Just an FYI for anyone in Braintree, MA....the Board of Selectmen voted to award Verizon a cable TV license for the town. Per the Verizon rep, those who homes that have above ground service from the poles could start getting FIOS TV next week.

Time for me to drop DirecTV!

That would be a miracle - the norm between franchise agreement and actual service is measured in months not days.

We're on Comcast now and haven't had the need for set top boxes for the 4 tv's upstairs because we get all the channels we need (about 75) right over the cable. I understand this won't be possible w/Fios because there are only 10 or so basic channels that come in without a box.

The issue is that all 4 of these tv's are mounted high up on the walls on swivel mounts and only have a single, 3' length of coax that is exposed. The tv's are all HD lcd flat panels and none of them has a cable card slot.

We want to preserve the clean wiring look as much as possible and need some ideas on what can be done. A friend mentioned an IR extender but didn't know if it would be compatible with the fios stb's. At this point I'm open to any idea that won't cost a bundle and is relatively simple to implement. Thanks for any input!
You'd eventually have this problem with Comcast also - they'll eventually encrypt anything above the basic locals just like FIOS.
You can mount the STB behind the TV and use the IR extender - should work fine. You'll also need a set of cables from the STB to the TV and another source of power (for the STB) back there.
Depending on what you call a bundle this set up will cost you $10/mo per TV if you want HD ($4 for regular STB).
If you can live with the unencrypted locals that FIOS provides then the current direct coax connection will still work.

I am splitting the cable signal so that i can feed it to several sources.

When I did this, I started getting dropouts so it was suggested that I put an amplifier on the line.

I have both Fios TV and FIOS Cable.
Since this is a 2 way communication, it seems to me that I need a special type of amplifier.

The ones that I see at Radio Shack do not specify whether their amplifiers are bi-directional.

Anyone know where I can get the proper type amplifier?

Low level signal is usually not an issue (too strong a signal sometimes is) with FIOS - if you are splitting it to get to a FIOS STB (the only thing that needs two way comms) FIOS should be able to help you. If you are splitting to just other TVs with a direct connection then there's no two way comms and can use any amp.
I'm not sure what you meant by FIOS TV and FIOS Cable :confused: they're the same.

We want to preserve the clean wiring look as much as possible and need some ideas on what can be done. A friend mentioned an IR extender but didn't know if it would be compatible with the fios stb's. At this point I'm open to any idea that won't cost a bundle and is realatively simple to implement. Thanks for any input!

We used a Jensen IR extender with the 6416 but it's slow to respond, and the remote has to be pointed just right. Really annoying, as even without the extender, getting the DVR to respond is touch and go.

On the other hand, if you're placing the STB in the same room (i.e. behind the TV) you might be able to bounce the IR signal off a wall.

Low level signal is usually not an issue (too strong a signal sometimes is) with FIOS - if you are splitting it to get to a FIOS STB (the only thing that needs two way comms) FIOS should be able to help you. If you are splitting to just other TVs with a direct connection then there's no two way comms and can use any amp.
I'm not sure what you meant by FIOS TV and FIOS Cable :confused: they're the same.

Agreed, the signal from the ONT is usually very hot. The output from ours is split 4-ways and each STB still needed attenuators. Check the coax input to you boxes, Verizon might have installed one or two attenuators at each to drop the signal. Removing those may help.

[QUOTE=HDntheCity;11734807]
I can save $25 if I do a 30 minute drive to their distribution center to return the HD DVR.
The reason I am trying to find out about their HD STB is that I can pick one of them up there(I think).
Thank You

Where is the distribution center? Did you find out if they'll let you pick a unit up?

... You can mount the STB behind the TV and use the IR extender - should work fine. You'll also need a set of cables from the STB to the TV and another source of power (for the STB) back there.
Depending on what you call a bundle this set up will cost you $10/mo per TV if you want HD ($4 for regular STB). ...

you wouldn't even need another source of power, since the TV could then be plugged into the back of the STB ;)

Guys: I previously posted about my PQ issues (primarily the appearance of jaggies or stairstepping, very often in SD and intermittently in HD as well - see my earlier post and pics: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11687528#post11687528 ) The result is a less than sharp/clear picture, SD is outright dull and "muddy", particularly text/graphics. I've tested all of the inputs, swapped cables and most importantly, pushed my PS3 thru all its different resolution modes - but I don't have this issue thru PS3, only FIOS, and to a much lesser extent, other S-Video devices (i.e. DVD via PS2).

I followed up on the advice offerred here, the calibration thread and in a thread on my service provider, FIOS, and since I had other FIOS issues, they replaced my STB (which did resolve the other non-PQ issues). But my PQ issues remain the same.

Could this be a hardware or firmware issue with my 46 XBR4? It almost looks (at least to this non-techy noobie) like a de-interlacing problem - I see horizontal lines that don't line up evenly at margins of colors/light & dark, hence the jaggies or stairstepping. Please see the pics attached to my earlier post - I'd repost them here but don't know how).

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thought I give an update on my situation, I called Sony Support and according to them, if a "Power Reset" (you know, unplugging the TV and waiting a few minutes to plug it back in :eek:) doesn't work, then the next step would be to send service out to look at the set.

But, as in my original post, I'm not seeing these issues thru my PS3, I'm still leaning towards FIOS as the problem. Also, since I'm not too keen about having a local tech tear down my XBR4, if anyone has some thoughts about this situation I'd be interested to hear them.

Thanks again!

I have a related question regarding the FIOS Home media DVR/ HD STB:

I know that there is a menu to control 4:3 upconverting, Off, forced 480i, forced 480p and Stretch.

What happens with 720 p and/or i broadcasts? My TV (Sony XXBR4) always reports FIOS as either 480i or 1080i.

[QUOTE=Joe Q;11886063]

Where is the distribution center? Did you find out if they'll let you pick a unit up?

It is in Upper Marlboro off of 301.
You can do a Mapquest on it:
375 Prince Georges Blvd
Upper Marlboro,MD 20774


Took me about 20 minutes from Rte 50/301 Exit.


I merely dropped off the DVR. Since I have not decided about the Firewire and VOD, I have not called them about picking up an STB.

In case folks are wondering what the scoop on cablecards are:
When I called Verizon a few weeks ago about the 2 cablecards that I wanted,they did tell me that they had them at the distribution center (which for my adddress was the Upper Marlboro place ) BUT they would NOT let me pick them up.
That had to do with the fact that they have not setup their system for customers to call in and activate them yourself.

They did tell me that they were working on setting up that process so folks could do it but would not commit to a date.

Low level signal is usually not an issue (too strong a signal sometimes is) with FIOS - if you are splitting it to get to a FIOS STB (the only thing that needs two way comms) FIOS should be able to help you. If you are splitting to just other TVs with a direct connection then there's no two way comms and can use any amp.
I'm not sure what you meant by FIOS TV and FIOS Cable :confused: they're the same.

Sorry about that. The way I wrote that was confusing.

When I said FIOS Cable, it was sort of like slang for when we mean we have High Speed Internet as in : 'I have Cable for my internet'

What happens with 720 p and/or i broadcasts? My TV (Sony XXBR4) always reports FIOS as either 480i or 1080i.

only 720p and it will be output as 1080i. There is no 'pass-thru' on these boxes.

Keep us posted on the TV situation. A friend just got same set (altho he doesn't have FiOS)

anyone noticed a difference with compenant vs HDMI from their FiOS box?

anyone noticed a difference with compenant vs HDMI from their FiOS box?

Most of the time no, but it depends on the TV.

Quick question. In my house I have run the RG6 cable from our local cable company to a 1x8 bi-directional RF Distribution module and then from the module, RG6 is run through the house to various rooms and the individual cable boxes? Would this work the same if I were to switch to FIOS TV? Does it matter if its 1 gigahertz or 2?

Quick question. In my house I have run the RG6 cable from our local cable company to a 1x8 bi-directional RF Distribution module and then from the module, RG6 is run through the house to various rooms and the individual cable boxes? Would this work the same if I were to switch to FIOS TV? Does it matter if its 1 gigahertz or 2?

I can think of no reason why it wouldn't as long as the cables & module are in good shape. the installer should test the signal strength going thru the cable anyway.

I had my installation yesterday and have one small problem that I can't figure out. In my kids room we have an SD box which is linked ot the family room DVR. The picture is perfect, but if you shut the TV and box off, and then turn it back on after some time has passed you have a snowy picture. By toggling the TV (not the box) off of channel 3 and then back to it, the picture comes in perfect again.

It only happens at startup after a long duration of being off.

Anyone have any sugestions? This is my shortest run of cable (home run of about 10') and the signal was the best of all 4 sets according to tech at time of install.

That sounds like the internal tuner inside the TV is going bad. Try leaving the box on and turn the tv off for that long duration then see what happens.

i have a fios related question... we have just the internet, and the router is in a really really bad location in a corner of the house. the wifi is great in that room, but pretty poor everywhere else.

i have an ethernet pull to that location, can i just unplug the verizon router and plug in another router?

what's the best for good wireless range? I don't need blinding speed, but a solid wifi connection about 30 feet away through some walls.

thanks! i looked through this thread for about 15 minutes, but most of it is tv discussion, and couldn't find what i was looking for.

i have a fios related question... we have just the internet, and the router is in a really really bad location in a corner of the house. the wifi is great in that room, but pretty poor everywhere else.

i have an ethernet pull to that location, can i just unplug the verizon router and plug in another router?

what's the best for good wireless range? I don't need blinding speed, but a solid wifi connection about 30 feet away through some walls.

thanks! i looked through this thread for about 15 minutes, but most of it is tv discussion, and couldn't find what i was looking for.

assuming you have the d-link like we had, you could buy a lynksys, or order tv to get the new router that comes w/ it (which I've noticed gets about the same wireless performance as our lynksys did), or even call in & complain & maybe they will send someone out to replace your d-link, if that's what you have. good luck ;)

assuming you have the d-link like we had, you could buy a lynksys, or order tv to get the new router that comes w/ it (which I've noticed gets about the same wireless performance as our lynksys did), or even call in & complain & maybe they will send someone out to replace your d-link, if that's what you have. good luck ;)

i have a few routers laying around, that are doubtless better than this. i'd really prefer to use a good brandname router.

i believe i have the actiontech. it's huge.

Why not turn off the wireless on the FIOS router, and just daisy-chain the other router off the FIOS one, as an access point only?

Why not turn off the wireless on the FIOS router, and just daisy-chain the other router off the FIOS one, as an access point only?


This is exactly what I've done. I have the ActionTec with wireless disabled, and ran cable to a more central area in the house, where I put a Belkin Draft-N (N1) router. The new router is configured as an access point only, so it lets the ActionTec handle DHCP, DNS issues, but provides great (108Mbps) wireless access.

great, so that's all i have to do, turn off wireless on teh actiontech, hook up the other router, and have that be a WAP?

sorry, i suck at networking! thanks!

"After Verizon updated the menus for my QIP6200-2 I lost the ability to get into the setup menu by pressing "menu" when the power was off to the unit. The new menu's don't have the option to change the output of SD channels to 480i or or 480p. Anyone have any idea where I can change this setting now that the menu system has changed?"

With the STB Power on. Press the Power off. Then press Select. Then press Menu.

This is exactly what I've done. I have the ActionTec with wireless disabled, and ran cable to a more central area in the house, where I put a Belkin Draft-N (N1) router. The new router is configured as an access point only, so it lets the ActionTec handle DHCP, DNS issues, but provides great (108Mbps) wireless access.

Can you explain how to do this? I also have the actiontech in a poor area and have a spare sitting around which would work great if I could sit it near my main pc.


Also, can you tell me how to access the actiontech? I go to the IP adress for it and it seems to be password protected.

Can you explain how to do this? I also have the actiontech in a poor area and have a spare sitting around which would work great if I could sit it near my main pc.


Also, can you tell me how to access the actiontech? I go to the IP adress for it and it seems to be password protected.

You can try
Username: admin
Password: admin

or it might be Password for the password :cool:

My default was :

Username: admin
Password : password

So ampman you would be right on your second assumption!

My default was :

Username: admin
Password : password

So ampman you would be right on your second assumption!

Thank you all for your help, I will try this when i get home.

Now does anyone have directions on this:

"This is exactly what I've done. I have the ActionTec with wireless disabled, and ran cable to a more central area in the house, where I put a Belkin Draft-N (N1) router. The new router is configured as an access point only, so it lets the ActionTec handle DHCP, DNS issues, but provides great (108Mbps) wireless access."

i think you just turn off wireless on the actiontech, hook up the new router like it was a peripheral, and then when you configure that, configure it as a wireless access point.

i also read that the password may be "password1" as well.

i'm going to try this tonight if i have time. i have an ok signal right now, but it's not consistent.

i think you just turn off wireless on the actiontech, hook up the new router like it was a peripheral, and then when you configure that, configure it as a wireless access point.

i also read that the password may be "password1" as well.

i'm going to try this tonight if i have time. i have an ok signal right now, but it's not consistent.

