ch. 111 in the Philly suburbs is now showing the new IMG.

No new IMG in northern NJ (Bergen County) yet. I saw a post that said January 15.

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. :DWhich is why I prefer the TiVo.

There is no way I would replace my three Series 3 TiVos and two TiVoHD boxes(four with 1TB drives, one with a 750GB)for the piece of crap Motorola DVR.

If you have the 6416, turn the DVR off. Press Select, then press Menu on the remote.

Thanks guy!

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! :)

Are you still happy after 24 hours? We still have the old guide in NJ.

no biggie... FIOS isnt available still in my part of Jersey

Are you still happy after 24 hours? We still have the old guide in NJ.

I'm actually happier than I was when I first saw it. Having learned a few new tricks from the forum have made it even more flexible than I thought. This is a very significant upgrade IMO. :)

I'm actually happier than I was when I first saw it. Having learned a few new tricks from the forum have made it even more flexible than I thought. This is a very significant upgrade IMO. :)

Share please!

Share please!

* Much quicker DVR response than before
* Much nicer guide from an aesthetic standpoint
* Color coding of the guide by genre (sports, movies, news etc.)
* Ability to switch the type of guide you want...actually 3 different varieties
* Dual buffering
* One button advance to the next day
* More usable information in the guide than before

That's just a quick sampling, there are others.

* Much quicker DVR response than before
* Much nicer guide from an aesthetic standpoint
* Color coding of the guide by genre (sports, movies, news etc.)
* Ability to switch the type of guide you want...actually 3 different varieties
* Dual buffering
* One button advance to the next day
* More usable information in the guide than before

That's just a quick sampling, there are others.

One thing I like is the ability to page up / down in the list of VOD titles. I hadn't been able to do this in 1.0.3, so it was one of the first things tested.

Is it me, or is the HD picture itself a bit crisper? (I know, I know... getting a bit loopy here). Overall, a very good upgrade. Looking forward to enabling that eSATA port, but I can't kill the good buzz right now.

I guess PA, Del. and NJ are the orphans.:rolleyes:

I guess PA, Del. and NJ are the orphans.:rolleyes:


Heard 1/15 for us in NJ.

Does anyone know when Verizon will be adding USA and Sci-Fi to their HD lineup? I'm a wrestling fan and the WWE is going to start broadcasting Raw, Smackdown!, and ECW in HD soon, and I don't want to miss it. I searched through this thread but I didn't see any mention of dates or new channels.

Folks - can we keep the endless IMG discussions to the separate hardware thread, and let this one focus on the PROGRAMMING like it's supposed to?

Many folks here don't have, and don't want a poor-man's DVR, we're just interested in when we'll get new channels, and other technology discussions around FIOS programming.

PLEASE!!!

Does anyone know when Verizon will be adding USA and Sci-Fi to their HD lineup? I'm a wrestling fan and the WWE is going to start broadcasting Raw, Smackdown!, and ECW in HD soon, and I don't want to miss it. I searched through this thread but I didn't see any mention of dates or new channels.Verizon has said the next 30 HD channels (60 total) are coming this spring, so some time between March 20 and June 21.

I'm still waiting for HD VOD to be launched. It was supposed to hit my area before the end of last year, but so far nothing.

There is no way I would replace my three Series 3 TiVos and two TiVoHD boxes(four with 1TB drives, one with a 750GB)for the piece of crap Motorola DVR.


I wouldn't either if I had a huge monetary investment like that !!:)

Folks - can we keep the endless IMG discussions to the separate hardware thread, and let this one focus on the PROGRAMMING like it's supposed to?

Many folks here don't have, and don't want a poor-man's DVR, we're just interested in when we'll get new channels, and other technology discussions around FIOS programming.

PLEASE!!!

unfortunately, there's not a whole lot going on programming wise. it'd be crickets in here.

I guess we could speculate endlessly about when there'll be new d channels.

I guess PA, Del. and NJ are the orphans.:rolleyes:

I don't see it that way at all. The fact that not ready for prime time software was imposed on lots of people was not in their best interest. We are better off waiting for stable software that has had many of it's bugs fixed. Verizon would have been better served if they performed a proper QA and delayed deployment rather than quickly deploy software that annoys their customers.

I really hope that learned from their mistake.

Folks - can we keep the endless IMG discussions to the separate hardware thread, and let this one focus on the PROGRAMMING like it's supposed to?

Many folks here don't have, and don't want a poor-man's DVR, we're just interested in when we'll get new channels, and other technology discussions around FIOS programming.

PLEASE!!!Nope. If it weren't for the FiOS problem discussions, this 'Programming Thread' wouldn't have any entries for the next few months. The current entries are just gap filler that most posters seem to like since they still post --- right? I mean, how many times can a person read about the fact that nothing about 'Programming' is happening? FiOS never accurately announces anything in advance. I think that once FiOS adds the next bunch of HD channels and/or HD VOD, there will be lots of discussion about the choices (ie 'Programming'). Let nature run its course. Keeping each thread surgically clean just makes life that much more complicated. There are already more threads here than I can keep up with. My 2 cents. :D

Regarding the new IMG, I noticed something strange. The play button on my universal remotes (pair of JP1 remotes and a Pronto) no longer works, but it works on the original Verizon remotes. Baffling.

Regarding the new IMG, I noticed something strange. The play button on my universal remotes (pair of JP1 remotes and a Pronto) no longer works, but it works on the original Verizon remotes. Baffling.Baffling is a good word for describing the world of FiOS! :p

Many folks here don't have, and don't want a poor-man's DVR


What's a "poor-man's DVR"?

What's a "poor-man's DVR"?

In my experience that's often the response from what I call "Tivo snobs" when talking about cable or satellite DVRs. Anything 'less' than a Tivo is a 'poor man's DVR'. I'm not saying that's what he meant, but I've seen that often enough in that context.

I obviously don't agree with it since I've got both an S3 and a "poor-man's DVR" and I'm seriously thinking of selling my S3 and getting another poor man's DVR to replace it. ;)

Regarding the new IMG, I noticed something strange. The play button on my universal remotes (pair of JP1 remotes and a Pronto) no longer works, but it works on the original Verizon remotes. Baffling.

KenA - back when we got the IMG upgrade in MA (a few months ago) I had a similar problem. The play button didn't work on any of my remotes. I don't actually have the original remotes since the Verzion tech said they weren't available when I was installed (they had "run out" and gave us equivalent replacement Sci-Atlanta remotes). Anyway, after a call to Tech support I learned that reprogramming the remotes with a different code fixed the problem with the play button. I suggest trying to reprogram your JP1 and Pronto remotes. Just a thought.

A verizon salesman came to my door yesterday promoting verizon fios. I never considered getting it until then. I was just curious as to if current owners suggest I get it and if digital is really better. Also do you think its the best bang for your buck?

thanks

What's a "poor-man's DVR"?

If money weren't an issue, and people were really honest, everyone would be using a Tivo or MCE or HTPC (or the new Echostar OTA DVR). The cable-co (including Verizon) DVR's are really not that good, in the scheme of things. And they don't have to be that good. Why?

They're cheap. They do just what they need to do to make it worth the minimal monthly fee. And you have to do cost analysis for yourself and your viewing habits. The cable-co DVR's are increasingly becoming worth it for the $0 cost, and minimal monthly fee. But they'll never be in the realm of the commercial DVR's, especially in terms of being more than just a digital VCR (which the commercial ones definitely are). But if that's all you want/need, they're fine.

Flame away.

And they don't have to be that good. Why?

They're cheap. They do just what they need to do to make it worth the minimal monthly fee. And you have to do cost analysis for yourself and your viewing habits. The cable-co DVR's are increasingly becoming worth it for the $0 cost, and minimal monthly fee. But they'll never be in the realm of the commercial DVR's, especially in terms of being more than just a digital VCR (which the commercial ones definitely are). But if that's all you want/need, they're fine.I suspect most cable customers use their DVR more like a VCR. They still watch most of their favorite programs live, but they use the DVR to record programs that they aren't around to watch. If you use your DVR like that, then reliability of recording is somewhat less important, because you are around to watch many of your favorite shows when they are on.

On the other hand, if virtually 100% of the content you watch is recorded, you depend on your DVR to record those programs. If something doesn't get recorded, you miss it. I had the Verizon DVR for a year, with IMG 2.0 for a month. In that time, it missed an average of 2-3 recordings per month -- obviously it missed more during the regular TV season. Overall reliability in series recording was probably at least 80%, and 90% from local networks, but I did not like missing 10-15% of my programs.

Of the 34 total Heroes episodes, the Verizon DVR missed three episodes and recorded only half of another. Of ~25 Stargate Atlantis episodes, the Verizon DVR missed five or six. On FOX's 24 last year, the Verizon DVR missed two of 24 episodes. That is not acceptable to me. When I turn on my TV to watch the latest episode of 24, Heroes, Journeyman, or whatever, I expect the program to be there.

If I am going to pay $60/mo for a TV and DVR, it must-- (1) record all my programs reliably, (2) have sufficient capacity to record and keep my shows long enough for me to watch them, and (3) provide the means for me to quickly and easily skip commercials. Other features are nice, but they are all secondary to me.

For others who watch most of their shows live, I can see how DVR reliability and capacity would not be a major concern. For them, it probably does not make sense to pay for the extra reliability of Tivo or MCE. But reliability is of major concern to me, and I have no problem paying a few dollars extra per month for it.

I suspect most cable customers use their DVR more like a VCR. They still watch most of their favorite programs live, but they use the DVR to record programs that they aren't around to watch. If you use your DVR like that, then reliability of recording is somewhat less important, because you are around to watch many of your favorite shows when they are on.

On the other hand, if virtually 100% of the content you watch is recorded, you depend on your DVR to record those programs. If something doesn't get recorded, you miss it. I had the Verizon DVR for a year, with IMG 2.0 for a month. In that time, it missed an average of 2-3 recordings per month -- obviously it missed more during the regular TV season. Overall reliability in series recording was probably at least 80%, and 90% from local networks, but I did not like missing 10-15% of my programs.

Of the 34 total Heroes episodes, the Verizon DVR missed three episodes and recorded only half of another. Of ~25 Stargate Atlantis episodes, the Verizon DVR missed five or six. On FOX's 24 last year, the Verizon DVR missed two of 24 episodes. That is not acceptable to me. When I turn on my TV to watch the latest episode of 24, Heroes, Journeyman, or whatever, I expect the program to be there.

If I am going to pay $60/mo for a TV and DVR, it must-- (1) record all my programs reliably, (2) have sufficient capacity to record and keep my shows long enough for me to watch them, and (3) provide the means for me to quickly and easily skip commercials. Other features are nice, but they are all secondary to me.

For others who watch most of their shows live, I can see how DVR reliability would not be a major concern. For them, it probably does not make sense to pay for the extra reliability of Tivo or MCE. But reliability is of major concern to me, and I have no problem paying a few dollars extra per month for it.

Well said. I'm in the "majority" you mention and have had no issue with the DVR even at the 1.0.3 version.

Well said. I'm in the "majority" you mention and have had no issue with the DVR even at the 1.0.3 version.

I think once someone becomes an experienced dvr user (3 years for me) then they become more dependent on it accurately recording a series. I used to know the day and time my favorite shows were on but now I only know the day. That's because I would rather spend 40 minutes watching a "1 hour show" and skip the commercials.

I really don't think that most people use a dvr like a vcr. Most people I know with a dvr record 50% or more of what they view.

If a dvr does not record at least 99.9% of what it's programmed to record than in my opinion the service provider should refund the money you spent for the service.

I expect my phone, my electricity, my gas, my car, my internet service, etc to work 99.9 percent of the time. It's not unreasonable to expect the same of my DVR.

I know everyones results vary, but I have never missed a recording with this DVR. And I am a high end user. I rely on my DVR for almost all of my TV viewing.

I have had TIVO and the D homegrown products. I loved my TIVO's, but feel this DVR is comparable and has the potential to surpass it.

I think once someone becomes an experienced dvr user (3 years for me) then they become more dependent on it accurately recording a series. I used to know the day and time my favorite shows were on but now I only know the day. That's because I would rather spend 40 minutes watching a "1 hour show" and skip the commercials.

I really don't think that most people use a dvr like a vcr. Most people I know with a dvr record 50% or more of what they view.

If a dvr does not record at least 99.9% of what it's programmed to record than in my opinion the service provider should refund the money you spent for the service.

I expect my phone, my electricity, my gas, my car, my internet service, etc to work 99.9 percent of the time. It's not unreasonable to expect the same of my DVR.

All of that is true, I used the "rich man's DVR" (DirecTivo) for five years and have used this DVR for one. I can't say that overall I intensely miss the Tivo. There are features that are definitely great to have, like the search features, but in capacity it was equivalent (I had an older, SD version). It was slow, and I have some bad issues (pixelation, lost sync video/sound, just plain freezing) with more than one of these. I had three, so I did get a statistical sample. The Tivo, in my experience is not error-free.

Having said that, I understand the pluses of the Tivo, particularly if you talk Tivo Series 3. I would love to take a program to my PC and burn it for later enjoyment. Increasing the storage capacity would be great. Until 1.0.4, the guide information disparity was great.

The pluses of the FIOS DVR at the least balance the TIVO for me. There are also services that I value that can't be processed by the TIVO (Video on demand, hopefully HD soon) and probably never will. Cost is also a major component for me, especially the initial expense. Having three DVR's, I would need three Tivo's now. That is a major expense for me.

I also signed up for FIOS understanding that its services are going to increase and would include things like interactiv served applications, IPTV based VOD/HDVOD, and eventually IPTV based channels. Given the changing face of what FIOS will mean and offer, I'd rather lease a DVR than face re-buying in two years. Just my opinion, with full respect for those who enjoy the benefits of Tivo.

I've been using DVR's for a couple of years now, and have had the FIOS DVR for about 5 months. I record a TON of programming and have yet to have a recording not happen.

I know everyones results vary, but I have never missed a recording with this DVR. And I am a high end user. I rely on my DVR for almost all of my TV viewing.I have often gotten cases where it says it is recording, the recording shows up in the DVR menu, but it won't play -- I think I get a message like "the recording is damaged". Looking at the recording info it says "0 min".

If I tune to that channel in real time while the supposed recording is going on, it tunes just fine. But the recording can't play.

