyone else. Third, make 30 second skip work properly with out that major choppyness (in other words if we press it 5 times it should quickly jump 150 seconds)

I'm with you jgNJ, I'm with you. Just a few crumbs Verizon, just a few crumbs! I would LOVE to have dual-streams. To me that's one of the biggest differentiators between my Tivo S3 and the FIOS DVR.

Not sure that I understand this issue. VZ has told me that all their STB's are designed to be 'ON' all the time. Never turn one off is my understanding.

It's just my frustration at not having the new IMG, HD VOD or dual buffers. Here in N.Y. we 'got nuttin'. ;)

Those of us in NJ still have the old guide. Considering we will likely continue to keep it for a while, Verizon should be kind to us. After all we still have to pay the monthly bill. First, show the time not the letters PLA when we are watching recorded material. Second, give us HD on demand like everyone else. Third, make 30 second skip work properly with out that major choppyness (in other words if we press it 5 times it should quickly jump 150 seconds)

That "PLA" thing drives me absolutely nuts!

Oh yeah - and dual buffering seems to work like a charm!!

I'm not so sure that was a result of this morning's upgrade. Based on posts seen here I tried dual buffering over the weekend, and was surprised to see that it worked! Verified that I was stil on the "old new" IMG (3.40) So maybe Vz somehow pushed out new buffer settings just before the latest upgrade.

Just got off the phone with a Verizon tech, had a power outage, all of my services were off line and worked through getting back up - it turned out to be a circuit breaker that needed to be flipped. After everything came back, and while I had the nice tech on line, I asked when the new IMG patch would be out for me in Mass.

He had some interesting info. This of course is assuming that he knew his stuff, but he sounded confident about it. Anyways, he said that there is a current rollout in VA and FL. Apparently Verizon is treating each release as an opportunity to validate the release, making sure it functions before releasing it to all customers. He thought this release would be at the end of the year at the latest (I'm hoping for earlier).

I also asked about HD VOD, and mentioned the HD folder which has now gone away. He said that it had been beta tested, that it also would be available soon. He said that a large issue that they had been trying to solve was dealing with the older DLINK routers.

Again, assuming he has insight into this, but it sounded interesting.

He had some interesting info. This of course is assuming that he knew his stuff, but he sounded confident about it. Anyways, he said that there is a current rollout in VA and FL.
The new release of the IMG has been pushed to FL, western PA, IN, and today to VA and MD. So it is not just FL and VA. People have been told that TX and CA will get the IMG fix tomorrow and Thursday.

Verizon stated in their own press release that the Washington Metro market, MA, and RI would get HD VOD this month. My take is that they plan to only roll out HD VOD to the markets that have the 1.0.4 release. The reports elsewhere are that Washington Metro, MA, and RI markets will be HD VOD by/on Dec. 19. So the odds are good that MA and RI will get the IMG update in the next week. If so, Verizon may get the new IMG release pushed out to all the markets that have the IMG within a week. But the reports have been persistent that eastern PA, NJ, NY won't get the IMG until January.

He said that a large issue that they had been trying to solve was dealing with the older DLINK routers.
I've got the D-Link router (DI-624). What's the issue with them and what are they planning for everyone who has one??

I've got the D-Link router (DI-624). What's the issue with them and what are they planning for everyone who has one??

I have the old D-Link router (as well as the old ONT) too. What is the issue with them?

I just completed a review of today's new version of the IMG. I was amazed to see that the English and Spanish language versions of the same networks are still joined like Siamese twins. You cannot add/delete one without the IMG doing the same to its counterpart. Unbelievable. :(

Same issue here, you'd think with all the complaints on this (at least from Hilltop Sailor and me) it would have been one of the fixes.

I'm not so sure that was a result of this morning's upgrade. Based on posts seen here I tried dual buffering over the weekend, and was surprised to see that it worked! Verified that I was stil on the "old new" IMG (3.40) So maybe Vz somehow pushed out new buffer settings just before the latest upgrade.

Before the upgrade it seemed to have working imtermittently, however, now without fail.

I should also clarify that it does not work like a charm as I said before as the pause feature does not work, when you switch channels it always goes back to live tv and you have to rewind to get to where you were.

But the reports have been persistent that eastern PA, NJ, NY won't get the IMG until January.

Wanna bet? I'll be shocked if we get anything before the spring. We are, afterall, the stepchildren in the FIOS system. ;)

I've got the D-Link router (DI-624). What's the issue with them and what are they planning for everyone who has one??

Not sure - he didn't go into it. He just mentioned that is where some of the delay in deployment came from. Wish I had more info on it, sorry. It would be nice to see a list of bugs fixed somewhere so we could see where their time was spent.

So this means I won't get HD VOD until I get the IMG, which no one knows when the hell it's coming to NJ?

I have the old D-Link router (as well as the old ONT) too. What is the issue with them?

I also have the d-link router and up to last weekend I was able to watch the HD VOD without any issues whatsoever.

In fact, I was watching click on HD VOD in the great room while my daughter was watching open season (or something like that) on HD VOD in the other room. The picture was perfect on both.

I should have checked my internet speed but didn't think about it.

Wanna bet? I'll be shocked if we get anything before the spring. We are, afterall, the stepchildren in the FIOS system. ;)
No, in many ways you will be the lucky ones not to have been subjected to a seriously buggy IMG for 3 to 4 months. With the new release apparently having fixed some of the worse bugs - not all of them by any means, but it is a lot better - my bet is that Verizon will roll out the IMG to NJ, NY, eastern PA in early January. It is the fast approaching holiday season that is presumably keeping them from rolling it out to you guys in the next several weeks. It is not just the customers, but Verizon has to have enough CSRs manning the phones to answer questions and tech people to for service calls for people who insist something is wrong with the box. A lot of their staff will be on vacation, so it becomes a support issue. Better to roll out the IMG after the 1st of the year after the techs recover from the hangovers and complete the upgrade (well, for those who consider it an upgrade; I consider it a sideways grade in many ways) for the entire customer base.

meanwhile, I keep hoping they will add 2 or 4 more HD channels between now and spring. If they could add Sci-Fi, USA, CNN HD that would go a long way to keeping their customer base happier.

So this means I won't get HD VOD until I get the IMG, which no one knows when the hell it's coming to NJ?

Bingo!

Same issue here, you'd think with all the complaints on this (at least from Hilltop Sailor and me) it would have been one of the fixes.

My guess is that it was a political decision and not a technical problem that couldn't have been fixed in time for this mod. I notice how quiet the boards are about this problem (the elephant in the room).

Ok so I was on the horn with my bro today, he's a new FiOS customer in NE NJ and the Verizon techs were actively trying to give him the new IMG, it didn't appear to be going well. :) There was some sort of talk about a possible release tomorrow (to what regions in NJ I don't know - I'm farther West) but when he pressed them for specifics they clammed up a little and played it off a bit by saying that plenty of dates have come and gone, so they weren't even paying much attention to it anymore anyway... so not to hold our collective breath, for all they knew that was probably canceled too. At least they are trying to roll it out to new customers here... I just need to figure out a clever way of getting techs over (new DVR for the BR?) and try to get the IMG - but most importantly the HD VOD! Of course, I'll wait until tomorrow to come up with a scheme. :D

I wish FIOS had a simple "swap tuner" function just like comcast dvr w/ each tuner having its own buffer.

I hate the idea of swapping tuners randomly while being hidden to user. I want to know which tuner I'm using, be able to pause tuner X and swap to tuner Y, change channels 20 times on tuner Y (while tuner X remains paused).. ugh please FIOS its not that hard, if Comcrap can implement it so can YOU! A simple "swap tuner" button is all that is needed.

Ok so I was on the horn with my bro today, he's a new FiOS customer in NE NJ and the Verizon techs were actively trying to give him the new IMG, it didn't appear to be going well. :) There was some sort of talk about a possible release tomorrow (to what regions in NJ I don't know - I'm farther West) but when he pressed them for specifics they clammed up a little and played it off a bit by saying that plenty of dates have come and gone, so they weren't even paying much attention to it anymore anyway... so not to hold our collective breath, for all they knew that was probably canceled too. At least they are trying to roll it out to new customers here... I just need to figure out a clever way of getting techs over (new DVR for the BR?) and try to get the IMG - but most importantly the HD VOD! Of course, I'll wait until tomorrow to come up with a scheme. :D

I am not an insider for FIOS nor do I have any scoop from any Verizon employee. With that said, I'll bet the bank there will be no new IMG rollout for the N.Y./N.J. area tomorrow.

Let's see who's right, a clueless outsider (me) or those that work for FIOS. We'll see tomorrow. ;)

I am not an insider for FIOS nor do I have any scoop from any Verizon employee. With that said, I'll bet the bank there will be no new IMG rollout for the N.Y./N.J. area tomorrow.

Let's see who's right, a clueless outsider (me) or those that work for FIOS. We'll see tomorrow. ;)

Its wait and see. He was surprised, when he asked on the phone they made it sound like late January. Regardless, he's enjoying the new IMG and I'm not. :(

Got the update here in Northern Virginia.

Only "problem" would be when the box was rebooted, it had no sound and the wife watched TV for an hour with the CC on. Had to turn set top box volume above zero. :)

VOD = Video On Demand?

IMG = ??

Interactive Media Guide.

VOD = Video On Demand?

IMG = ??
Yes, VOD is Video On Demand. For IMG, here is a hint: http://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/channel+lineup/interactive+media+guide/interactive+media+guide.htm.

Its wait and see. He was surprised, when he asked on the phone they made it sound like late January. Regardless, he's enjoying the new IMG and I'm not. :(

You weren't clear in your original post, but it sounds like the techs DID get him the new IMG. :confused:

You weren't clear in your original post, but it sounds like the techs DID get him the new IMG. :confused:

I made a delivery to a vz center out in suffolk about a month ago. I asked one of the management types when the new img was coming to LI and I was told early Jan. I guess we'll find out in 3-4 weeks.

I am not an insider for FIOS nor do I have any scoop from any Verizon employee. With that said, I'll bet the bank there will be no new IMG rollout for the N.Y./N.J. area tomorrow.

Let's see who's right, a clueless outsider (me) or those that work for FIOS. We'll see tomorrow. ;)

Well just imagine my shock when I turned on the TV this morning and found...............no new IMG! Who would have guessed....ME! :D

This is why I stopped listening to rumors years ago on AVS. I remember the old days when every day somone had a new insider scoop about new HD channels coming to D* 'next week'. Of course it never happened...until years later.

In the N.Y./N.J. area, we remain the stepchildren of FIOS.

As do those of us in the Philly/Delaware area.

As do those of us in the Philly/Delaware area.

Welcome to the family! :D

The reports are that the IMG patch release 1.0.4 was pushed out this morning to TX and CA. I think this leaves MA and RI as the last markets with the original very buggy IMG release, but someone was told it would be pushed out there on next Monday.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYW029A12122007-1.ht

Verizon is pushing their 'new' Help Site.

Here is a direct link to Residential:
http://www22.verizon.com/ResidentialHelp/

^I find that calling them and shouting AGENT into the line gets you better help a lot quicker.

Well here in southern California in the Inland Empire area (Ontario) we have the new IMG this morning. Haven't had much of a chance to check anything on it other than the new IMG number and that the DVR settings do show usable percentage left and do seem accurate. Also my recordings are intact and the schedule seems correct. Nothing odd popping out at me currently.

new IMG in Anne Arundel county MD, HDTV folder is back with LOTS of movies and all kinds of shows!! Bring ona snowy weekend...there is LOTS to watch now!!


Well here in southern California in the Inland Empire area (Ontario) we have the new IMG this morning. Haven't had much of a chance to check anything on it other than the new IMG number and that the DVR settings do show usable percentage left and do seem accurate. Also my recordings are intact and the schedule seems correct. Nothing odd popping out at me currently.

new IMG in Anne Arundel county MD, HDTV folder is back with LOTS of movies and all kinds of shows!! Bring ona snowy weekend...there is LOTS to watch now!!

Great to know - when we had the beta folder before, there were about 50 HD movies / shows up, are there a lot more than that?

Waiting in Mass.....

After the new version IMG was received, I began having trouble turning on my FiOS HD STB and getting a picture on my Samsung HDTV. A phrase appeared saying improper mode. After some fiddling around I got it to work yesterday. Today, I couldn't fix it so I called FiOS. They asked me what make TV I was having trouble with. I said Samsung and he knew what the problem was immediately. The new IMG version had changed the preset video mode to 480i vice the required 480p. After resetting, everything now works fine.

No problems with my FiOS SD STB and a Panasonic SDTV or my Series 3 HD TiVo and Pioneer HDTV in the other rooms.

After the new version IMG was received, I began having trouble turning on my FiOS HD STB and getting a picture on my Samsung HDTV. A phrase appeared saying improper mode. After some fiddling around I got it to work yesterday. Today, I couldn't fix it so I called FiOS. They asked me what make TV I was having trouble with. I said Samsung and he knew what the problem was immediately. The new IMG version had changed the preset video mode to 480i vice the required 480p. After resetting, everything now works fine.

No problems with my FiOS SD STB and a Panasonic SDTV or my Series 3 HD TiVo and Pioneer HDTV in the other rooms.

braggart ;)

what's the button sequence to get into the menu again? i want to make sure my 4:3 override 480i didn't get changed.

You weren't clear in your original post, but it sounds like the techs DID get him the new IMG. :confused:

They were still trying when I first posted, seems they used the laptop to load them? By the end of the day he was enjoying the new IMG... I haven't followed up to see how many bugs he's run into... I'll keep everyone posted.

Well just imagine my shock when I turned on the TV this morning and found...............no new IMG! Who would have guessed....ME! :D

This is why I stopped listening to rumors years ago on AVS. I remember the old days when every day somone had a new insider scoop about new HD channels coming to D* 'next week'. Of course it never happened...until years later.

In the N.Y./N.J. area, we remain the stepchildren of FIOS.

Well, hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised tomorrow morning. A pal local to me is planning to expand his service to triple play... I'll wait and see what happens there.

what's the button sequence to get into the menu again? i want to make sure my 4:3 override 480i didn't get changed.
For the IMG software on the 6416 DVR, turn the DVR off, press Select and then press Menu on the remote. For the old IG software, you skip the press Select button step. If you want to get into the diagnostic menus, you press Select twice after turning the DVR off.

Well, hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised tomorrow morning.


Unless you can get the techs to come over to your house and 'force-feed' a new IMG, it aint happenin, bank on it. As I've said, I'm hoping before the spring, but nothing would surprise me. I guess we really don't 'need' dual buffers, HD PPV or whatever other goodies are around. I wonder if we should deduct a certain amount from each month's bill for services that others get that we don't. :rolleyes:

Surprise surprise. I stopped by a FIOS kiosk today at a local mall and the FIOS CSR seemed to know what he was talking about. I asked him about the new IMG and he laughed. I said I know what you mean. So the bottom line is, according to him, think 'late first quarter'. Let's see, didn't I say I'd be shocked if it showed up before spring?

Surprise surprise. I stopped by a FIOS kiosk today at a local mall and the FIOS CSR seemed to know what he was talking about. I asked him about the new IMG and he laughed. I said I know what you mean. So the bottom line is, according to him, think 'late first quarter'. Let's see, didn't I say I'd be shocked if it showed up before spring?