On the ActionTec:

username: admin
password: password1

turn off the wireless access.

plug the spare wireless router into a regular ethernet port.

on the spare router:

select "wireless access point" (that is how it was on the Belkin).

Reset, it should come up and be available.

Some advice: Use the WEP security encoding (have to copy the key to all computers that will connect wirelessly), I also set up MAC address filtering on the machine, so that only the machines that I know will be able to connect. The last may be overkill, but better safe.

On the ActionTec:

username: admin
password: password1

turn off the wireless access.

plug the spare wireless router into a regular ethernet port.

on the spare router:

select "wireless access point" (that is how it was on the Belkin).

Reset, it should come up and be available.

Some advice: Use the WEP security encoding (have to copy the key to all computers that will connect wirelessly), I also set up MAC address filtering on the machine, so that only the machines that I know will be able to connect. The last may be overkill, but better safe.


Thanks!!!!!!

Thanks!!!!!!

No Problem... By the way - if you want to find out the MAC address for your wireless interface, you want to:

1. Go to <start> ... <Run>, type in cmd <return> .. this brings up a DOS window.

2. Type in: ipconfig/all <return> this will give you the list of network adapters on the machine, you want the wireless adapter's physical address. this is the MAC address.

3. When entering the MAC address into the router, it may take it in with the dashes, but usually you have to eliminate them when typing it in.

Good luck.

Some advice: Use the WEP security encoding (have to copy the key to all computers that will connect wirelessly), I also set up MAC address filtering on the machine, so that only the machines that I know will be able to connect. The last may be overkill, but better safe.

Grab yourself a copy of Netstumbler and drive around your neighborhood with your wireless laptop.

You will NOT think it is overkill:)

I do the same as you with MAC address filtering.

My default was :

Username: admin
Password : password

So ampman you would be right on your second assumption!

I am a Verizon tech but FIOS is not available in my area yet, so I haven't had experience with Fios modem.
I only based my answer on the westell DSL modems username/password.
I have only come across one customer with an actiontech DSL modem, but did not have to access the modem.
I'll have to see if the password for that modem is password1 :cool:

I am a Verizon tech but FIOS is not available in my area yet, so I haven't had experience with Fios modem.
I only based my answer on the westell DSL modems username/password.
I have only come across one customer with an actiontech DSL modem, but did not have to access the modem.
I'll have to see if the password for that modem is password1 :cool:


Actiontec FiOS routers come with defaults of user = admin and password = password

The first time the router is acessed through it's software interface it requires a password change. If the technician did his job properly and did a firmware update check the password should have been changed to password1.

After less than a year to my cable contract with Charter I got fed up with them since for the past few months they started raising my monthly payment for (Cable TV, Internet & Phone) from $126 to $189 per month despite having a contract for full year of $126.

So I called Verizon Rep which few months ago had dropped a flyer in my house saying Verizon Fios is already in your back yard and you can have Internet(5/2MB)+TV(200Digital & HD)+Phone for $99 a month. The installation was set for 2 weeks.

Finally last Wednesday Oct 24 2installers (mean & rude) came in and since I had all house wired with charter cable I did not let them change anything, they just installed the OTA and Battery backup and connected the existing wires to my TV (Samsung 50' Plasma HD) using STB Motorola QIP6414-2 and Actiontech MI424WR Router using splitter to my computer. Installation took one hour and everything went great despite the harsh attitude of the installers.
So I am expecting the monthly bill for Fios to be $99 (TV, Internet & Phone)+$113 for STB (QIP6414-2 with DVR).

BTW: My area is Long Beach, CA.

After less than a year to my cable contract with Charter I got fed up with them since for the past few months they started raising my monthly payment for (Cable TV, Internet & Phone) from $126 to $189 per month despite having a contract for full year of $126.

So I called Verizon Rep which few months ago had dropped a flyer in my house saying Verizon Fios is already in your back yard and you can have Internet(5/2MB)+TV(200Digital & HD)+Phone for $99 a month. The installation was set for 2 weeks.

Finally last Wednesday Oct 24 2installers (mean & rude) came in and since I had all house wired with charter cable I did not let them change anything, they just installed the OTA and Battery backup and connected the existing wires to my TV (Samsung 50' Plasma HD) using STB Motorola QIP6414-2 and Actiontech MI424WR Router using splitter to my computer. Installation took one hour and everything went great despite the harsh attitude of the installers.
So I am expecting the monthly bill for Fios to be $99 (TV, Internet & Phone)+$113 for STB (QIP6414-2 with DVR).

BTW: My area is Long Beach, CA.

Surprised that they were rude. I would tell someone about it, no need to put up with that. Hope you enjoy the service like I have.

Surprised that they were rude. I would tell someone about it, no need to put up with that. Hope you enjoy the service like I have.

TCAS

I agree with Hernanu you should call Verizon and report this.

I have worked for Verizon for over 19 years and I can guarantee that Verizon does not want their customers to be treated like you were treated.

In my position at Verizon I have the FIOS tech's call me at least 15 times every day. These guys work overtime almost every day and they take home a pay check that most of us would kill for. If they can not treat a customer the way a customer deserves to be treated then McDonalds is hiring. Let them work at the Golden Arches.

Outstanding customer service should be the rule and not the exception. Call and complain about this and you will save someone else from going through the same thing.

Jim

Thanks nernanu & Jim_In_Boston, the day these two installer (supervisor and worker) were in my house for Fios installation two other Verizon dropped by evidently to check how the things going. The supervisor (installer) told one of the Verizon’s that I think that he is rude and I confirmed that and said yes these are as matter of fact rude and harsh and left. When someone called the day after installation to confirm that installation works I mention yes but experienced very harsh behavior form installer.

I have a question for those who have the Verizon FiOS Multi-Room DVR. Does the box serve only as a multi-room DVR or does it also serve as a multi-room set-top box? There are three HDTVs in my house. If I get the multi-room DVR, will I be able to watch live programming on each television? If so, can I watch ALL live programming, such as premium channels (Cinemax) and HD programming? I'm sorry if this have been addressed before but this thread is too long to read through, and the search didn't help much.

EDIT: Nevermind, after reading through the thread some more it seems I need a seperate HD set-top box for each room.

Thanks nernanu & Jim_In_Boston, the day these two installer (supervisor and worker) were in my house for Fios installation two other Verizon dropped by evidently to check how the things going. The supervisor (installer) told one of the Verizon’s that I think that he is rude and I confirmed that and said yes these are as matter of fact rude and harsh and left. When someone called the day after installation to confirm that installation works I mention yes but experienced very harsh behavior form installer.

I am glad to hear that you registered a complaint with someone. I myself would call and ask to talk to a supervisor because the person that called you is more then likely a customer service rep. and that person may only record that your installation was complete and that you are happy with the reception on your set. That person may not pass your complaint about the installers on to someone that can do something about it.

I am not trying to get the installers in trouble and only you can decide what to do because you know the degree of rudeness.

Again, these guys or woman are extremely well paid and they, at all times, should act like a professional.

Best wishes,

Jim

I had my installation yesterday and have one small problem that I can't figure out. In my kids room we have an SD box which is linked ot the family room DVR. The picture is perfect, but if you shut the TV and box off, and then turn it back on after some time has passed you have a snowy picture. By toggling the TV (not the box) off of channel 3 and then back to it, the picture comes in perfect again.

It only happens at startup after a long duration of being off.

Anyone have any sugestions? This is my shortest run of cable (home run of about 10') and the signal was the best of all 4 sets according to tech at time of install.

My first thought is that the TV is plugged into the STB and the tech forgot to change the power outlet setting. (I usually forget to change the setting until I'm just about to walk out the door.) If it is in it's default setting, the outlet will turn off when the box is shut off, therefore killing the power to your TV and resetting clock and other possible features of the TV.

In the IPG it can be changed by accessing Settings....Set Top Box Options....Extra AC Outlet. If it's checked, the box shuts down the outlet. If it's unchecked, the outlet is hot all the time. I'm not sure where it's changed in the IMG since it has yet to be deployed in our service area.

If I missed the mark, sorry!

I have a question for those who have the Verizon FiOS Multi-Room DVR. Does the box serve only as a multi-room DVR or does it also serve as a multi-room set-top box? There are three HDTVs in my house. If I get the multi-room DVR, will I be able to watch live programming on each television? If so, can I watch ALL live programming, such as premium channels (Cinemax) and HD programming? I'm sorry if this have been addressed before but this thread is too long to read through, and the search didn't help much.

EDIT: Nevermind, after reading through the thread some more it seems I need a seperate HD set-top box for each room.

Actually, as I understand it, from talking to Verizon as well as my own research, FIOS HD STBs will not work with the Home Media (multi-room) DVR, so there is no sense in getting/paying for the Home Media DVR. Only the SD STBs can access the Home Media DVR functions (at least as of last month during my install).

Actually, as I understand it, from talking to Verizon as well as my own research, FIOS HD STBs will not work with the Home Media (multi-room) DVR, so there is no sense in getting/paying for the Home Media DVR. Only the SD STBs can access the Home Media DVR functions (at least as of last month during my install).


Actually, the plan is to do so in the future:

NEW YORK, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon FiOS TV customers will get even more of the high-definition content they love as Verizon today announced plans for a fivefold increase in the number of HD channels, to 150 channels, as well as plans for offering additional HD content through FiOS TV's video-on-demand service. Verizon is also planning a major expansion of sports and multicultural programming on FiOS TV in 2008.

"Once more, Verizon leads the way," said Shawn Strickland, vice president - video solutions. "We launched FiOS TV in 2005 with more HD than most cable and satellite companies, and we know that our HD customers expect us to continue that lead. We're planning a major initiative in 2008 that will give our customers an unprecedented choice of HD and other programming."

Verizon customers already enjoy the most amazing picture quality available over the nation's most advanced digital all-fiber optic network.

In the spring of 2008, Verizon will begin expanding its HD lineup as well as the sports and multicultural program offerings on FiOS TV. Verizon initially will double the current number of HD channels, on a market-by-market basis, to more than 60, including additional sports channels. Verizon expects to have more than 150 HD channels by year-end 2008 as it continues to add to its HD lineup and programmers launch new channels. The company also will add standard-definition sports, multicultural and other programming during the year.

True HD Experience

Because Verizon offers FiOS TV on its fiber-to-the-home network, Verizon has the capacity to provide HD programming without compressing the signal it receives from the programmers.

"FiOS TV delivers a true HD experience," Strickland said. "Unlike some other service providers, Verizon doesn't compromise quality by compressing programming into limited bandwidth. Our fiber-optic network has the capacity to deliver programming the way programmers intended it to be seen."

In addition to the expanded HD channel lineup, Verizon will offer HD programming through its industry-leading video-on-demand library, which already totals more than 10,000 titles. Before the end of 2007, Verizon expects to introduce a limited number of HD on-demand titles, which will increase to more than 1,000 HD titles in 2008.

During 2008, Verizon also will expand the reach of HD programming throughout the home. Through enhancements to the Verizon-exclusive Home Media DVR service, customers will be able to record HD shows and watch them from any room in the house with an HDTV and an HD set-top box.

I have had Verizon FiOS for about 6 months. Yesterday was the latest SNAFU. TivoHD + 2 Cable Cards = :confused:

I recently purchased the Tivo HD with dual tuner cards. I found out yesterday that they hardly install cable cards. The technician, although a very nice guy, had little experience with cable cards and it was his first time even seeing the TivoHD.

They started at 9am and finished at 715pm. During the day, there were several attempts at installing it. Lots of patience and 3 different guys.

It's a good thing they were not dealing with the MS' :eek:

Alls well just beware....

My first thought is that the TV is plugged into the STB and the tech forgot to change the power outlet setting. (I usually forget to change the setting until I'm just about to walk out the door.) If it is in it's default setting, the outlet will turn off when the box is shut off, therefore killing the power to your TV and resetting clock and other possible features of the TV.

In the IPG it can be changed by accessing Settings....Set Top Box Options....Extra AC Outlet. If it's checked, the box shuts down the outlet. If it's unchecked, the outlet is hot all the time. I'm not sure where it's changed in the IMG since it has yet to be deployed in our service area.

If I missed the mark, sorry!


The HD FIOS box I have used to do what you are saying, the second outlet on the back used to cycle on/off with the box. During the IMG upgrade this week, the extra outlet cycled on during the upgrade and now it stuck in the ON mode. I went into the menu settings and tried to change it from always on to on/off but no matter which one I check, it's always on.

Sounds like a similar problem? Anyone else have the outlet permanently ON after the IMG upgrade, or is there something I can do to turn it on/off. I used to use it for a backlight behind the tv and the feature was perfect. No more....

Any help on restoring the on/off function would be appreciated.

I have had Verizon FiOS for about 6 months. Yesterday was the latest SNAFU. TivoHD + 2 Cable Cards = :confused:

I recently purchased the Tivo HD with dual tuner cards. I found out yesterday that they hardly install cable cards. The technician, although a very nice guy, had little experience with cable cards and it was his first time even seeing the TivoHD.

They started at 9am and finished at 715pm. During the day, there were several attempts at installing it. Lots of patience and 3 different guys.