I have lost about the same percentage of recordings as bfdtv.

I have also had it crash many times. In one case, whenever I went to delete a particular recording, the entire device would crash.

I would not consider the quality of the Fios DVR to be equal to the Tivo.

I just quit D* after 10 years with them. Loving the quality of FIOS pict...

Quick question...If I order a PPV does it display on all receivers in the home?

I suspect most cable customers use their DVR more like a VCR. They still watch most of their favorite programs live, but they use the DVR to record programs that they aren't around to watch. If you use your DVR like that, then reliability of recording is somewhat less important, because you are around to watch many of your favorite shows when they are on.

I would simply argue that the reason most people stop at this point with a DVR is because they can't use it for any more than that (or they simply don't watch a lot of TV, which is fine). A bit of chicken-and-egg, I suppose.

Most people who end up with a commercial DVR use it for close to 100% of what they watch, because it works and they can. And they can't rely on anything else.

(And to another poster above - the DirecTivo is just like any other cable-co DVR. While it's sort of Tivo, it was so crippled and hampered that it's not really in the realm of a commercial DVR.)

A couple of things I hope they fix on the new IMG.

-Some favorite channels pop up twice (the repeats are in the 500s)

-Hope they bring back the option to delete channels like in the old IMG

-Don't like how show information pops up whenever a new show is supposed to start. Sometimes I am watching the end of one program and that stupid window pops up telling me what show is coming up next.

Where is HD VOD?!

Receiced a call at 3:30 PM warning of the new IMG coming my way. Can it really be.:rolleyes:

The end is near.:eek:

Beleive it when I see it.
Gotta love Fios :D

[QUOTE=juny;12782886]A couple of things I hope they fix on the new IMG.
-Hope they bring back the option to delete channels like in the old IMG

This feature is happily included in the patch (1.04). You have to make a favorite channel list, and then turn on the "flip" channels option. When scanning (flipping) with the up/down channel switch you get only those channels selected.

[QUOTE=juny;12782886]A couple of things I hope they fix on the new IMG.
-Hope they bring back the option to delete channels like in the old IMG

This feature is happily included in the patch (1.04). You have to make a favorite channel list, and then turn on the "flip" channels option. When scanning (flipping) with the up/down channel switch you get only those channels selected. The 'lock' between the SD Spanish language channels and their English equivalents is still there and that is the problem. Whatever you do to select/deselect one is also done to the other. Not good. I do not speak Spanish and do not want Spanish language channels selected, but there is no way to get rid of them if you want to select their English counterparts (eg CNN and its 500 series partner).

[QUOTE=bcushman;12790418] The 'lock' between the SD Spanish language channels and their English equivalents is still there and that is the problem. Whatever you do to select/deselect one is also done to the other. Not good. I do not speak Spanish and do not want Spanish language channels selected, but there is no way to get rid of them if you want to select their English counterparts (eg CNN and its 500 series partner).

I'm confused! I don't see this in my selected channels. I have CNN selected (Channel 80) as one of my "favorites", but when I scan, I only get the English version, not the Spanish as well. I have no 500 series channels showing up when scanning.

[QUOTE=HILLTOP SAILOR;12790562]

I'm confused! I don't see this in my selected channels. I have CNN selected (Channel 80) as one of my "favorites", but when I scan, I only get the English version, not the Spanish as well. I have no 500 series channels showing up when scanning.

Hmm, if I remember correctly you just recently got FiOS? I wonder if they are now setting up accounts differently and somehow blocking the Spanish equivalent from showing up.

I got FIOS TV in June of 07 and have always had the new IMG, and got the patch last week. I have noticed that the single digit channels are also on the 500 series, which I have never understood, but never had the problem that you (and others) have mentoned about getting both the English & Spanish channels when setting up the favorites. Prior to the patch I had a favorites list and never had a problem with both English/Spanish stations showing up in my list. I can understand that this would be a real pain

Wow, I had no idea that other DVRs had a missed recording rate as high as some of you are reporting. I've had TiVo since the HR10-250 (2004) came out and I watch all of my programming pre-recorded. I can only think of one time a show wasn't recorded in over three years. I have had a few partials on cable channels since switching to FiOS, but honestly I've always assumed my wife stopped the recording. I had one HR10-250 that was replaced with a Series3 over a year ago (I have two now) included in this number.

This is amazing to me considering I have 49 season passes between the two units. Both are on FiOS btw.

[QUOTE=juny;12782886]A couple of things I hope they fix on the new IMG.
-Hope they bring back the option to delete channels like in the old IMG

This feature is happily included in the patch (1.04). You have to make a favorite channel list, and then turn on the "flip" channels option. When scanning (flipping) with the up/down channel switch you get only those channels selected.

Not really the same thing. We should be able to completely eliminate unwanted channels from the list without jumping through hoops each time you turn on the guide.

I got FIOS TV in June of 07 and have always had the new IMG, and got the patch last week. I have noticed that the single digit channels are also on the 500 series, which I have never understood, but never had the problem that you (and others) have mentoned about getting both the English & Spanish channels when setting up the favorites. Prior to the patch I had a favorites list and never had a problem with both English/Spanish stations showing up in my list. I can understand that this would be a real pain

The channels in the 500s are the Spanish language channels, even though most of them are simulcasts of the English feed.

Is my FIOS DVR going to be smart enough to start my Terminator recording tonight on time if the Giants-Cowboys game goes past its scheduled time and the primetime schedule is delayed? I'm going to be watching UVA-Duke basketball at 8PM and want to make sure I don't have to manually set up my Terminator recording.

Is my FIOS DVR going to be smart enough to start my Terminator recording tonight on time if the Giants-Cowboys game goes past its scheduled time and the primetime schedule is delayed? I'm going to be watching UVA-Duke basketball at 8PM and want to make sure I don't have to manually set up my Terminator recording.

No. It has no way of knowing if a previous show going too long. You can go into the scheduled recordings screen and select that recording, go to modify options and add time to the end of the recording.

Thanks bud

So, I'm getting FiOS installed in my home in a week. Is there anything I should know that is important about the install other than the stuff Verizon sent in the mail? By the way I have ordered 1 CableCARD for my TV, cause I don't need the DVR capabilities, and by the looks of this forum, it seems like Verizon's DVR ain't that great anyways. And has anyone used TVGOS on FiOS? If so, does it work? Plus, is there anything special(or funky) I need to know about my area(Washington DC Metro Area/Fairfax)?

Thanks,
--mapper

P.S. What is the most common place you all put your power backups?

So, I'm getting FiOS installed in my home in a week. Is there anything I should know that is important about the install other than the stuff Verizon sent in the mail? By the way I have ordered 1 CableCARD for my TV, cause I don't need the DVR capabilities, and by the looks of this forum, it seems like Verizon's DVR ain't that great anyways. And has anyone used TVGOS on FiOS? If so, does it work? Plus, is there anything special(or funky) I need to know about my area(Washington DC Metro Area/Fairfax)?For TVGoS to work on most TVs with FiOS, you'll need to have an antenna mounted. Older TVs rely on the guide information delivered via PBS analog, and there are no analog channels on FiOS once a CableCard is installed.

If you have never used a DVR before, I would highly recommend the Verizon DVR + movie package combo for $20/mo, if that is still available. You will not regret it.

The FiOS DVR isn't as good as some other DVRs, but it is far better than no DVR at all. You can't take full advantage of the FiOS service without a DVR, IMO.

P.S. What is the most common place you all put your power backups?I put mine on the floor next to the TV table and on the side away from the door so it is less visible. That way it has plenty of ventilation and I can see the display to see what is going on within the backup.

Thanks,
--mapper

P.S. What is the most common place you all put your power backups?Far from ideal BUT, for now, it has definitely worked for me!

http://www.vartv.com/images/apc_ups.jpg

Here's how I did mine.
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/09/21/how-to-run-power-to-a-wall-mounted-tv/

Here's how I did mine.
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/09/21/how-to-run-power-to-a-wall-mounted-tv/Nice! :D

Hi everyone,
I have been wrestling with this for a while, whether or not i should switch to Verizon Fios. It's not that i'm unhappy with D*TV it's just I don't see myself paying 300 for the HD DVR and a monthly fee to get the HD that i'm yearning for..lol. Anyway, I'm also thinking that maybe i would also like the fios internet as well bundled together. What are the pro's and cons in dealing with Fios TV...the internet part i have no qualms, it will be spectacular i'm sure. Apart from the programming, what other costs are there for the dvr...it needs to be a recorder because the kids love their programming and we can't live without that feature.
Thanks...
john

HD VOD In MA!

Haven't seen this posted yet. Just noticed today that I now have a selection for HD in the video on demand menu. Not much there yet, but it is a start.

Also for those of you who like HBO series THE WIRE, next Sundays episode is always available starting on Mondays.

Jay

That power bridge looks pretty handy. I have not seen that before.

i still dont' see the huge benefit of the power bridge, unless you're installing in an area that otherwise wouldn't have a receptacle nearby.

HD VOD In MA!

Haven't seen this posted yet. Just noticed today that I now have a selection for HD in the video on demand menu. Not much there yet, but it is a start.

Also for those of you who like HBO series THE WIRE, next Sundays episode is always available starting on Mondays.

Jay

Awesome, will check it out.

Hi everyone,
I have been wrestling with this for a while, whether or not i should switch to Verizon Fios. It's not that i'm unhappy with D*TV it's just I don't see myself paying 300 for the HD DVR and a monthly fee to get the HD that i'm yearning for..lol. Anyway, I'm also thinking that maybe i would also like the fios internet as well bundled together. What are the pro's and cons in dealing with Fios TV...the internet part i have no qualms, it will be spectacular i'm sure. Apart from the programming, what other costs are there for the dvr...it needs to be a recorder because the kids love their programming and we can't live without that feature.
Thanks...
john

I would recommend it. The Picture Quality is great both on HD and on standard definition (SD). I made the move from D* and have not regretted it one moment. The pricing alone is worth it, and if you do the switch before the 18th (maybe later, I heard it may have been moved), you can lock in your rates for 1 or 2 years. I saved a good amount of money by switching, and have to say that the installation and following service has been great for me.

The DVR comes in two HD flavors: a standard HD DVR which is about $12, and a multi-room DVR for ~$19. The multi room allows you to record SD content on it and play it to non-DVR set top boxes ~$4/mo. Both DVR's give you about 20 HD hours or 80 SD hours of storage. I've found it fine for my purposes, but if you really want a lot of storage, a Tivo DVR may be the way to go.

The thing that gets the most use by my kids is the Video On Demand. They watch the free VOD all of the time, it comes in quickly and has pretty good quality.

Thumbs up on changing for me. The internet is just superior. None better.

i still dont' see the huge benefit of the power bridge, unless you're installing in an area that otherwise wouldn't have a receptacle nearby.

Much easier in a two story house or apt where it would be hard to run new conduit or splice into existing lines. Plus, it just looks easier as opposed to crawling around in the attic. :)

HD VOD In MA!

Haven't seen this posted yet. Just noticed today that I now have a selection for HD in the video on demand menu. Not much there yet, but it is a start.
I can't find any HD VOD programs in northern VA, so they have not added (restored) it here yet. With NJ, eastern PA, and DE (or some parts of those markets) schedued to get the IMG on Tuesday, I figure Verizon will be busy for several days with handling the IMG roll-out before they do much with adding HD VOD in other markets.

I can't find any HD VOD programs in northern VA, so they have not added (restored) it here yet. With NJ, eastern PA, and DE (or some parts of those markets) schedued to get the IMG on Tuesday, I figure Verizon will be busy for several days with handling the IMG roll-out before they do much with adding HD VOD in other markets.

As of right now (7:15 am), NO IMG in South Jersey.

Much easier in a two story house or apt where it would be hard to run new conduit or splice into existing lines. Plus, it just looks easier as opposed to crawling around in the attic. :)

if you had access to a receptacle nearby like in that tutorial, wouldn't it be just as easy to tap the existing receptacle and run romex up behind the tv and use a clock outlet?

...The thing that gets the most use by my kids is the Video On Demand. They watch the free VOD all of the time, it comes in quickly and has pretty good quality.

Thumbs up on changing for me. The internet is just superior. None better.

I agree with everything you wrote. We've had FiOS since 12/19, and are completely happy with it (well, OK, the menu functions could be more robust, and the Webmail is clunky). My wife was completely infatuated with VOD for about two weeks. It is nice, but I have to point out that it has much lower video and audio quality than even a regular SD channel. I guess they have to compress it to keep download speeds up.

Doug

I agree with everything you wrote. We've had FiOS since 12/19, and are completely happy with it (well, OK, the menu functions could be more robust, and the Webmail is clunky). My wife was completely infatuated with VOD for about two weeks. It is nice, but I have to point out that it has much lower video and audio quality than even a regular SD channel. I guess they have to compress it to keep download speeds up.

Doug

Have you signed up for the WebMail Beta? It is many times better than the regular WebMail. It is Flash based and looks like a regular email client.

Anyone get the new IMG this morning? Still the old Microsoft IPG for me.

Anyone get the new IMG this morning? Still the old Microsoft IPG for me.


Same old IPG in Bergen County. Maybe tonight :rolleyes:

Anyone get the new IMG this morning? Still the old Microsoft IPG for me.
Apparently not. The reports on dslreports are that the IMG roll-out for NJ and eastern PA has been delayed a day and should happen tomorrow. But after this many delays in completing the IMG roll-out, who knows?

Apparently not. The reports on dslreports are that the IMG roll-out for NJ and eastern PA has been delayed a day and should happen tomorrow. But after this many delays in completing the IMG roll-out, who knows?

I WISH I still had the old IMG. New one is buggy even with the latest update. Still getting random reboots. Then thing rebooted on me last night right after I turned it on!

if you had access to a receptacle nearby like in that tutorial, wouldn't it be just as easy to tap the existing receptacle and run romex up behind the tv and use a clock outlet?

I think you guys are missing the point of the power bridge. It allows you to put the UPS in line with the TV. Outlet -> UPS -> PB -> TV.

I WISH I still had the old IMG. New one is buggy even with the latest update. Still getting random reboots. Then thing rebooted on me last night right after I turned it on!

Sounds to me like you have a bad box...I started out with 1.0.3 and got the 1.0.4 upgrade last week or so (MA). In the 8 months or so that I've had FIOS I have never had the box lock up reboot, or anything. I'm still giddy in how much faster channel navigation is than my old Comcast DVR.