My Sources told me Jan for NY and I am stiking with them. They said Dec to release and evaluate the pactch and Jan for NY release. So far I have seen nothing to change that. Patch is rolling out as expected and early feedback on the boards is positive.

My Sources told me Jan for NY and I am stiking with them. They said Dec to release and evaluate the pactch and Jan for NY release. So far I have seen nothing to change that. Patch is rolling out as expected and early feedback on the boards is positive.
We have "the patch" here and I am not impressed: Changed my mode from 480p to 480i; still get all the Spanish language channels (500 series) on my favorites list and I do not need them. :rolleyes:

We have "the patch" here and I am not impressed: Changed my mode from 480p to 480i; still get all the Spanish language channels (500 series) on my favorites list and I do not need them. :rolleyes:

I'll still take your new IMG with non-perfect patch, dual buffers and HD VOD over any problems that still exist. To me the dual buffers is huge and really narrows the gap between the FIOS DVR and a Tivo HD. :)

I'll still take your new IMG with non-perfect patch, dual buffers and HD VOD over any problems that still exist. To me the dual buffers is huge and really narrows the gap between the FIOS DVR and a Tivo HD. :)
To paraphrase an actor: You will have to pry my TiVo from my cold, dead hands! :p

Hello all,

I'm a FiOS customer in Tampa and I'm trying to get my Tivo HD up and running. I had a Verizon guy at my house yesterday for 4 hours and he was unable to get the cablecards working. He activated them on his laptop, but the Tivo would never get past the spinning "acquiring channel information" screen. Now Verizon is trying to troubleshoot it as a MOCA problem, and I'm on the verge of pulling my hair out. I've tried telling the guy that the TiVO box isn't MOCA capable, so it shouldn't matter at all. The installer (and his buddy that showed up to help) are trying to say that the issue is my custom router that I use for work and my older NIM100. I tried explaining that VOD and guide updates work just fine on my DVR and the standard def box in the bedroom.

They seem to think that the cablecards need to hit the Moca side to be able to authenticate. This doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me and I'm starting to feel like I've fallen into their black hole.

Does anyone have any suggestions or a number I can call? I refuse to use the Verizon router because I use a special VPN router for work.

I hate being a "know it all" when the techs show up, but it really sucks that we know more on this board than they do.

Help, please!

Hello all,

I'm a FiOS customer in Tampa and I'm trying to get my Tivo HD up and running. I had a Verizon guy at my house yesterday for 4 hours and he was unable to get the cablecards working. He activated them on his laptop, but the Tivo would never get past the spinning "acquiring channel information" screen. Now Verizon is trying to troubleshoot it as a MOCA problem, and I'm on the verge of pulling my hair out. I've tried telling the guy that the TiVO box isn't MOCA capable, so it shouldn't matter at all. The installer (and his buddy that showed up to help) are trying to say that the issue is my custom router that I use for work and my older NIM100. I tried explaining that VOD and guide updates work just fine on my DVR and the standard def box in the bedroom.

They seem to think that the cablecards need to hit the Moca side to be able to authenticate. This doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me and I'm starting to feel like I've fallen into their black hole.

Does anyone have any suggestions or a number I can call? I refuse to use the Verizon router because I use a special VPN router for work.

I hate being a "know it all" when the techs show up, but it really sucks that we know more on this board than they do.

Help, please!
It might help if you go back several weeks and look for some posts in this thread between myself and others about using inline attenuators to solve the TiVo/FiOS interface problem. TiVo requires a weak signal and most FiOS installations have strong signals. Many techs do not know this.

Hi everyone. I have FIOS and love it. I have just one complaint at this time, and when i called customer support, they had no idea of how to handle this complaint. Basically, it comes down the Weather channel here in the Baltimore Area. Channel 99. The area that they show for the local area is approx 30 -45 miles south of the area that I live in. I know this may seem insignificant, but when you look at the local maps, my town is not even on the map. If they were to center the map over the city of Baltimore, then all of the areas around the city would be shown on the maps. Has anyone else noticed this issue on Fios in the Baltimore area or even other metro areas?

This doesn't exactly happen to me here in LA, but I think this happens because FIOS distributes to an entire region from a central location which they use as the zip code for The Weather Channel and Weatherscan. For me, I noticed that when I go to the Weatherscan channel I get a map for the entire region but I get weather data from a place at least 20-30 miles away which makes the data useless since I'm on the coast and it's inland.

Ieko-
You are correct. Here in DE all of our info was out of Philadelphia, where the regional VHO was. Now that i'm back on Comcast, all of my TWC info is from Wilmington and/or New Castle, DE.

Johnalex - there's nothing you can do about this - just a limitation due to how VZ does it.

We have "the patch" here and I am not impressed: Changed my mode from 480p to 480i; still get all the Spanish language channels (500 series) on my favorites list and I do not need them. :rolleyes:Do you use the 480p rez? That's the one rez option I don't use...

Do you use the 480p rez? That's the one rez option I don't use...
It confused me too. With the TV and STB both on, I just now went into the video settings of my STB master menu and saw that the current video setting is 1080i for both SD and HD. How it got there I haven't a clue. All I know is that initially going to 480p fixed the IMG new patch problem. Later, I tried to get into the STB settings using the "power off-select-menu" button sequence and couldn't get the STB to respond so I do not know what the black and white STB screen says.

My Sources told me Jan for NY and I am stiking with them. They said Dec to release and evaluate the pactch and Jan for NY release. So far I have seen nothing to change that. Patch is rolling out as expected and early feedback on the boards is positive.

The "patch" does not begin to address all the issues. Granted it is better, however, far from acceptable.

I'll still take your new IMG with non-perfect patch, dual buffers and HD VOD over any problems that still exist. To me the dual buffers is huge and really narrows the gap between the FIOS DVR and a Tivo HD. :)

That brings up another issue - I can no longer find the HD VOD. I used to be able to do a search within VOD of "HDTV" and get quite a few shows, but now it shows no results.

I know someone mentioned they had found quite a bit of HD VOD - how did they find it??

Thanks!!

Hi everyone. I have FIOS and love it. Basically, it comes down the Weather channel here in the Baltimore Area. Channel 99. The area that they show for the local area is approx 30 -45 miles south of the area that I live in. I know this may seem insignificant, but when you look at the local maps, my town is not even on the map. If they were to center the map over the city of Baltimore, then all of the areas around the city would be shown on the maps.

Not what you want perhaps, but for your PC, if you go here:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=akq&CiTemplate=1&FcstType=text&MapType=0&MapType=3&site=akq&CiTemplate=1&map.x=260&map.y=178
and type in you zip, you'll get close. Then, if the map on the page contains the tiny orange square, you can put the finger (or tip of the arrow) on you cursor on the spot where you live, the square moves, the forecast reorients itself, and you are good to go, You can bookmark it, put an icon on your desktop, make it your homepage or whatever turns you on.
But, as has been stated, the forecast you are seeing on FiOS is just one of the anomalies of the system.
HTH you quest for wx info; sorry it won't fix you FiOS

That brings up another issue - I can no longer find the HD VOD. I used to be able to do a search within VOD of "HDTV" and get quite a few shows, but now it shows no results.

I know someone mentioned they had found quite a bit of HD VOD - how did they find it??

Thanks!!

I had the HD VOD Folder also for a while, I think it was the beta for HD VOD, it went away a couple of weeks ago, I expect it to be back somewhere around the time the IMG patch is sent to Mass., but I'm not sure that the two are tied together. I'd expect to see HD VOD soon, as I expect the patch today or some time this week.

That brings up another issue - I can no longer find the HD VOD. I used to be able to do a search within VOD of "HDTV" and get quite a few shows, but now it shows no results.

I know someone mentioned they had found quite a bit of HD VOD - how did they find it??
You must have missed the postings on this as the HDTV folder went away around the end of November. I think Verizon must have realized that people had discovered the folder via search and were playing back HD material when Verizon was not quite ready for it. Verizon stated in their press release of December 5 that the Washington Metro, MA, and RI markets would get HD VOD added this month. Since northern VA and MD got the IMG 1.0.4 release last week, I expect we will see HD VOD added by Thursday. MA and RI have apparently not received the updated IMG release yet, but if they get 1.0.4 added tomorrow, that may clear them to get HD VOD later this week as well.

You must have missed the postings on this as the HDTV folder went away around the end of November. I think Verizon must have realized that people had discovered the folder via search and were playing back HD material when Verizon was not quite ready for it. Verizon stated in their press release of December 5 that the Washington Metro, MA, and RI markets would get HD VOD added this month. Since northern VA and MD got the IMG 1.0.4 release last week, I expect we will see HD VOD added by Thursday. MA and RI have apparently not received the updated IMG release yet, but if they get 1.0.4 added tomorrow, that may clear them to get HD VOD later this week as well.

Thanks afiggatt - I do remember some saying their HD folder went away (in fact I may have been was one of them), however, I was thinking someone said after the patch it came back (of course this could have been me dreaming:cool:).

I'm hoping your expectation of by Thursday is correct - it would be great to see it by the weekend!!

Again - thanks for the input!!

I'm hoping your expectation of by Thursday is correct - it would be great to see it by the weekend!!



It would be great to see a new IMG here in N.Y. by the weekend...any weekend before the trees are back in bloom. :(

I live in northern NJ and am considering switching from Cablevision to FIOS. We have a 19" hi-def lcd TV (QAM tuner included) in a corner cabinet in our kitchen where there is no room for a STB. What channels would I be able to pick up with a FIOS feed going direct into the TV?

I live in northern NJ and am considering switching from Cablevision to FIOS. We have a 19" hi-def lcd TV (QAM tuner included) in a corner cabinet in our kitchen where there is no room for a STB. What channels would I be able to pick up with a FIOS feed going direct into the TV?

You should be able to pickup any analogs on 1-49(this will go away in a few months though), your local HD stations, and I believe as noted here you would also receive the Music Choice and Urge audio stations.

You might also think about what Vz is calling a digital adapter. It will get all non-hd channels, I believe it is $4 a month. It is much smaller than the SD STB. More info can be found over at verizonfios.com/tv/

I live in northern NJ and am considering switching from Cablevision to FIOS. We have a 19" hi-def lcd TV (QAM tuner included) in a corner cabinet in our kitchen where there is no room for a STB. What channels would I be able to pick up with a FIOS feed going direct into the TV?Just the locals + music channels.

I live in northern NJ and am considering switching from Cablevision to FIOS. We have a 19" hi-def lcd TV (QAM tuner included) in a corner cabinet in our kitchen where there is no room for a STB. What channels would I be able to pick up with a FIOS feed going direct into the TV?
With the QAM tuner, you will get the SD and HD locals, the PEGs, WGN, and the music channels as these are all in the clear. The QAM sub-channels for everything that is provided at the listed channel 2 to 49, the HD locals from 801 to 81x, the Locals Plus starting at 860 are not encrypted. Verizon has been modifying the system to provide the PSIP channel mapping for the digital broadcast locals, so you should find the stations mapped to their broadcast channel numbers, 2-1, 7-1, and so on. However, this has created problems for some, if not most, Sharp TV and some other TV brands, in that they can no longer tune to the digital broadcast locals. This problem is being investigated.

However, for the SD locals, you will have to find the QAM sub-channels. The common pattern is that the SD & PEG locals are located at QAM 63 to 68 or maybe up to QAM 70, the HD locals with the SD sub-channels starting from QAM 71 up to 74 or higher (with 2 digital ATSC broadcast stations per QAM channel).

An option is the roughly 6" by 6" minimal DCT 700 STB which is SD only, has no guide data, no VOD for $4/month. The DCT 700 is still in the process being made available in many markets as the primary purpose is for it to replace analog TV hookups prior to shutting down the limited set of analog channels.

Thanks, for all the info. I should really talk to Verizon, but don't have the time to listen to a sales pitch right now. Also, it's good to know something about the situation before talking to them.

I'm in Tampa and received the new IMG back at the beginning of November and then the patch the last week of November. One frustrating problem i had was that the new IMG would not record the series 'PTI' and 'Around the Horn'. Even after the patch it would not record and i saw other people on the dslreports.com had the same problem.
Well i don't know if they pushed out another smaller patch but as of late last week both programs started recording daily.
I was <-this-> close to getting the TivoHD but if the DVR records what I need it to then I'll hold off.

-Jody

I'm in Tampa and received the new IMG back at the beginning of November and then the patch the last week of November. One frustrating problem i had was that the new IMG would not record the series 'PTI' and 'Around the Horn'. Even after the patch it would not record and i saw other people on the dslreports.com had the same problem.
Well i don't know if they pushed out another smaller patch but as of late last week both programs started recording daily.
I was <-this-> close to getting the TivoHD but if the DVR records what I need it to then I'll hold off.

-Jody

It could be that the program guide data was "fixed" to correctly indicate the program was a series. I've noticed over the past week that the descriptions seem more detailed, and more importantly are correct.

It would be great to see a new IMG here in N.Y. by the weekend...any weekend before the trees are back in bloom. :(

Be careful what you wish for. I would rather have a working dvr that reliably and consistently records what it was asked to record. If I have to wait a few more months for the bells and whistles then so be it. If Verizon provides a product that is not reliable and Comcast provides one that is (such as their new TIVO dvr) , then I will will swithch back to Comcast.

I would simply not pay Verizon the early termination fee because their product dose not work as advertised. If they go after me, one letter to the Attorney General's office and they will fold like a cheap card table.

If Verizon wants to benefit on their multi billion dollar investment in FIOS then they are going to have to spend a few million maiking their DVR software great. If their FIOS subscribers abandon them then their stock will drop like a rock.

Verizon, if your reading this don't be stupid. Fix your screw ups now. Invest in your IMG (and fire the idiot that allowed it to be released with so many bugs).

I would rather have a working dvr that reliably and consistently records what it was asked to record.

Then you have no choice but to get a Tivo HD...

I think the pluses outweight the minuses at this point, particularly after the patch.

There is a message on the STB/DVR in the Washington Metro market (and maybe all of MD as well) announcing that we now have HD VOD. However, a VOD search for HD didn't show any titles or HDTV folders, so they probably have not loaded the HD files yet. Maybe later today.

BTW, Comcast in the Washington-Baltimore area has been adding a bunch of HD channels including Sci-Fi, USA, CNN, History-HD. Verizon Fios TV is now falling behind it's chief cable competitor in # of HD channels. If they has just built all VHO and COs with 63 QAM channels from the start, they would have room to add at least 4 or 6 more HD channels. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Verizon will add a few more, and more useful than A&E-HD, HD channels before "spring of 2008" - which could be June.

There is a message on the STB/DVR in the Washington Metro market (and maybe all of MD as well) announcing that we now have HD VOD. However, a VOD search for HD didn't show any titles or HDTV folders, so they probably have not loaded the HD files yet. Maybe later today.

BTW, Comcast in the Washington-Baltimore area has been adding a bunch of HD channels including Sci-Fi, USA, CNN, History-HD. Verizon Fios TV is now falling behind it's chief cable competitor in # of HD channels. If they has just built all VHO and COs with 63 QAM channels from the start, they would have room to add at least 4 or 6 more HD channels. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Verizon will add a few more, and more useful than A&E-HD, HD channels before "spring of 2008" - which could be June.