It's a good thing they were not dealing with the MS' :eek:

Alls well just beware....

I am very sorry to hear that you had so much trouble.

I had the exact opposite experience.

I recently bought a Cable Card Vista PC assembled by HP to replace the Verizon HD DVR because of the disk space issue (I put my own a 1.5 TB RAID 0 in the PC)

When I called Verizon about the 2 Cable cards that I needed, I was extremely emphatic that they send out someone who was very experienced with Computers and Cable Cards.

I told the CSR to think of the complexity of putting a cable card in a TIVO Series 3,which she heard of,but more complicated than that because this was a PC.


A week later the technician showed up to do the CC install.

The first thing the guy said after the pleasanties was 'so, where is this PC that I was sent to install the cable cards in'
He said that mine was the first non TIVO S3 that he had done and when I asked him about how he learned to do this, he said that they have a group of Technicians that are sent to extra training on Cable Card installations.

Very friendly person and he told me that he had a Plasma TV with FIOS and a Tivo S3 plus the Verizon HD DVR for the two way stuff.
He agreed that the HD DVR they offer was a 'stupid' idea and should have contracted with Motorola to produce a box with a larger disk in it.
The quote is his wording.

He was here for all of around 30 - 40 minutes.
Most of that time was post cable card install time since he verified that I was getting all the channels I was supposed to get,tested out recording with one and two tuners,etc.
The rest of the time was my picking his brain for information .
For instance,when I told him that I was going to split the cable again to feed another PC with dual QAM cards , he told me that I should put a bidirectional amplifier where the cable comes off the ONT or I would have reception problems because each split loses 3.5 Db.


The lesson learned here is that we REALLY must be empahtic with Customer Serivce about sending the right person when setting up an appointment for a Cable Card install

The HD FIOS box I have used to do what you are saying, the second outlet on the back used to cycle on/off with the box. During the IMG upgrade this week, the extra outlet cycled on during the upgrade and now it stuck in the ON mode. I went into the menu settings and tried to change it from always on to on/off but no matter which one I check, it's always on.

Sounds like a similar problem? Anyone else have the outlet permanently ON after the IMG upgrade, or is there something I can do to turn it on/off. I used to use it for a backlight behind the tv and the feature was perfect. No more....

Any help on restoring the on/off function would be appreciated.

Since the IMG hasn't reached the Philadelphia or Mercer County areas yet I can't help. But, as of the 13th I should be able to help, since we were given an unofficial heads-up that the IMG roll-out should hit VHO-8 (Philly) on that date. I'll try to get back to you after I do my first IMG install.

-Jim

I just switched from D* to FIOS this week. Although I was concerned about the loss of some HD channels, I must say that most of the new ones on D* were pretty worthless. CNN, CNBC, SciFi, etc added no size or definition to the SD channels for 95% of their programmming. So I'm very glad to see that FIOS will be adding more HD by next summer, by which time these networks may start airing REAL HD.

The installation went very painlessly, until the end. Just as the tech was showing us how to use some of the more esoteric features of the TV remote, some yahoo 2 miles away cut the fiber cable and cut off all service. I was regretting the idea of putting all of my telecommunications eggs in one basket. Luckily, the cut was found and repaired quickly, and we were back on line in less than an hour.

The other problem I had was the appearance of a very loud hum on my phone line. It took me 24 hours to figure out that it was caused by the DSL filters I had left in line.

D* was pretty good about canceling my service--although the CSR didn't understand why they hadn't put me on a new 2 yr contract after I got a new HD-DVR in March.

Bottom line is that after less than a week on FIOS, I'm pretty happy. Only drawback is that their DVRs are expensive on a per month basis. But overall still cheaper than D*, no receiver lockups or reboots, and no signal loss due to rain. But I still have a pair of rabbit ears on one of my sets just in case of another cable cut....

Since the IMG hasn't reached the Philadelphia or Mercer County areas yet I can't help. But, as of the 13th I should be able to help, since we were given an unofficial heads-up that the IMG roll-out should hit VHO-8 (Philly) on that date. I'll try to get back to you after I do my first IMG install.

-Jim

I would really appreciate that. It seems to be a software glitch as the ON mode is permanent on three HD boxes I have. Thanks for any info you can supply when you start installing the new IMG in your area.

The lesson learned here is that we REALLY must be empahtic with Customer Serivce about sending the right person when setting up an appointment for a Cable Card install
Another way to protect yourself is to do some research into how CableCard installs are supposed to work on your particular device. That was you can leard the installer through the process (if necessary), allowing them to just do the necessary calls, etc. to pair the cards. For HTPCs there is a very nice blog posting on this exact subject. Look into the "Office Vista CableCard Thread" on the Home Theater PC forum.

A friend has a home built Media Center system that he uses as a DVR now. He is excited to get FIOS, but is wondering if he can use the same setup with FIOS through a cablecard connection, or what it would take to do so.

Not being acquainted with this, I wonder if anyone who is knowledgeable can point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

The short answer is that he will need a new OEM-built Vista Media Center PC to get access to anything but the unencrypted QAM channels on FiOS (only channels 2-49). The CableCard tuner-ready VMCs are a bit pricey (talking $2K to $3K+). You can get the from Dell, HP, Velocity Micro, S1Digital, and Niveus.

Check out the Home Theater Computer forum. There is a thread dedicated to Vista Media Center CableCards.

The short answer is that he will need a new OEM-built Vista Media Center PC to get access to anything but the unencrypted QAM channels on FiOS (only channels 2-49). The CableCard tuner-ready VMCs are a bit pricey (talking $2K to $3K+). You can get the from Dell, HP, Velocity Micro, S1Digital, and Niveus.

Check out the Home Theater Computer forum. There is a thread dedicated to Vista Media Center CableCards.



Very good,concise reply and I would like to add my .02

I suspect that the channels that one gets unencrypted from Verizon varies from area to area.

I say that because while I do get the analog channels of 2 thru 49, I am also getting the digital Broadcast channels 801 through 814 as well.

I am in the Maryland area so I get Washington and Baltimore network stations

My main DVR is an HP OEM-built Vista Media Center PC that you refer to but I also have configured a PC with dual Hauppage HVR-1600 cards with the summer released QAM driver and use GBPVR to handle all the scheduling and recording tasks.

With this setup, I get the digital,and where applicable, the High Def broadcasts from the network stations like CBS,ABC,etc.

Ie. I can get the channels shown in the enclosure using a $80 QAM tuning card

The benefit is that the pair of very expensive dual ATI tuners can be used for recording the 'premium' aka encrypted content from Verizon.

I suspect that the channels that one gets unencrypted from Verizon varies from area to area.

I say that because while I do get the analog channels of 2 thru 49, I am also getting the digital Broadcast channels 801 through 814 as well.
No, there appears to be no difference in general in what you get in the clear between different Verizon areas, based on the posts here and on dslreports. All the locals - SD and HD - are in the clear. The reply that you only get the digital equivalent of the locals at 2 to 49 is wrong. You also get the equivalent of whatever HD locals you have in the 801-817 range, the digital SD local sub-channels starting at 860, and the music channels. Of course, the actual channels vary from area. All of the national channels, except for WGN and the odd info channel are encrypted.

It appears that Verizon places the locals in the same QAM channel range from area to area. The SD locals, including the PEGs, are in the QAM 63 to 68 range, HD locals start at QAM 71 (up to QAM 74 here). The Music Choice block is on QAM 66, Urge Radio block on QAM 84. In the DC area, with the newer STB, the channels for 7 of the 8 HD locals are mapped to the broadcast channels, so the PSIP channel data is passed through for most of them. Which is handy for finding those channels if it works for your TV/STB and area. But most of us can get the local digital broadcast stations with an antenna as well.

Very good,concise reply and I would like to add my .02

I suspect that the channels that one gets unencrypted from Verizon varies from area to area.

I say that because while I do get the analog channels of 2 thru 49, I am also getting the digital Broadcast channels 801 through 814 as well.

I am in the Maryland area so I get Washington and Baltimore network stations

My main DVR is an HP OEM-built Vista Media Center PC that you refer to but I also have configured a PC with dual Hauppage HVR-1600 cards with the summer released QAM driver and use GBPVR to handle all the scheduling and recording tasks.

With this setup, I get the digital,and where applicable, the High Def broadcasts from the network stations like CBS,ABC,etc.

Ie. I can get the channels shown in the enclosure using a $80 QAM tuning card

The benefit is that the pair of very expensive dual ATI tuners can be used for recording the 'premium' aka encrypted content from Verizon.

The short answer is that he will need a new OEM-built Vista Media Center PC to get access to anything but the unencrypted QAM channels on FiOS (only channels 2-49). The CableCard tuner-ready VMCs are a bit pricey (talking $2K to $3K+). You can get the from Dell, HP, Velocity Micro, S1Digital, and Niveus.

Check out the Home Theater Computer forum. There is a thread dedicated to Vista Media Center CableCards.

Appreciate the information. He had told me that he thought that was the case. I'll check the forum entry, but I'd love a quick reply on why only on those platforms? If you can get the hardware, what else is the constraint?

The constraint is that you can't get the hardware for premium VMC CableCard support through any other source than a certified OEM vendor. This is how Microsoft and CableLabs set things up, and we can't do anything about it. The CableCard tuners require a motherboard with a special BIOS to work (plus entry of all necessary keys). Everyone would love a DIY solution, but that doesn't seem to be forthcoming.

Note that the DirecTV option that has been promised for a while is also going to be an OEM-only solution, according to posts over on thegreenbutton.com

The constraint is that you can't get the hardware for premium VMC CableCard support through any other source than a certified OEM vendor. This is how Microsoft and CableLabs set things up, and we can't do anything about it. The CableCard tuners require a motherboard with a special BIOS to work (plus entry of all necessary keys). Everyone would love a DIY solution, but that doesn't seem to be forthcoming.

Note that the DirecTV option that has been promised for a while is also going to be an OEM-only solution, according to posts over on thegreenbutton.com

I read through the link and got most of the info I need. It seems we are seeing the effects of an initiative named DFAST by the cable companies that was approved by the proper government agencies, effectively giving CableLabs, and by extension, the cable companies who are its members, complete control over this technology. In effect, CableLabs owns cable cards, and its manufacture. This means any producer or user of cable cards not only has to comply with hardware requirements (as expected), but also has to purchase keys to enable these to be used.

I've read the vendor agreement, and not only do you have to go through a fairly exhaustive effort, but most of it is geared to protecting the content, not towards making the technology work. In the agreement, it goes to the extent of specifying to the companies applying that they must provide hardware and software assurances that protected content not be diverted or compromised. This goes further than the card itself, it delves directly into device drivers and the BIOS.

The result, I guess, as several generous posters have shown, is a closed system. In the case of a DVR, that is by nature a closed system that is under control of the cable companies, and by extension the content providers, but in the case of a media PC, you are making modifications that require your hard drive content to be monitored and modifies the BIOS and supporting device drivers.

This is not a Microsoft issue, as Microsoft is just the provider of the Operating system (device drivers and such) not the provider of BIOS or motherboards or even a signee of this DFAST thing. The running of cable cards not only requires a highly modified PC, but also (I've read) periodic registration of the PC as a Cable card enabled system, which is done by the BIOS as a function not controlled by the PC owner.

Wow, if I were to design a system to discourage PC based media systems, this would be a good one.

I read through the link and got most of the info I need. It seems we are seeing the effects of an initiative named DFAST by the cable companies that was approved by the proper government agencies, effectively giving CableLabs, and by extension, the cable companies who are its members, complete control over this technology. In effect, CableLabs owns cable cards, and its manufacture. This means any producer or user of cable cards not only has to comply with hardware requirements (as expected), but also has to purchase keys to enable these to be used.

I've read the vendor agreement, and not only do you have to go through a fairly exhaustive effort, but most of it is geared to protecting the content, not towards making the technology work. In the agreement, it goes to the extent of specifying to the companies applying that they must provide hardware and software assurances that protected content not be diverted or compromised. This goes further than the card itself, it delves directly into device drivers and the BIOS.

The result, I guess, as several generous posters have shown, is a closed system. In the case of a DVR, that is by nature a closed system that is under control of the cable companies, and by extension the content providers, but in the case of a media PC, you are making modifications that require your hard drive content to be monitored and modifies the BIOS and supporting device drivers.

This is not a Microsoft issue, as Microsoft is just the provider of the Operating system (device drivers and such) not the provider of BIOS or motherboards or even a signee of this DFAST thing. The running of cable cards not only requires a highly modified PC, but also (I've read) periodic registration of the PC as a Cable card enabled system, which is done by the BIOS as a function not controlled by the PC owner.

Wow, if I were to design a system to discourage PC based media systems, this would be a good one.
Thank you for a great "summary" post. It looks like I will put this idea on hold for a while until it gets more accessable and less costly.