My only beef which hasn't changed from 1.0.3 is navigating through on-demand, which sometimes bogs down.

I am a Northern New Jersey (Essex County) Fios subscriber and got the Fios IMG phone call today, they left a voice mail about it.

HD VOD In MA!

Sadly, they're all pay-per-view. One of the things we lost leaving Comcast was the enormous array of free on-demand movies. I do get the ones that come with the movie subscription package (Showtime, Starz, Encore, TMC), but it took me a while to find them in the "subscriptions" folder, and few of them are in HD.

I hope people hold out on purchasing HD VOD shows at the ridiculously inflated price that they (and Comcast, BTW) charge. Why should it cost an extra $2 just for HD? Is it because I'm using more bandwidth and so should pay more? The content is the same, and the production cost was covered long ago in the conversion to HD/BR DVDs. Thank the HD gods there aren't that many Hollywood movies we really care to see.

I'm going back to watching fansubbed anime (in HD, of course) now.

Sadly, they're all pay-per-view. One of the things we lost leaving Comcast was the enormous array of free on-demand movies. I do get the ones that come with the movie subscription package (Showtime, Starz, Encore, TMC), but it took me a while to find them in the "subscriptions" folder, and few of them are in HD.

I hope people hold out on purchasing HD VOD shows at the ridiculously inflated price that they (and Comcast, BTW) charge. Why should it cost an extra $2 just for HD? Is it because I'm using more bandwidth and so should pay more? The content is the same, and the production cost was covered long ago in the conversion to HD/BR DVDs. Thank the HD gods there aren't that many Hollywood movies we really care to see.

I'm going back to watching fansubbed anime (in HD, of course) now.


I also noticed the HD VOD is mostly paid right now, but during the HD VOD beta, there was a good amount of free HD content then. I'm assuming the content will come (there were movies, History Channel....), but right now mostly the paid movies (I also saw MTV HD, Wealth TV and another). I did pay for "Meet the Robinsons" to see the quality, and outside of one or two episodes of pixelation, it played well.

I WISH I still had the old IMG. New one is buggy even with the latest update. Still getting random reboots. Then thing rebooted on me last night right after I turned it on!Sounds to me like you have a bad box...I started out with 1.0.3 and got the 1.0.4 upgrade last week or so (MA). In the 8 months or so that I've had FIOS I have never had the box lock up reboot, or anything. I'm still giddy in how much faster channel navigation is than my old Comcast DVR.

My only beef which hasn't changed from 1.0.3 is navigating through on-demand, which sometimes bogs down.Unfortunately, I can vouch for what taeboguy is saying - I had 1.0.3 for a few weeks before the upgrade with no reboots, and in the last couple of weeks of 1.0.4, I've had two reboots whilst I've been using the box (and perhaps more when I haven't!)

New IMG showed up this morning in Central NJ. I did not get a chance to play with it much but at least my recordings were there.

I noticed two things from my quick observations:

1) Why is the guide 4x3 when the firmware knows my tv is 16x9?
2) Instead of showing the time when playing a recording it shows "PLAY" on the smaill LED display on the STB. The old guide showed "PLA".

I have not seen any new features, just a new gui.

Have you signed up for the WebMail Beta? It is many times better than the regular WebMail. It is Flash based and looks like a regular email client.

I wasn't aware of that. I'll check into it.

Thanks,
Doug

New IMG showed up this morning in Central NJ. I did not get a chance to play with it much but at least my recordings were there.

I noticed two things from my quick observations:

1) Why is the guide 4x3 when the firmware knows my tv is 16x9?
2) Instead of showing the time when playing a recording it shows "PLAY" on the screen. The old guide showed "PLA".

I have not seen any new features, just a new gui.

From reading the forum all the way through, I think there's a setting somewhere that you can change so that it shows the time instead of play.

We noticed that the guide is getting cut off, too, i'm not sure how to fix it, I would love more info from users of the guide...

BUT... WE DID FIND A PROBLEM BESIDES THAT.

My husband today was trying to record a hockey game on CSN-HD. That's how I know we got the new image. BUT when he recorded it, it would record it on channel 65, the standard def channel. He tried setting it up manually, and it still defaulted to the SD channel. WHY oh why is it not letting us set up an HD recording...

From reading the forum all the way through, I think there's a setting somewhere that you can change so that it shows the time instead of play.

We noticed that the guide is getting cut off, too, i'm not sure how to fix it, I would love more info from users of the guide...

BUT... WE DID FIND A PROBLEM BESIDES THAT.

My husband today was trying to record a hockey game on CSN-HD. That's how I know we got the new image. BUT when he recorded it, it would record it on channel 65, the standard def channel. He tried setting it up manually, and it still defaulted to the SD channel. WHY oh why is it not letting us set up an HD recording...

Here is my guess....now, I don't know for a fact, but....

Does CSN-HD just duplicate the feed of CSN when there is not actually high def content showing? If so, it would record the lower channel. Try recording something that is actually high def content when it is on.

What is happening is that when the DVR records something on a channel that has a duplicate feed(try recording the 500 channel version of USA(or whatever the number is up in that range). You will see that it actually records channel 50. It records the channel frequency that is coming in and defaults to the lowest channel that has that signal.

The Cox DVR worked the same way when I was with them.

I live in northern NJ and noticed the new IMG when I turned my TV on this morning. At first I thought something was wrong with my TV because there was no signal. Turns out I had to hit the power button on the DVR for some reason and then I got a rebooting message or something on the screen for a few seconds and then the picture came up.

One thing I noticed right away was that there is now an approximately 1/4" vertical green stripe on the far right side of my screen that goes completely from top to bottom. I have my Samsung 5271 set on Just Scan mode which is 1:1 pixel mapping and worked fine with no such green stripe prior to this new IMG. The stripe appears on all channels that used to work fine with Just Scan mode on my TV. Setting the mode to 16:9 gets rid of it but I am not happy that I can't watch those channels with 1:1 pixel mapping as I did before.

Perhaps this is just a temporary glitch with the new IMG?

:confused::(

I live in northern NJ and noticed the new IMG when I turned my TV on this morning. At first I thought something was wrong with my TV because there was no signal. Turns out I had to hit the power button on the DVR for some reason and then I got a rebooting message or something on the screen for a few seconds and then the picture came up.

One thing I noticed right away was that there is now an approximately 1/4" vertical green stripe on the far right side of my screen that goes completely from top to bottom. I have my Samsung 5271 set on Just Scan mode which is 1:1 pixel mapping and worked fine with no such green stripe prior to this new IMG. The stripe appears on all channels that used to work fine with Just Scan mode on my TV. Setting the mode to 16:9 gets rid of it but I am not happy that I can't watch those channels with 1:1 pixel mapping as I did before.

Perhaps this is just a temporary glitch with the new IMG?

:confused::(

I believe this is a known issue w/the LCD Samsungs and the IMG.

1) Why is the guide 4x3 when the firmware knows my tv is 16x9?
2) Instead of showing the time when playing a recording it shows "PLAY" on the screen. The old guide showed "PLA".
The hardware in the Motorola DVR is reportedly limited to a 4:3 display output. Would be nice to be able to use the full 16x9 screen for showing more guide info ahead in time, but we don't have that.

Release 1.0.4 of the IMG added 4 digit channel input even though all the channels are currently 3 digits. So the "PLA" is now "PLAY" for some odd software related reason. In entering the 3 digit channel number, say 801, you will either have to wait a second for the box to time out and read it in or press Enter/OK after the 3rd digit or enter 0801.

With the IMG roll-out to eastern PA, NJ, and I would assume DE,this should complete the IMG roll-out and the 1.0.4 release update to all the markets. Once the dust settles from the roll-out, we can get back to complaining about where is HD VOD, more HD channels, and when we will see IMG release 1.0.5? :D

The hardware in the Motorola DVR is reportedly limited to a 4:3 display output. Would be nice to be able to use the full 16x9 screen for showing more guide info ahead in time, but we don't have that.

Release 1.0.4 of the IMG added 4 digit channel input even though all the channels are currently 3 digits. So the "PLA" is now "PLAY" for some odd software related reason. In entering the 3 digit channel number, say 801, you will either have to wait a second for the box to time out and read it in or press Enter/OK after the 3rd digit or enter 0801.

With the IMG roll-out to eastern PA, NJ, and I would assume DE,this should complete the IMG roll-out and the 1.0.4 release update to all the markets. Once the dust settles from the roll-out, we can get back to complaining about where is HD VOD, more HD channels, and when we will see IMG release 1.0.5? :D

I would avoid using the 4 digit format like 0801, as it keeps the previous channel command from functioning properly.

I believe this is a known issue w/the LCD Samsungs and the IMG.

hmmm, thanks for the reply. I had no idea. I hope there is a fix forthcoming for Samsung LCDs with this new IMG. :(

Here is my guess....now, I don't know for a fact, but....

Does CSN-HD just duplicate the feed of CSN when there is not actually high def content showing? If so, it would record the lower channel. Try recording something that is actually high def content when it is on.

What is happening is that when the DVR records something on a channel that has a duplicate feed(try recording the 500 channel version of USA(or whatever the number is up in that range). You will see that it actually records channel 50. It records the channel frequency that is coming in and defaults to the lowest channel that has that signal.
Well, that's a stupid feature. What the heck. Can someone try this out? Even if what we want to watch on CSN is NOT in HD (which sometimes it's not), it IS likely in widescreen, which you will not get on the SD dupe feed.

So, if anyone is home now, and wants to try it? I'm at work until 6, so I will be home to only try one thing before the game starts (to fix the recording)...

1) Why is the guide 4x3 when the firmware knows my tv is 16x9?

I just switched from Comcast to FiOS yesterday and when I brought up the guide that was my first question as well.

One thing I noticed right away was that there is now an approximately 1/4" vertical green stripe on the far right side of my screen that goes completely from top to bottom. I have my Samsung 5271 set on Just Scan mode which is 1:1 pixel mapping and worked fine with no such green stripe prior to this new IMG. The stripe appears on all channels that used to work fine with Just Scan mode on my TV. Setting the mode to 16:9 gets rid of it but I am not happy that I can't watch those channels with 1:1 pixel mapping as I did before.

I just got FiOS installed yesterday and the exact same thing showed up on my Pioneer PDP-6010FD. If I switch from HDMI to Component the problem goes away, and if I switch to what Pioneer calls Full mode (probably the same as you 16:9, some overscan) it goes away. Neither of those solutions is ideal but I guess I'm stuck with it for now.

I just switched from Comcast to FiOS yesterday and when I brought up the guide that was my first question as well.

They don't have a 16x9 optimized guide yet.

My husband today was trying to record a hockey game on CSN-HD. That's how I know we got the new image. BUT when he recorded it, it would record it on channel 65, the standard def channel. He tried setting it up manually, and it still defaulted to the SD channel. WHY oh why is it not letting us set up an HD recording...I just tried recording anything on CSN-HD (829) and no matter which way I try to do it, it won't set the record flag. I tried using the record button via the guide and going in through the search function and selecting Record option. Simply nothing happens.

Clearly some problem going on. Is anyone else seeing this?

With the new IMG, have we lost the ability to jump to a particular channel in the guide by directly entering the channel number while viewing the guide?

I just tried recording anything on CSN-HD (829) and no matter which way I try to do it, it won't set the record flag. I tried using the record button via the guide and going in through the search function and selecting Record option. Simply nothing happens.

Clearly some problem going on. Is anyone else seeing this?

Check your recorded programs, it was probably recording the regular CSN.

With the new IMG, have we lost the ability to jump to a particular channel in the guide by directly entering the channel number while viewing the guide?

Nope, that function is still there.

Nope, that function is still there.

But there is a bug where it won't work if you are viewing through your favorites guide.

All IMG All the Time:)

Just got mine this morning also. First thing I noticed, the remote up arrow button now brings me to a guide. I was so used to using the arrow buttons to rewind, FF, and up arrow would be play. I'm an expert at the slow motion instant replay in my house. Now that feature is gone. Is there an explanation of new button mappings for the remote?

My remote also seems to be less active, as if my batteries are low. They could be, anyone else notice the remote not doing anything?

I just tried recording anything on CSN-HD (829) and no matter which way I try to do it, it won't set the record flag. I tried using the record button via the guide and going in through the search function and selecting Record option. Simply nothing happens.

Clearly some problem going on. Is anyone else seeing this?

Just saw this post over at broadband reports:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19811444-

I'm having the issue on my analog set of the HD warning being displayed on the CSN SD channel, but it's fine on my HD sets. Looks like that bug has been reported and they say it should be fixed tomorrow. I wonder if that will fix the DVR issue as well.

got the new IMG this morning....i live in Wilmington, DE

anyone know where the HD stuff is within VOD?

Just saw this post over at broadband reports:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19811444-

I'm having the issue on my analog set of the HD warning being displayed on the CSN SD channel, but it's fine on my HD sets. Looks like that bug has been reported and they say it should be fixed tomorrow. I wonder if that will fix the DVR issue as well.

Does this only happen on CSN or on all the simulcast channels.

got the new IMG this morning....i live in Wilmington, DE

anyone know where the HD stuff is within VOD?

HD VOD is only available in select areas.

got the new IMG this morning....i live in Wilmington, DE

anyone know where the HD stuff is within VOD?

Is the guide roll out complete? Is there anyplace where they do not have the new guide?

My remote also seems to be less active, as if my batteries are low. They could be, anyone else notice the remote not doing anything?

That would be the slowness of the interface.

Someone on Broadbandreports said if you unplug the box for a little while and reset it, it might speed up. Didn't work for me, but you can give that a try.

got the new IMG this morning....i live in Wilmington, DE

anyone know where the HD stuff is within VOD?
You very likely don't have HD VOD yet. HD VOD was added to some of the newer markets only after those markets got the IMG 1.0.4 bug fix release, suggesting that there were updates in the firmware to better handle HD VOD. But northern VA and MD got the 1.0.4 release in early (mid?) December and we have not seen HD VOD yet beyond a single travel program in a HD folder that disappeared after a few days. Well, other than the HD programs a lot of people discovered buried under a HDTV folder using VOD search back in November.