I would be suprised if the addition of HD on demand followed the announcment in a timely manner.
I remember back in june receiving a flyer, phone call and running ad on channel 111 about the IMG.
This was repeated in october and still no IMG. Based on post's I consider myself lucky to still have the IPG.

I originally signed with VZ Fios for the hd quality. I was tired of cablevision's compression artifacts. I have been tempted several times to go the TIVO route, but still have hope VZ will pull it together.
It seems like the IMG was outsourced overseas. If this was something we developed stateside we should hang our heads in shame.

I personally would like to see a bug free IMG, HD VOD, HD capable multi room DVR and as others more HD channels that have actual HD content.
If they cannot provide this in a timely manner they need to think about striking a deal with Tivo it seems for the most part they have the dvr right.

Sorry but what is IMG? Also when can we expect Fios to start rolling out their new HD stations?

Sorry but what is IMG? Also when can we expect Fios to start rolling out their new HD stations?IMG = Interactive Media Guide

It is the new FiOS STB/DVR UI, which you should have now in TX. Demo here (http://promo.verizon.com/img/).

Verizon said it would have 60 HD channels (i.e. ~30 new HD channels) next spring, with 150 total by the end of 2008.

IMG = Interactive Media Guide

It is the new FiOS STB/DVR UI, which you should have now in TX. Demo here (http://promo.verizon.com/img/).

Verizon said it would have 60 HD channels (i.e. ~30 new HD channels) next spring, with 150 total by the end of 2008.

I hate to be picky, but since I noticed this yesterday in a press release, I thought I would point it out. The press release had to do w/tv being offered in Chesapeake, VA, now, but what Vz is now saying is "up to 150 HD channels by the end of 2008". This obviously gives them some room for not hitting that mark.

Then you have no choice but to get a Tivo HD...

The only reason I decided against it was because Verizon might switch to IPTV and thus make the HD TIVO an expensive paperweight. Also, although I don't use on-demand much, my kids do and I don't want to take that away from them.

Sorry but what is IMG? Also when can we expect Fios to start rolling out their new HD stations?

Not till the spring. They will make a more definitive announcement at CES.

I hate to be picky, but since I noticed this yesterday in a press release, I thought I would point it out. The press release had to do w/tv being offered in Chesapeake, VA, now, but what Vz is now saying is "up to 150 HD channels by the end of 2008". This obviously gives them some room for not hitting that mark.
There were other press releases where Verizon said they would be expanding to 60 HD channels by "next spring". To get to 60 HD channels, they have to shut down at least a significant number of analog channels. The room for up to 150 HD channels is reportedly the build-out from 103 QAM channels max to perhaps all 135 QAM channel frequencies supported by the ONT and STB/DVRs. Although 135 QAM channels would give them room for more than 150 HD channels even adding a bunch more SD channels than they have now.

There were other press releases where Verizon said they would be expanding to 60 HD channels by "next spring". To get to 60 HD channels, they have to shut down at least a significant number of analog channels. The room for up to 150 HD channels is reportedly the build-out from 103 QAM channels max to perhaps all 135 QAM channel frequencies supported by the ONT and STB/DVRs. Although 135 QAM channels would give them room for more than 150 HD channels even adding a bunch more SD channels than they have now.

I was just saying that they were leaving themselves open for not making it to 150, just like DirecTV is not likely to make it to their 100 by the end of the month.

I knew that when I had read previous press releases it did not say anything about "up to", so I found it interesting that the one I read yesterday did have that wording.

I had FiOS installed yesterday in a Boston suburb. A quick check of my STB shows I'm still on 1.0.3, so no IMG upgrade yet here.

The installation process was a comedy of errors from start to finish. I decided I wanted to have a business Internet service (I do Internet consulting and wanted to run servers). I ordered that line, and it was installed in less than a week. TV required wating nearly three weeks for the installer. Then on the appointed day, no installer, and no phone call from VZ telling me the were missing my appointment. Turns out someone in dispatch placed a "jeopardy" on my installation because my Internet service has a static IP address. Called many times, talked to many people (collecting a few secret phone numbers inside VZ along the way), and they rescheduled for the following week. When the day came around again, same story; no installer, no phone call. Eventually I got a nice CSR (who even gave me her cell number) who had to bring in five different people to resolve the issue. Installer came yesterday and again they couldn't figure out what to do. Finally they brought in a separate line and a separate ONT for TV; the installation started at 9:30 and ended at 8:20 pm.

No one can tell me why it makes any difference whatsoever that I have a static IP. Everyone seemed to agree almost from the outset that putting in two lines made the most sense, but as late as noon yesterday dispatch hadn't got that message. Another failure and it would have been "three strikes, you're out," and I would have been on the phone to D*.

Stopped by another FIOS kiosk while shopping today. Story there was the same I got at a different FIOS location: "We're hoping to roll out the new IMG in N.Y. sometime in the first quarter". Uh huh.

Stopped by another FIOS kiosk while shopping today. Story there was the same I got at a different FIOS location: "We're hoping to roll out the new IMG in N.Y. sometime in the first quarter". Uh huh.

Did they state what year that first quarter was in 2008, 2009,2010......... :)

Did they state what year that first quarter was in 2008, 2009,2010......... :)

HA!!! I didn't think to ask Eddie, you may be right, you may be right! :D

The installation process was a comedy of errors from start to finish. I decided I wanted to have a business Internet service (I do Internet consulting and wanted to run servers). ...

No one can tell me why it makes any difference whatsoever that I have a static IP. Everyone seemed to agree almost from the outset that putting in two lines made the most sense, but as late as noon yesterday dispatch hadn't got that message. Another failure and it would have been "three strikes, you're out," and I would have been on the phone to D*.I also have business fios internet and tv.

Apparently, video on demand and the program guide both use the IP connection to get their data. Since I was using TiVO downstairs and a TV with a cablecard upstaris, I wouldn't need VOD or the guide. When they initially installed my fios, they used one ONT. At the end of the installation, the installer called someone who said "you can't do that! That won't work." and the installer said "but it's installed, and it is working". When it came down to it, they decided that since I didn't have any of their cable boxes, I didn't need a second ONT.

Big mistake. Since this wasn't a "supported configuration" periodically someone in the back office would "reflow the crossconnects" or something like that, and all of a sudden my internet would stop working. Another time, my local network was flooded with bad (damaged) packets that I'm sure were somehow due to MOCA (that I didn't need, since I didn't have anything in the house that spoke MOCA -- no vzw boxes.) Finally, after they couldn't fix the damaged packet storm the second time, I had them install a second fiber and ONT. Things have been much smoother since then. (Except for the part where they stopped including 5-ip addresses for free, and when I told t hem I no longer wanted to pay for the extra 5 ip addresses, they said I'd have to change my IP address that's registered with the internet registrars. But I digress.)

--Jim--

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM08517122007-1.htm

Maybe I missed this increase but, Verizon is now reporting 3,200 new customers a day. Last I recall it was 2,400.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM08517122007-1.htm

Maybe I missed this increase but, Verizon is now reporting 3,200 new customers a day. Last I recall it was 2,400.

Thank God, something besides the IMG. ;)

Yeah, you'd think the programming thread would actually have programming talk, maybe I should subscribe to the FiOS DVR thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=617635), to find programming discussion.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM08517122007-1.htm

Maybe I missed this increase but, Verizon is now reporting 3,200 new customers a day. Last I recall it was 2,400.

Nooo, stop expanding Verizon. Only me and a few other people should have Fios. It's my little club of awesomeness and no else is invited.

Thank God, something besides the IMG. ;)Yeah! Speaking of the IMG...

I hate to be picky, but since I noticed this yesterday in a press release, I thought I would point it out. The press release had to do w/tv being offered in Chesapeake, VA, now, but what Vz is now saying is "up to 150 HD channels by the end of 2008". This obviously gives them some room for not hitting that mark.

Well, let's be honest. There are less than 100 national HD channels available right now, so 150 is a little ambitious. DirecTV only has 56 national channels, plus the local networks, plus HD RSNs, with about 18 more national channels expected sometime next year. DirecTV is missing a few HD channels that are currently available, but only a handful, perhaps the Rainbow Media launches in the last couple weeks being the most notable.

Anyone want to start a comprehensive list of HD-VOD? At least that's programming related.

Well, let's be honest. There are less than 100 national HD channels available right now, so 150 is a little ambitious. DirecTV only has 56 national channels, plus the local networks, plus HD RSNs, with about 18 more national channels expected sometime next year. DirecTV is missing a few HD channels that are currently available, but only a handful, perhaps the Rainbow Media launches in the last couple weeks being the most notable.

Anyone want to start a comprehensive list of HD-VOD? At least that's programming related.

Talking about HD VOD - is there an area that lists the currently available movies / shows, etc? We are supposedly on the verge of getting it in MA, I am curious as to how much and what is available to the folks that have it.

Thank God, something besides the IMG. ;)

Of course:

With so many more people getting the service, they'll eventually find this Forum and Thread - probably increasing the numbers posting about the IMG by 50% within the next month or two.

Of course:

With so many more people getting the service, they'll eventually find this Forum and Thread - probably increasing the numbers posting about the IMG by 50% within the next month or two.
I'm happy to be part of the group that believes there are already too many threads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :D

One thing no one has mentioned is that the IMG upgrade brought back scrolling in the lower-third guide. That was actually my biggest complaint about the IMG.

I hate to be picky, but since I noticed this yesterday in a press release, I thought I would point it out. The press release had to do w/tv being offered in Chesapeake, VA, now, but what Vz is now saying is "up to 150 HD channels by the end of 2008". This obviously gives them some room for not hitting that mark.

There's a fairly simple explanation for this. Right now I've got 30 HD channels on Fios. However, 8 of those are local channels and 1 is a RSN. Some people have more locals and no RSNs. Others have more than 1 RSN and more local channels. The "up to" means that some will have right at 150 and others will have less than that depending on what their local stations offer. I think 150 will be the top capacity for any of the local Fios systems. Regardless, I don't think there will be more than about 120 national HD channels available by the end of 2008.

Would someone be kind enough to explain the technical issue that is causing Verizon to take months to add new channels. It would seem there should be lots and lots of bandwidth in a FTTH setup. Was it because they decided to use QAM rather than IPTV? It seems to me that they should be able to offer more HD than cable, not the same or less. What will change in the Spring that will suddenly allow them to add more channels? Is it as simple as them getting rid of some analog channels or will the be some CO upgrades?

Although fiber has theoretically no limits, in reality there are plenty.

Here is a good explanation as to what is taking so long, Verizon won't confirm though.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11798212#post11798212
Here is a synopsis. http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/10/18/is-verizons-fios-out-of-bandwidth/

As for IPTV, for starters it isn't widespread enough yet. The QAM/IPTV hybrid FiOS is using provides an excellent compromise.

But the long and the short of it is that there are bottlenecks upstream from your house that cause limits in both the number of channels they can provide and the amount of bandwidth for your Internet connection.

Thank you for those links. It seems to me that 135 QAM channels is a large brick wall for providers. Content seems to be spreading onto more and more channels. Discovery used to put all of it's HD content on to DHDT but now it spreads it around it's other channels and shows more upconverts. UHD is another example of an HD channel that was supposed to show HD content of it's "sister networks" but now new HD versions of USA and SCI-FI are now forcing providers to carry more HD channels but about the same amount of HD programming. It seems to me that those of us who chose FIOS as our provider are now screwed because V* was too short sighted to see this coming.

At this point I am regretting my choice of V* over D* or staying with Comcast.

Interestingly enough, it was posts of AVS Forum that convinced the V* was the right choice. I was against using D* because I did not want to help in their HD Lite efforts.

Comcast (the provider I dumped for V*) was not providing the NYC locals in HD were I live and had less HD for more $. so the logical choice was V*.

Could Verizon's holdout of more HD channels be bottom-line driven as well? Throw 'em a few more crumbs and raise the price. Seems to be the model for more than a few providers.

Thank you for those links. It seems to me that 135 QAM channels is a large brick wall for providers.
It may be, but 135 QAM channels provide a lot of bandwidth. Right now, Verizon is carrying the entire national SD and HD channel line-up on 44 QAM channels. That includes the HD RSNs from what I have been able to figure from asking people to look up the QAM channel for their HD RSNs. In my part of the northern VA area, the locals currently fit onto 12 QAM channels. 6 of those channels are for the digital broadcast locals, actually 5 and 1/2 as they have the local Ion digital station with it's 4 SD sub-channels as the only stuff on QAM 82. Markets between 2 major cities get 2 sets of HD locals, so they are likely using 15 or 16 QAM channels in total for the locals. So the entire Fios TV system is using no more than 40% of the bandwidth that would be available with 135 QAM channels in the distribution chain.

If Verizon had built everyone out to 63 QAM channels from the beginning or had opted to go with, say, 35 analogs and 68 QAMs, they have would room to add more HD channels now. Maybe not keeping up with DirecTV, but enough so people don't complain as much. By killing the 40 analog channels and going to 103 QAM channels, they can pretty much match DirecTV for HD channels until DirecTV starts to fill up the 2nd HD satellite (which has not been launched yet and assuming there will be enough HD channels to fill it up).

Go to 135 QAM channels, even sticking with MPEG-2, they can carry all the national and local HD channels that are likely to exist for the next several years. I'm not crazy about a wholesale switch to IPTV. I think the latency factor in switching channels and having the bandwidth for multiple HD streams will be a major problem. That and having to replace all the STB and DVRs they already have and will be handing out through 2008 or 2009.

For the cable companies, the biggest problem is the legacy analog channels. 70+ analog channels take up a LOT of bandwidth. Shutting them down is a complex and politically involved process. Comcast is reportedly upgrading to 1 GHz of bandwidth in some areas; this will give them 159 or 160 channels to play with. Then there is Switched Digital Video being used by Cox and Time Warner so far.

The problem is bottom line driven, they see cable as their competitor. I've spoke with people from the company and when I asked them about their response to DirecTVs HD channels, they say they still have more HD than cable. Their prices are specifically designed to compete against cable and feel that they can make more money by expanding their network than by adding to their lineup.

That being said, they do see the need which is why they will be adding 150 new HD channels in 08. I'm sure this will be a combination of more QAM channels and less analog.

Despite what Verizon execs have said, I don't believe they are moving to IPTV anytime soon. For one, they just deployed all the QAM network for a reason and those reasons still exist. But mostly it's because there are bottle necks in their IP network as well, which would cause just as big of a problem.

I'm just guessing, but it seems clear that the first step in the IPTV transition will be dumping analog, which frees up a significant amount of QAM. After that, lesser viewed digital channels will slowly migrate to IPTV distribution, freeing up further QAM for HD. This process will continue as needed until the technology is mature enough for a complete switch.

I imagine HD will remain on QAM for the foreseeable future. 135 QAM channels all dedicated to HD will be plenty.

The execs at Verizon miscalculated on the HD issue vis-a-vis Directv and they now know it and are moving fast to correct it.

Not fast enough!

The execs at Verizon miscalculated on the HD issue vis-a-vis Directv and they now know it and are moving fast to correct it.