Got FIOS installed yesterday - other than the kludgey IMG its been great. I noticed in the DVR status that it only says I have space for 38 hours of SD or 12 hours of HD content even before I recorded anything. All through their brochures and their website they tout the HD DVR as having space for "up to" 80 hours of SD and 18 hours of HD. Did I get the wrong size Hard Drive (it does match the specs quite nicely for the SD DVR on their website), or is this correct and Verizon is bordering on false advertising? Either way I'm going to call and complain - I record more than 12 hours of HD content every Saturday during football season!

Got FIOS installed yesterday - other than the kludgey IMG its been great. I noticed in the DVR status that it only says I have space for 38 hours of SD or 12 hours of HD content even before I recorded anything. All through their brochures and their website they tout the HD DVR as having space for "up to" 80 hours of SD and 18 hours of HD. Did I get the wrong size Hard Drive (it does match the specs quite nicely for the SD DVR on their website), or is this correct and Verizon is bordering on false advertising? Either way I'm going to call and complain - I record more than 12 hours of HD content every Saturday during football season!

billda,

Welcome to FiOS TV. The space problem is a known issue with the new IMG which is supposed to be corrected in the upcoming bug fix release (rumored to be early December). The IMG is apparently using aggressive bit rate numbers in calculating available space. Many have reported, however, that it also uses these calculations in determining whether it needs to delete a program prior to recording a new one, so be careful about approaching the "limit".

I apologize if this is in the thread somewhere, I've read through a good deal but did not see this question.

I currently have DTV with an HR-10-250 stock model that I use for HD only. I have second tivo connected to different input for recording SD programs. Both units are connected to the same TV. This works great for me as I have plently of storage space.

I am concerned about the limted size of the Verizon DVR as 12-18 hours of HD is problem for me.

My question is can I use two of the Verizon DVR's on the same TV? I'm thinking I can connect one via HDMI and the other via component so both will record in HD. Also can the remotes be programmed like the tivo with a dedicated address for each box?

My other choice is to go with an upgraded Tivo HD from Weaknees, but right now the extra money to pay up front for the tivo is tight.

Thanks.

vildi_98,

Yes, 160GB is not adequate, and I haven't heard anything definitive on when Verizon will be enabling external storage or upgrade with a bigger box.

Per your questions:
1. Yes, you can hook two FiOS DVRs to the same TV as you describe. Each will need its own cable connection. A straight run is preferable, but you will may have enough signal strength to split a line at the boxes.

2. No, remotes cannot be programmed like the TiVos, which makes #1 somewhat hard to manage. Maybe you can set up a left-facing/right-facing configuration with mirrors strategically located to reflect the IR to the DVR's sensor? (this was a joke, but would work :))

There are also reports that Verizon is working on HD DVR-to-DVR streaming, which would solve your problem by allowing you to place the second DVR in another location. Of course, you would still have to go there to set up recordings.

BTDT,

Thanks for your response. I had forgotten about the extra lines. I have a 2 x 4 multi switch that I currently use. Would this work for FIOS or do I need a different set up if I can't get straight run?

I've had FiOS since 01/07 & 15 home service calls later (not exegerrating!) I have come to the conclusion that the Motorola boxes are not up to the task of displaying what the fiber is delivering to it. Through the testing I've had 3 HD boxes (2 DVR and 1 std HD) and 3 TV sets. On all occasions more often than not the best channels will studder; dropping frames of video, but keeping the audio. The harder the box is working generally the worse it is. For example if it is recording a good HD channel like HD Net or Universal HD and playing the other it will almost certainly show dropped frames.

So why do I think it's the box and not the delivery? Here's where things get a little strange, but the behavior convinces me that it is the fault of the Motorola boxes. If I record a segment while the dropped frames are happening and play it back it will still show the dropped frames, but it isnt always the same frames that were dropped during live play. As time goes by... say 1 to 3 weeks, the box will stop dropping frames in the recorded clip and play it back flawlessly. This tells me that the original signal does in fact make it to the box and the box is simply not able to get the data to the TV.
All of this is repeatable via different inputs, so it's not just an HDMI issue as Component suffers the same. What I am at a loss to explain is how or why the recorded content changes over time and is eventually able to emerge in pristine condition. I originally thought perhaps some defragging was occuring on the HD that would account for this, but since the non-DVR box shows the same studder I have to assume that it is not Hard Drive related.

My bet is that most people just think it's the channel feed that is at fault. Even the Technicians that I showed the problem to didn't recognize it & some said that it looked like that on all the installs they had seen, but when I got one to come back & watch the same clip again 3 weeks later that had no problem he had no explaination. (nor do I... Do you?) Every piece of the install has been swapped out at least once... EVERY PIECE! incl the drop from the street.

...and one more thing. This was never an issue with my DirecTV HD/Sony Box (non DVR).

So can anybody relate to or try to replicate this and post the results? Would using a cablecard fix the issue? (on that note, I'm buying a new TV for Christmas... anything I should know the cable card slots in the TVs or are they all fully capable?)

Sorry for the long post, but it seems to be a very complex issue.
Any help much appreciated.

New information includes: Cable Cards (via TiVO) suffer the same choppy play. All information does in fact get recorded. There are no dropped frames but the sound and video get out of sync and the video has to somehow catch up. With some TVs (or settings) this means frames will be skipped, while with others the video will "vastly speed up" to catch up. This may effectively cover up the small sync issues, but only somewhat smooths out the larger ones. Anyway disregard the light colored "conclusions" ;)

I've had FiOS since 01/07 & 15 home service calls later (not exegerrating!) I have come to the conclusion that the Motorola boxes are not up to the task of displaying what the fiber is delivering to it. Through the testing I've had 3 HD boxes (2 DVR and 1 std HD) and 3 TV sets. On all occasions more often than not the best channels will studder; dropping frames of video, but keeping the audio. The harder the box is working generally the worse it is. For example if it is recording a good HD channel like HD Net or Universal HD and playing the other it will almost certainly show dropped frames.

So why do I think it's the box and not the delivery? Here's where things get a little strange, but the behavior convinces me that it is the fault of the Motorola boxes. If I record a segment while the dropped frames are happening and play it back it will still show the dropped frames, but it isnt always the same frames that were dropped during live play. As time goes by... say 1 to 3 weeks, the box will stop dropping frames in the recorded clip and play it back flawlessly. This tells me that the original signal does in fact make it to the box and the box is simply not able to get the data to the TV.
All of this is repeatable via different inputs, so it's not just an HDMI issue as Component suffers the same. What I am at a loss to explain is how or why the recorded content changes over time and is eventually able to emerge in pristine condition. I originally thought perhaps some defragging was occuring on the HD that would account for this, but since the non-DVR box shows the same studder I have to assume that it is not Hard Drive related.

My bet is that most people just think it's the channel feed that is at fault. Even the Technicians that I showed the problem to didn't recognize it & some said that it looked like that on all the installs they had seen, but when I got one to come back & watch the same clip again 3 weeks later that had no problem he had no explaination. (nor do I... Do you?) Every piece of the install has been swapped out at least once... EVERY PIECE! incl the drop from the street.

...and one more thing. This was never an issue with my DirecTV HD/Sony Box (non DVR).

So can anybody relate to or try to replicate this and post the results? Would using a cablecard fix the issue? (on that note, I'm buying a new TV for Christmas... anything I should know the cable card slots in the TVs or are they all fully capable?)

Sorry for the long post, but it seems to be a very complex issue.
Any help much appreciated.

Yikes! No, haven't seen that. I have to admit that the thing that has kept me fine with FIOS is the lack of problems with dropped frames / pixelation.

I have three HD DVR's (one is the multi media), and one SD set top box. The TV's involved are a Vizio flat panel, a generic 21" CRT tube, and a Toshiba 27". I've had problems with the Toshiba DVR (had the unit replaced, fan was too noisy), several problems with the new IMG fixed by pushing down new software, and only one site visit by Verizon reps (to replace noisy DVR).

Like I said, when the signal is coming in, which has been most of the time, the picture has been perfect. Good luck - have they checked how strong the signal is, and whether it's having some effect on recording?

i just added a HD DVR box to my set up

Is there a way to make sure that the DVR only records the new shows for the season?
Even when I was setting it up to record "First run only"
it was still pulling up shows from last season that air sporadically throughout the week.

Yes, they have checked signal strength multiple times and tweaked it a couple. (The fiber has been cleaned so many times I think they may have wore the glass down by now :) Watch the fast motion like the camera following the baseball when it's hit. You can try to force it by recording the best HD content you can find & then trying to view another good channel. Orange county chopper is a good candidate because they are always swinging the camera around. For some reason Star Trek's Enterprise series often seemded to show the problem.

I've had FiOS since 01/07 & 15 home service calls later (not exegerrating!) I have come to the conclusion that the Motorola boxes are not up to the task of displaying what the fiber is delivering to it. Through the testing I've had 3 HD boxes (2 DVR and 1 std HD) and 3 TV sets. On all occasions more often than not the best channels will studder; dropping frames of video, but keeping the audio. The harder the box is working generally the worse it is. For example if it is recording a good HD channel like HD Net or Universal HD and playing the other it will almost certainly show dropped frames.

So why do I think it's the box and not the delivery? Here's where things get a little strange, but the behavior convinces me that it is the fault of the Motorola boxes. If I record a segment while the dropped frames are happening and play it back it will still show the dropped frames, but it isnt always the same frames that were dropped during live play. As time goes by... say 1 to 3 weeks, the box will stop dropping frames in the recorded clip and play it back flawlessly. This tells me that the original signal does in fact make it to the box and the box is simply not able to get the data to the TV.
All of this is repeatable via different inputs, so it's not just an HDMI issue as Component suffers the same. What I am at a loss to explain is how or why the recorded content changes over time and is eventually able to emerge in pristine condition. I originally thought perhaps some defragging was occuring on the HD that would account for this, but since the non-DVR box shows the same studder I have to assume that it is not Hard Drive related.

My bet is that most people just think it's the channel feed that is at fault. Even the Technicians that I showed the problem to didn't recognize it & some said that it looked like that on all the installs they had seen, but when I got one to come back & watch the same clip again 3 weeks later that had no problem he had no explaination. (nor do I... Do you?) Every piece of the install has been swapped out at least once... EVERY PIECE! incl the drop from the street.

...and one more thing. This was never an issue with my DirecTV HD/Sony Box (non DVR).

So can anybody relate to or try to replicate this and post the results? Would using a cablecard fix the issue? (on that note, I'm buying a new TV for Christmas... anything I should know the cable card slots in the TVs or are they all fully capable?)

Sorry for the long post, but it seems to be a very complex issue.
Any help much appreciated.

I had some of those problems and it turned out to be a problem with attic a coax run that had a sharp bend, but it only happened when it was cold out at night.

I've had FiOS since 01/07 & 15 home service calls later (not exegerrating!) I have come to the conclusion that the Motorola boxes are not up to the task of displaying what the fiber is delivering to it. Through the testing I've had 3 HD boxes (2 DVR and 1 std HD) and 3 TV sets. On all occasions more often than not the best channels will studder; dropping frames of video, but keeping the audio. The harder the box is working generally the worse it is. For example if it is recording a good HD channel like HD Net or Universal HD and playing the other it will almost certainly show dropped frames.

So why do I think it's the box and not the delivery? Here's where things get a little strange, but the behavior convinces me that it is the fault of the Motorola boxes. If I record a segment while the dropped frames are happening and play it back it will still show the dropped frames, but it isnt always the same frames that were dropped during live play. As time goes by... say 1 to 3 weeks, the box will stop dropping frames in the recorded clip and play it back flawlessly. This tells me that the original signal does in fact make it to the box and the box is simply not able to get the data to the TV.
All of this is repeatable via different inputs, so it's not just an HDMI issue as Component suffers the same. What I am at a loss to explain is how or why the recorded content changes over time and is eventually able to emerge in pristine condition. I originally thought perhaps some defragging was occuring on the HD that would account for this, but since the non-DVR box shows the same studder I have to assume that it is not Hard Drive related.

My bet is that most people just think it's the channel feed that is at fault. Even the Technicians that I showed the problem to didn't recognize it & some said that it looked like that on all the installs they had seen, but when I got one to come back & watch the same clip again 3 weeks later that had no problem he had no explaination. (nor do I... Do you?) Every piece of the install has been swapped out at least once... EVERY PIECE! incl the drop from the street.

...and one more thing. This was never an issue with my DirecTV HD/Sony Box (non DVR).

So can anybody relate to or try to replicate this and post the results? Would using a cablecard fix the issue? (on that note, I'm buying a new TV for Christmas... anything I should know the cable card slots in the TVs or are they all fully capable?)

Sorry for the long post, but it seems to be a very complex issue.
Any help much appreciated.

I have seen that problem on a couple of occasions. I was able to resolve it by changing the output resolution on the box, a couple of times than back to 1080i. Can't explain why it happened or why it fixed it but after trying everything I could think of, that's what resolved it.

As far as the cable card, just keep in mind, you lose the program guide and video on demand.

i just added a HD DVR box to my set up

Is there a way to make sure that the DVR only records the new shows for the season?
Even when I was setting it up to record "First run only"
it was still pulling up shows from last season that air sporadically throughout the week.