MA and RI got a few HD VOD programs several days ago, joining IIRC, central & SE VA, western PA, IN for the markets with HD VOD. The rest of us will now have to wait to see when it is added.

Does this only happen on CSN or on all the simulcast channels.

I'm only seeing it on CSN. The others are fine.

Sadly, they're all pay-per-view. One of the things we lost leaving Comcast was the enormous array of free on-demand movies. I do get the ones that come with the movie subscription package (Showtime, Starz, Encore, TMC), but it took me a while to find them in the "subscriptions" folder, and few of them are in HD.

I hope people hold out on purchasing HD VOD shows at the ridiculously inflated price that they (and Comcast, BTW) charge. Why should it cost an extra $2 just for HD? Is it because I'm using more bandwidth and so should pay more? The content is the same, and the production cost was covered long ago in the conversion to HD/BR DVDs. Thank the HD gods there aren't that many Hollywood movies we really care to see.

I'm going back to watching fansubbed anime (in HD, of course) now.

my HD-VOD situation here is the opposite-no HD movies at all in the subscription folder(tho there were some when we had the trial period here) but we have some free HD-mostly from MHD & HDnet.

I agree the HD PPV movies are pricey-haven't ordered one yet.

BTW if you don't mind my asking did you get your handle from "Moonphase"?(one of my favs!!! just got the entire series on DVD).

I'm only seeing it on CSN. The others are fine.

Thank you! it's hard not being able to check things while I'm sitting here at work... :)

Dawn

I believe this is a known issue w/the LCD Samsungs and the IMG.

Uh, would seem it's also an issue with my 32" Sharp. Well, this is distracting..

Uh, would seem it's also an issue with my 32" Sharp. Well, this is distracting..

I'm having the same problem with my 46" Sharp.

I called tech support and they told me this is a known bug, and from reading other forums that seems to be the case from as far back as November.

The tech said there are 3 options:

1. Downgrade the resolution to 720p
2. Switch from the HDMI cable to component
3. Live with the green line until a new patch is released, although there is no ETA on that.

I told him those were pretty much unacceptable solutions as I am not using my TV to the best of its abilities, and he put me through to a floor supervisor, who then told me someone who works on these problems will call be back tomorrow (holding my breath).

I found if you switch out of "dot by dot" option in View Mode, and go to "stretch format", the line goes away, but I don't think the picture is as good or in its truest form.

If anyone else has any suggestions, it seems it would help out alot of folks and be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

OEW

BTW, found this blog entry detailing the problem with a few suggestions if it helps:

http://www.somelifeblog.com/2007/11/green-line-1080i-fios-img-lcd-screen.html

Use an overscan mode. The TV is showing no overscan. I will get the same result from the NBC stations here, whether it is from the FIOS HD STB, my HD TiVos, or my PC tuners. An dthis is from OTA and the FIOS feed. It only occurs here with the local NBC station. I just have to enable overscan mode on my scalers to get rid of it.

I believe this is a known issue w/the LCD Samsungs and the IMG.

I'm having the same problem with my 46" Sharp.

I called tech support and they told me this is a known bug, and from reading other forums that seems to be the case from as far back as November.

The tech said there are 3 options:

1. Downgrade the resolution to 720p
2. Switch from the HDMI cable to component
3. Live with the green line until a new patch is released, although there is no ETA on that.

I told him those were pretty much unacceptable solutions as I am not using my TV to the best of its abilities, and he put me through to a floor supervisor, who then told me someone who works on these problems will call be back tomorrow (holding my breath).

I found if you switch out of "dot by dot" option in View Mode, and go to "stretch format", the line goes away, but I don't think the picture is as good or in its truest form.

If anyone else has any suggestions, it seems it would help out alot of folks and be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

OEW

BTW, found this blog entry detailing the problem with a few suggestions if it helps:

http://www.somelifeblog.com/2007/11/green-line-1080i-fios-img-lcd-screen.html

Seems I've found another image quirk - on the left side there is this "sliced band", I don't know how else describe it. It's like the image a half-inch or more in from the left edge (the other side of the green edge) is sliced or folds so there is a line of missing pixels... like everything is offset by one. Like a folded page. This isnt there with any of my other HD inputs, HDMI or component.

I'm going to try a swap out to component instead and I'll post an update.

I get a green line on my Panny AE2000 projector. I have to use overscan to get rid of it. good thing the PJ allows per line adjustment.

Seems I've found another image quirk - on the left side there is this "sliced band", I don't know how else describe it. It's like the image a half-inch or more in from the left edge (the other side of the green edge) is sliced or folds so there is a line of missing pixels... like everything is offset by one. Like a folded page. This isnt there with any of my other HD inputs, HDMI or component.

I'm going to try a swap out to component instead and I'll post an update.

I've noticed the same thing as well, but its also goes away when I change the view mode to stretch.

Seems I've found another image quirk - on the left side there is this "sliced band", I don't know how else describe it. It's like the image a half-inch or more in from the left edge (the other side of the green edge) is sliced or folds so there is a line of missing pixels... like everything is offset by one. Like a folded page. This isnt there with any of my other HD inputs, HDMI or component.

I'm going to try a swap out to component instead and I'll post an update.

Yep. Like a bevel on a mirror. I have this on my Pioneer Pro150fd.

Seems I've found another image quirk - on the left side there is this "sliced band", I don't know how else describe it. It's like the image a half-inch or more in from the left edge (the other side of the green edge) is sliced or folds so there is a line of missing pixels... like everything is offset by one. Like a folded page. This isnt there with any of my other HD inputs, HDMI or component.

I'm going to try a swap out to component instead and I'll post an update.I've noticed that too when my Sony is in "Full Pixel" (i.e. no overscan) mode. Switching to "Normal" screen mode (i.e. slight overscan) hides the flaw.

Makes you wonder how much the original image is getting twisted or changed. Or is this really the raw image as supplied to fios without any polish.:rolleyes:

Comcast Sports Net Northwest was added to the channel lineup in the Beaverton, Oregon/Washington County market yesterday...still awaiting word of the HD channel addition of CSN NW.

For those of you on the east coast with CSN and corresponding HD channel, where is your HD version normally located (channel range)? Does Verizon use an open channel to provide that HD programming just when it's available (i.e. game night), or is there CSN programming on the HD channel all of the time, whether in HD or not?

Just a quickie: I have not used the other cable companies' equipment recently (or at all) so I was wondering if their STB's are having as many problems and the same types of problems that the FiOS STB's are having?

Just a quickie: I have not used the other cable companies' equipment recently (or at all) so I was wondering if their STB's are having as many problems and the same types of problems that the FiOS STB's are having?

When I was with Cox a year ago, I would miss 10% of my recordings in a good week. A bad week I would miss more.

Comcast Sports Net Northwest was added to the channel lineup in the Beaverton, Oregon/Washington County market yesterday...still awaiting word of the HD channel addition of CSN NW.

For those of you on the east coast with CSN and corresponding HD channel, where is your HD version normally located (channel range)? Does Verizon use an open channel to provide that HD programming just when it's available (i.e. game night), or is there CSN programming on the HD channel all of the time, whether in HD or not?

It will probably be 829. We don't have it in Hampton Roads yet(ever?), but that is where CSN-MA was added in NoVa, and based on the problems in PA last night w/the new IMG and the HD version on their CSN station I think it was on 829.

Comcast Sports Net Northwest was added to the channel lineup in the Beaverton, Oregon/Washington County market yesterday...still awaiting word of the HD channel addition of CSN NW.

For those of you on the east coast with CSN and corresponding HD channel, where is your HD version normally located (channel range)? Does Verizon use an open channel to provide that HD programming just when it's available (i.e. game night), or is there CSN programming on the HD channel all of the time, whether in HD or not?AFAIK, all the CSN-HD channels are 24/7. Much of the time, they show upconverted 4:3 SD content with sidebars. CSN-HD Mid Atlantic has HD cameras in the studio, and most sports talk and radio shows are shown in high-definition.

I think it is mostly the FSNs (FOX Sports Networks) which only show HD during actual live broadcasts and replays, with a station logo the rest of the time.

AFAIK, all the CSN-HD channels are 24/7. Much of the time, they show upconverted 4:3 SD content with sidebars. CSN-HD Mid Atlantic has HD cameras in the studio, and most sports talk and radio shows are shown in high-definition.

I think it is mostly the FSNs (FOX Sports Networks) which only show HD during actual live broadcasts and replays, with a station logo the rest of the time.

And the channel (range)? Is it 829 (as previously mentioned) across the board for the CSN HD channels, or does it fall in a different range for different markets?

Brentwood NY checking in
Dropped CV for FIOS
They will come thursday for installation
Now the person who came around told me I can buy a diverter? to the other TV's in the house and I dont need a STB in those rooms?
He said I can go to radio shack and buy them for 25$?
I am new to this so go easy guys...
How is fios?
any complaints or worries?
I have a 57'' Hitachi Director Series TV
any comments would be appreciated

Brentwood NY checking in
Dropped CV for FIOS
They will come thursday for installation
Now the person who came around told me I can buy a diverter? to the other TV's in the house and I dont need a STB in those rooms?
He said I can go to radio shack and buy them for 25$?
I am new to this so go easy guys...
How is fios?
any complaints or worries?
I have a 57'' Hitachi Director Series TV
any comments would be appreciated
You can split & run cable dirctly to TV's ...
BUT ...
You will only get ch's 2-49 which are pretty much only local broadcast & Public access, &, Verizon is planning to remove all analog (non-box) channels by the end of the year ... so you will then need a box anyway, unless the set is newer w/ a digital Qam tuner, then you can still get the local broadcasts ...

AFAIK, all the CSN-HD channels are 24/7. Much of the time, they show upconverted 4:3 SD content with sidebars. CSN-HD Mid Atlantic has HD cameras in the studio, and most sports talk and radio shows are shown in high-definition.

Really? That's HD? It looks like poor widescreen SD to me.

... I am new to this so go easy guys...
How is fios?
any complaints or worries?
any comments would be appreciated
Always glad to see someone new.

How is FiOS? Not trying to be flip, but perhaps you could expand on what exactly you are looking for that isn't already here. This thread has over 5000 posts that talk about how FiOS is. :confused:

AFAIK, all the CSN-HD channels are 24/7. Much of the time, they show upconverted 4:3 SD content with sidebars. CSN-HD Mid Atlantic has HD cameras in the studio, and most sports talk and radio shows are shown in high-definition.

I think it is mostly the FSNs (FOX Sports Networks) which only show HD during actual live broadcasts and replays, with a station logo the rest of the time.


Comcast Sports New England HD (CSNE) on channel 829 only shows programs that are in HD which now is limited to Celtics home games, since college football has finished. I had read where Comcast was doing a major revamp of studios which would result in fulltime HD studio programming, like NESN but haven't seen anything on that for nearly a year.

Really? That's HD? It looks like poor widescreen SD to me.I don't know. You're right, it is pretty soft.

Always glad to see someone new.

How is FiOS? Not trying to be flip, but perhaps you could expand on what exactly you are looking for that isn't already here. This thread has over 5000 posts that talk about how FiOS is. :confused:

sorry about that i didnt have time to read all these posts

well coming off D* went to CV and for the most part I got use to the blurry service CV gave me
I enjoy CV cause of INHD when they had baseball
then it went to Mojo and no more baseball
but after a while i got sick of CV jacking up the prices every month so when Fios approached me i went for it
I am wondering if the picture image on HD is clearer blurry? is the SD better quality than CV
Basically is it better to have moved to F* than staying with CV?

sorry about that i didnt have time to read all these posts

well coming off D* went to CV and for the most part I got use to the blurry service CV gave me
I enjoy CV cause of INHD when they had baseball
then it went to Mojo and no more baseball
but after a while i got sick of CV jacking up the prices every month so when Fios approached me i went for it
I am wondering if the picture image on HD is clearer blurry? is the SD better quality than CV
Basically is it better to have moved to F* than staying with CV?

Since most people here switched from some form of cable or satellite service to FiOS, you will probably not get many unbiased responses here(otherwise they would have switched back). I switched from Cox to FiOS about a year ago and am loving it.

Had D*, had CV and FIOS is the best from either an SD or HD standpoint.

I am wondering if the picture image on HD is clearer blurry? is the SD better quality than CV
Basically is it better to have moved to F* than staying with CV?
1. Moving to FiOS is a good move for all your concerns.
2. Note: As you said, you are new here so here is an item for the future: I have not seen anyone use F* as a shortcut for FiOS --- it might be considered short for something else you may not want to use ;)

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2008/verizon-extends-industry-lead-1.html

"
NEW YORK - Verizon technicians are upgrading FiOS with next-generation electronics to dramatically enhance the speeds, and thus the capabilities, of Verizon's all-fiber-optic FiOS broadband, video and voice network.

Known as gigabit passive optical network (G-PON) equipment, the new electronics can increase the line-rate bandwidth on the Verizon fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network by four times downstream to the customer and eight times upstream back to the network. This provides the capability for future enhancements to Verizon's industry-leading FiOS Internet and FiOS TV products as new applications are developed and as customers demand more bandwidth

Mark Wegleitner, Verizon Telecom's senior vice president-technology, said Verizon has already started to deploy G-PON broadly across the company's FiOS system. The new equipment is being used in communities where Verizon is building FTTP for the first time. "Already, our all-fiber network is proving that it can deliver faster Internet speeds," Wegleitner said. "G-PON electronics position us for the next level of even faster Internet speeds and even more interactive FiOS TV with new features.

"The G-PON deployment also illustrates the future-proof aspects of FiOS: We can use the same fiber network we use today but enhance the speed and capacity with new electronics in our central offices and at the customer premises."

The states where Verizon began initial deployment of G-PON are: California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas.

Today's announcement builds upon the initial announcement made at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in March 2007, and follows the successful initial field deployments of G-PON in Kirklyn, Pa.; Lewisville, Texas; and Hingham, Mass. Thus far, Verizon has been deploying B-PON (broadband passive optical network) technology to provide market-leading Internet access performance.
"

Sorry for the length, it is good to see this being deployed, it sounds like it will quadruple the bandwidth available for all services when fully deployed.

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2008/verizon-extends-industry-lead-1.html

"
NEW YORK - Verizon technicians are upgrading FiOS with next-generation electronics to dramatically enhance the speeds, and thus the capabilities, of Verizon's all-fiber-optic FiOS broadband, video and voice network.