Let's just hope they don't use the D* compression game to catch up faster! :rolleyes:

Ken, it would seem the more likely problem is that cable networks will bit-starve their product at the source, just like Discovery is doing with its new networks and Fox with National Geographic. Everyone but Verizon has a long-term bandwidth problem. If cable flexes its muscle and gets the networks to bit-starve themselves, no one has a competitive advantage.

Personally, that seems like a possible violation of antitrust law, but that's just a lay analysis and I don't think we know the official details on why Discovery and Fox have willingly reduced the quality of their product. (What we do have is evidence comparing Comcast and Verizon that shows both providers receive the channels with a little something shaved off the top.) Frankly, I'm a little shocked there's been almost no discussion about that problem around here, given all the HD Lite and multicasting ruckus. My guess is that the D* folks are still a bit too giddy over their unimpressive (but very large) HD channel line-up. Have they been with HD Lite for so long they'll take anything that's better than MPEG2?

Frankly, I've stopped watching Discovery HD and National Geographic HD because they're so muddy and frustrating.

Discovery probably drops the bandwidth because they are adding channels while not paying to increase their bandwidth on their up link which would be the total bandwidth all their channels use when they uplink it to the satellite. It would be a specific amount. Or they just haven't worked out a deal for the extra bandwidth yet.

Discovery probably drops the bandwidth because they are adding channels while not paying to increase their bandwidth on their up link which would be the total bandwidth all their channels use when they uplink it to the satellite. It would be a specific amount. Or they just haven't worked out a deal for the extra bandwidth yet.Aside from Discovery Theater at 16+Mbps, the Discovery feeds are confirmed 12.5Mbps ABR with a 15Mbps peak.

I don't know how Discovery distributes their channels on satellite, but I would not be surprised if they multiplexed three HD feeds into <38.8Mbps so cable providers could carry them in a single QAM slot.

Ken, it would seem the more likely problem is that cable networks will bit-starve their product at the source, just like Discovery is doing with its new networks and Fox with National Geographic. Everyone but Verizon has a long-term bandwidth problem. If cable flexes its muscle and gets the networks to bit-starve themselves, no one has a competitive advantage.

Personally, that seems like a possible violation of antitrust law, but that's just a lay analysis and I don't think we know the official details on why Discovery and Fox have willingly reduced the quality of their product. (What we do have is evidence comparing Comcast and Verizon that shows both providers receive the channels with a little something shaved off the top.) Frankly, I'm a little shocked there's been almost no discussion about that problem around here, given all the HD Lite and multicasting ruckus. My guess is that the D* folks are still a bit too giddy over their unimpressive (but very large) HD channel line-up. Have they been with HD Lite for so long they'll take anything that's better than MPEG2?

Frankly, I've stopped watching Discovery HD and National Geographic HD because they're so muddy and frustrating.

I think you're right regarding D* subscribers. They've been used to such crap for so long, an improvement, although not stellar, will elicit cheers of joy.

It is still surprising that there isn't much of an uproar at the quality reduction at the source. I'm not sure though I agree with you about National Geographic since I still find there are times their broadcasts still look stellar.
The old Discovery HD (whatever they call it now) still looks great, but the new Discovery is really pitiful, almost unwatchable. I would never have thought that Discovery would launch such sub-par channels. Sad and amazing. :(

The execs at Verizon miscalculated on the HD issue vis-a-vis Directv and they now know it and are moving fast to correct it.

Pretty much everyone did.

Let's just hope they don't use the D* compression game to catch up faster! :rolleyes:Have you seen DirecTV's new mpeg4 HD channels? They look amazing...

There's a fairly simple explanation for this. Right now I've got 30 HD channels on Fios. However, 8 of those are local channels and 1 is a RSN. Some people have more locals and no RSNs. Others have more than 1 RSN and more local channels. The "up to" means that some will have right at 150 and others will have less than that depending on what their local stations offer. I think 150 will be the top capacity for any of the local Fios systems. Regardless, I don't think there will be more than about 120 national HD channels available by the end of 2008.
Any analog channel can potentially be an HD channel. I'd like to see ALL the premuim channels in HD including Encore...

Have you seen DirecTV's new mpeg4 HD channels? They look amazing...

No I haven't. But there are still way too many important legacy MPEG2 channels that remain on D*. Additionally, most of the new HD content is pretty miserable (not the fault of D*). Many of these channels were simply not ready for launch and their HD 'library' is severely lacking. I can see that from just a few of those we have on FIOS. I never watch them since they're not really HD. Having a 150 of these will do nobody any good.

I would never have beleived that the new Discovery channels would be so bad...but they are. :(

The old J6P SD mentality of "give me every channel available" has now spilled over into the HD arena. I see post after post, in every area of HD, that convinces me that soon the majority of HD views will chose quantity over quality.

There was a recent thread where someone was excited about DirecTVs addition of HD PBS so he could take down his "ugly" OTA antenna. The fact that the OTA signal would theoretically be better than Dish or DirecTV's compressed HD locals didn't mean a thing to this person. An "ugly" antenna trumped better PQ. The handwriting is on the wall now that J6P is firmly established in the HD arena.

Have you seen DirecTV's new mpeg4 HD channels? They look amazing...

Yes I have, and not sure what TV you're viewing them on, but on anything over 60" and real 1080p, they look pretty bad to me. And by bad, I don't mean SD looking, but they clearly look transcoded and recompressed (which they have been, from MPEG2 to MPEG4).

There are all sorts of visual things that are messed up, including contrast (it looks soft compared to the uncompressed MPEG2 versions); there is often motion artifacting that's been introduced; and on many channels the color looks off (using a wide-color capable TV/Projector). Basically every aspect of them looks off.

However for most people with non-calibrated over-saturated Insignia, Vizio, and Costco bargain HD TV's, they'll think it looks wonderful. And DirecTV has clearly shifted their focus to this WalMart group, and away from the higher-end crowd.

The rest of us are just waiting for FIOS to add the rest of the HD channels, is their natural state. And we are hoping that the Discover Channel source bandwidth starving doesn't continue for other channels.

I was inspired by the Offical 2008 Superbowl not in HD thread to give a listing of Top 25 markets (by populations) that do not have Verizon FIOS available as of yet and probably never will because Verizon only foolishly brings in FIOS to places where it is the local TELCO for the B.S. reason that infrastructure is easier, even though they could literally print money in the following metro areas because the TV and internet service offered there doesn't compare one bit:

Rank in terms of population (the population numbers are a bit off as all of these metros are bigger than these numbers, provided by wikipedia)

Number 3: Chicago–Naperville–Joliet (9.5 million people more depending on your definition of Chicagoland), it's not anywhere tobe found in the state of IL.

Number 5: Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington (5.8 million people, a lot more depending on what you define to be the Philly metro area), Wilmington, DE has FIOS internet, but that's about it. Pittsburgh and it's surrounding area has FIOS, but not Philly.

Number 6: Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown (5.5 million people) Many areas of TX have FIOS, but not the Houston area (Baytown has FIOS internet only).

Number 7: Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach (5.4 million people) Northern and Western FL (less populated) have FIOS, but the Miami area, with the heaviest concentration of people, doesn't have it.

Number 9: Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta (5.1 million people), Verizon has no presence in the state of GA, and has no stated plans for even ATL. So if you live in ATL, don't expect FIOS in your lifetime.

Number 10: Detroit–Warren–Livonia (4.4 million people) FIOS may come to MI eventually, but who knows when.

Number 12: San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont-San Jose ("Bay Area" constitutes 7+ million) No FIOS, and no plans. Verizon is the local telco in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and parts of Los Gatos, but there isn't enough interest there to bring it. This is the most egregious because this is Silicon Valley and there is no excuse for Silicon Valley not having this top technology of which much of it is developed in SV. Verizon has a statewide license so they could build anywhere in CA, but don't expect it anytime in the near future. Most of us will be long dead before Verizon ever brings FIOS to SV.

Number 13: Phoenix–Mesa–Scottsdale (4 million) No plans for anywhere in AZ, but AZ is considered "Verizon Territory," so it could come one day, but don't hold your breath.

Number 16: Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington (3 million) Minnesota is not "Verizon Territory" so no current or future plans. Who knows when ultra high speed internet will ever come here.

Number 17: San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos (2.9 million) Similar to The Bay Area.

Number 18: St.Louis (2.8 million), MO is not in the "Territory," so it might never come.

Number 19: Denver–Aurora (2.4 million) CO is not in the "Territory," so it might never come.

Number 24: Cleveland–Elyria–Mentor (2.1 million) OH is in Verizon country, so it could come, but who knows when.

Number 25: Cincinnati–Middletown (2.1 million) Ditto


Yes indeed, Verizon FIOS' rollout is going rapidly and they appear concerned about getting into markets where they could print money. (Sarcasm). As a resident, almost life-long, of Silicon Valley, my Christmas wish each year is to get Verizon FIOS without having to leave such a technologically advanced and beautiful region of the country, to get Verizon FIOS in an area where it simply so obviously should be even from Verizon's standpoint, and each year, that wish goes unfulfilled. For those of you in other markets listed here, I feel your pain.

Topics merged.

I was inspired by the Offical 2008 Superbowl not in HD thread to give a listing of Top 25 markets (by populations) that do not have Verizon FIOS available as of yet and probably never will because Verizon only foolishly brings in FIOS to places where it is the local TELCO for the B.S. reason that infrastructure is easier, even though they could literally print money in the following metro areas because the TV and internet service offered there doesn't compare one bit:


Is it possible that running infrastructure in places where they are already the local telco is substantially easier because they have the waivers in place to bury/string the fiber? Or at a minimum, it's an extension to their existing waivers?

And siince 1/3 of their service is Telco, if they aren't the local Telco, doesn't that remove 1/3 of the value to them, and the consumer?

And is it possible that the internet service permission is based on being a local Telco (or Cableco) already? And to come into a market where they are neither means a significant uphill battle?

Perhaps there are lots of reasons they are focusing on their local markets first. Maybe when that's a success they will consider expanding to markets where they have to get all the waivers/permissions/grants/etc. to pull cable and offer all three services (as opposed to just getting permission for TV, which is all they need to do in markets where they are the local telco).

....Additionally, most of the new HD content is pretty miserable (not the fault of D*). Many of these channels were simply not ready for launch and their HD 'library' is severely lacking. I can see that from just a few of those we have on FIOS. I never watch them since they're not really HD. Having a 150 of these will do nobody any good.Sure they will.

Remember how much HD ESPN did at first? Not much, but that changed, and so will the amount of HD we get from the new HD channels. And it won't take as long either.

Is it possible that running infrastructure in places where they are already the local telco is substantially easier because they have the waivers in place to bury/string the fiber? Or at a minimum, it's an extension to their existing waivers?Yes, there are lots of good reasons why FiOS isn't available everywhere. Just like Comcast, TWC, U-verse, etc., etc., etc.

Sure they will.

Remember how much HD ESPN did at first? Not much, but that changed, and so will the amount of HD we get from the new HD channels. And it won't take as long either.

That's right - more even more channels with Law and Order in HD! Woohoo!

The old J6P SD mentality of "give me every channel available" has now spilled over into the HD arena. I see post after post, in every area of HD, that convinces me that soon the majority of HD views will chose quantity over quality.

Not sure why it has to be either or? I want quantity AND quality. Fios has a nice HD line up. I did a comparison of their channels and for my watching habits there or a few I would rather not lose at this point. Of course there are some I would gain as well becuase of D* dropping a few for HD Extra and the fact that their MPEG 2 old HD pack is almost unwatchable at times.

Yes I have, and not sure what TV you're viewing them on, but on anything over 60" and real 1080p, they look pretty bad to me. And by bad, I don't mean SD looking, but they clearly look transcoded and recompressed (which they have been, from MPEG2 to MPEG4).

There are all sorts of visual things that are messed up, including contrast (it looks soft compared to the uncompressed MPEG2 versions); there is often motion artifacting that's been introduced; and on many channels the color looks off (using a wide-color capable TV/Projector). Basically every aspect of them looks off.

However for most people with non-calibrated over-saturated Insignia, Vizio, and Costco bargain HD TV's, they'll think it looks wonderful. And DirecTV has clearly shifted their focus to this WalMart group, and away from the higher-end crowd.

The rest of us are just waiting for FIOS to add the rest of the HD channels, is their natural state. And we are hoping that the Discover Channel source bandwidth starving doesn't continue for other channels.

Hmm maybe on my lowly 50" Pioneer Kuro I just can't see the difference :rolleyes: I think this is an over exaggerated post. The new MPEG 4 stations (the ones that actually have HD content) look great to me. HGTV HD and CNN HD are prime examples. Not sure which channels you are referring to.

I would like to make the switch to Fios for better versions of the MPEG 2 HD channels on D* which are literally a joke on D* sometimes. Also possibly better SD channels so they might actually be watchable. I would be sacrificing some nice MPEG 4 HD premium movie channels and a few others. It is a toss up to me at this point and the only thing holding me back is the hassle of switching and the up front cost would be pretty high for breaking the contract w/ D* and buying HDTivos.

Sure they will.

Remember how much HD ESPN did at first? Not much, but that changed, and so will the amount of HD we get from the new HD channels. And it won't take as long either.

From your mouth...................... ;)

Yes, there are lots of good reasons why FiOS isn't available everywhere. Just like Comcast, TWC, U-verse, etc., etc., etc.

You can't compare FIOS to Comcast. Comcast is a garden variety cable company. Verizon FIOS is a fiber optic TV and internet service provider that you can't really compare to Comcast.

There is no reason Fios isn't in Chicagoland right now. No excuse for not being in Silicon Valley right now. It's pathetically inexcusable that there are not even plans for these areas right now.

In CA, for example, they have a statewide franchise license. They already CAN offer TV anywhere in the state. Yes they would need to negotiate with individual cities in the Bay Area to lay cable, but this is an area where Comcast would crap its pants if FIOS would offered because so many people would instantly drop Comcast and get FIOS. Not just for the TV, but the internet as well.

Again, we are talking about the ability to print money, but instead cities in Texas, Virginia, and middle of nowhere CA have FIOS but major markets not only don't have it, they don't even have plans. Verizon would have to take an initial hit and some hassle, but how can they ignore the guaranteed enormous profits that will come from being in areas like Chicago and Silicon Valley???????

I've tried contacting Verizon but they don't just don't listen. Do I need to buy stock and then go to a shareholders meeting or something? Geez!

The frustration isn't just that FIOS isn't in these places, it's that there is no other competing FIBER TO THE PREMISES services planned in these areas. Sorry but U-verse, fiber to the node, doesn't count. Hell even rednecky Sacramento has Surewest, an FTTP service, but places like Chicago and SV don't have FTTP and nothing planned in the near or distant future (again, FTTP, not FTTN, which is crap).

It's a brand new technology. It will take Verizon a decade or more just to roll it out in all of their existing service areas. Why do you need plans to expand into brand new markets when that expansion probably won't even be possible until 2020?

Verizon's capital expenditures to bring FiOS to their established markets are astronomical. How in the world could they justify further expansion into wholly untested markets? They couldn't. Their stock would bottom out. Verizon's brand has no goodwill in those other markets (especially if Verizon Wireless is prevalent, haha).