There is a problem with the data provided in the guide - you'll note some shows are labeled as "new" - including WKRP reruns from the 70's and some new primetime shows labeled as "repeat" - happened on "My Name is Earl" twice this year.

This is apparently a known problem w/ the new IMG. For safety it is best to select "New and Repeats" to ensure you get the show.

Yes, they have checked signal strength multiple times and tweaked it a couple. (The fiber has been cleaned so many times I think they may have wore the glass down by now :) Watch the fast motion like the camera following the baseball when it's hit. You can try to force it by recording the best HD content you can find & then trying to view another good channel. Orange county chopper is a good candidate because they are always swinging the camera around. For some reason Star Trek's Enterprise series often seemded to show the problem.

I had the same problem when they first installed FIOS. I have an HD box without DVR. I went from Comcast, where this never happened, to FIOS and the skipping frames.

They came out numerous times and replaced the box and checked the signal. They said it was fine. I did the change of resolutions in the cable box menu to temporarily fix the problem, but it came back.

Anyhow, they finally ran a new coax from the splitter thru my attic to my HD tv. It turned out that the signal checks they were doing were either showing a wrong reading or being done by a lazy tech who didn't want to crawl around the attic. One tech finally wiggled the cable around some and saw the signal fluctuating and causing the problem. So he ran the new cable.

The signal was fine till a few weeks ago when they downloaded the new IMG, and I am getting a little jumping again, a little, not much.

Only on the 1080i box setting do I get the problem, not on my 720p tvs with the box set at 720p. So its a 1080i problem, a weak signal problem and a Moto box problem. With the weak signal being the biggest problem.

If you can, get them to run a new cable and if it's not a problem for you, run the box at 720p.

BTDT,

Thanks for your response. I had forgotten about the extra lines. I have a 2 x 4 multi switch that I currently use. Would this work for FIOS or do I need a different set up if I can't get straight run?
A multiswitch is only for satellite TV. All you need here is a simple cable signal splitter. You can pick one up at Radio Shack or Best Buy, etc.

A multiswitch is only for satellite TV. All you need here is a simple cable signal splitter. You can pick one up at Radio Shack or Best Buy, etc.

I wouldn't say a simple cable splitter. Make sure it is a 5-1000mhz broadband splitter. You may even want to hold off, because verizon will place any needed splitters during the install. :D

Forgive me if this has been covered already but after searching & reading through 10+ pages I could not find the answer.

I had FIOS installed about 6 weeks ago and so far so good. I am happy with the service and the quality. I have the triple play package and I have the HD-DVR and then 3 STB in the house. Here is my problem.

The Verizon router is on the second floor in our office and the signal strength is not reaching the basement where we have our gaming consoles (Wii and X-Box360) I don't want to move the router to the basement and lose the speed on the computer. What is the best solution to get internet access to the Wii and X-BOX360 without running wires all through the house? Is wireless the best way to go or should I get another router for the basement and connect the consoles through ethernet cables?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks

It is always better to hardwire if possible. At this point a "G" wireless speed is faster than the internet connection anyway so technically it would be no big deal to run wireless. However, if you have any older "B: wireless devices on the network they will slow the network down.

You can either connect the game consules either via ethernet to a switch that would connect to the verizon router via cat5e or you can put a wireless access point downstairs also connected via cat5e to the verizon router.

I am assuming that you have the ActionTec wireless router that Verizon now installs by default (I was an early adopter, so got a DLink that seems to work quite a bit better). The ActionTec is not known as a very good wireless router, BTW.

Anyway, another option is to get a good 802.11"N" router (Netgear appears to be a good choice) and see if this solves your connectivity problems. I have a study at home that was unable to get any kind of decent signal from our "G" router (the study is sound shielded), but the newer "N" router gets through with no problem at all.

thanks for the fast replies. and BTDT you are correct I have the ActionTec router. The weird thing is when the install was done the technician had a strong signal all the way outside to his van parked curbside. My work laptop also reads the signal well throughout the house but the Wii and the X-Box it's like there is no signal at all. I think I prefer to hardwire the consoles especially for X-Box Live. I am looking fwd to GH 3 and Rock Band on there

Are you talking using the Netgear in place of the Actiontec or behind the actiontec.

I tried using my own router in place of the actiontec. I have a netgear wired VPN router. It would work for a day and then I wouldn't get a connection. My Netgear was emulating the actionetec's mac address so all should have been good.

I believe that you must use there router becuase it is configured for there system and they can send updates to it and control the features of the router., Plus if you want the TV you need their router.

I placed my Netgear behind the actiontec and the netgear handles all of my internal network config.

thanks for the fast replies. and BTDT you are correct I have the ActionTec router. The weird thing is when the install was done the technician had a strong signal all the way outside to his van parked curbside. My work laptop also reads the signal well throughout the house but the Wii and the X-Box it's like there is no signal at all. I think I prefer to hardwire the consoles especially for X-Box Live. I am looking fwd to GH 3 and Rock Band on there

I got FIOS internet access first. I already had a Belkin N Router, so when the install was done, I asked the verizon rep to just use my router directly. I plugged it in, and the signal was immediately there. Had no problems for four months.

For the TV install, I realized that I needed the ActionTec router, since it has been customized to allow both VOD and other functions, so I set up the ActionTec to do DHCP and DNS serving, as well as access to the world, but disabled the wireless on the ActionTec and shut down DHCP and DNS on the Belkin, only enabling the wireless b/g/n access on the Belkin. This has worked like a dream so far. We have four computers going, two wired directly to the ActionTec, and two laptops using wireless (as well as a network printer). One laptop has a G adapter, one has an N adapter (mine). The G has to go through two floors to connect to the Belkin, but seems not to have problems with access.

N Routers have about triple or quadruple the range of a G router; the power is also increased, so they are a very good option.

The router is only half of the answer, though - the adapter also plays a part in the connection: if a weaker adapter is used, a powerful router can overcome that to form a good connection.

I'd recommend an N router, preferably a wired connection to components that are not going to move.

can anyone walk me through how to set up a linksys wrt54g along with the actiontec?

the actiontec drops wireless signals like it's its duty!

All you need here is a simple cable signal splitter. You can pick one up at Radio Shack or Best Buy, etc.

Splitters are not that simple as I learned the other day.

First my problem as mayne folks have some ideas and then what I learned about splitters.

For the past 3 weeks, I have been battling a problem with bad pixelation and long audio drop outs or repeated audio. The repeated audio is where several words are repeated 3 times in a row and then it jums ahead to re-sync with the video.

It is channel dependent and does not do it all the time ie. I can go 2 or 3 days with perfect recordings and then it starts acting up. The recording of "House M.D." last night (Monday) was almost unwatchable yet the entire Ravens Game on Sunday was a perfect picture.

I am using a Dual Tuner Cable Card PC acquired in September and it has been working fine once I got through the configuarton pain.

Fine until recently where I started getting that pixelation problem.

I had Verizon over last week to fix this darn picture and
Here is what the technician had to say about splitters:
He told me that they get a lot of different makes of splitters and the technicians have found that there is a big difference between brands.
He said the 'Yellow splitters' are the best (I figured out that he was talking about the splitters from PDI that have a yellow sticker on them) and that the 'black splitters' are junk. He said that a splitter should lose 3.5 db of signal but the Black ones can lose up to 10 db.

He told me that many of the technicians have been tellling upper management to only buy the 'yelllow splitters' because mixing the good brand with the cruddy brands is making their job harder.




He replaced my 'top of the line' Best Buy splitter with one of the 'Yellow Splitters'.

The picture got better. Not perfect but better as the audio drop outs stopped but I was still getting pixelation and I could see the SNR in the diagnsotics got from 32 DB to 34 DB

The rest of the story is that everything started working fine so he left.
That was last Thursday and I had good data that night but the 'crap' came back on Saturday and then got good on Sunday - yoiu get the idea.

I am calling them again tomorrow

can anyone walk me through how to set up a linksys wrt54g along with the actiontec?

the actiontec drops wireless signals like it's its duty!

Don't know the linksys (I have a Belkin N) , but, I posted this earlier:

On the ActionTec:

username: admin
password: password1

turn off the wireless access.

plug the linksys wireless router into a regular ethernet port.

on the linksys router:

select "wireless access point" (that is how it was on the Belkin).

Reset, it should come up and be available.

Some advice: Use the WEP security encoding (have to copy the key to all computers that will connect wirelessly), I also set up MAC address filtering on the machine, so that only the machines that I know will be able to connect. The last may be overkill, but better safe.

Some advice: Use the WEP security encoding (have to copy the key to all computers that will connect wirelessly), I also set up MAC address filtering on the machine, so that only the machines that I know will be able to connect. The last may be overkill, but better safe.


With WEP enable (Actiontec Router) I was getting dial up speed when trying to connect to internet from my laptop then I disable WEP the connection back to 5Mhz with no trouble at all.

With WEP enable (Actiontec Router) I was getting dial up speed when trying to connect to internet from my laptop then I disable WEP the connection back to 5Mhz with no trouble at all.
All WEP will do for you is make it slightly inconvenient for someone to break into your network (someone with the right tools can do so in less than a minute).

Also don't bother turning on MAC address filtering. It is also a waste of time from a security standpoint as it is simple to 1) scan for what MAC addresses are actually on a network and 2) emulate an approved MAC address to break into the network.

Use WPA security with a strong passphrase (something long and random). If the ActionTec doesn't support this (luckily don't have one) then get a good wireless router and place it behind the ActionTec.

Hi,
Considering the switch from Comcaast TV/internet to FIOS TV/internet, but have many questions, and am hoping the experts here can help. Ok, here we go..
1. Internet - can I use my own wireless router (802.11g) instead of the one they supply - I like mine and I know it works well
2. TV - Should I use the STB provided by verizon or but one on my own?
3. TV - do I need a STB for every TV in the house if on most of the TVs I'm just looking to get the avail. channels and not necessarily have all the functionality (guide, etc) on every TV? For example, one TV has a NTSC/ATSC and QAM tuner (I currently get all channels and the free local HD from comcast with the cable plugged directly into the TV), so I'm guessing I could stay with this set-up?
Sorry for all the question, thanks in advance for any adivce, etc you can provide.

The ActionTec is not known as a very good wireless router, BTW.

Why do people make these blanket statements? This is simply not accurate. All you have to do is Google "Actiontec router review" and you will see that many people are happy with the router, and it has gotten good reviews. Of course some folks do not like it. Usually because they have issues with it. If the router works fine, then it is a good router. If you have problems with your signal, then the router is a piece of junk.

In my case, it works flawlessly. Had it since January and it has never had a hiccup at all. I have a xBox 360 and a Blu Ray player hardwired to it (it is in my entertainment center). I run three desktops, two laptops and one printer wireless. Two story 4500 square foot house, 15/2 internet speed. All signals are strong and the speed is good (usually in the 14.5/1.9 range, all wireless of course). So as far as I am concerned, it is a solid piece of equipment. Of course, YMMV.

Hi,
Considering the switch from Comcaast TV/internet to FIOS TV/internet, but have many questions, and am hoping the experts here can help. Ok, here we go..
1. Internet - can I use my own wireless router (802.11g) instead of the one they supply - I like mine and I know it works well
2. TV - Should I use the STB provided by verizon or but one on my own?
3. TV - do I need a STB for every TV in the house if on most of the TVs I'm just looking to get the avail. channels and not necessarily have all the functionality (guide, etc) on every TV? For example, one TV has a NTSC/ATSC and QAM tuner (I currently get all channels and the free local HD from comcast with the cable plugged directly into the TV), so I'm guessing I could stay with this set-up?
Sorry for all the question, thanks in advance for any adivce, etc you can provide.

1. yes you can, see the postings above for directions. but try the actiontec alone first and see if it suits your needs
2. you have to use their box. you can not purchase your own. any box purchased off of ebay is stolen and Verizon will not activate it. Only other solution is TIVO with cable cards.
3.The only channels you will get without a set top box are the locals and a few others on channel 49 and below. A box is required for the others.

all of this is answered on the Verizon Fios web page, just take a look at it.

1. yes you can, see the postings above for directions. but try the actiontec alone first and see if it suits your needs
2. you have to use their box. you can not purchase your own. any box purchased off of ebay is stolen and Verizon will not activate it. Only other solution is TIVO with cable cards.
3.The only channels you will get without a set top box are the locals and a few others on channel 49 and below. A box is required for the others.

all of this is answered on the Verizon Fios web page, just take a look at it.


Since I have a personal interest in the success of Cable Card PC's, I want to add a few additions to your answer.

2) You can use a TIVO as was said but you can also use a Cable Card PC.
That will give you virtually unlimited disk space.
The current version of the OS on a Vista Cable Card PC support's up to 4 Tuners. I am using 2 but am about to buy a third one.

See http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=934453

3) An XBOX 360 is supported as an Extender device to a Cable card PC.
The FAQ referenced in the above link can give you more info on this since I do not have an Xbox.