Known as gigabit passive optical network (G-PON) equipment, the new electronics can increase the line-rate bandwidth on the Verizon fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network by four times downstream to the customer and eight times upstream back to the network. This provides the capability for future enhancements to Verizon's industry-leading FiOS Internet and FiOS TV products as new applications are developed and as customers demand more bandwidth

Mark Wegleitner, Verizon Telecom's senior vice president-technology, said Verizon has already started to deploy G-PON broadly across the company's FiOS system. The new equipment is being used in communities where Verizon is building FTTP for the first time. "Already, our all-fiber network is proving that it can deliver faster Internet speeds," Wegleitner said. "G-PON electronics position us for the next level of even faster Internet speeds and even more interactive FiOS TV with new features.

"The G-PON deployment also illustrates the future-proof aspects of FiOS: We can use the same fiber network we use today but enhance the speed and capacity with new electronics in our central offices and at the customer premises."

The states where Verizon began initial deployment of G-PON are: California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas.

Today's announcement builds upon the initial announcement made at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference & Exposition and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in March 2007, and follows the successful initial field deployments of G-PON in Kirklyn, Pa.; Lewisville, Texas; and Hingham, Mass. Thus far, Verizon has been deploying B-PON (broadband passive optical network) technology to provide market-leading Internet access performance.
"

Sorry for the length, it is good to see this being deployed, it sounds like it will quadruple the bandwidth available for all services when fully deployed. We will need it for all the HD coming.

1. Moving to FiOS is a good move for all your concerns.
2. Note: As you said, you are new here so here is an item for the future: I have not seen anyone use F* as a shortcut for FiOS --- it might be considered short for something else you may not want to use ;)

Sorry I got lazy and didnt write FIOS no other name was intended:p

Sorry I got lazy and didnt write FIOS no other name was intended:pOh, I know and no offense taken, believe me. It was funny though! :D

BTW... as of last night, the HD-CSN recording problem (where it records on the SD station instead), is still an issue. Did anyone actually call FIOS about this issue?

It's highly irritating as it's really not allowing any recordings on that channel, even if you record it LIVE... meaning, Hockey is on... press record... records the SD channel.

BTW... as for the new IMG... when you hit RECORD... is there supposed to be an indicator stating that you succeeded in recording the show you are watching? I haven't seen this.

We will need it for all the HD coming.

Actually what they need to add all the HD channels has nothing to do with this, the current bottleneck is in the QAM system not the throughput of the last mile.

Actually what they need to add all the HD channels has nothing to do with this, the current bottleneck is in the QAM system not the throughput of the last mile.Not my point. TV is not the only thing that comes through FiOS. HD is and will be coming over the internet and that really slows down the system. At least one company is now charging its subs by how much they download.

Actually what they need to add all the HD channels has nothing to do with this, the current bottleneck is in the QAM system not the throughput of the last mile.

I guess that's not intuitive for me. If you quadruple the bandwidth of the pipe, without having to change the basic infrastructure, just by applying a more efficient method for delivering specifically the packets that are most time intensive, like voice and video. This assumes a change both at the PON and the ONT, since the algorithms need to be exercised at both ends.

Is it that the QAM architecture doesn't take advantage of increased bandwidth? why would V* throtle a system made for specifically this purpose?

Is it that the QAM architecture doesn't take advantage of increased bandwidth? why would V* throtle a system made for specifically this purpose?

Currently the last mile has enough bandwidth to transmit many more HD channels, but as discussed in this thread about 100 pages or so ago, further up stream the QAM infrastructure there is a bottleneck. Remember, anytime you are dealing with a network your connection speed is only as fast as the slowest link between the two end points and while that is usually the last mile, it's not in this case.

www.engadgethd.com/2007/10/18/is-verizons-fios-out-of-bandwidth/

Won't these upgrades still prove beneficial for video-on-demand over FiOS? I understood that HD VOD was delivered over TCP/IP and that bandwidth was a substantial limit on expanding this service. I believe I even read this here on AVSForum somewhere.

Won't these upgrades still prove beneficial for video-on-demand over FiOS? I understood that HD VOD was delivered over TCP/IP and that bandwidth was a substantial limit on expanding this service.
Yes. A HD feed using IPTV, assuming close to full bandwidth, requires a 17 to 19 Mb/s data rate. Verizon is using mpeg-2 for the VOD. My understanding is that the current Motorola STBs and DVRs do not support mpeg-4, so Verizon does not have that option. So if you have a number of the 32 homes on a node or multiple viewers in a few houses using HD VOD at the same time along with some 10 and 20 Mb/s down subscribers getting their files, you can max out a 622 Mb/s line. So the push to upgrade the system to GPON with a 2.4 Gb/s capacity.

I guess the more important question is: what's the upgrade plan for the 1.5 million or so of us that are currently stuck with BPON? It's my understanding that the switch requires upgrading the ONT as well.

I guess the more important question is: what's the upgrade plan for the 1.5 million or so of us that are currently stuck with BPON? It's my understanding that the switch requires upgrading the ONT as well.FiOS has said that it is rolling out GPON ONTs to new customers in 1Q 2008 (i.e. now or very soon). They haven't said how they will handle upgrades to existing customers, but I would expect that to happen over the course of a few years.

Is it that the QAM architecture doesn't take advantage of increased bandwidth? why would V* throtle a system made for specifically this purpose?
The problem is that Verizon is using only a part of the full bandwidth available for the QAM path. The STBs and DVRs can tune to QAM channels 1-135 or up to 860 MHz. Verizon only originally put in 54 QAM channels in the early COs they upgraded for FiOS and 63 in the later CO facilities. They also put in gear for 40 NTSC analog channels. The equipment put in has/had a total limit of 103 channels. Presumably cost and that they thought it would be enough for the next several years was the reason for this limit.

At the moment, the entire national SD, HD, and HD RSN channel line-up is carried on 44 QAM channels. In the northern VA area, there are 12 QAM channels used for locals. (Note: one of these is QAM 66 which is the Music Choice channels, TV Guide, weather channels, so it is a mix of 1 regional and national channels). In November, I had 54 QAM channels total; in late November (?) they added 2 more for digital broadcast locals (2 independents, an Ion station). So the Sterling, VA CO was very likely a 54 QAM CO which they added 2 more QAM channels.

All the HD, SD channels I get here are carried on 56 QAM channels. Other markets with HD locals from 2 cities and more than 2 HD RSNs are likely using another 4-5 QAM channels. The widely reported plan is to replace the 40 analog channels with 40 QAM channels and build out the system this year to 103 QAM channels. One QAM channel = 2 full bandwidth HD channels or 7 to 9 high quality SD channels. 40 QAM channels provides the capacity for a lot more HD and SD channels. So the word for 2008 is that analog cable channels must die! :D

The next stage is reportedly to then build out to provide all 135 QAM channels by the end of 2008. I personally think once Verizon does that, there won't be as much pressure to go to IPTV as quickly for the live channels.

Verizon updated the TV software and we have nicer looking menus (though too busy for my taste) as of 3 days ago. With that change I'm unable to see any SD channels anymore (HD channels display fine). The problem used to exist with the old software too but there was an option to manually set the cable box from 480p to OFF. They took that away. The Video Settings are in the on-screen menu now under Video Settings but they only include 480p, 480i, 720p and 1080i - the Off option isn't there. I just spent two hours on the phone with FiOS support people and the best they could come up with was that my 50in plasma (Philips) TV needs a firmware upgrade. Ok, I tried that but it's already running the latest version. Perhaps the issue is that my cable box is plugged into my surround system (HDMI IN) and then to the TV (with HDMI OUT on the audio receiver - it's a Samsung) but it was somewhat working until the interactive menu guide upgrade - sure, it kept switching to 480p and I had to reset the setting on the box every few hrs while watching SD channels but at least I had a way of correcting it manually. Now I don't and I'm annoyed. Is anyone else running into this issue?

This is happening with the HD/DVR box.
My TV upstairs (also Philips) is working fine with a HD (no DVR) box.

Thank you! :)

And the channel (range)? Is it 829 (as previously mentioned) across the board for the CSN HD channels, or does it fall in a different range for different markets?

CSN Mid-Atlantic HD in NoVa is on 829 and doesn't change.

The problem used to exist with the old software too but there was an option to manually set the cable box from 480p to OFF. They took that away. The Video Settings are in the on-screen menu now under Video Settings but they only include 480p, 480i, 720p and 1080i - the Off option isn't there. Chill. The setup menu is still there. The 4:3 update reset is a known bug. Got the workaround. Easy.:cool:

The new setup menu codes: "Power OFF, select, menu" . The fix- go into the setup menu and reset the 4:3 Override to OFF. You will need to do this every time you change the output resolution in the IMG.

I posted this on the Philly Verizon FiOS thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12860492#post12860492

Info source is the Verizon FiOS TV forum on DSL Reports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

Philly area - Just added WYBE-DT (OTA channel 35) on 875. Crawler on Weather Channel said it was effective 1/17, but just noticed it now.

Chill. The setup menu is still there. The 4:3 update reset is a known bug. Got the workaround. Easy.:cool:

The new setup menu codes: "Power OFF, select, menu" . The fix- go into the setup menu and reset the 4:3 Override to OFF. You will need to do this every time you change the output resolution in the IMG.

I posted this on the Philly Verizon FiOS thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12860492#post12860492

Info source is the Verizon FiOS TV forum on DSL Reports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv


Same thing happened here in Richmond, VA. What's mind-boggling is that this problem has to be discovered, reported and solved by individual users in every area where the new firmware is rolled out. Meanwhile Verizon customer service reps and tech support remain totally unaware of it and new users lose their SD service when they change resolutions to match the source video (which is necessary mainly because the Motorola boxes do a mediocre job of scaling and interlacing and letting the TV do the work generally gives better image quality.)

In my case I wasted hours of troubleshooting, multiple calls and a home service call by a tech who replaced the box and deleted hours of recorded shows without fixing the problem.

The workaround is as you describe, but I wouldn't call it easy. For those of us who use HDMI or DVI and have sets that don't accept 480i over a digital connection, you have to find and reset the 4:3 override with no image on the screen.

That means using the display on the front of the box, going into the setup menu with the "Power OFF, select, menu" sequence, then clicking down twice until you see "480i", right until you get "Off" and then "power" twice.

It's disappointing that Verizon let this firmware out in the wild without catching a bug that literally blanks the screen for a significant number of customers. It's maddening that as many times as it's been reported they still haven't educated customer and tech reps to identify and fix it.

Currently the last mile has enough bandwidth to transmit many more HD channels, but as discussed in this thread about 100 pages or so ago, further up stream the QAM infrastructure there is a bottleneck. Remember, anytime you are dealing with a network your connection speed is only as fast as the slowest link between the two end points and while that is usually the last mile, it's not in this case.

www.engadgethd.com/2007/10/18/is-verizons-fios-out-of-bandwidth/


Thanks for the explanation, will look at that post.

The Business of Television
Disconnect on Cost
ANALYST: ECONOMICS OF FIOS ROLLOUT MAKE LITTLE SENSE FOR VERIZON
by Mike Farrell, Multichannel News, 1/21/2008

Verizon Communications may be winning the hearts and minds of a growing number of former cable and satellite customers with its FiOS voice, video and data product, but at least one analyst believes that the service fails to deliver to one major constituency — its investors.

In a research report last week, Sanford Bernstein cable and satellite analyst Craig Moffett crunched some numbers on the FiOS service and came up with one all-encompassing conclusion: the economics around the FiOS rollout make little sense.

Based on Moffett’s estimates, rolling out FiOS could cost Verizon nearly $5,000 per home connected.

Moffett based his estimate on several factors — the actual cost of running fiber to a home, the cost of providing video service, advertising and marketing expense,Verizon’s cost of capital, subscriber acquisition costs and the time to terminal penetration (Verizon has estimated that it would take five years to achieve terminal penetration of 50%). Based on those factors, Moffett estimated that it would cost Verizon $4,984 per passing with 30% video penetration, dropping to $2,439 per passing at 50% penetration.

Moffett added that returns on capital for cable companies isn’t stellar — he called them anemic at best — but added that given valuations for most of the big cable operators ranging from $1,500 per customer to $3,000 per customer, they still outpace Verizon.

“Tellingly, competitor Comcast currently trades at an Enterprise Value of just $3,000 per subscriber, and at just $1,500 per connected home,” Moffett wrote. “With FiOS capital spending costs alone in the range of $4,000 per connected home, or two-and-a-half times the entire Enterprise Value of its closest competitor, Verizon’s FiOS surely faces a dizzying challenge in earning a desirable return for shareholders.”

Granted, one of the reasons for Verizon’s aggressive stance is to stem or compensate for increasing access line losses. The telco has been steadily losing access lines to cable telephony and wireless — access lines have dropped from 36.1 million in 2003 to 27.8 million in 2006, according to Moffett. Those declines are expected to accelerate in the coming years, to 25.9 million in 2007, 24.1 million in 2008, 22.5 million in 2009 and 21.1 million in 2010, according to Moffett.

Although rolling out a triple-play service like FiOS could win some of those customers back — and the incremental revenue from video and broadband could make up for at least some of those losses — Moffett believes that the massive cost of building a fiber to the home network doesn’t justify the near-term revenue gains.

Verizon has said that it intends to spend about $23 billion to roll out FiOS to 18 million homes within its footprint by 2010. So far FiOS passes about 9 million homes and the company has said that it has more than 700,000 FiOS video customers as of Sept. 30.

Most analysts believe that the phone giant passed the 1 million video subscriber mark in the fourth quarter.

And while Moffett praises FiOS from a customer standpoint — most recently Consumer Reports gave FiOS its first-ever perfect score for a video or broadband service provider — the analyst said that even with increasing penetration, it will be an uphill climb for the service to provide an adequate return on capital.

“In effect, Verizon is trading an unattractive picture of slow and steady declines in the wireline business for an even more unattractive picture of massive capital reinvestment at below-cost-of-capital returns,” Moffett wrote.

But Moffett adds that much like the cable industry, which overpaid for its massive upgrade in the 1990s, once the costs of the buildout are incurred, the economics get better.

“In the case of cable, however, marginal returns for cable operators are exceptional … because their sunk costs are already sunk,” Moffett wrote. “Eventually, Verizon will be in the same boat. Having overspent — just like cable — to build the network, the incremental costs to operate it simply aren’t that large. The difference, of course, is that Verizon remains many years from that inflection point.”