You can't compare FIOS to Comcast. Comcast is a garden variety cable company. Verizon FIOS is a fiber optic TV and internet service provider that you can't really compare to Comcast.

There is no reason Fios isn't in Chicagoland right now. No excuse for not being in Silicon Valley right now. It's pathetically inexcusable that there are not even plans for these areas right now.

In CA, for example, they have a statewide franchise license. They already CAN offer TV anywhere in the state. Yes they would need to negotiate with individual cities in the Bay Area to lay cable, but this is an area where Comcast would crap its pants if FIOS would offered because so many people would instantly drop Comcast and get FIOS. Not just for the TV, but the internet as well.

Again, we are talking about the ability to print money, but instead cities in Texas, Virginia, and middle of nowhere CA have FIOS but major markets not only don't have it, they don't even have plans. Verizon would have to take an initial hit and some hassle, but how can they ignore the guaranteed enormous profits that will come from being in areas like Chicago and Silicon Valley???????

I've tried contacting Verizon but they don't just don't listen. Do I need to buy stock and then go to a shareholders meeting or something? Geez!

The frustration isn't just that FIOS isn't in these places, it's that there is no other competing FIBER TO THE PREMISES services planned in these areas. Sorry but U-verse, fiber to the node, doesn't count. Hell even rednecky Sacramento has Surewest, an FTTP service, but places like Chicago and SV don't have FTTP and nothing planned in the near or distant future (again, FTTP, not FTTN, which is crap).
RCN tried to build a network from the ground-up in Boston, New York, and other areas, and it wasn't long before they had to file for bankruptcy. RCN's experiences, and the sheer cost of entering an area with competition where you have no existing infrastructure, is the reason why companies like Verizon are hesitant. Verizon's decision to transition to FIOS in its current service area has been criticized by analysts for being too expensive, and its not a slam-dunk success as of yet. The costs of entering a brand-new territory would be much higher.

And your speculation that they would get everyone to immediately drop Comcast is predicated on the idea that Verizon would be able to build out an advanced network without Comcast realizing and being able to redistribute its resources to respond appropriately. Comcast hasn't exactly folded up shop in those territories where it has competition from Verizon.

Well, maybe if they were hiring people to dig trenches that knew what they were doing, rather than so many cheap, slave-labor, undocumented immigrants that either have no regard for existing power lines or the skill to use the implements they have to locate them well, the infrastructure installation wouldn't end up costing them more than it should.

Do it right the first time, and it'll cost you less in the long run.

Truth is, EVERYONE I know here, at least in our hugely-vast, forever-growing suburban area, would dump Comcast in a heartbeat if there was a choice. As bad as I keep warning everyone that u-verse is, they still can't even wait for that. Even if they don't decide to switch, they at least want the competition to Comcast. Comcast and the towns in this state have been doing everything humanly possible to stifle or stall that from happening. It's just "politics as usual" here.

I certainly wouldn't call the Chicago metro area a typical, "wholly untested market". Not if they've done their research right. If they were to base that entirely from within the city limits, the results might be different. But most of the customers would probably be from the suburbs, which hold the majority of the population. And it's "Comcast or bust" out here.

Being an actual, lifelong resident of this area, I just thought I'd throw my .02 in there. I get around here enough to have a good idea of the general population's feelings straight from the horse's mouth, not through any media outlets or anything like that.

Giving full FiOS services to existing VZ customers first makes sense IMO. VZ can barely keep up with that much less adding on more (by the millions of customers? ... are you kidding me?). Then there is the problem of existing FiOS customers screaming about a lack of HD VOD. Don't forget the IMG and DVR issues. This is all a mess with the current markets. Yes, I think VZ is doing the right thing. My 2 cents.

There is no reason Fios isn't in Chicagoland right now. No excuse for not being in Silicon Valley right now. It's pathetically inexcusable that there are not even plans for these areas right now.

In CA, for example, they have a statewide franchise license. They already CAN offer TV anywhere in the state. Yes they would need to negotiate with individual cities in the Bay Area to lay cable, but this is an area where Comcast would crap its pants if FIOS would offered because so many people would instantly drop Comcast and get FIOS.


You really have no idea of reality regarding Fios. We're finally getting it next month, in an area of MDUs, areas that Verizon has been hesitant to enter.

You're last statement demonstrates how little you understand about the numbers of potential subs and how to get them. You seem to think that if Verizon just snaps it's fingers, everyone in an area will suddenly understand, become aware of, fall in love with Fios and switch from whatever they have, and make Verizon fabulously wealthy. It just doesn't work that way. You need to understand that. And you aren't even close.

There is no reason Fios isn't in Chicagoland right now. No excuse for not being in Silicon Valley right now. It's pathetically inexcusable that there are not even plans for these areas right now.

You may want to layoff the eggnog for a little while dude. ;)

Again, we are talking about the ability to print money, but instead cities in Texas, Virginia, and middle of nowhere CA have FIOS but major markets not only don't have it, they don't even have plans. Verizon would have to take an initial hit and some hassle, but how can they ignore the guaranteed enormous profits that will come from being in areas like Chicago and Silicon Valley???????


Belittling other areas (it seems if you don't live in Silicon Valley, you must not be tech savvy and therefore don't deserve FTTP. Like "rednecky Sacramento") won't get you much sympathy here. I happen to live in Northern Virginia, about 25 miles outside of DC. I work for a large tech firm (yes, believe it or not, there are tech firms outside of the Silicon Valley). Northern Virginia also happens to be one of the most affluent areas in the country. So, believe it or not, there are areas besides Silicon Valley that have technology and money!;)

Consider this: Veriizon is a business and likes to make money. Do you think for one second that they wouldn't expand to Silicon Valley if they thought they could "print money"? Do you really think Verizon hasn't considered SV? My guess is they did a cost/benefit analysis on the SV and determined it wasn't worth it. Perhaps your "initial hit and hassles" were knockout punches?:(

FiOS SD bitrates as of Dec 8.
Channel Resolution Average Bitrate
USA 50 704x480 5.05
TBS 52 704x480 3.25
FX 53 528x480 2.51
CNN 80 704x480 3.10
CNBC 83 704x480 4.97
Disc 100 528x480 4.87
SciFi 160 704x480 2.42
TCM 200 704x480 2.63
AMC 201 704x480 3.64
Starz 340 704x480 3.56
Showtime 361 704x480 2.75

Average bitrates on some of these channels will vary by up to 20% depending on content.

FiOS HD bitrates as of Dec 23.
Channel Resolution Average Bitrate Peak Bitrate

TNT 825 1920x1080 17.8 19.4
ESPN 826 1280x720 18.1 20.0
ESPN2 827 1280x720 17.8 20.0
NFL Network 828 1920x1080 16.8 17.0
CSN MidAtlantic 829 1920x1080 16.6 17.7
HD Net 833 1920x1080 17.3 19.2
HD Net Movies 834 1920x1080 17.2 18.7
Universal 835 1920x1080 10.5 ?
HD Theater 836 1920x1080 17.2 18.2
Wealth TV 837 1920x1080 13.3 14.0
National Geo. 838 1280x720 13.3
MHD 839 1920x1080 17.0 18.1
Food Network 840 1920x1080 14.2 15.0
HGTV 841 1920x1080 14.0 ?
A&E 842 1280x720 18.0 18.2
Lifetime Movie 845 1920x1080 15.0 18.0
Discovery 846 1920x1080 12.5 15.0
HBO 851 1920x1080
Cinemax 852 1920x1080
Showtime 853 1920x1080 12.0 14.5
TMC 854 1920x1080 12.0 14.5
Starz! 855 1920x1080 11.0 14.0
Numbers are based on the average of several recordings from each channel.

At least three or four high-definition channels have seen their bandwidth drop in the past several months. The greatest drop was seen on NGC, which reduced its bitrate from 16.8Mbps to 13.3Mbps ABR when it was added by several other cable companies. These bitrate drops occurred simultaneously on several providers, so it is a source issue.

You can't compare FIOS to Comcast. Comcast is a garden variety cable company. Verizon FIOS is a fiber optic TV and internet service provider that you can't really compare to Comcast.

There is no reason Fios isn't in Chicagoland right now. No excuse for not being in Silicon Valley right now. It's pathetically inexcusable that there are not even plans for these areas right now.

In CA, for example, they have a statewide franchise license. They already CAN offer TV anywhere in the state. Yes they would need to negotiate with individual cities in the Bay Area to lay cable, but this is an area where Comcast would crap its pants if FIOS would offered because so many people would instantly drop Comcast and get FIOS. Not just for the TV, but the internet as well.

Again, we are talking about the ability to print money, but instead cities in Texas, Virginia, and middle of nowhere CA have FIOS but major markets not only don't have it, they don't even have plans. Verizon would have to take an initial hit and some hassle, but how can they ignore the guaranteed enormous profits that will come from being in areas like Chicago and Silicon Valley???????

I've tried contacting Verizon but they don't just don't listen. Do I need to buy stock and then go to a shareholders meeting or something? Geez!

The frustration isn't just that FIOS isn't in these places, it's that there is no other competing FIBER TO THE PREMISES services planned in these areas. Sorry but U-verse, fiber to the node, doesn't count. Hell even rednecky Sacramento has Surewest, an FTTP service, but places like Chicago and SV don't have FTTP and nothing planned in the near or distant future (again, FTTP, not FTTN, which is crap).

http://bp2.blogger.com/_cvXOz5xbAMc/RXpZUjIMvrI/AAAAAAAAAAY/FS3oeY50Aac/s320/Cry+baby.jpg

I just got off the phone with Verizon Customer Service and originally I was just intending to order up a new HD STB. Somewhere in there I asked if I could just upgrade my current HD DVR to the media center on-line or do I have to call back for it... he said that no, it was a whole new box and they would need to come and install it (ok odd didnt hear about that), I asked if he was sure because I thought it was a simple software update / switch for the DVR, he insisted it was a new box and that it could now record up to four channels at once. Ok, I really didnt hear that - but my wife would love that so why not check it out. It really didnt sound like he knew much (he was handed the new training guide by his supervisor as we were speaking)... has anyone else heard the same? I guess I'll find out when they come Monday to install.

FiOS SD bitrates as of Dec 8.

At least three or four high-definition channels have seen their bandwidth drop in the past several months. The greatest drop was seen on NGC, which reduced its bitrate from 16.8Mbps to 13.3Mbps ABR when it was added by several other cable companies. These bitrate drops occurred simultaneously on several providers, so it is a source issue.
Thanks for posting such a detailed table on the average bit rates. The low bit rate from Sci-Fi explains why the SD channel looks so soft when I zoom the letterboxed 16:9 programs. I'm not expecting it to look like HD, but other SD channels look better. When Fios adds Sci-Fi HD, it will be a big improvement, but I would not be surprised if it was a 13 to 14 Mbps category channel, not full bit rate. So long as they don't drop to the UnivHD bit rate level. :eek:

I hope these drops in the bit rate are short term - less than a year or so - due to tight satellite distribution bandwidth with all the HD channels starting up. If there are more distribution satellites put up, or they switch to MPEG-4 distribution to the service providers, I sure hope that they will then increase the effective bit rate to restore full bit rate MPEG-2 HD to us. But all we can do is complain to the companies with low bit rates to let them know that people can see the difference in their picture quality.

I just got off the phone with Verizon Customer Service and originally I was just intending to order up a new HD STB. Somewhere in there I asked if I could just upgrade my current HD DVR to the media center on-line or do I have to call back for it... he said that no, it was a whole new box and they would need to come and install it (ok odd didnt hear about that), I asked if he was sure because I thought it was a simple software update / switch for the DVR, he insisted it was a new box and that it could now record up to four channels at once. Ok, I really didnt hear that - but my wife would love that so why not check it out. It really didnt sound like he knew much (he was handed the new training guide by his supervisor as we were speaking)... has anyone else heard the same? I guess I'll find out when they come Monday to install.

That would be news to me. Four channels at once? I'll believe it when I see it.

FiOS SD bitrates as of Dec 8.
Channel Resolution Average Bitrate
USA 50 704x480 5.05
TBS 52 704x480 3.25
FX 53 528x480 2.51
CNN 80 704x480 3.10
CNBC 83 704x480 4.97
Disc 100 528x480 4.87
SciFi 160 704x480 2.42
TCM 200 704x480 2.63
AMC 201 704x480 3.64
Starz 340 704x480 3.56
Showtime 361 704x480 2.75

Average bitrates on some of these channels will vary by up to 20% depending on content.

FiOS HD bitrates as of Dec 23.
Channel Resolution Average Bitrate Peak Bitrate

TNT 825 1920x1080 17.8 19.4
ESPN 826 1280x720 18.1 20.0
ESPN2 827 1280x720 17.8 20.0
NFL Network 828 1920x1080 16.8 17.0
CSN MidAtlantic 829 1920x1080 16.6 17.7
HD Net 833 1920x1080 17.3 19.2
HD Net Movies 834 1920x1080 17.2 18.7
Universal 835 1920x1080 10.5 ?
HD Theater 836 1920x1080 17.2 18.2
Wealth TV 837 1920x1080 13.3 14.0
National Geo. 838 1280x720 13.3
MHD 839 1920x1080 17.0 18.1
Food Network 840 1920x1080 14.2 15.0
HGTV 841 1920x1080 14.0 ?
A&E 842 1280x720 18.0 18.2
Lifetime Movie 845 1920x1080 15.0 18.0
Discovery 846 1920x1080 12.5 15.0
HBO 851 1920x1080
Cinemax 852 1920x1080
Showtime 853 1920x1080 12.0 14.5
TMC 854 1920x1080 12.0 14.5
Starz! 855 1920x1080 11.0 14.0
Numbers are based on the average of several recordings from each channel.

At least three or four high-definition channels have seen their bandwidth drop in the past several months. The greatest drop was seen on NGC, which reduced its bitrate from 16.8Mbps to 13.3Mbps ABR when it was added by several other cable companies. These bitrate drops occurred simultaneously on several providers, so it is a source issue.

I guess I'll be watching the big Pats/Giants game on the NFL Network. I wonder if each of the networks will be providing their own broadcasting crew or if CBS and NBC will be carrying the NFL booth team?

http://bp2.blogger.com/_cvXOz5xbAMc/RXpZUjIMvrI/AAAAAAAAAAY/FS3oeY50Aac/s320/Cry+baby.jpg

Nice insulting pic, you simply just don't get it.

To those who don't want to be insulting, what can I do to get Verizon FIOS here? (Silicon Valley)

Local media isn't putting much pressure (the SJ Mercury News tech guys just say it won't happen any time soon, but want comcast to provide faster internet even though that won't happen unless comcast gets legit competition here).

Verizon isn't listening to potential customers, I've tried to contact them but have never received a response. I asked the Mercury News to contact them and they did and Verizon didn't even comment on bringing FIOS to SV, just to VZ local telco territory in the area (Gilroy, Morgan Hill, parts of Los Gatos) and decided to pass for now because, of course, those areas won't provide enough subs. What else can we, those who are dying for the service but at this point it doesn't look we'll get it in our lifetime, do besides moving to FIOS territory which would be a ridiculous proposition?

Thank you (except for the poster with the insulting graphic, that was uncalled for and probably a violation of the rules here as its a personal jab).