To clarify my comment about unlimited disk space.
The Cable Card PC that I bought from HP has 6 SATA connections with an on Board RAID controller.
Using those Sata connections, I put together a 1 TB RAID using 2 500 Gbyte Seagate disks that I got a great price on.

A few days ago, Circuit City had a 500 Gbyte Seagate SATA disk at an unbelievable price.
so I bought it and within about 15 minutes, I had a 1.5 TB RAID on my Cable Card PC.
A RAID is NOT a requirement but it is 'free' on the HP that I bought.
They now make up to a 1 TB single disk if you are not compfortable with the setup,etc. of RAID's.

To not lose all the shows, I did have to copy them to a 500 Gbyte USB disk that I have and then I told the Media Center SW to look at that disk for additional content.
Obviously I did have to toss some recordings due to disk space but the cool thing is that seamlessly, the PC was looking at the RAID and any other disk that I told it to look at for content.

Hello everyone!

There are just too many pages to read here and I have spent the
last 20 minutes doing random reads throughout this entire thread.

I have had FIOS in my neighborhood for a year now, though because
I have been under contract with DirecTV for a Tivo DVR, I have only
subscribed to FIOS Internet.

My contract with DirecTV is up next month and I am now looking
to switch over to FIOS, mainly because I am sick of compressed HD.

My biggest concern is the Motorola DVR. Being a Tivo owner, I
realize that I'm going to be giving up the slick interface as well as
"backspace" feature that skips a few seconds back after a "FF" through
commercials.

What I need to know is how good/bad is the Verizon DVR? Am I
going to be very disappointed coming off of a Tivo?

Also, these units act as a DVR with dual tuners/two inputs? From
what I hear I can record two programs in the same time slot at once
with one cable card. Is this correct?

What is the MAX HD recording time with their HD DVR?

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions I am certain have
already been answered many times before. When threads get this
big it gets difficult to find the exact information I need.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Hello everyone!

There are just too many pages to read here and I have spent the
last 20 minutes doing random reads throughout this entire thread.

I have had FIOS in my neighborhood for a year now, though because
I have been under contract with DirecTV for a Tivo DVR, I have only
subscribed to FIOS Internet.

My contract with DirecTV is up next month and I am now looking
to switch over to FIOS, mainly because I am sick of compressed HD.

My biggest concern is the Motorola DVR. Being a Tivo owner, I
realize that I'm going to be giving up the slick interface as well as
"backspace" feature that skips a few seconds back after a "FF" through
commercials.

What I need to know is how good/bad is the Verizon DVR? Am I
going to be very disappointed coming off of a Tivo?

Also, these units act as a DVR with dual tuners/two inputs? From
what I hear I can record two programs in the same time slot at once
with one cable card. Is this correct?

What is the MAX HD recording time with their HD DVR?

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions I am certain have
already been answered many times before. When threads get this
big it gets difficult to find the exact information I need.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Welcome, Ronald!

My advice on the FIOS DVR is to try it out. The main sticking point has been a user interface that was probably rolled out too early and has had issues. Another problem is that the size of the drive on the DVR is 160G, which translates to about 20 hours of HD recording. Other than that, it performs the basic functions of a DVR fairly well IMO.

Like you, I came from the D* world, with DirecTivo boxes (three). Since they were older, my drive space was about the same as I have now, so in that regard, I am satisfied.

If you decide that you can't live without Tivo, there are several models described here that people have been happy with. To take this road you'd have to buy a Tivo unit, get two CableCards from Verizon, use this configuration to connect to the TV feed. You do lose some things now, like the guide information, Video On Demand, and have to pay the Tivo fee, as well as buy the unit(s) that you need.

As I've said, I'm pretty happy with the FIOS DVR, but you may opt for the Tivo unit, which from all of the comments is a very good option.

In either case, you will be able to record two channels simultaneously. Like the Tivos on Directv,you won't be able to watch a third channel.

Enjoy the service, I am really enjoying mine; the doubts from the IMG problems are just growing pains in my view.

My biggest concern is the Motorola DVR. Being a Tivo owner, I realize that I'm going to be giving up the slick interface as well as "backspace" feature that skips a few seconds back after a "FF" through commercials.You can still start out with the Motorola DVR and switch to a TiVoHD later. Just be aware that Verizon charges $25 (total) for a service visit to the install the CableCards that are needed for the TiVo.

The most you lose by trying the Verizon DVR first is $25.

Also, these units act as a DVR with dual tuners/two inputs? From what I hear I can record two programs in the same time slot at once with one cable card. Is this correct?You must be thinking of the TivoHD. The FiOS' Motorola DVRs do not use CableCards.

All cable DVRs split the signal internally, eliminating the need for the second input. The TiVoHD does have two inputs, but one is for cable and the other is for off-air signals from an antenna (optional).

If you decide that you can't live without Tivo, there are several models described here that people have been happy with. To take this road you'd have to buy a Tivo unit, get two CableCards from Verizon, use this configuration to connect to the TV feed. You do lose some things now, like the guide information, Video On Demand, and have to pay the Tivo fee, as well as buy the unit(s) that you need.With TiVo, you do not lose guide information. You get superior guide information, because it comes from TiVo rather than Verizon. TiVo uses a much better data provider (the same one as DirecTV).

You lose Video On Demand. You need two CableCards (@ $2.99/ea) to support both tuners until Verizon offers the newer MCARDs; once Verizon offers MCARDs, you can replace the two cards with a single MCARD.

You can buy a TiVoHD with monthly fees ($12.99/mo or $129/yr prepaid) for $250, or a TiVoHD with no monthly fees (http://www3.tivo.com/tivo-promo/show.do?pg=/buytivo/hdgift.html) for $699.

TivoHD with FiOS Screenshots

Recorded list (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/nowplaying.jpg)
Season passes (series recordings) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/seasonpass.jpg)
Wishlists (autorecord content regardless of date, time, and channel using boolean search) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/wishlista_large.jpg)

Plug and play eSATA (external drive) expansion (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/esata/esata1.jpg)
Recording capacity with 500Gb external drive from Best Buy (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo.jpg)
Recording capacity with 1TB internal drive upgrade (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo_1tb.jpg)

Remove Channels from Guide (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/pick_channels.jpg)
Program Guide: Grid style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_grid.jpg)
Program Guide: Tivo style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_tivo.jpg)

Download SD and HD recordings from the DVR using any web browser (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.png)

Hey folks, I just had Verizon FIOS TV installed on Monday. The STB, a QIP6416-2 HD DVR, does not have an RF out. I had this with the previous motorola 34XX box I had with Comcast. I need to hook up a DVD recorder, but don't have a return cable to feed the RF in on the DVD recorder. I understand I can hook this up thru the LINE IN/LINE OUT, but I need the AUDIO OUT on the 6416 to the HD TV for sound. There is no other audio out for the DVD recorder. There is a VIDEO OUT which works, but can't get audio. If I switch the AUDIO OUT cables to the LINE IN on the DVD recorder, then I lose the audio on the 6416. What can I do here? DO they manufacture a 6416 with an RF out? Thanks.

rono,

I guess you don't have a display with HDMI? Or a A/V receiver with optical (spdif) input?

Most people connect HDMI to their display, optical to their A/V receiver (if they have one), and s-video or composite video with analog audio output to their DVD recorder.

You could grab two of these (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=669&seq=1&format=2).

I have an HDTV with DVI or component. Also using an A/V receiver with optical out. Mainly use TV sound for regular watching and 5.1 for dvd's, TV movies. I guess if I hook up everything thru the A/V , I could get this to work. But then I would have to turn on the receiver. Don't want to have to use the A/V receiver every time I watch TV.

I have an HDTV with DVI or component. Also using an A/V receiver with optical out. Mainly use TV sound for regular watching and 5.1 for dvd's, TV movies. I guess if I hook up everything thru the A/V , I could get this to work. But then I would have to turn on the receiver. Don't want to have to use the A/V receiver every time I watch TV.My remote automatically turns on the receiver every time I turn on the TV. You are aware that most high-definition programming has DD5.1 just like DVD?

If you still want to use your TV speakers, you can certainly do that with two of these RCA adapters (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=669&seq=1&format=2), which will give you a second set of analog audio outputs.

Edit: Radio Shack should sell those RCA adapters too, although I'm sure you'll pay more than $1.10/ea.

The wife likes to use the TV speakers for "general watching". I would need the cable with RCA connectors.

Thanks for your help.

The wife likes to use the TV speakers for "general watching". I would need the cable with RCA connectors.

Thanks for your help.

You can buy Audio Cable with RCA Connectors from "Big Lots"( previously Pic-& Save) for $3-$5.

I run three desktops, two laptops and one printer wireless.

Tarheel-
What are you using to run your printer wirelessly?

Tarheel-
What are you using to run your printer wirelessly?


There are a couple of good wireless print servers out there. I use one from Netgear that's ok, but doesn't support WPA-2 (regular WPA works, though), so I have to dumb down my entire network to WPA.

I just got a new one from D-Link that does WPA-2 but I haven't tried it yet. Pretty good reviews, though.

Go to newegg.com and look up the DPR-1260 from D-Link. You'll see that it's on sale for a few days, PLUS there's a 20% cash rebate if you pay with Paypal in effect for a couple of days. I can't post the actual price, apparently, due to AVSforum rules here. But, check it out. Time is of the essence, however.

Got FIOS triple bundle a few weeks ago. Liked everything except that the internet would, at times, go real (like 400 kbs) slow. Using both a PC and Mac wireless. Router is in basement and 'puters are on second floor. Tried router reset (Actiontec) - worked well for a while, then back to slow for a while then back to fast.
Called Verizon and tech had me use speed optimizer on the PC, also changed channel on router. That's when he also mentioned about interference with 2.4 GHz telephones. So, I removed all three phones and replaced with 6.0 GHz phone. Seems to have worked since now I get like 10700 kbs wireless wih the PC and over 15000 kbs wireless with the Mac.

Hello everyone!

-snip
My biggest concern is the Motorola DVR. Being a Tivo owner, I
realize that I'm going to be giving up the slick interface as well as
"backspace" feature that skips a few seconds back after a "FF" through
commercials.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


The fwd 30 sec skip & the backwards 5 sec skip work fine with the Motorola DVR as long as you have the newer Philips remote (I'd think by now this is all they are handing out) ...or one like the after market Harmony 880.

I cant figure out why my DVR is resetting to 720p & even the 4:3 override keeps resetting to 480i. I just upgraded to a new xbr4 & HDMI. Never had an issue with the old TV & component. I have no idea if HDMI is the cause or not. Any Suggestions?

TIA

I had the same problem when they first installed FIOS. I have an HD box without DVR. I went from Comcast, where this never happened, to FIOS and the skipping frames.

They came out numerous times and replaced the box and checked the signal. They said it was fine. I did the change of resolutions in the cable box menu to temporarily fix the problem, but it came back.

Anyhow, they finally ran a new coax from the splitter thru my attic to my HD tv. It turned out that the signal checks they were doing were either showing a wrong reading or being done by a lazy tech who didn't want to crawl around the attic. One tech finally wiggled the cable around some and saw the signal fluctuating and causing the problem. So he ran the new cable.

The signal was fine till a few weeks ago when they downloaded the new IMG, and I am getting a little jumping again, a little, not much.

Only on the 1080i box setting do I get the problem, not on my 720p tvs with the box set at 720p. So its a 1080i problem, a weak signal problem and a Moto box problem. With the weak signal being the biggest problem.

If you can, get them to run a new cable and if it's not a problem for you, run the box at 720p.


You may have something there with the 720p not dropping frames. I just got a new TV & after I set things up I noticed more dropped frames so called support (again). The Tech came out (again) and I found it odd that I was not able to demonstrate the issue except for a SD recording. No problem showed up on live TV. Now I've noticed that my DVR is continually resetting from 1080i & 4:3 Override of 480p to 720p/480i every time I turn the TV off and back on. Mind you, the DVR stays on all of the time. ...so why would the new
XBR4 via HDMI reset the Motorola box??? On the + side, like your experience I never seem to have any dropped frames with 720p. The only other piece of the puzzle that I can think of is that the HDMI is running through my Yammy
RX-V2600 receiver, which is set to "Passthrough" mode.

Any answers, guesses, fixes, or prayers greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I cant figure out why my DVR is resetting to 720p & even the 4:3 override keeps resetting to 480i. I just upgraded to a new xbr4 & HDMI. Never had an issue with the old TV & component. I have no idea if HDMI is the cause or not. Any Suggestions?

TIA


Mine does this too, I have the nondvr motorolla box and I've never gotten it to save my 480 and output res settings. They reset evey time I cycle it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by remav
I cant figure out why my DVR is resetting to 720p & even the 4:3 override keeps resetting to 480i. I just upgraded to a new xbr4 & HDMI. Never had an issue with the old TV & component. I have no idea if HDMI is the cause or not. Any Suggestions?

TIA

Mine does this too, I have the nondvr motorolla box and I've never gotten it to save my 480 and output res settings. They reset evey time I cycle it.