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6524100



This is an interesting article, especially given the recent rumblings among Comcast shareholders that Comcast needs a new CEO. I guess long term thinking is anathema to being a shareholder.

This is an interesting article, especially given the recent rumblings among Comcast shareholders that Comcast needs a new CEO. I guess long term thinking is anathema to being a shareholder.

Right you are. Verizon is building this system to be a powerful and flexible system long into the future. Articles like this are short-sighted. In the long run, Verizon has far more upside potential with Fios than Comcast does with its system. Comcast will have to make the same kind of investment Verizon has or they will not be able to compete.

This is an interesting article, especially given the recent rumblings among Comcast shareholders that Comcast needs a new CEO. I guess long term thinking is anathema to being a shareholder.
What I find most amazing is the CR perfect score. :confused:

Personally, I find their service impeccable. Consumer Reports isn't likely to condemn FiOS for not launching 150 HD channels right on top of DirecTV since they're coming in the next 6-12 months. Nor are they likely to condemn FiOS for the lack of knowledge at the CSR level regarding new channel additions and other similar matters, since those have nothing to do with quality of service. My personal experience with the on-site techs is that they are 50 miles above anyone I have ever had to deal with from Comcast regarding its service, either on-site or over the phone.

Yes, it might be hard to believe, but the standard set by about 75% of the people posting in this thread regarding "quality service" is unbelievably outrageous. The only thing that might've put the rating in question was the IMG upgrade that was full of errors that saddled some of us for a few months, but even then most of the problems were DVR related, and I haven't had any problems since the bug fix.

I've noticed that too when my Sony is in "Full Pixel" (i.e. no overscan) mode. Switching to "Normal" screen mode (i.e. slight overscan) hides the flaw.

Switching to component did the trick.

I guess long term thinking is anathema to being a shareholder.

It has been for years. Shareholders want to see an 18% return this quarter or it's time to fire the coach. Why do you think our economy is so cyclical?

Switching to component did the trick.

This "sliced image" or folded image on the left side seems to be present on fixed pixel displays. I don't see it on my RPTV but it was there on my LCD flat panel until I switched over to component input. This bug has been described at the FiOS forum at dslreports but I am not aware of any official acknowledgement of the problem from Verizon.

This "sliced image" or folded image on the left side seems to be present on fixed pixel displays. I don't see it on my RPTV but it was there on my LCD flat panel until I switched over to component input. This bug has been described at the FiOS forum at dslreports but I am not aware of any official acknowledgement of the problem from Verizon.Wow - I just switched over to component and the "folded" artifact is gone. That's just baffling to me, but thanks to everyone who pointed this out!

I just got my service today. Had a question about foxhd. my foxhd (los angeles) looks like SD quality. It's just not up to par. I'll see how the shows look when it gets to prime time (the only shows that were on at the time were old 80s syndication shows)... perhaps that might be the issue.

I just got my service today. Had a question about foxhd. my foxhd (los angeles) looks like SD quality. It's just not up to par. I'll see how the shows look when it gets to prime time (the only shows that were on at the time were old 80s syndication shows)... perhaps that might be the issue.

They don't usually broadcast HD until Primetime or sporting events. Otheriwse it is just upconverted programming. That is the case for all the networks.

Personally, I find their service impeccable

I'm in MA.

Verizon failed to keep two installation appointments with me and failed to notify me that they weren't coming, which I considered an even greater sin than not showing up. The CS personnel have always been very nice and helpful, but unfortunately they have little clout. One of them even gave me her cell phone number so I could reach her directly without going through the phone system. Another CS person told me the inbound phone routing software is so bad that they can be sitting around waiting for incoming calls while the callers just get put on hold forever. Given I've had some 30+ minute hold times without ever reaching a person, I can believe it. Here on the East Coast, you need to call before about 8-9 pm if you want to be sure to talk to someone inside the US. At that point, the CA office closes down and all customer support switches to overseas personnel in places like India.

My problem was that I had an already-installed business-class Internet FiOS connection with a static IP address to my home. Each time VZ was going to send the truck, someone in dispatch noticed this fact, put a "jeopardy" on my account (as VZ terms it), and the truck didn't roll.

In every case I was told it was all about the static IP address. Finally they implemented the required solution; they brought in a second line. This was the solution the original business installer and I thought made the most sense, as did the CS personnel. Problem was nobody among the installation managers could see this simple resolution to the problem. This was true even though, here in MA, FiOS business and residential are managed out of the same place, but getting them to talk between themselves was extremely difficult. After the first two no-shows, I told VZ they had one final chance to show up or I was going to install D*. The nice lady who gave me her cell number needed to enlist her manager, the manager at dispatch, and three other people to sort out my case.

I had two techs here the day I finally had TV installed that between them probably spent a total of eight hours here. If that's not atypical of installations, it's not surprising to hear that observers think VZ is losing money on subscriber installations. Like URFloorMat says, the on-site techs seemed quite knowledgeable; I just don't think they're backed up by a very good managerial infrastructure.

I think VZ faces a problem right now where its marketing push wasn't backed up by the managerial and technical resources necessary to support such an enormous growth in subscribership in such a short period of time. Not everyone will have my particular technical problem, but the management issues are common to everyone.

I guess Consumer Reports didn't have any of these problems.

I just got my service today. Had a question about foxhd. my foxhd (los angeles) looks like SD quality. It's just not up to par. I'll see how the shows look when it gets to prime time (the only shows that were on at the time were old 80s syndication shows)... perhaps that might be the issue.

1. 80s shows were not shot in HDTV since HD wasn't around until the late 90s
2. The station you were watching does not offer any HD programming unless it comes from the network in either prime time or sports programming.

1. 80s shows were not shot in HDTV since HD wasn't around until the late 90s
2. The station you were watching does not offer any HD programming unless it comes from the network in either prime time or sports programming.

My reaction was just comparing foxHD from TWC to FIOS (which I have now). The upconversion of the SD non-primetime material didn't compare to TWC for just that one HD channel... which is odd. all the SD channels look much better with FIOS than with TWC. I just turned it on and fox news was on... the picture quality was definitely HD.

Jan 22...

Installer came at 11:am and started the process
The tech was beyond kind and knew his stuff...
Very patient and didn't mind my questions or me looking over his shoulder...
Ran the drop from the pole unto the outside of my house
Put the new new equipment in and was doing well till he had to get people on the phone to verify the equipment and stuff
Then the set top boxes came in and he had to call back to activate them

6 hrs later the job was done

Internet worked well when I left

Tv in the small room was working well

Tv in the den was working also

The den had the HD DVR which I found it to be a little bubble gumish
meaning the screen and menus and stuff
a little to crowded for my taste and too cartoonish
but from what i see the HD channels were good
i didnt have time to sit down and look at them but will later on tonight
remote is cool
i dvr american idol so we will see if it taped it
overall i enjoyed the time the tech took to make sure the installation was done right
took his time to split check readings and measure out the cabling
overall his service was excellent and to top it off he called an hr later seeing if everything was ok

i am using components at this time and to me they seem fine
the hdmi to dvi is being used by my blu ray
the tv is an older directors edition of hitachi 57''

will give an update later tonight or by tomorrow

thanks

1. 80s shows were not shot in HDTV since HD wasn't around until the late 90s
2. The station you were watching does not offer any HD programming unless it comes from the network in either prime time or sports programming.If anything was shot on film, can't that be transferred in HD television??

If anything was shot on film, can't that be transferred in HD television??
Pretty much, yes. If the TV show was shot on film and a good quality film master has been preserved, then the TV show is a candidate for being re-telecined to HD. Shows shot and edited on film are viable candidates for HD releases such has been done for Star Trek, the original series. If the show was shot on video as has been common by the 1970s for sitcoms shot entirely on a stage set, that show is not a candidate for future HD version.

However, as has been frequently discussed and posted here on avsforum, by the late 70s and 80s, it was common practice to edit the show on video. To convert those shows to HD, they would have to go back and re-edit the show from the film masters which will cost a lot more. This has been done for Seinfeld, but Seinfeld is an extremely profitable syndicated show, so there was money to do that to protect the show for the HD era. Not likely to be done for the more obscure TV shows.

On HDNet and UniversalHD, we have seen HD episodes from Hogan's Heroes (which looks surprisingly good with a moderate crop to ~14:9), Charlies Angels from the 1970s, Quantum Leap, The Equalizer (cropped to 16:9), Northern Exposure from the early 90s in 4:3 OAR. So there are TV shows from the 1950s to the 1990s which can be redone in HD. Maybe someone will eventually start up a HD TV Land style channel of old TV series, but only series that have been redone in HD.

Would be lucky to even get fios in jersey city…. When I got married, I moved from Kearny to jersey city and now Kearny gets fios…. Lol I got owned…

My reaction was just comparing foxHD from TWC to FIOS (which I have now). The upconversion of the SD non-primetime material didn't compare to TWC for just that one HD channel... which is odd. all the SD channels look much better with FIOS than with TWC. I just turned it on and fox news was on... the picture quality was definitely HD.

Could have to do with your cable box settings. See Geekgirl's post # 5650 in this tread on how to access the the settings screen (not the setup menu on the guide).

MGM Beefs Up US HD Channel With Verizon FiOS TV Distribution

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing to capitalize on the opportunities created by the recent growth in high definition television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) has secured carriage for its MGM HD Channel on Verizon's FiOS TV service, bringing feature film hits from the MGM library to Verizon FiOS TV subscriber households in full high definition splendor. The announcement was made today by Douglas A. Lee, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Digital Media for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Jim Packer, Co-President, MGM Worldwide Television.

"The response to the MGM HD Channel, even in today's crowded and
challenging marketplace, has been very encouraging, especially as consumers
validate our belief that HDTV owners value movies along with sports as HD's
greatest viewing proposition," said Lee in announcing the Verizon FiOS TV
agreement. "We are one of the only services available 24/7 in full 1080i
HD."

MGM HD will be rolled out in late 2008 across all of the Verizon FiOS
TV systems including California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Texas and Virginia.

Taking the lead among Hollywood studios to convert substantial
theatrical library assets to the superior broadcasting format of high
definition, MGM HD has already proven its popularity with consumers in the
U.S., having previously launched on DirecTV in October of 2007. MGM
Chairman and CEO Harry Sloan's initiative is to launch MGM branded HD
channels around the world.

Backed by the world's largest modern film library, consisting of more
than 4,100 film titles and winner of 209 Academy Awards(R), MGM HD has a
distinct advantage over the competition in the expanding HD marketplace. In
addition to classic MGM theatrical hits, MGM HD will be the ultimate
resource for serious movie fans, offering viewers an array of original
programming and new content.

Audiences can look forward to exclusive behind the scenes coverage of
red carpet events, sneak peeks at new films in production, seasonal
promotions and world premieres of newly re-mastered hits from the MGM
library.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2008/0004741554&EDATE=

Late 2008!
Wow, thanks, way to go FiOS.

You know I could really get used to having to wait a whole year after DirecTV got a channel to get it on FiOS, that's be so fantastic I can hardly type.

Could have to do with your cable box settings. See Geekgirl's post # 5650 in this tread on how to access the the settings screen (not the setup menu on the guide).

I keep seeing this referenced in other posts but I didn't quite understand what this does exactly. I think my current setting is 4:3 override... do I want it off?

...MGM HD will be rolled out in late 2008 across all of the Verizon FiOS
TV systems including California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Texas and Virginia....

Bah! Late 2008?! They better have a James Bond Marathon when it's made available to make of for this! :) Or release the movies on blu-ray...(please MGM!)

I keep seeing this referenced in other posts but I didn't quite understand what this does exactly. I think my current setting is 4:3 override... do I want it off?Translation: If you have a widescreen (16:9) display, the STB can stretch "standard" (4:3) material to fit, just like your TV can. You have to tell your STB 2 things: 1) I've got a widescreen TV, and, 2) Don't mess with the stretch (I'll do that on my TV, thanks anyway).

With the STB on, hit this on the front panel (quickly, but not together): OFF, Select, Menu.

Make sure the STB display is set to 16:9
Change the 4:3 Override to OFF (it's another level inside this menu, so you have to select it first).

That'll do it. Except for the bug in the "new" IMG that keeps turning 4:3 back on when you change out output resolution. Do this first: Tell the IMG that you have 1080i (unless it's a 720p display- then it's 720p). Then, change the setup menu.

Any chance of them implementing a NAtive resolution mode?

I have followed the steps to what Geekgirl has written down and just a quick q pls...regarding that

When I watch for example ch 801 it sets it to 1080i I then click on ch 2 and it changes to 480i
Now if I change it back to ESPNHD it kicks in at 1080i? I thought it was broadcasting at 720p? I am I doing something wrong? Because CV's HD DVR was about to switch around all these three different modes but I find FIOS' HD DVR just does two modes
I am using component cables btw...

I have followed the steps to what Geekgirl has written down and just a quick q pls...regarding that

When I watch for example ch 801 it sets it to 1080i I then click on ch 2 and it changes to 480i
Now if I change it back to ESPNHD it kicks in at 1080i? I thought it was broadcasting at 720p? I am I doing something wrong? Because CV's HD DVR was about to switch around all these three different modes but I find FIOS' HD DVR just does two modes
I am using component cables btw...

The FiOS DVR does not pass through the native resolution, it converts all HD channels to either 1080i or 720p.

I have followed the steps to what Geekgirl has written down and just a quick q pls...regarding that

When I watch for example ch 801 it sets it to 1080i I then click on ch 2 and it changes to 480i
Now if I change it back to ESPNHD it kicks in at 1080i? I thought it was broadcasting at 720p? I am I doing something wrong? Because CV's HD DVR was about to switch around all these three different modes but I find FIOS' HD DVR just does two modes
I am using component cables btw...
Yes, you must pick EITHER 1080i or 720p default for ALL HD channels ...
The Moto box is not capable of pass-thru of native resolution.

You can however, simply switch in the IMG video setting from 1080 to 720 on a particular channel, without going into the setup menu, this will have no effect on the 480i setting you have set on the SD channels.