I guess I'll be watching the big Pats/Giants game on the NFL Network. I wonder if each of the networks will be providing their own broadcasting crew or if CBS and NBC will be carrying the NFL booth team?

It's a pure simulcast of the NFL Network feed, so it will be just as if you were watching it on the NFL network.

Nice insulting pic, you simply just don't get it.

To those who don't want to be insulting, what can I do to get Verizon FIOS here? (Silicon Valley)

Local media isn't putting much pressure (the SJ Mercury News tech guys just say it won't happen any time soon, but want comcast to provide faster internet even though that won't happen unless comcast gets legit competition here).

Verizon isn't listening to potential customers, I've tried to contact them but have never received a response. I asked the Mercury News to contact them and they did and they didn't even comment on bringing FIOS to SV, just to VZ local telco territory in the area (Gilroy, Morgan Hill, parts of Los Gatos) and decided to pass for now because, of course, those areas won't provide enough subs. What else can we, those who are dying for the service but at this point it doesn't look we'll get it in our lifetime, do besides moving to FIOS territory which would be a ridiculous proposition?

Thank you (except for the poster with the insulting graphic, that was uncalled for and probably a violation of the rules here as its a personal jab).
The simple, straight-forward answer to your question is: There is nothing you can do about it.

The simple, straight-forward answer to your question is: There is nothing you can do about it.

I just find it hard to believe that there isn't some company out there in this country that wants to bring FTTP TV and Internet services to Silicon Valley (and Chicago for that matter). And please, keep in mind, that U-verse is FTTN, not FTTP, and of course, really sucks both on the TV and internet front.

I know many of you tired of hearing about Silicon Valley, but it is the tech leader of this country and the most tech savvy and innovative area in the country. It's not like there are tons of "thinking outside the box" companies like Google in the middle of nowhere, Texas, but yet I can rattle off a dozen of "middle of nowhere" TX cities with FTTP TV and internet, but yet many tech savvy areas (that have more wealthy people too, look up the numbers if you don't believe me) are being ignored.

Even if not Verizon, it makes no sense that nobody is trying to roll out FTTP service to metro areas like SV, Chicago, etc. It makes no sense that farmers in rural TX have 50mbps internet but rich tech geeks in Chicago and San Jose, at best, get 6-8mbps at home. Makes no sense, no matter what you all say.

No one is arguing that missing those areas is good, but maybe the investment is so large when the telco infrastructure is not in place that they would rather invest in other areas. I imagine that given the logistical challenge as well as the political one to get the service in, they'd rather cover the easier installations than to build it up from scratch. My sympathies, and I hope they do get there soon.

Makes no sense, no matter what you all say.

There obviously isn't any convincing you, but companies do things based on economics not common sense.

Plain and simple, there would be FTTP if it made business sense. Verizon has been cherry picking since day one, and there isn't any reason to think they'd stop trying to get the best return on their dollar now. Keller TX and Temple Terrace FL were first because that is where they built their Super head-ends, not because there were more techsavy people there who'd buy the service.

Nice insulting pic, you simply just don't get it.

To those who don't want to be insulting, what can I do to get Verizon FIOS here? (Silicon Valley)


Get 10% of the SV population to sign a document stating they will switch to FIOS when it becomes available. It should further state that they agree to a 5 year lock-in and it is a binding document regardless of cost.

Once VZ sees this they will rush to install Fios.

I plan on switching to Verizon FIOS sometime in the spring, right after the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs (mid to late April).

As it stands right now, I am (and have been) a Center Ice subscriber for the last 4 or 5 seasons.

Does anyone know how the negotiations are going between inDemand and Verizon? Is there a way for Verizon to negotiate directly with the league (don't the sat. companies do this?)?

This is my only holdup in switching to FIOS.

To those who don't want to be insulting, what can I do to get Verizon FIOS here? (Silicon Valley)

Maybe you should apply for a job at Verizon. That way you can tell them who "deserves" to have fiber optic service.

I know many of you tired of hearing about Silicon Valley, but it is the tech leader of this country and the most tech savvy and innovative area in the country. It's not like there are tons of "thinking outside the box" companies like Google in the middle of nowhere, Texas, but yet I can rattle off a dozen of "middle of nowhere" TX cities with FTTP TV and internet, but yet many tech savvy areas (that have more wealthy people too, look up the numbers if you don't believe me) are being ignored.

Even if not Verizon, it makes no sense that nobody is trying to roll out FTTP service to metro areas like SV, Chicago, etc. It makes no sense that farmers in rural TX have 50mbps internet but rich tech geeks in Chicago and San Jose, at best, get 6-8mbps at home. Makes no sense, no matter what you all say.

Maybe Verizon just likes farmers better? Pardon me, I must go tend to the live stock. :rolleyes:

To those who don't want to be insulting, what can I do to get Verizon FIOS here? (Silicon Valley)

Get an apartment in NJ and run a really long cable?:rolleyes:

the middle of nowhere, Texas

I think you would be well advised to check your facts before you make these disparaging statements. The middle of nowhere, Texas (or the Dallas/Fort Worth area to give it its correct title) is the fifth largest Nielsen DMA. It's also home to the sixth busiest airport in the world, ExxonMobil, EDS, Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Blockbuster and many other well known companies. Not bad for a bunch of technologically incompetent hicks.

Nice insulting pic, you simply just don't get it.

This from someone who has insulted Farmers, considers people from Sacramento are rednecks and appears to assume anyplace other than major metro areas are full of undeserving hicks.

I think you would be well advised to check your facts before you make these disparaging statements. The middle of nowhere, Texas (or the Dallas/Fort Worth area to give it its correct title) is the fifth largest Nielsen DMA. It's also home to the sixth busiest airport in the world, ExxonMobil, EDS, Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Blockbuster and many other well known companies. Not bad for a bunch of technologically incompetent hicks.
...not to mention, most of you folks tend to be heavily armed. You don't mess with that... ;)

I'd wager Verizon is targeting rapidly growing areas, rather than metro areas. Easier to outlay the product, and the longterm potential is greatest. For instance, Verizon is investing heavily in Maryland and Northern Virginia but hasn't even touched Washington D.C. or Arlington.

This from someone who has insulted Farmers, considers people from Sacramento are rednecks and appears to assume anyplace other than major metro areas are full of undeserving hicks.

I was only making a point, not taking a personal jab at Tommy V as he did to me.

I'm not saying we all shouldn't have FTTP, but just using common sense, if you asked which markets should have it first to insure the most subs, you'd say:
NYC, LA, SF/SV, Chicago, DC

not
Ft. Worth, Tampa, Northern VA, LA area, Northern NJ, Sacramento (Surewest)

That was my only point. I want everyone to have it, but it seems like I will die 50 years from now and there STILL won't be any FTTP service in major markets. That is not only mind-boggling, it makes me and others in this area extremely angry.

I was only making a point, not taking a personal jab at Tommy V as he did to me.

I'm not saying we all shouldn't have FTTP, but just using common sense, if you asked which markets should have it first to insure the most subs, you'd say:
NYC, LA, SF/SV, Chicago, DC

not
Ft. Worth, Tampa, Northern VA, LA area, Northern NJ, Sacramento (Surewest)

That was my only point. I want everyone to have it, but it seems like I will die 50 years from now and there STILL won't be any FTTP service in major markets. That is not only mind-boggling, it makes me and others in this area extremely angry.
If you think about it, the areas you mentioned make sense.

It's not about population, it's about who will pay for the service.

Those areas that have it are relatively affluent areas - read: they have money. Many areas of Chicago and DC are bogged down by less than wealthy populations. In addition, you're more likely to encounter newly built neighborhoods in the areas you mentioned that have it - which means they are more easily wired up for the service. Finally, those areas represent a good cross section of consumer tastes, hence the reason they tend to be test markets for all kinds of new products and services.

You can have three times the people in one area verses another, but if the percentages work in favor of the smaller population, that's where you go.

...
not
Ft. Worth, Tampa, Northern VA, LA area, Northern NJ, Sacramento (Surewest)
..



How could you not say Tampa?

Temple Terrace is a suburb of Tampa. Temple Terrace is the Primary 'Super HeadEnd' for Verizon. Bloomington, IL, is the backup.

The Verizon employees that lived Temple Terrace was used as a pilot program in 2004 before the public rollout in Keller.

but hasn't even touched Washington D.C. or Arlington.

As a clarification Verizon FiOS is available in many parts of Arlington, VA. And while we're giving facts about our homes - Arlington is the smallest geographic sized county in the USA. It is comprised of the VA portion of the District of Columbia that was ceded back to the Commonwealth of VA once it was determined that no one state could dominate the Federal Government. The framers of our government had been concerned about this fact so the original federal city was split between MD and VA. Of course that Arlington County now has a AAA financial rating, less than 1.5% employment and a sound school system - while DC still struggles on all of these points does have some interesting political discussions. And finally Arlington is home to Arlington Cemetary. National Airport (which some people believe is call Reagan National Airport but those of us in Arlington can tell you what it is really called) and the Pentagon as well as many other points of interest.

In CA, for example, they have a statewide franchise license. They already CAN offer TV anywhere in the state.FYI, Verizon has a CA state-issued video franchise certificate. However, it is not applicable state-wide.

Verizon's application and franchise cover specific localities (all of which are within its existing Telephone Service Areas).

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/hottopics/2Telco/misc/vidapplications.htm
ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/VideoFranchiseTemplate/VerizonCA/1_Amended%20Application_App_A_%20App_B/Application%20Video%20Franchise%20111907.pdf
ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/VideoFranchiseTemplate/VerizonCA/2_%20Amended%20Video%20Service%20Area%20Maps/Verizon%20CA_Amended%20Video%20Service%20Area%20Maps_111907. pdf (note: very large file)

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/hottopics/2telco/videofranchising.htm
ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/videofranchisetemplate/Verizon%20California%20signed%20amended%20franchise%20certif icate.pdf

I'm not saying we all shouldn't have FTTP, but just using common sense, if you asked which markets should have it first to insure the most subs, you'd say:
NYC, LA, SF/SV, Chicago, DC
not
Ft. Worth, Tampa, Northern VA, LA area, Northern NJ, Sacramento (Surewest)



Sorry, I can't resist. You're not really very bright, are you? Here's what you should do:

1) Get out a map of the USA.
2) Locate DC.
3) Locate Northern VA. This will probably be the most difficult thing for you to do because it requires some sense of direction (Hint: North is usually up on most maps).
4) Notice that Northern VA is a suburb of DC.

So, you're saying Washington, DC is worthy, but a DC suburb isn't? Right...:rolleyes:

Sorry, I can't resist. You're not really very bright, are you? Here's what you should do:

1) Get out a map of the USA.
2) Locate DC.
3) Locate Northern VA. This will probably be the most difficult thing for you to do because it requires some sense of direction (Hint: North is usually up on most maps).
4) Notice that Northern VA is a suburb of DC.

So, you're saying Washington, DC is worthy, but a DC suburb isn't? Right...:rolleyes:

And this area also has some of the highest per capita income levels. Just about all the cities and counties in the DC area are on the top 100 per capita income areas in the country.

Well never mind about my rantings because apparently there is a company bring FTTH to the SF Bay Area, it's called Paxio. Unfortunately it's only going to new housing developments in various places, but it's a better shot for full SF/SV rollout than Verizon FIOS. No TV service yet, but it appears that will come in the future.

They do offer 100mbps up/down, and even a 1 gig up/down (but that's $395.00/month). 20 mbps up/down is $48.50/month, which is competitive with comcast on price and beat them on speed (Powerboost doesn't count because it's only for the first 10mb of download).

Sorry, I can't resist. You're not really very bright, are you? Here's what you should do:

1) Get out a map of the USA.
2) Locate DC.
3) Locate Northern VA. This will probably be the most difficult thing for you to do because it requires some sense of direction (Hint: North is usually up on most maps).
4) Notice that Northern VA is a suburb of DC.

So, you're saying Washington, DC is worthy, but a DC suburb isn't? Right...:rolleyes:

Thanks for the insults. My point was that DC should have it before DC suburbs. At least I won't resort to throwing insults your way about how bright you are.

Do we need to rename this to I don't have Fios?

Well never mind about my rantings because apparently there is a company bring FTTH to the SF Bay Area, it's called Paxio. Unfortunately it's only going to new housing developments in various places, but it's a better shot for full SF/SV rollout than Verizon FIOS. No TV service yet, but it appears that will come in the future.

They do offer 100mbps up/down, and even a 1 gig up/down (but that's $395.00/month). 20 mbps up/down is $48.50/month, which is competitive with comcast on price and beat them on speed (Powerboost doesn't count because it's only for the first 10mb of download).

:eek:
1Gbs up/down for only $395 a month! That is a steal! Buy that and resell it to the neighbors.;)

Silicon Valley:)

http://www.askmen.com/women/galleries/model/jenna-jameson/picture-5.html

Fiso from Clearwater FL.

Thanks for the insults. My point was that DC should have it before DC suburbs. At least I won't resort to throwing insults your way about how bright you are.

Sorry for the insults. But I'm still in the dark. Why do you think DC should have it before the DC suburbs??? The DC suburbs have (and I'm guessing here) well over 90% of the high tech firms in the area. Most of the population in the area also resides in the immediate suburbs, not in DC proper. There are very wealthy people living in DC, but I'd wager the majority of the wealthy people live in the suburbs.

Actually, D.C is number 23 on the highest per capita income list.

5.3% of households in DC in 2006 were millionaires. Maryland had 6.2% and Virginia had 5.45%

http://www.examiner.com/a-667398~Study__D_C__area_awash_in_millionaires.html

... 20 mbps up/down is $48.50/month, which is competitive with comcast on price and beat them on speed (Powerboost doesn't count because it's only for the first 10mb of download).

yea you right cable's powerboost is a joke in my opinion...

yea you right cable's powerboost is a joke in my opinion...


Powerboost worked great when I had it. It was 30mbs powerboost here(2mbs up) and lasted around 20 to 30 seconds. It was great for smaller downloads but for larger 50MB+ downloads, the consistent 30mbs with FIOS I have is better since it doesn't drop down to 8.8mbs like Comcast did after Powerboost.

i think too much credit is given to the average Joe in the larger metro areas that have been stated before. Just because a geographical area has a higher per capita income than another doesn't mean that everyone in that area is a technophile. i'd be willing to bet there are tens of thousands of people in a given area that are happy or content with their current providers. look at all the clueless people that don't know they're watching HD on their new HDTV. i believe the numbers i saw were something like 30%. not everyone is looking for 100MBps data connections and full res, full bitrate HD broadcasts. Frustration with current service and price will drive the unknowing to switch, so i think it's a mistake to assume that because something better is available, that people will recognize that fact and go through the trouble to switch.

i think too much credit is given to the average Joe in the larger metro areas that have been stated before. Just because a geographical area has a higher per capita income than another doesn't mean that everyone in that area is a technophile. i'd be willing to bet there are tens of thousands of people in a given area that are happy or content with their current providers. look at all the clueless people that don't know they're watching HD on their new HDTV. i believe the numbers i saw were something like 30%. not everyone is looking for 100MBps data connections and full res, full bitrate HD broadcasts. Frustration with current service and price will drive the unknowing to switch, so i think it's a mistake to assume that because something better is available, that people will recognize that fact and go through the trouble to switch.
On the other hand, people with large amounts of disposable income tend to like shiny, new things.