I found that running directly from the STB to my XBR4 fixes this issue for me & the STB stays at 1080i /480p. Maybe you can bypass too? Anyway, a FiOS tech pointed me to DSLreports.com for a complete list of HDMI incompatibility issues. (I have not checked this site out yet)

GL!

You may have something there with the 720p not dropping frames. I just got a new TV & after I set things up I noticed more dropped frames so called support (again). The Tech came out (again) and I found it odd that I was not able to demonstrate the issue except for a SD recording. No problem showed up on live TV. Now I've noticed that my DVR is continually resetting from 1080i & 4:3 Override of 480p to 720p/480i every time I turn the TV off and back on. Mind you, the DVR stays on all of the time. ...so why would the new
XBR4 via HDMI reset the Motorola box??? On the + side, like your experience I never seem to have any dropped frames with 720p. The only other piece of the puzzle that I can think of is that the HDMI is running through my Yammy
RX-V2600 receiver, which is set to "Passthrough" mode.


I spoke with a VZ Tech last night and he pointed out a piece of the puzzle on dropped frames that may help. Although I was aware of VOD & the Guide being sent via IP, I missed the fact that all recorded content on your DVR is also sent via IP. This explains why I was able to hit record when when experiencing glitchy video (So I could show a tech) and play back that video and still see that the glitches (dropped frames) were present... AND... A few weeks later that same video clip would play back 100% correct!

This can happen if the problem is more in the router than the STB because when you play recorded content it has to travel back to the router BEFORE being returned to the STB & exiting out the video ports! (so swapping out the Motorola boxes WILL NOT FIX the ISSUE!

In all the trouble shooting that was done & parts replaced, they only swapped out my router one time, very early on and never checked for firmware updates. (My STB was changed 3 times)

So, I asked about router firmware updates and he said that they were automatically pushed out when they became available, but when I checked my router it wasn’t set to auto-update. Sure enough, an update was available. I wish I'd have written down the old firmware version info for further study. Anyway, I will still have to see if this fixes the dropped frames issue.

Wish me luck!

Wish me luck & I'll keep you posted.

The latest firmware for the Actiontec router is 4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3.

Last I checked, the firmware on the Actiontec update site was significantly older. The latest firmware can always be found on Verizon.net here (http://www2.verizon.net/micro/actiontec/actiontec.asp?); open that link in Internet Explorer after you've logged in to your Verizon.net account.

Direct download link for Actiontec firmware v4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3 (latest as of Nov 27) (http://www2.verizon.net/micro/actiontec/4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3-MI424WR.rmt)

Can the Actiontech router firmware be safely updated thru the verizon settings page? Firmware upgrade?

According to post a few weeks ago by BDTV, there are known issues with the amount of recording time for Verizon DVR's with the new interface. I had my install two days ago and immediately noticed that my QIP2708 STB only wanted to record a total of 13 hours of standard def video.

The folks I've spoken to at Verizon support are not aware of this issue. They've reset the box and have offered to swap it out.....

Is Verizon still on track to fix this bug in early December ?

I am scheduled to have Verizon FiOS installed @ my home tomorrow for Internet & Phone service. From the ONT can I have the FiOS tech run Cat5e to my Linksys WRT5G router versus using the existing RG-59 coax cable to Verizon's proprietary device?

How amenable are the Verizon techs to this approach?

I am scheduled to have Verizon FiOS installed @ my home tomorrow for Internet & Phone service. From the ONT can I have the FiOS tech run Cat5e to my Linksys WRT5G router versus using the existing RG-59 coax cable to Verizon's proprietary device?

How amenable are the Verizon techs to this approach?

It usually depends on each individual installer. If Verizon is new in your area, they'll generally do anything you ask, within reason, in order to please. If the Cat 5 run is not too difficult, you'll probably get what you want.

I spoke with a VZ Tech last night and he pointed out a piece of the puzzle on dropped frames that may help. Although I was aware of VOD & the Guide being sent via IP, I missed the fact that all recorded content on your DVR is also sent via IP.

What exactly is getting sent via IP when you are watching recorded content?
I assumed all of your recorded content is saved locally in the STB. is this not correct?

It usually depends on each individual installer. If Verizon is new in your area, they'll generally do anything you ask, within reason, in order to please. If the Cat 5 run is not too difficult, you'll probably get what you want.I estimate the run may require about 100’ of Cat5e wire going from the ONT into an unfinished basement along 60’ – 70’ of the foundation wall then outside the front of the house into an office/bedroom on the 2nd floor.

I estimate the run may require about 100’ of Cat5e wire going from the ONT into an unfinished basement along 60’ – 70’ of the foundation wall then outside the front of the house into an office/bedroom on the 2nd floor.


A $20 bill might also help.

Good luck.

A $20 bill might also help.

Good luck.Maybe after the job is done, but I doubt a Verizon employee is permitted to accept this kind of gratuity.

What exactly is getting sent via IP when you are watching recorded content?
I assumed all of your recorded content is saved locally in the STB. is this not correct?

I believe the menus, info, and the widgets are sent IP.

I am scheduled to have Verizon FiOS installed @ my home tomorrow for Internet & Phone service. From the ONT can I have the FiOS tech run Cat5e to my Linksys WRT5G router versus using the existing RG-59 coax cable to Verizon's proprietary device?

How amenable are the Verizon techs to this approach?

I did this on my internet / phone installation (about three months before the TV installation). I had a good router (Draft N) and did not want their router. I connected my router myself (just plug in the ethernet cable from the ONT), the Verizon rep had no issues with it. The service came up without any problems, and stayed that way until the TV installation.

When they install the TV portion, the ActionTec router is required for VOD, the guide, widgets, and if you have a media DVR -> STB connection. I took my router and put it behind the ActionTec, allowing the ActionTec to do DNS / DHCP and my router to do wireless only. Works like a charm.

When they install the TV portion, the ActionTec router is required for VOD, the guide, widgets, and if you have a media DVR -> STB connection. Can't these video services run over coax to their STBs? When FiOS TV is available in Upstate NY my plan is to lease a DVR & (2) CableCARDs.

Can the Actiontech router firmware be safely updated thru the verizon settings page? Firmware upgrade?

That was the last thing the installer did. He had a laptop with a broadband card.
This is also when the PW gets changed to password1.

Can't these video services run over coax to their STBs? When FiOS TV is available in Upstate NY my plan is to lease a DVR & (2) CableCARDs.

If I have it right, The FIOS signals come in over fiber and are differentiated at the box. Three services are broken out, one is the Video and another is the data services. Verizon has chosen to deliver these video services as IP based deliverables to the router.

They are interpreted by the router and put on the MOCA network, which is an IP based network that runs over coax (Media Over CoAx, I believe) to your STB's. The data is delivered, but something has to be there (the IMG) to take that information and use it. The cable cards currently are not able to do so, so those services are not going to work as things stand.

The reason a custom router is needed is to support the MOCA network, which carries the specialized IP based data for:

1. IMG Guide information.
2. Video on Demand (IP based)
3. Any custom applications.
4. Media DVR to STB communications.

The trade off with cable cards is the loss of these services (although Tivo has an arguably better guide), along with other projected services, like the gaming stuff that is coming down the line. Gaming is not a great thing to me, but the VOD is loved in my house.

Is there a list of what changes were made from one version of the Actiontec router firmware to the next?

Those of us why got FiOS TV before the ActionTecs came out got a separate router and a "NIM" (Network Interface Module) that did the job of communicating with the STBs/DVRs via MOCA. I think this was/is a superior setup, but was costing Verizon more in terms of equipment and support.

If I have it right, The FIOS signals come in over fiber and are differentiated at the box. Three services are broken out, one is the Video and another is the data services. Verizon has chosen to deliver these video services as IP based deliverables to the router.

They are interpreted by the router and put on the MOCA network, which is an IP based network that runs over coax (Media Over CoAx, I believe) to your STB's. The data is delivered, but something has to be there (the IMG) to take that information and use it. The cable cards currently are not able to do so, so those services are not going to work as things stand.

The reason a custom router is needed is to support the MOCA network, which carries the specialized IP based data for:

1. IMG Guide information.
2. Video on Demand (IP based)
3. Any custom applications.
4. Media DVR to STB communications.

The trade off with cable cards is the loss of these services (although Tivo has an arguably better guide), along with other projected services, like the gaming stuff that is coming down the line. Gaming is not a great thing to me, but the VOD is loved in my house.As I understand it embedded IP networking over coaxial cable using MoCA™ technology to a hybrid QAM/IP set-top-box will support two-way digital TV services such as IPG and VoD.

The Verizon installer was at my house for about (4) hours today and I now have FTTP for phone & Internet access with ~20779 kbps/d & ~4224 kbps/u speeds.

The ONT is installed inside the basement w/a Cat5e connection to Verizon's Actiontec router on the 2nd floor. The Verizon representative was very professional. He did a fabulous job & declined a gratuity when offered; I'm not surprised.

With service like this, Time Warner is facing stiff competition from Verizon.

Has anyone beside me had issues with the HD DVR video (HDMI) just going black? Sometimes the audio will continue sometimes not. Unplugging for 10 to 15 min to force a reset will cause it to come back. I figure it is just a bad box, but it only started doing this after the new IMG was deployed. Could be a coincidence but could also be firmware.

Has anyone beside me had issues with the HD DVR video (HDMI) just going black? Sometimes the audio will continue sometimes not. Unplugging for 10 to 15 min to force a reset will cause it to come back. I figure it is just a bad box, but it only started doing this after the new IMG was deployed. Could be a coincidence but could also be firmware.
Yes, I had this happen a couple of days after the update: no picture but continued sound. Reboot required to fix. This has not occurred since then, but I am pretty sure that it is a new IMG firmware/software problem.

My inlaws have had the worse situation of the box losing both picture and sound (I am not sure if it also quits recording as well). They are on the razor edge of cancelling their FiOS TV and moving back to DirecTV. I encouraged them to move to FiOS in the first place, so feel kind of bad that FiOS has screwed this up so badly.

this actiontec router is dropping signal daily. its really starting to get on my nerves. i have to constantly go and reset the router.

my computer sees the signal but it just won't connect.

is this happening to anyone else?
is there a fix?

this actiontec router is dropping signal daily. its really starting to get on my nerves. i have to constantly go and reset the router.

my computer sees the signal but it just won't connect.Wireless or wired?

Did you have the latest firmware on your Actiontec (v4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3)? If not, that can be found on Verizon.net here (http://www2.verizon.net/micro/actiontec/actiontec.asp?); open that link in Internet Explorer after you've logged in to your Verizon.net account. Login into your router with "admin" as the login and "password" as the password to install the update.

Direct download link for Actiontec firmware v4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3 (latest as of Nov 27) (http://www2.verizon.net/micro/actiontec/4.0.16.1.55.0.10.4.3-MI424WR.rmt)

That said, the wireless on the Actiontec isn't very good, in my experience; I would suggest you consider disabling the wireless on the Actiontec and connect your own router to provide wireless access.

From DSLReports

For those using Vista, Microsoft announced an update to improve upstream throughput on Verizon FiOS connections with 5Mbps, 10Mbps, 15Mbps, and 20Mbps upstream.

To get it, click the request link @ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939006/en-us/. Microsoft will send it to you in less than 12 hours. If you don't want to wait, you can grab it from Hotfixshare.net below:

Update to improve FiOS upstream on 32-bit Vista (http://thehotfixshare.net/board/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=3965)
Update to improve FiOS upstream on 64-bit Vista (http://thehotfixshare.net/board/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=4073)

You'll have to excuss my lack of knowledge here, but how do you find your verizon wireless router on your computer? I have it installed and it works well for me (my first wireless system so I can't compare, but when I open my work laptop w/ wireless it connects right away and works). I have a Dell desk top that is connected via an ether net conntection to the system. Do I use the Dell to "find" the router so I can see what software it has etc?

You'll have to excuss my lack of knowledge here, but how do you find your verizon wireless router on your computer? I have it installed and it works well for me (my first wireless system so I can't compare, but when I open my work laptop w/ wireless it connects right away and works). I have a Dell desk top that is connected via an ether net conntection to the system. Do I use the Dell to "find" the router so I can see what software it has etc?Open the command prompt and type ipconfig.

The default gateway is your router. I forget the Actiontec's default, but it should be 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, or 192.168.100.1.

Just put that into your web browser; login is "admin" and password is "password" or "password1". Click Advanced -> Firmware upgrade to see your current software version and/or to upgrade to the one linked above. Firmware upgrades should be performed over a wired connection.

I have the QIP 6416-2 box. I just started with fios tv. Does everyone automatically get the 500 series channel when you add, say TLC, to your favorites list? If I delete the 500 series channel it deletes the other channel too.

My favorites list doesn't show all to the channels I have marked. It won't go past 500.

Is it just me or should I feel like a fully initiated member of the club?

I have the QIP 6416-2 box. I just started with fios tv. Does everyone automatically get the 500 series channel when you add, say TLC, to your favorites list? If I delete the 500 series channel it deletes the other channel too.This is a known bug in the software on your DVR.