You can however, simply switch in the IMG video setting from 1080 to 720 on a particular channel, without going into the setup menu, this will have no effect on the 480i setting you have set on the SD channels.
True and not true. It SHOULD BE true. If you have IMG 1.0.4, there is a bug in that changing the resolution in the setup menu causes the 4:3 override setting to revert back to 480i.

Translation: If you have a widescreen (16:9) display, the STB can stretch "standard" (4:3) material to fit, just like your TV can. You have to tell your STB 2 things: 1) I've got a widescreen TV, and, 2) Don't mess with the stretch (I'll do that on my TV, thanks anyway).

With the STB on, hit this on the front panel (quickly, but not together): OFF, Select, Menu.

Make sure the STB display is set to 16:9
Change the 4:3 Override to OFF (it's another level inside this menu, so you have to select it first).

That'll do it. Except for the bug in the "new" IMG that keeps turning 4:3 back on when you change out output resolution. Do this first: Tell the IMG that you have 1080i (unless it's a 720p display- then it's 720p). Then, change the setup menu.

aren't the majority of HD channels broadcast in 1080i? if so, id' rather have the scaler in tv, which cost thousands, do the scaling vs. the scaler built by the cheapest bidder.

True and not true. It SHOULD BE true. If you have IMG 1.0.4, there is a bug in that changing the resolution in the setup menu causes the 4:3 override setting to revert back to 480i.
I know that, but as was mentioned, the poster is already set to 480i for SD override, (as am I) , so the box doesn't "revert back" to anything else, stays on 480i, & as I said switching between 720/1080 will have NO Effect on the 480i setting of his SD channels.

I know that, but as was mentioned, the poster is already set to 480i for SD override, (as am I) , so the box doesn't "revert back" to anything else, stays on 480i, & as I said switching between 720/1080 will have NO Effect on the 480i setting of his SD channels.
Ah good point. Just don't want someone else to read the post and think the same goes for all 4:3 settings. But yes, I apologize, for the scenario you are referencing specifically, all is good :-)

Any chance of them implementing a NAtive resolution mode?

not likely-it would require new STBs.

aren't the majority of HD channels broadcast in 1080i? if so, id' rather have the scaler in tv, which cost thousands, do the scaling vs. the scaler built by the cheapest bidder.

Many would agree but the FiOS boxes don't give you that option.

Guys,

I know this will sound dopey, but the only reason I have been hangin with CV is because of the Three Sheets on Mojo and Voom Kung Fu. Welll.. I have seen every episode of Three Sheets 500 times and if I watch 1 more rerun of a 1950's Zatoichi japanese bubblegum samurai show I am going to throw up.

I don't see anything in the Fios lineup that replaces these items....

Does the show Three Sheets with Zane Lamprey or After Midnight with Danielle show up on any Fios channels?

Is there anything comparable to Voom KFu?

Just curious.

BG

P.S. - What is the average amount folks have saved $$ by moving from cable to Fios? I should be seeing ~$25 per month difference.

Many would agree but the FiOS boxes don't give you that option.

i know, but when setting the box to 1080i, it should pass through the channel as it receives it, no? i can see it scaling the 720 channels as it passes them along, but the 1080 channels, (for which i believe are the majority) should be passed along untouched, no?

Guys,

I know this will sound dopey, but the only reason I have been hangin with CV is because of the Three Sheets on Mojo and Voom Kung Fu. Welll.. I have seen every episode of Three Sheets 500 times and if I watch 1 more rerun of a 1950's Zatoichi japanese bubblegum samurai show I am going to throw up.

I don't see anything in the Fios lineup that replaces these items....

Does the show Three Sheets with Zane Lamprey or After Midnight with Danielle show up on any Fios channels?

Is there anything comparable to Voom KFu?

Just curious.

BG

P.S. - What is the average amount folks have saved $$ by moving from cable to Fios? I should be seeing ~$25 per month difference.


Comcast is cheaper here. I could get their triple play for $72 for a year with HBO, SHowtime and Starz included.
But I got FIOS for the fast Internet mainly. And I can have all 4 services, cellphone, TV, homephone, and internet all on one bill. I get discounts with FIOS but Comcast would be much, cheaper for me if I went back to them but I really like my 30mbs FIOS internet download speeds.
And the best Comcast has here is their 30mbs powerboost. I hit the same speeds as FIOS but only for around 15 to 20 seconds. Then it drops to 8.8mbs. With FIOS it's a consistent 30mbs.

Guys,

I know this will sound dopey, but the only reason I have been hangin with CV is because of the Three Sheets on Mojo and Voom Kung Fu. Welll.. I have seen every episode of Three Sheets 500 times and if I watch 1 more rerun of a 1950's Zatoichi japanese bubblegum samurai show I am going to throw up.

I don't see anything in the Fios lineup that replaces these items....

Does the show Three Sheets with Zane Lamprey or After Midnight with Danielle show up on any Fios channels?

Is there anything comparable to Voom KFu?

Just curious.

BG

P.S. - What is the average amount folks have saved $$ by moving from cable to Fios? I should be seeing ~$25 per month difference.


Seen several samurai movies on different channels, never dealt with Voom, so don't know if it's equivalent.

Savings:

TV:
3 DVR's + 1 set top box
D* = $152/mo (Including HBO), V* = $132 (Including all premiums and sports)
(Projected with one $300 HD DVR for D*, All three HD DVR's with V*)
Saved $30 overall, with more services, probably ~$20 more savings for the same services, plus not having to spend the $300 for the HD DVR.

Internet:
Comcast (8M down, 1M up) = $72, V* (20M down / 5M up) = $42.
Saved $30.

Phone:
Verizon (old) = $70/mo, FIOS V* = 29.99 Same choices except Canadian calling.
Saved: $41.

All together, probably about $101/mo actual, $121 for same services, plus the one time savings of $300 avoiding paying for the HD DVR (which you don't own, but lease afterwards).

...

P.S. - What is the average amount folks have saved $$ by moving from cable to Fios? I should be seeing ~$25 per month difference.

here is a situation where the consumer could be saving ~$25 and that only on the VIDEO side.. that does not include VOICE or DATA or any DISCOUNTS... just ... dare i say.. "apples to apples"

pt 1http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12902976#post12902976
pt 2 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12925087#post12925087

i know, but when setting the box to 1080i, it should pass through the channel as it receives it, no? i can see it scaling the 720 channels as it passes them along, but the 1080 channels, (for which i believe are the majority) should be passed along untouched, no?

yes that's correct AFAIK.

I have no complaints about PQ on any FiOS HD ch.(well NatGeo[720p] & DiscHD look a bit soft but it appears they're aired with decreased bitrates at the source.)

Looks like Verizon has already started discontinuing analog service.

Very end of this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/technology/personaltech/24basics.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

I've emailed my PR contact at Verizon for more details, but he says he'll have to research it.

P.S. - What is the average amount folks have saved $$ by moving from cable to Fios? I should be seeing ~$25 per month difference.

I'm sure it's going to vary greatly.

I'm in Oregon and was using Comcast for phone, TV, and internet. I had their Digital Silver Plus package for TV, no premium channels (i.e. no HBO, Starz, sports packages, etc).

My bill was $152/month. I was on promotional pricing for 12 months on the phone service (regular $39.95, paying $19.95). I had about eight or nine months left at that price).

I did my calculations based on the life of the FiOS contract, so it took into account the increase in phone service charge.

Over the next two years I originally calculated that my savings would be about $650. A buddy of mine told me yesterday that he just got a notice from Comcast that they're going to be increasing their prices by $10 / month. That would put my savings closer to $900 over two years.

I've been happy to see HD VOD come on in Mass. The problem I have is that in the Beta, there were HBO, History Channel, etc. movies and other programs available; when I look at the HD folder now, all I see is pay movies and a few (Wealth TV, ... ) Channels with content. Now I actually do like Wealth TV, but I expected more content, especially from premium channels I subscribe to. I expect we'll be seeing more, but when? Or am I not looking in the right places? I went into one of the movie channel VOD areas that I subscribe to and only saw SD VOD.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Looks like Verizon has already started discontinuing analog service.

Very end of this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/technology/personaltech/24basics.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
We were discussing this in the FiOS TV forum at dslreports. The new markets that Verizon just opened in the past few months, Western PA and OR are digital only, no analog channels. However, the "older" markets have analog channels. My interpretation is that the article is poorly worded and is not quite correct. For the new customers in the markets and COs with analog channels, Verizon is simply not telling them that the analog channels are there. They are told they must get a STB for each TV, period. If the CSRs are pressed, some of them may know about the clear QAM tuner option with most new TVs for the PEGs, SD and HD locals or cable cards. It is not worth the trouble to turn off the analog channels for the new subscribers signing up in the areas where the COs have analog channels. But Verizon does not want to add to the number of subscribers who have a TV getting the analog channels as they begin the process of notifying everyone that the analog channels are being shut down.

Any new COs being upgraded for FiOS TV in any of the markets are almost certainly not having any analog channels added. The big question is when we will see the letters telling us the analog channels are being shut down and how to order a DCT 700 or QIP 2500 SD STB for those who need one. The analog channels won't get shut down for some X days, probably 60 or more, until after that letter goes out. The shutdown and expansion of HD channels is going to happen market by market, so some of us will have a bunch of new HD channels while others may have to wait a few more months. Yep, the IMG roll-out all over again.

I've been happy to see HD VOD come on in Mass. The problem I have is that in the Beta, there were HBO, History Channel, etc. movies and other programs available; when I look at the HD folder now, all I see is pay movies and a few (Wealth TV, ... ) Channels with content. Now I actually do like Wealth TV, but I expected more content, especially from premium channels I subscribe to. I expect we'll be seeing more, but when? Or am I not looking in the right places? I went into one of the movie channel VOD areas that I subscribe to and only saw SD VOD.

Does anyone know anything about this?

exactly like our HD VOD situation here. when we were a beta market there was much more(& IMO better) HD content than now.

now we do have more PAY HD VOD movies than before but now a thin selection of free content & no sub. content(i.e. HBO, SHO, Starz et.al.) at all.

why this is?-could be bandwidth/internet issues(keep in mind VOD is IP-based) really difficult to say at this point.

Any new COs being upgraded for FiOS TV in any of the markets are almost certainly not having any analog channels added. The big question is when we will see the letters telling us the analog channels are being shut down and how to order a DCT 700 or QIP 2500 SD STB for those who need one. The analog channels won't get shut down for some X days, probably 60 or more, until after that letter goes out.

If I recall correctly, we've discussed that the FCC requires a mandatory one year advance notice to subscribers before you can shutdown analog transmission prior to February 2009. I believe we've also discussed a provision that allows a provider like Verizon to file for an exemption and shutoff analog after a "reasonable" time (or some equivalent).

From that discussion, I find a 60 day notice highly unlikely. It's much more likely to be six months, and anything less than 90 days seems extremely unlikely given the rule.

With that in mind, it seems to me like the spring HD additions will have to draw on the QAM upgrades (unless the notices are in the mail right now). "Late 2008" additions, like MGM-HD, are much more likely to be analog shutoff related.

URFloorMatt,
That wasn't my understanding. I was under the impression that cable co's had to continue to either offer analog or free STBs until 2011. I believe FiOS just needs to offer the boxes that afiggatt mentioned in order to turn off the analog channels.

Then again FiOS is the exception when ti comes to cable co's maybe they have a waiver like they do for the the integrated security (non-CableCARD) ban.

exactly like our HD VOD situation here. when we were a beta market there was much more(& IMO better) HD content than now.

now we do have more PAY HD VOD movies than before but now a thin selection of free content & no sub. content(i.e. HBO, SHO, Starz et.al.) at all.

why this is?-could be bandwidth/internet issues(keep in mind VOD is IP-based) really difficult to say at this point.

I have Comcast right now, and HBO has removed their HD VOD content.

URFloorMatt,
That wasn't my understanding. I was under the impression that cable co's had to continue to either offer analog or free STBs until 2011. I believe FiOS just needs to offer the boxes that afiggatt mentioned in order to turn off the analog channels.

Then again FiOS is the exception when ti comes to cable co's maybe they have a waiver like they do for the the integrated security (non-CableCARD) ban.


I found the post regarding this: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11929157#post11929157

Verizon applied for a waiver from the one year notice requirement, but I don't recall ever seeing the response to that request.

- Discussing quad tuner box
- HD VOD by late Feb
- 80 HD channels by June
-150 HD channels by end of year

I have had verizon fios for about 2 years now and they came out to update my router and I was digging for some info. Hope it's true.

- Discussing quad tuner box
- HD VOD by late Feb
- 80 HD channels by June
-150 HD channels by end of year

I have had verizon fios for about 2 years now and they came out to update my router and I was digging for some info. Hope it's true.

All the HD stuff is along the lines of what we have seen posted here, I don't buy the quad tuner box. That would mean the signal would get split 4x once it gets into the box, that could lead to horrible signal levels on each tuner, particularly if you already have a split in front of the box.

I'm making the leap from Directv to Verizon FIOS here in NY. Is there any concrete news on whether Verizon will get MLB Extra Innings and/or FSN New York HD/MSG-HD. This would allow me to suspend my D* service until football season.

All the HD stuff is along the lines of what we have seen posted here, I don't buy the quad tuner box. That would mean the signal would get split 4x once it gets into the box, that could lead to horrible signal levels on each tuner, particularly if you already have a split in front of the box.

That's a silly reason to be skeptical. They could easily amp/cleanup the signal inside the box.

I skeptical simply because they have their hands full with 20 other things.

- Discussing quad tuner box
- HD VOD by late Feb
- 80 HD channels by June
-150 HD channels by end of year

I have had verizon fios for about 2 years now and they came out to update my router and I was digging for some info. Hope it's true.Verizon techs don't know any more than you do. They are not privy to any of that information.

All the HD stuff is along the lines of what we have seen posted here, I don't buy the quad tuner box. That would mean the signal would get split 4x once it gets into the box, that could lead to horrible signal levels on each tuner, particularly if you already have a split in front of the box.
It would seem that V* would just need to crank up the output level from the ONT to deliver a higher signal voltage to accommodate a quad tuner; although probably not higher signal-to-noise ratio. the signal arrives to my house optically and is converted to electrical by the ONT for distribution to the STBs by coax. i would guess that somewhere in the ONT there is an output amplifier adjustment that sets the electrical output signal level to the required level.