On the other hand, people with large amounts of disposable income tend to like shiny, new things.

point taken, but what's the percentage of people with large amounts of money to those that have average incomes?

i think too much credit is given to the average Joe in the larger metro areas that have been stated before. Just because a geographical area has a higher per capita income than another doesn't mean that everyone in that area is a technophile. i'd be willing to bet there are tens of thousands of people in a given area that are happy or content with their current providers. look at all the clueless people that don't know they're watching HD on their new HDTV. i believe the numbers i saw were something like 30%. not everyone is looking for 100MBps data connections and full res, full bitrate HD broadcasts. Frustration with current service and price will drive the unknowing to switch, so i think it's a mistake to assume that because something better is available, that people will recognize that fact and go through the trouble to switch.

I absolutely agree with this. Most people are fine with their cable internet and TV. They see no reason to redo everything just because there may be some increase in PQ or download speeds. The things that will make the majority of people switch is lower price or being dissatisfied with their current provider. I fall into the latter category and have a long bad history with the cable company (AT&T->Comcast). So when I moved out of Dallas to the suburbs (on my farm ;)) where there are actually options for providers and cable does not have a complete strangle hold on the market, I chose Fios for internet. The faster downloads are nice but to me more than anything the reliability is what I appreciate the most. There is nothing worse than a down internet connection.

The faster downloads are nice but to me more than anything the reliability is what I appreciate the most. There is nothing worse than a down internet connection.Absolutely! Although we dumped our Adelphia/Comcast TV service long-ago for Dish Network, we have been held hostage by the local cable company the past 7 1/2 years because they are the only broadband provider in our subdivision (1/2 mile too far for Verizon DSL and FiOS is 3-miles and 2-years away). Our local cable and broadband service is terribly unreliable...and it always go offline when it is needed most.

As far as people complaining that FiOS is being available in their area...all I can say is I feel their pain, but they should also understand a huge investment is required to bring FiOS to a particular area: capital, manpower, marketing, legal, political, etc. FiOS deployments must be supported by a sound business model since Verizon, and their many subsidiaries (i.e. Verizon Verizon Inc.), has a legal responsibility to investors, shareholders and stakeholders. Personally, I would contact my local franchise authority (City, County, Township, etc.) along with key members of my local Verizon community: Manager of Economic Development & Government Affairs, Franchise Manager, Director of Government Affairs, etc.) in order to "shake things up" a little.

Anyway, we purchased a home in Rowlett TX the end of October and look forward to relocating in the coming months. And yes...selecting a home in a FiOS area was a major consideration!

as an aside, i saw a commercial for Cox yesterday that tries to take a stab at VZ. it basically said "we already dug up your yard to lay fiber, why let the telco do the same?" i had to chuckle a little at that.

Verizon is negotiating with DC government to use the dark fiber that's already been laid. I think it's about getting the best deal for both parties. There are very affluent neighborhoods in the NW side of the district ( Georgetown, Dupont, and all the way up to Bethesda, MD) that would love to have this service.

as an aside, i saw a commercial for Cox yesterday that tries to take a stab at VZ. it basically said "we already dug up your yard to lay fiber, why let the telco do the same?" i had to chuckle a little at that.I agree... slightly misleading. The VO guy says, "I have enough 'fiber'." :)

I agree... slightly misleading. The VO guy says, "I have enough 'fiber'." :)

translation:

our service technically has nothing that can trump Vz so we'll take a cheap shot at them. Hopefully Joe Blow isn't smart enough to know there's a big difference"

As a clarification Verizon FiOS is available in many parts of Arlington, VA. And while we're giving facts about our homes - Arlington is the smallest geographic sized county in the USA. It is comprised of the VA portion of the District of Columbia that was ceded back to the Commonwealth of VA once it was determined that no one state could dominate the Federal Government. The framers of our government had been concerned about this fact so the original federal city was split between MD and VA. Of course that Arlington County now has a AAA financial rating, less than 1.5% employment and a sound school system - while DC still struggles on all of these points does have some interesting political discussions. And finally Arlington is home to Arlington Cemetary. National Airport (which some people believe is call Reagan National Airport but those of us in Arlington can tell you what it is really called) and the Pentagon as well as many other points of interest.

My mistake. I meant neither Washington D.C. nor Alexandria. For some reason my mind said Alexandria but my fingers typed Arlington.

seems to me Verizon is just picking the low hanging fruit. they go into areas that are easiest technically, geographically, and politically but offer the biggest financial upside.

my sister and I live in the same city and zip code. her area is actually wealthier, being closer to the beach. But I've had fios tv for over a year while they can't even tell her when she'll get just fios internet. something to do with her living in a large condo block.

anyway, let's go back to talking about when we'll get more hd channels. I need me some HD love.

seems to me Verizon is just picking the low hanging fruit. they go into areas that are easiest technically, geographically, and politically but offer the biggest financial upside.


I agree with you. It will be years before a big old city like Philly gets wired:(

Comparison of last night's NFL game was a rare opportunity to see the same feed on 3 different networks. HD to boot.

1. NFL-HD
2. CBS-HD
3. NBC-HD

I expected NFL-HD to be the best PQ since it was the source. Confirmed, but it was close between NFL-HD and CBS-HD.

Don't know what NBC did to mess things up, but the PQ was noisier and softer than CBS. Didn't check the audio.

Comparison of last night's NFL game was a rare opportunity to see the same feed on 3 different networks. HD to boot.

1. NFL-HD
2. CBS-HD
3. NBC-HD

I expected NFL-HD to be the best PQ since it was the source. Confirmed, but it was close between NFL-HD and CBS-HD.

Don't know what NBC did to mess things up, but the PQ was noisier and softer than CBS. Didn't check the audio.The 3hr:45min NFL Network broadcast of the Patriots game averaged 16.1Mbps with peaks of 17Mbps. CBS and NBC took that feed ran it through their encoders (compression equipment).

CBS and NBC both added an additional compression step, which is why quality was lower. Your CBS and/or NBC feeds may also use a lower bit rate.

Interesting observation on the Philly Comcast thread that the local NBC affiliate uses the subchannels, whereas the local CBS affiliate does not. Might explain the noticeable difference- bit rate reduced for subchannels. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12625981#post12625981

Any update on when Verizon will roll out the new HD Channels this year?

Any update on when Verizon will roll out the new HD Channels this year?Some time between March 20 and June 21.

Some time between March 20 and June 21.
Yes, Verizon did just a great job of sticking to their announced schedule in 2007. That is why we all have the IMG with the patch fixes and HD VOD. :rolleyes:

Semi-seriously though, I am in Washington Metro market and Verizon announced in a press release on their website on December 5 that HD VOD was "coming soon to the FiOS systems in the Washington, D.C., metro area, Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and to Verizon's remaining FiOS TV markets next year." Well, as of yesterday there is 1 alleged HD program in the HDTV folder with some travel doc on shopping in Bangkok in HD. When I try to watch it, it tells me that I am not authorized. Ok, maybe it is about THAT type of shopping trip to Bangkok so I am not allowed to see it. Verizon could not even meet their December 5 press release on rolling out HD VOD. What happened?

I sure hope we see at least a few new HD channels before the "spring". Time to give Verizon Fios TV a grade for upgrades in 2007! I know they are not going to get an A or B from me. :D

Well, as of yesterday there is 1 alleged HD program in the HDTV folder with some travel doc on shopping in Bangkok in HD. When I try to watch it, it tells me that I am not authorized.

I watched it a few days ago (maybe a week ago?). Haven't tried to watch it lately. And unfortunately, it wasn't one of those shopping trips :D

I tried to watch it and it says I wasn't subscribed. I do subscrivbe to the premium movie channels except for Cinemax. I checked this evening and the HD VOD title wasn't there anymore.

I tried to watch it and it says I wasn't subscribed. I do subscrivbe to the premium movie channels except for Cinemax. I checked this evening and the HD VOD title wasn't there anymore.

I'll check tonight...

I tried to watch it and it says I wasn't subscribed. I do subscribe to the premium movie channels except for Cinemax. I checked this evening and the HD VOD title wasn't there anymore.
I checked last night and the HDTV folder was gone in the VOD search. No HD titles listed at all. Now that the holidays are over, maybe Verizon will get back on track on pushing out the IMG patch release 1.0.4 to MA and RI to finish updating everyone stuck with the really buggy version of the IMG and get HD VOD to the markets where they implied it would be added before the end of 2007. Then get the IMG out to the remaining markets that still have the IPG and complete the HD VOD roll-out to all markets. Anyone want to pick a date by when that might happen? March, April, July, next presidential administration?

I checked last night and the HDTV folder was gone in the VOD search. No HD titles listed at all. Now that the holidays are over, maybe Verizon will get back on track on pushing out the IMG patch release 1.0.4 to MA and RI to finish updating everyone stuck with the really buggy version of the IMG and get HD VOD to the markets where they implied it would be added before the end of 2007. Then get the IMG out to the remaining markets that still have the IPG and complete the HD VOD roll-out to all markets. Anyone want to pick a date by when that might happen? March, April, July, next presidential administration?

Jan 13, 2016!!!

I concur with Jeep on the above date.

Jan 13, 2016!!!

Comcast price increase! 01/03/2008!! I can predict too:D

Now now C64 - don't confuse your "Jeeps"

Now now C64 - don't confuse your
"Jeeps"

I thought you were related.

Has any1 seen CNN in HD with Verizon FIOS if yes what channell is been designated?.

SInce when is CNN in HD on FIOS? If it is what channel is it?

SInce when is CNN-HD on FIOS? If it is what channel is it?There's no CNN in HD on FiOS yet.

Presumably it is coming some time between March 20 and June 21.

There's no CNN in HD on FiOS yet.

Presumably it is coming some time between March 20 and June 21.

Apparently Verizon did not think that any network would create an HD version in the 2nd half of 2007. It seems that their spending billions of $ to do FTTH but never left room in their design for growth. It just proves that you don't have to be very smart to spend money.

Anyone notice how jacked up the guide is lately...had a heart attack when it said there was NEW Battletsar Galatica episodes on UniHD...of course they were new from season 1 in 2005.:mad:

Since no one has posted this in this thread, there are reports from multiple people in NY on the Fios TV forum at dslpreports.com that they have received the automated phone call informing them that they would be getting the IMG soon. Several posters who claim to be in the know say that NY will get the IMG on Jan. 8 and that the plan is to finish the IMG roll-out by mid-month. So NJ, eastern PA, and DE may be seeing the IMG soon - for better or for worse. Presumably MA and RI would get the less buggy IMG 1.0.4 release pushed to them as well. My advice to those with the 6416 and the old IPG software is to keep the drive under 70% to 75% full to reduce the odds of losing recordings when the IMG upgrade hits.

Of course, Verizon has done a poor job of staying on even announced schedules. We never did get HD VOD beyond 1 program which went away last week in the Washington Metro market despite a Verizon press release in early December that stated Washington Metro, MA, and RI would get HD VOD soon and it implied before the end of 2007. Oops.

Since no one has posted this in this thread, there are reports from multiple people in NY on the Fios TV forum at dslpreports.com that they have received the automated phone call informing them that they would be getting the IMG soon. Several posters who claim to be in the know say that NY will get the IMG on Jan. 8 and that the plan is to finish the IMG roll-out by mid-month. So NJ, eastern PA, and DE may be seeing the IMG soon - for better or for worse. Presumably MA and RI would get the less buggy IMG 1.0.4 release pushed to them as well. My advice to those with the 6416 and the old IPG software is to keep the drive under 70% to 75% full to reduce the odds of losing recordings when the IMG upgrade hits.

Of course, Verizon has done a poor job of staying on even announced schedules. We never did get HD VOD beyond 1 program which went away last week in the Washington Metro market despite a Verizon press release in early December that stated Washington Metro, MA, and RI would get HD VOD soon and it implied before the end of 2007. Oops.

So based on past experience we can expect the rollout to occur anywhere from january 8, 2008 to infinity and beyond :)

Just enjoying what I have in North Jersey, at least it works.

Anyone notice how jacked up the guide is...had a heart attack when it said there was NEW Battletsar Galatica episodes on UniHD...of course they were new from season 1 in 2005.:mad:


They have been advertising that they will run through all existing episodes straight through in order. I already have Season 1 on HD DVD and will be recording Season 2 and 3 in HD on my HDTiVos and transferring them to my PC for archiving so I can watch them whenever I want in HD on my HDTiVos. This HD multiroom viewing HD transferring to the PC is excellent. I wish this would ahve been possible in 2001 when I first started digitally recording the HD stream from OTA.

Since no one has posted this in this thread, there are reports from multiple people in NY on the Fios TV forum at dslpreports.com that they have received the automated phone call informing them that they would be getting the IMG soon. Several posters who claim to be in the know say that NY will get the IMG on Jan. 8 and that the plan is to finish the IMG roll-out by mid-month. So NJ, eastern PA, and DE may be seeing the IMG soon - for better or for worse. Presumably MA and RI would get the less buggy IMG 1.0.4 release pushed to them as well. My advice to those with the 6416 and the old IPG software is to keep the drive under 70% to 75% full to reduce the odds of losing recordings when the IMG upgrade hits.

Of course, Verizon has done a poor job of staying on even announced schedules. We never did get HD VOD beyond 1 program which went away last week in the Washington Metro market despite a Verizon press release in early December that stated Washington Metro, MA, and RI would get HD VOD soon and it implied before the end of 2007. Oops.
When you get it, do not be surprised if it takes most of the day before it settles down. My IPG/IMG update started in the wee hours and wasn't settled until the afternoon. Don't really know if this next one will take as long for you.

They have been advertising that they will run through all existing episodes straight through in order. I already have Season 1 on HD DVD and will be recording Season 2 and 3 in HD on my HDTiVos and transferring them to my PC for archiving so I can watch them whenever I want in HD on my HDTiVos. This HD multiroom viewing HD transferring to the PC is excellent. I wish this would ahve been possible in 2001 when I first started digitally recording the HD stream from OTA.

Yeah it will be good to review the episodes that I want but with the Guide and the DVR I have to baby sit so many of my recordings...Hmmm HDTivo, may have to consider

Since no one has posted this in this thread, there are reports from multiple people in NY on the Fios TV forum at dslpreports.com that they have received the automated phone call informing them that they would be getting the IMG soon.

Hmm, is that the phone call I received about 3 months ago? I'm on Long Island and received no other call than the one several months ago.

Several posters who claim to be in the know say that NY will get the IMG on Jan. 8 and that the plan is to finish the IMG roll-out by mid-month. So NJ, eastern PA, and DE may be seeing the IMG soon - for better or for worse. Presumably MA and RI would get the less buggy IMG 1.0.4 release pushed to them as well. My advice to those with the 6416 and the old IPG software is to keep the drive under 70% to 75% full to reduce the odds of losing recordings when the IMG upgrade hits.

Of course, Verizon has done a poor job of staying on even announced schedules. We never did get HD VOD beyond 1 program which went away last week in the Washington Metro market despite a Verizon press release in early December that stated Washington Metro, MA, and RI would get HD VOD soon and it implied before the end of 2007. Oops.