From what I can read, FIOS on demand is not HD. I also asked a tech on line on their site and he said not for my zip code, plano/dallas tx. So much for the fiber optic technology they make such a big deal of.

My good old fashion time warner cable has on demand hd, although the movie selection is limited to about 70-80, mostly new releases. We watched 1408 the other day and it looked great!!.

I was looking forward to switching from TWC to FIOS, but if no on demand HD is available then no thanks. Maybe next year.

Franke46

From what I can read, FIOS on demand is not HD. I also asked a tech on line on their site and he said not for my zip code, plano/dallas tx. So much for the fiber optic technology they make such a big deal of.

My good old fashion time warner cable has on demand hd, although the movie selection is limited to about 70-80, mostly new realeases. We watched 1408 the other day and it looked great!!.

I was looking forward to switch to FIOS from TWC, but if no on demand HD is available then no thanks. I will be taking another look next year.

Franke46

I guess it comes down to what you watch more. I personally never watch VOD from Comcast in HD. I have the premiums, and I DVR movies that I would like to watch in HD. I unfortunately still watch a lot of non-HD channels and switching to Verizon should really improve the currently unwatchable channels on Comcast. I haven't watched the plain premium movie channels in so long that if I could, I would only get the HD versions if It saved some cash. They really don't look good on my standard tvs and terrible on the HDTV.

That is why I am switching to Fios February 9th. The picture quality has become much more important (also the internet speeds are unreal). Right now I have 26 channels that are watchable. By switching I pick up over a hundred channels. I can be patient with the slow HD roll out as long as the HD channel lineup pays off. I really hope by June 1 the HD lineup has increased though. Comcast can advertise all they want the "more HD options", but to me it is all crap I don't want to watch. Give more more daily programming please.

It would seem that V* would just need to crank up the output level from the ONT to deliver a higher signal voltage to accommodate a quad tuner; although probably not higher signal-to-noise ratio. the signal arrives to my house optically and is converted to electrical by the ONT for distribution to the STBs by coax. i would guess that somewhere in the ONT there is an output amplifier adjustment that sets the electrical output signal level to the required level.


The signal is already very hot. They put an 8 way splitter on mine just to get the signal down. I can split those again and have zero problems with the signal. It is more than strong enough. Although some of the HDTiVos have had signal problems but not from the signal being weak, the problems were from the signal being too strong.
They would have no problems with a 4 tuner box.
Besides the techs are supposed to measure the signal strength at every outlet and upload the results to their office before leaving the customers house. The tech has to make sure the signal is within specs at each outlet.

Have had Fios since New Year's Eve. My tech did not test any signals nor did he test my current piece of coax cable. He did put on (2) 2-way splitters 1 directly out of the ONT & then another to send signal to my two HD STB's. How would i know if my signal is still too hot??

If you're seeing no issues I wouldn't worry about it.

I'm making the leap from Directv to Verizon FIOS here in NY. Is there any concrete news on whether Verizon will get MLB Extra Innings and/or FSN New York HD/MSG-HD. This would allow me to suspend my D* service until football season.
Don't ever say never, but those will probably be the last channels VZ gets.
Especially FSNY-NY/MSG.
Stick with the dish for now, especially since you now have all NY local teams in HD.

Have had Fios since New Year's Eve. My tech did not test any signals nor did he test my current piece of coax cable. He did put on (2) 2-way splitters 1 directly out of the ONT & then another to send signal to my two HD STB's. How would i know if my signal is still too hot??

Way back when I had Fios installed the tech was very insistant on getting a signal of 10-12db. The first connection in my media room was to hot and required attenuation. The location furthest away was just at 10db.
The tech say's they were told by engineering to hot of a signal to the stb causes the tuner(s) to overheat.

And too low a signal makes it freeze? :)

The signal out of the ONT is about 10 dB "hotter" than what's normally supplied by the cable company at the home entrance. No where near enough to heat up anything. Engineer probably didn't want to explain what happens when you overload the RF amplifier inside your STB with too high a signal level (it distorts and messes up your channels).

Way back when I had Fios installed the tech was very insistant on getting a signal of 10-12db. The first connection in my media room was to hot and required attenuation. The location furthest away was just at 10db.
The tech say's they were told by engineering to hot of a signal to the stb causes the tuner(s) to overheat.


When I had TV installed last June they put attenuators on both my DVRs. The tech had to call in the signal strength and said he had to get it approved before he could call the installation complete.

From what I can read, FIOS on demand is not HD. I also asked a tech on line on their site and he said not for my zip code, plano/dallas tx. So much for the fiber optic technology they make such a big deal of.

My good old fashion time warner cable has on demand hd, although the movie selection is limited to about 70-80, mostly new releases. We watched 1408 the other day and it looked great!!.

I was looking forward to switching from TWC to FIOS, but if no on demand HD is available then no thanks. Maybe next year.

Franke46Just for the record: We have FiOS HD-VOD here in SE Virginia. The movies are fairly new and well known. About the same price as Blu-Ray at the video stores.

Yep. Like a bevel on a mirror. I have this on my Pioneer Pro150fd.Did you ever resolve this? My Pioneer Pro-1140HD just started to do this and I can't figure out a way to get rid of it. I have the HMDI Fios display set to FULL. Any other setting distorts the image. Any tips would be very appreciated!

Did you try setting the HDMI color space to RGB? That's the other bug introduced in the new IMG. In the advanced HDMI settings menu. Change the color space from YCC to RGB. Won't hurt anything, might even help. There's a dedicated thread for the Moto QIP6416 HD DVR -here's a pointer to some recent postings about it. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12829807#post12829807 Also on the Verizon FiOS TV forum in various threads.

Just for the record: We have FiOS HD-VOD here in SE Virginia. The movies are fairly new and well known. About the same price as Blu-Ray at the video stores.
That is great, I hope this markets gets it soon. How many movies do you have avilable in HD VOD?

Thanks

Franke

That is great, I hope this markets gets it soon. How many movies do you have avilable in HD VOD?

Thanks

Franke

I'm in the same market as Hilltop, so I can answer that question for you....

There are roughly 25 HD movies in the VOD HD folder. Prices range from $5.95 - $9.99.

anyone in the DC area have the short 2 to 5 minute HD shorts show up in the VOD? I did a search for HD and there was a folder listed HDTV and there were around 10 of the HD shorts available. Hopefully they will off regular HD VOD programs soon.
They still eat up my bandwidth taking around 12 to 15mbs of my 30mbs speed so my ONT must still be provisioned for only 30 mbs.

anyone in the DC area have the short 2 to 5 minute HD shorts show up in the VOD? I did a search for HD and there was a folder listed HDTV and there were around 10 of the HD shorts available. Hopefully they will off regular HD VOD programs soon.
They still eat up my bandwidth taking around 12 to 15mbs of my 30mbs speed so my ONT must still be provisioned for only 30 mbs.

Your internet speed is not part of the deal when delivering IPTV. The three wavelengths used (for now) are:

1310 - dedicated to upstream data (IPTV, internet, phone.) - this has a bandwidth of 155 MBits/s.

1490 - dedicated to downstream data (IPTV, internet, phone). - this has a bandwitdh of 622 MBits /s.

1550 -dedicated to non-IPTV broadcast video. This one is measured in MHz @ 870 MHz.

The internet service you subscribe to is a small subset of the total data bandwidth you have available to you, and is not part of what is allotted to IPTV.

Some time soon, the new GPON technology (as opposed to current BPON) will quadruple the bandwidth available: 1.244 GB up, 2.4 GB down,

Your internet speed is not part of the deal when delivering IPTV. The three wavelengths used (for now) are:

1310 - dedicated to upstream data (IPTV, internet, phone.) - this has a bandwidth of 155 MBits/s.

1490 - dedicated to downstream data (IPTV, internet, phone). - this has a bandwitdh of 622 MBits /s.

1550 -dedicated to non-IPTV broadcast video. This one is measured in MHz @ 870 MHz.

The internet service you subscribe to is a small subset of the total data bandwidth you have available to you, and is not part of what is allotted to IPTV.

Some time soon, the new GPON technology (as opposed to current BPON) will quadruple the bandwidth available: 1.244 GB up, 2.4 GB down,

They still will put a cap on the bandwidth available to the ONT. Ideally it would be a 50mbs cap so the VOD would not impact my 30mbs speed. The ONTs around here are capped at 30mbs. Most people only have 20mbs service or less so the VOD impacts the internet speed very little or none at all.
I went through tenchnical support to see if they could increase the cap. The system at the time wasn't set up to have a higher ONT cap than 30mbs in my area. Even when they tried to manually increase the ONT cap from their end the system wouldn't increase it past 30mbs. They told me at some point in the future they would be able to raise that cap so when HD VOD is offered there would not be as much of an impact in speed. But apparently that has not been done yet.

So while the whole system itself is capable of much higher speeds they cap each ONT. My guess is once they upgrade to the higher speeds with GPON they will raise the ONT cap around here. Right now they are supposed to have up to 32 ONTs sharing that 600+mbs bandwidth .

anyone in the DC area have the short 2 to 5 minute HD shorts show up in the VOD? I did a search for HD and there was a folder listed HDTV and there were around 10 of the HD shorts available.
Yep, there are a number of "How to" short clips in a HDTV folder tonight here. Useful clips such as How Not to Get Mugged, How to Extend the Life of your IPod Battery, How to Prepare Fish for Sushi, How to Keep Your Face Looking Great, and so on. I have not found any other HD titles so far beyond this wacky set of How To's. So we have HD VOD titles - again - in the Washington Metro market. We'll see if Verizon begins to add useful HD titles next week - or not.

Does anyone else notice the sound on Comedy Central sounds like it's coming through a echoed hallway? It sounds very mono.

Other analog channels sound far better.

I'm in Fort Wayne..

Verizon techs don't know any more than you do. They are not privy to any of that information.

Being a FiOS technician, I can confirm bfdtv's statement. This is where I usually get a good portion of my info.

Chill. The setup menu is still there. The 4:3 update reset is a known bug. Got the workaround. Easy.:cool:

The new setup menu codes: "Power OFF, select, menu" . The fix- go into the setup menu and reset the 4:3 Override to OFF. You will need to do this every time you change the output resolution in the IMG.

I posted this on the Philly Verizon FiOS thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12860492#post12860492

Info source is the Verizon FiOS TV forum on DSL Reports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

You're right! Thanks for that. I just tried Off, OK, Menu and I was able to get to the override setting again. Why is it that 8 different Verizon support people couldn't tell me that over the phone and decided to dispatch a tech. instead (they all confirmed that the setting isn't there anymore)? The guy was supposed to show up between 8am and 12pm yesterday. At 11:30 we started calling them since he wasn't here - 4 calls later, by 6pm they called us back and said that there is a chance the guy might still show up and if he doesn't, he'll come today ...and why is it my problem that they had 78 support calls in my area yesterday? I really HATE Verizon. I've been without SD for two weeks so Verizon is not getting paid for all that time.

Thank you again!!! :D

I had two techs here the day I finally had TV installed that between them probably spent a total of eight hours here. If that's not atypical of installations, it's not surprising to hear that observers think VZ is losing money on subscriber installations.

The day I had my FiOS installed, the guy showed up around 9am and didn't leave until 3:30pm or so. He said that was pretty typical.

My TV service just dropped out completely. No matter what channel I select it says, "currently unavailable". :eek:

My TV service just dropped out completely. No matter what channel I select it says, "currently unavailable". :eek:

Mine has been fine here.

Mine has been fine here.
Mine's out in Centreville. "Currently unavailable"

Mine's out in Centreville. "Currently unavailable"

I'm in Centreville also. Just got off the phone (25 minute wait) and they said there's an outage in our area.

I'm in Centreville also. Just got off the phone (25 minute wait) and they said there's an outage in our area.
Did they give you any indication how long it would be out?

Did they give you any indication how long it would be out?

No.

No.
Great. Now I've got to read or talk to my wife and kids.

Or surf the net.

The phone line was getting pretty scratchy whilst waiting too. But the internet still rocks. :D

If this was next Sunday I'd be really upset.

Hey, it's back on. Good work with the phone call.

Why next Sunday?

SuperBowl.

SuperBowl.
doH!:o

My internet was down this morning. Had to power cycle the router. That's never happened before.

I tried searching through this reallllllly long thread for my answer to no avail.

Does FIOS offer the same sports subscriptions that DTV does - MLB, NHL, NBA? I know I'd have to give up the NFL package which given the cost I'm willing to do but there's no way I could make it through a summer without the Red Sox every night. Thanks.

I tried searching through this reallllllly long thread for my answer to no avail.

Does FIOS offer the same sports subscriptions that DTV does - MLB, NHL, NBA? I know I'd have to give up the NFL package which given the cost I'm willing to do but there's no way I could make it through a summer without the Red Sox every night. Thanks.Not yet. For now, FiOS only offers ESPN Gameplan and ESPN Full Court. Other sports packages should be added in the next year.

My internet was down this morning. Had to power cycle the router. That's never happened before.It could be your router. If it happens again, be sure to update your router to the latest firmware, as that fixes some lost connectivity issues.

I tried searching through this reallllllly long thread for my answer to no avail.

Does FIOS offer the same sports subscriptions that DTV does - MLB, NHL, NBA? I know I'd have to give up the NFL package which given the cost I'm willing to do but there's no way I could make it through a summer without the Red Sox every night. Thanks.

Sunday Ticket is still exclusive to D*, no?

It could be your router. If it happens again, be sure to update your router to the latest firmware, as that fixes some lost connectivity issues.
How does one update their router?

How does one update their router?

Go to http://192.168.1.1/ and login w/the username and password the tech hopefully left you, if not it is probably admin and password1

Next, go to the Advanced Screen and you should see a Firmware menu option, force it to check for an upgrade and then you can tell it to install the upgrade after it downloads it.

I'm not at home right now, so hopefully those instructions are correct and I am not leaving anything out.

does anyone know of any new HD channels??

It could be your router. If it happens again, be sure to update your router to the latest firmware, as that fixes some lost connectivity issues.

My firmware version is: 4.0.16.1.56.0.10.7
I have the router set to automatically check for new firmware at: https://upgrade.actiontec.com/MI424WR/MI424WR.rmt

"Status: The firmware upgrade file is not supported on this hardware version
Internet Version: Wireless Broadband Router is up to date"

My question: Is there a newer version that the one above?

Thank you! :D