As I've said many times, when I see it I'll believe it. If I had a dollar for each one of these rumors than never panned out, I'd own some medium sized Island by now. :D

Hmm, is that the phone call I received about 3 months ago? I'm on Long Island and received no other call than the one several months ago.

As I've said many times, when I see it I'll believe it. If I had a dollar for each one of these rumors than never panned out, I'd own some medium sized Island by now. :D
What are people in NY and northern NJ getting on channel 111 and 49? From the posts at dslreports, sound like NY and northern NJ are getting the IMG very soon. With the way Verizon has been handling the IMG roll-out, they might figure the phone call you got 3 months ago was all the notification you need. :D

What are people in NY and northern NJ getting on channel 111 and 49? From the posts at dslreports, sound like NY and northern NJ are getting the IMG very soon. With the way Verizon has been handling the IMG roll-out, they might figure the phone call you got 3 months ago was all the notification you need. :D

Looks like we've got the tutorial for the new guide in Northern NJ on channel 111. No crawl on 49 other than to watch "When Weather Changed History..."

What are people in NY and northern NJ getting on channel 111 and 49? From the posts at dslreports, sound like NY and northern NJ are getting the IMG very soon. With the way Verizon has been handling the IMG roll-out, they might figure the phone call you got 3 months ago was all the notification you need. :D


I guess with the mailing 8 months ago and the call 3 months ago it is fair warning.

I concur with Jimapp channel 111 has new material.

Now to hold on for the ride.

new img here in nassau county long island. haven't gone through it yet but it sure do look purtty.

What are people in NY and northern NJ getting on channel 111 and 49? From the posts at dslreports, sound like NY and northern NJ are getting the IMG very soon. With the way Verizon has been handling the IMG roll-out, they might figure the phone call you got 3 months ago was all the notification you need. :D

HOLY MOLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We actually got the new IMG! Are we no longer the FIOS stepchildren here in N.Y.???? Will wonders never cease???? Is it time to play the lottery?????

Seriously though, it looks very nice. I've noticed very quick response on the DVR now and dual buffers! To me that was the biggest difference between the FIOS DVR and my TIVO S3. I've noticed no glitches yet, but I haven't really played all that much with it.

So far so good! :)

I just got the new IMG in Eastern MA as well. My only quibble was that it turned off all of my cable boxes, which meant the Series2 TiVos I had hooked up weren't recording anything for an hour. Anyway, it does look nice - I like the two partial-screen guides (up arrow for the half-screen guide on the right side of the screen, down arrow for the tiny guide at the bottom). And, of course, the DVR is reporting space usage properly now - woo hoo!

NEW FIOS GUIDE - NASSAU COUNTY, LI


I woke up to the new guide this am, must have been done after 2am last night because it wasnt there before I went to sleep. The new guide looks nice but it appears to have an underscan problem now on the left (guide not centered on screen) side of my Toshiba 57H84 RPTV and on my panasonic 42PZ77u i now have a nasty green line on the right side of the screen on all the HD channels when use 1:1 pixel mode. Prior to this update I only had underscan on NBC (yellow line) and MTV HD (white line).

HOLY MOLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We actually got the new IMG! Are we no longer the FIOS stepchildren here in N.Y.???? Will wonders never cease???? Is it time to play the lottery?????
Now you will have to find something else to complain about! lack of HD VOD! Where are the new HD channels? When will Verizon either enable the eSATA port or provide a DVR with a bigger hard drive? When will they send out a IMG release 1.0.5 with more bug fixes? See how easy that was? :D

Based on the posts here and at dslreports, NY and northern NJ got the big IMG upgrade this morning. MA and RI, which have had the IMG 1.0.3 for months, got 1.0.4 this morning. Southeastern PA, DE, and southern NJ (the Philadelphia region VHO) are supposed to get the IMG on January 15. Since Verizon does most upgrades in the Tuesday to Thursday window, wonder if they will be doing anything else before the end of this week?

Southeastern PA, DE, and southern NJ (the Philadelphia region VHO) are supposed to get the IMG on January 15. Since Verizon does most upgrades in the Tuesday to Thursday window, wonder if they will be doing anything else before the end of this week?

Being one of the Southeastern PA people... I'm wondering what you ALL would recommend I do?

Watch all the DVR recordings as quick as possible?
Write down all my series so I can reprogram them?
Or sit there and hope for the best?

I have heard bits and bytes about people losing, but the reports on here have been super few and far between, so I'm wondering if it's even worth it to worry about it.

Being one of the Southeastern PA people... I'm wondering what you ALL would recommend I do?

Watch all the DVR recordings as quick as possible?
Write down all my series so I can reprogram them?
Or sit there and hope for the best?

I have heard bits and bytes about people losing, but the reports on here have been super few and far between, so I'm wondering if it's even worth it to worry about it.

One I've heard that helps avoid problems is to have your space ~66% full or less, give them disk space to work with. Of course I'm in Mass, and since we had no warning, I don't know if I'm following my own advice right now.

Now you will have to find something else to complain about! lack of HD VOD! Where are the new HD channels? When will Verizon either enable the eSATA port or provide a DVR with a bigger hard drive? When will they send out a IMG release 1.0.5 with more bug fixes? See how easy that was? :D



Hey, where's the HD VOD??? When are we getting the new HD channels?? Whe will Verzion enable eSATA or at least give us a bigger HD?

OK, I feel better! Only kidding! I'm happy for now. :D

HOLY MOLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We actually got the new IMG! Are we no longer the FIOS stepchildren here in N.Y.???? Will wonders never cease???? Is it time to play the lottery?????

Seriously though, it looks very nice. I've noticed very quick response on the DVR now and dual buffers! To me that was the biggest difference between the FIOS DVR and my TIVO S3. I've noticed no glitches yet, but I haven't really played all that much with it.

So far so good! :)

Ken, so you have both a High Def Tivo and a Verizon HD DVR? I am thinking of going with this setup with the Tivo on my main system. Is there any way to add external storage to the Verizon DVR? Overall how would you rate it compared to your Tivo?

Tommy, at this point there's no way I'd go for a Tivo. The only advantage I see is the larger storage capacity. I find the FIOS DVR is quicker and more responsive now than my Tivo. I actually prefer the guide on FIOS now too. But at this point I don't think you can add external drives to the FIOS unit.

I'm sure you'd enjoy the Tivo, but frankly, IMO, the difference between the two doesn't warrant the expense.

Tommy, at this point there's no way I'd go for a Tivo. The only advantage I see is the larger storage capacity. I find the FIOS DVR is quicker and more responsive now than my Tivo. I actually prefer the guide on FIOS now too. But at this point I don't think you can add external drives to the FIOS unit.

I'm sure you'd enjoy the Tivo, but frankly, IMO, the difference between the two doesn't warrant the expense.

Thanks for the honest response. I am surprised to hear you say that as I seem to read so many complaints about the Fios HD DVR and people seem to like the HDTivo. I know some people will always go for the Tivo no matter what. I personally have no need for it to be Tivo but I do want the best DVR, Tivo or not. I know with DirecTV some people still hang on the the old HDTivo units which I have never understood but oh well. Not sure how good of a comparison it is but my parents have Time Warner Moto HD DVRs and I really do not like them compared to my HR20. That is the main reason I am hesitant to go with Moto boxes along with the complaints I hear on this forum.

I am in MA and have teh 1.0.4 I still do not have dual buffering like TIVO.
I can't:
1. pause station 1,
2. go to station 2,
3. go back to station one and it is still paused.

If anyone can do this, I would love to hear it.

Does anyone know what kind of cable system Verizon FIOS is? Either STD, HRC or IRC? Actually might it be hand to have a thread where people who know and tell what kind of cable system they are using locally for those of us with QAM tuners in our TV's? I live in Plano, TX and use Verizon FIOS for HD-cable and was wondering if there might be any benefit to trying to tune in the the unscrambled channels with the TV.

For those of us without the DVR, what additional functionality should I be seeing with IMG 1.0.4? Looks pretty much like 1.0.3 here.

For those of us without the DVR, what additional functionality should I be seeing with IMG 1.0.4? Looks pretty much like 1.0.3 here.

You can set show reminders now, although it won't autotune....just remind you it is on.

You can set the DVR to skip your non-favorite channels when using the ch+ and ch- keys.

Not sure beyond that.

This is going to get moved to the HDTV Hardware forum or a Verizon Fios thread, but I will answer. Verizon Fios TV uses QAM-256 for the digital cable channels and IPTV for VOD & the guide data. The SD and HD locals are sent in the clear. If you hook up a QAM tuner, you should find the SD locals and the PEGs at QAM 63 to 68 or so, the digital broadcast locals with the HD and SD sub-channels at QAM 71 to 75 or higher depending on how many HD locals you have. Use STD for the channel scan. The HD locals should get mapped to the broadcast channel #: 4-1, 5-1, 9-1, and so on. However some Sharp TVs and other brands are having problem tuning to the HD locals in some markets since Verizon modified how they pass the PSIP data in. This is being investigated by Verizon.

The QAM channels from be located from 55 to 126 in blocks. Almost all of the national SD and HD channels are encrypted. So you will find 100s of sub-channels you can't tune to.

Can someone tell me how to get into the settings with the new software? These are the 'hidden' settings. Thanks.

Can someone tell me how to get into the settings with the new software? These are the 'hidden' settings. Thanks.
If you have the 6416, turn the DVR off. Press Select, then press Menu on the remote.

Thanks for the honest response. I am surprised to hear you say that as I seem to read so many complaints about the Fios HD DVR and people seem to like the HDTivo. I know some people will always go for the Tivo no matter what....
I too listened to the many who said how much better Tivo is... and ended up with the TivoHD under the Christmas tree. Maybe I need to give it more time, but I'm not impressed. We started with Replay and everything since (LG HD DVR, Comcast, FioS old & new) has been a step backwards. But now I prefer both Comcast & Fios interfaces over TiVo:
- Live shows disappear while in several menus
- No record indicator on the guide
- No +/- day buttons on the remote... have to go a few levels into the options menu.
We're also hanging onto the FiOS DVR, along with TivoHD in the same room (both remoted to the other rooms via long component cables.) That way we have enough space (and tuners) to record multiple prime time shows. The CC 1-year deal expired so it's bye bye.

This too probably belongs in the FiOS DVR or Tivo thread.

I am in MA and have teh 1.0.4 I still do not have dual buffering like TIVO.
I can't:
1. pause station 1,
2. go to station 2,
3. go back to station one and it is still paused.

If anyone can do this, I would love to hear it.

No, but it's better than it used to be. At least now when you swap back and forth (using "LAST") you can rewind... about 20 minutes I think.

I too listened to the many who said how much better Tivo is... and ended up with the TivoHD under the Christmas tree. Maybe I need to give it more time, but I'm not impressed. We started with Replay and everything since (LG HD DVR, Comcast, FioS old & new) has been a step backwards. But now I prefer both Comcast & Fios interfaces over TiVo:
- Live shows disappear while in several menus
- No record indicator on the guide
- No +/- day buttons on the remote... have to go a few levels into the options menu.I bought a TiVo after the IMG update.

The current TiVo program guide is simply inferior. TiVo's program guide doesn't use color coding. It doesn't show a record indicator. It doesn't have remote buttons for day+ and day-. The guide is sluggish, and the TiVo doesn't change channels as fast as the Motorola. The only thing good about the TiVo guide is the program information -- you get much more of it. Simply put, if you spend much of your time watching live TV or guide browsing, the TiVo is not for you.

TiVo developed a new color-coded guide (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2294/2126646108_7b9e2d4104.jpg?v=0) with record indicators for their Comcast TiVo, but it's unknown if or when the CableCard TiVos will get it.

TiVo is most suitable for those that record what they watch. The entire TiVo experience is designed around recording and playback. Content is managed well, with multiple episodes of the same series organized into folders (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/nowplaying5.jpg), the contents listed by recorded date with the episode name. TiVo's conflict management is second to none, DVR function (pause, fast forward, 30s skip, etc) response is excellent, and you are given far more control over how and what you record.

Most DVRs only let you record by title; a few let you record all programs that match a certain phrase. Tivo is the only DVR that will automatically and continuously record all content -- regardless of date, time or channel -- matching a boolean search (OR/AND/NOT) across multiple fields of program information. You can set the TiVo to find and record all high-definition programs in a specific category that have A in the title but not B, have C and D in the description but not E or F, have actress G or H, but not I or J, and directors K or L, but not M -- any combination can be used in a single record setting, with all results recorded and organized in a folder whose name you define. As with any series recording, you set the priority relative to other recordings, and you can choose to keep X number of programs, record just new or new and repeat broadcasts, start early or end late, etc.

As far as I am aware, TiVo is also the only DVR that actually keeps track of what you've recorded for the past 28 days so it won't record the same program or episode again. With the TiVo, you don't get the same episode recorded again after you delete it. Because the TiVo keeps a record of what was recorded and what was not, the TiVo will also continue to look for a missed program (due to a three-way conflict) even if the next showing is weeks later and flagged as a repeat.

TiVo is the only HDTV DVR that allows you to download SD and HD recordings in full resolution (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.png) from the DVR to your PC or Mac over your home network, which you can then burn to Blu-ray, DVD, import into Windows Media Center, or copy to a portable media player. With FiOS, you can even download HD recordings from premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz. TiVo also supports multi-room viewing with HD, unlike the Verizon MRDVR that is now limited to SD (Verizon plans update to add HD multi-room in 2H 2008).

At CES this week, TiVo announced an enhancement for the next version of its software -- the ability to push content and guide updates directly to the TiVo. Currently, the TiVo connects to download the latest guide information once every ~48 hours. With the new push capability, TiVo will be able to push updates -- including realtime schedule changes -- instantly to every TiVo, updating current or upcoming recordings as appropriate. This will avoid potential missed recordings due to last minute scheduling changes.

Could most people live without these features? Sure. The main benefits of the TiVo over the FiOS' Motorola DVR are still (1) reliable guide information and (2) ability to upgrade storage capacity. Since 95% of what I watch is recorded programming, I was not happy about missing several episodes of my favorite series every month on the Motorola DVR due to Verizon's faulty guide information. The Tivo gives me reliable recording with ~180 HD hours capacity, and that more than makes up for the inferior program guide. If Verizon had a reliable guide data provider and a DVR with 500Gb capacity, I doubt I would have spent the money on a TiVo.

Thanks to the writer's strike, there aren't many series recordings for the FiOS' Motorola DVR to miss at the moment. :D

Just a reminder for those potential subscribers who are on the fence...

January 18 was the original deadline to lock in the current $42.99/mo TV rate until 2009, or 2010 with two-year commitment. That date was later changed to February 15 for VA, MD, and OR customers. It's not clear whether the January 18 deadline still applies to customers outside those markets.

After the deadline, new customers will pay $47.99/mo for TV this year instead of the current $42.99. The movie package jumps from $12.99/mo to $14.99/mo at that time. Standard STBs and CableCards added after the date will also cost $1/mo more.

All existing customers will maintain their current TV rates until 2009 (or 2010 with two-year commitment), provided they do not make changes to their account.