My favorites list doesn't show all to the channels I have marked. It won't go past 500.This is another bug, although it was fixed in the software update (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2007-10/more-on-verizon-fios-tv-the-q4-update/) released last week in Tampa Bay, Fort Wayne and Pittsburgh. More markets should receive that update (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2007-10/more-on-verizon-fios-tv-the-q4-update/) in the near future.

Yes, I had this happen a couple of days after the update: no picture but continued sound. Reboot required to fix. This has not occurred since then, but I am pretty sure that it is a new IMG firmware/software problem.

My inlaws have had the worse situation of the box losing both picture and sound (I am not sure if it also quits recording as well). They are on the razor edge of cancelling their FiOS TV and moving back to DirecTV. I encouraged them to move to FiOS in the first place, so feel kind of bad that FiOS has screwed this up so badly.

I swapped to component video and have NOT lost picture since. Maybe just coincidence but, seems to be suspicious....

Well my fios was supposed to be installed today. They never came. THey couldn't even make up a decent excuse for why I wasted a day wiating for them to come.

They original said they would be here 8am to 11am. Then the next day they called to confirm and told us we were first on the list and they would be here between 8and 10am . At 11:30am I called. They told me they don't know why no one is here to install my service and that they would look into it and get back to me in a few minutes. 1 hour past and I decided to call back. Got the same run around. Waited another hour hoping this person would do some work. But well no call back. So I called and recieved a third person. This person actually called back within a half an hour. They told us they didn't know why no one was here to install it and that they could reschedual for the next day. I just cancelled the fios install and contract.

If this is the way they treat new customers before they even get their services into a persons house , god only knows what they will do to paying customers.

Just want everyone to beware of dealing with verizon.

Well my fios was supposed to be installed today. They never came. THey couldn't even make up a decent excuse for why I wasted a day wiating for them to come.

They original said they would be here 8am to 11am. Then the next day they called to confirm and told us we were first on the list and they would be here between 8and 10am . At 11:30am I called. They told me they don't know why no one is here to install my service and that they would look into it and get back to me in a few minutes. 1 hour past and I decided to call back. Got the same run around. Waited another hour hoping this person would do some work. But well no call back. So I called and recieved a third person. This person actually called back within a half an hour. They told us they didn't know why no one was here to install it and that they could reschedual for the next day. I just cancelled the fios install and contract.

If this is the way they treat new customers before they even get their services into a persons house , god only knows what they will do to paying customers.

Just want everyone to beware of dealing with verizon.

I been waiting a year and a half for Fios TV in my area. I have an install scheduled for next Sat. It will take alot more than a botched install date to keep me away from the best PQ that is available from any provider. But I will be pissed if the same thing happens to me, but hey 18 months what's a little longer.

On your point of dealing with Verizon, I can't think of a company I HAVE NOT had problems with. Dish,Directv,ATT,T Mobile etc...

I expect more when I'm paying for stuff. Mabye I'm old fashion where I expect prompt service with a good product .

Oh well hopefully it works out better for you

Missed appointments occur with every service. That is no means specific to FiOS.

A few installers are just bad and don't want to do their job, but the overwhelming majority of cancellations are due to circumstances beyond their control. The #1 cause of canceled installations is just what you would expect -- installations running over their allotted time. Sometimes the 5pm installation the previous day will run late, requiring a visit the following morning (when your install was scheduled) to finish the job. When installation times range from 3-8 hours depending on location, and Verizon schedules based on the average 3-4 hour installs, some cancellations are inevitable.

The installers aren't out to screw you, but when you cancel, I think you do that to yourself. Each FiOS installation costs Verizon $900-$1200 for the equipment and contract work. When you cancel, you're telling Verizon you don't want that free $1200 fiber installation, you don't want TV with superior picture quality for less money, and you don't want Internet access that will be faster, more reliable, and more consistent than what you had before for equal or less money.

I would recommend scheduling any kind of installation -- be it for new service or maintenance -- on a weekend where you make other plans (such as housework) that won't be affected if the worker doesn't show up at the scheduled time. Don't sit around all day twiddling your thumbs -- if you do that, you're just as responsible as the installer for the time wasted.

No , what i'm telling verizon is I don't want ****** customer service.

Verizon isn't giving me $1200 fiber installation out of the goodness of thier hearts. They are expecting to make that much and more out of the life time of my membership with them.

I have no problem with the friday installation taking more time and them having to reschedual me. The problem is they never called to reschedual. I woke up at 7am to be ready for the time frame they gave me and they never once called to tell me they had to cancel or move the apointment. If I didn't call they would have most likely never contacted me. I wasted a day in the holiday season for them to come out. If this is a hint at what thier future service will be like then its worse than anything else out there.

I would recommend scheduling any kind of installation -- be it for new service or maintenance -- on a weekend where you make other plans (such as housework) that won't be affected if the worker doesn't show up at the scheduled time. Don't sit around all day twiddling your thumbs -- if you do that, you're just as responsible as the installer for the time wasted.

I take care of housework during the week as it comes out. I like to keep my weekends free and relaxing. I normaly have to wake up at 5am to be at work by 8am and I don't get home till 6-7pm. The weekends are for me to destress and sleep in.

When I pay for something I shouldn't have to wait around all day hoping they come to do a job that I'm paying for. I don't go to burgerking and order a value meal and hope to god that at some point they make my burger and give it to me. I don't buy a car and hope its delievered some day. Its unacceptable its horrible that you guys here are enablers for this behavior. That is why this country is going down the tubes and products and services aren't what they used to be.

Verizon isn't giving me $1200 fiber installation out of the goodness of thier hearts. They are expecting to make that much and more out of the life time of my membership with them.That's certainly true. Verizon still owns that $1200 equipment too, although it stays if you cancel. But Verizon would probably prefer not to have customers who cancel on a whim, because they need many years of service to recoup that initial $900-$1200 investment. FiOS has not earned one dime in profit yet.

I have no problem with the friday installation taking more time and them having to reschedual me. The problem is they never called to reschedual. I woke up at 7am to be ready for the time frame they gave me and they never once called to tell me they had to cancel or move the apointment.

If I didn't call they would have most likely never contacted me.Certainly, I agree with you there. If an installer can't make an appointment, you should be informed via phone in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, this rarely seems to happen, regardless of service provider.

If you have to call to inquire the whereabouts of the installer, I would also request a full or partial monthly credit for the first month.

I wasted a day in the holiday season for them to come out. If this is a hint at what thier future service will be like then its worse than anything else out there.I've had the same type of service with Comcast and DirecTV in past years. But for every missed appointment, there are eight or nine others which occur on time.

My own FiOS installation was great. I had to wait three weeks to get a weekend appointment, but they arrived 30 minutes early and sat in their truck waiting for the scheduled time.

I take care of housework during the week as it comes out. I like to keep my weekends free and relaxing. I normaly have to wake up at 5am to be at work by 8am and I don't get home till 6-7pm. The weekends are for me to destress and sleep in.You can certainly blame Verizon for forcing you to wake a few hours early, but if you sat around twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the day, you've got no one to blame but yourself.

FiOS installs aren't scheduled the day before. The typical lead time is 7-14 days, depending on the region, and potentially longer if you want a Saturday or Sunday appointment. You've got plenty of time to plan your day, and there are all sorts of things that must be done this time of year -- wrapping presents, holiday decorations, Christmas (or holiday) cards, on top of usual tasks like washing the dishes, doing the laundry, paying the bills, etc.

I was repainting a room when my FiOS installer arrived.

When I pay for something I shouldn't have to wait around all day hoping they come to do a job that I'm paying for. I don't go to burgerking and order a value meal and hope to god that at some point they make my burger and give it to me. I don't buy a car and hope its delievered some day.We're talking one missed appointment here.

If electricity or telephone service was coming to your town for the first time, would you say "to the hell with it" if the first installation appointment was canceled? Fiber-to-the-home is not the sort of thing that we see every year; people have dreamed of FTTH for more than a decade. Verizon is taking a huge risk by spending $23 billion over ten years on the initial deployment of its FTTH service. Some take this -- and their ability to get FiOS -- for granted; I do not.

For me, some initial hassle -- which I didn't have -- would be more than worth it for what I get now, both in quality / reliability of service and monthly savings. For $20 less per month, I got 6x the sustained Internet download throughput, 15x the sustained Internet upload throughput, almost twice as many HD channels (at the time), superior quality on SD channels, and a superior DVR. I would endure a dozen missed appointments before I would ever tolerate that POS known as the Comcast SA8300HD with SARA. Now that product delivered poor service.

That's certainly true. Verizon still owns that $1200 equipment too, although it stays if you cancel. But Verizon would probably prefer not to have customers who cancel on a whim, because they need many years of service to recoup that initial $900-$1200 investment. FiOS has not earned one dime in profit yet.


I was with verizon wireless for 8 years before leaving them. We had verizon as our house phone for as long as I can remember untill we switched for the triple play with cable a year ago .

I'm a very long term customer if you keep me happy and to keep me happy is very easy. Provide good service with as little down time as possible and to respond in a timely fashion when I have a problem.

I've had the same type of service with Comcast and DirecTV in past years. But for every missed appointment, there are eight or nine others which occur on time.

My own FiOS installation was great. I had to wait three weeks to get a weekend appointment, but they arrived 30 minutes early and sat in their truck waiting for the scheduled time.



Thats good. This isn't the first time verizon has given me shoddy service. Before I went to cablevision we tried getting dsl through verizons package. They came out and hooked up the phone and internet. It took them 2 weeks to finally explain why we couldn't get online. The explination was we don't know but give us more time and eventually we will fix it. Of course I need my internet for work and that just wasn't going to cut it.

Cablevision on the other hand has been great. They arive promptly and have good customer service. If they can fix it they explain exactly why they can't fix it and make a note of it so that when the next person comes we don't sit through the same motions again. I was going to switch to verizon because it had more hd tv channels and had the multiroom dvr.

You can certainly blame Verizon for forcing you to wake a few hours early, but if you sat around twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the day, you've got no one to blame but yourself.

I couldn't exactly go out between 8am and 11am now could I ? By the time we finally got an answer from verizon (which amounted to an I don't know why no one came but we will do this bs again tommorow ) it was 3:30pm . They didn't even offer to reschedual it till that phone call. Each time we were told they would call us back in a few minutes and then forget about us untill we called back an hour later.

FiOS installs aren't scheduled the day before. The typical lead time is 7-14 days, depending on the region, and potentially longer if you want a Saturday or Sunday appointment. You've got plenty of time to plan your day, and there are all sorts of things that must be done this time of year -- wrapping presents, holiday decorations, Christmas (or holiday) cards, on top of usual tasks like washing the dishes, doing the laundry, paying the bills, etc.



I make proper use of my time. Shopping for the holiday has been done since november and everything is wrapped and under the tree. As for washing dishes I do that right after my meal . I'm crazy like that.

But regardless , verzion confirmed on wensday and then again on thursday informing us that we were the very first stop on the list.
They should have called us on saturday telling us we were canceled.


I was repainting a room when my FiOS installer arrived.


Thats something I actually need to do , however this isn't the time of year to do that.


We're talking one missed appointment here.

We are also talking about the poor customer service.


If electricity or telephone service was coming to your town for the first time, would you say "to the hell with it" if the first installation appointment was canceled? Fiber-to-the-home is not the sort of thing that we see every year; people have dreamed of FTTH for more than a decade. Verizon is taking a huge risk by spending $23 billion over ten years on the initial deployment of its FTTH service. Some take this -- and their ability to get FiOS -- for granted; I do not.

They should have spent more to insure that the customer service was as good as the product.

Perhaps invest in some sprint nextel phones so that they can keep in contact with their installers so that they don't have to tell a customer for 4 hours that "hey we have no clue why no one is there and we can't find anyone that services your area " .


For me, some initial hassle -- which I didn't have -- would be more than worth it for what I get now, both in quality / reliability of service and monthly savings. For $20 less per month, I got 6x the sustained Internet download throughput, 15x the sustained Internet upload throughput, almost twice as many HD channels (at the time), superior quality on SD channels, and a superior DVR. I would endure a dozen missed appointments before I would ever tolerate that POS known as the Comcast SA8300HD with SARA. Now that product delivered poor service.



Sorry you had problems with comcast . Cablevision has been great here and unlike verizon they actually care to come and connect the service.


Anyway I reported the incident to the bbb and I'm informing people here of the crappy customer service verizion gives its customers. Its obvious that they don't about their customers because from 11:30 to 4 when I canceled they couldn't even get a crew together to come out here and install the service. You would think that they'd want my busniess and knowing that they screwed up they would get someone out there the same day to at least start the process as a sign of good faith. Not shrug their shoulders and waste more of my time and have the gaul to ask if I wanted to go through the same waste of time the next day while still having no idea why no one came to the house .

Anyway I reported the incident to the bbb and I'm informing people here of the crappy customer service verizion gives its customers.]

Its obvious that they don't about their customers because from 11:30 to 4 when I canceled they couldn't even get a crew together to come out here and install the service.Your installation experience (or lack thereof) was bad. I am not suggesting otherwise. But it was not typical.

We can all see that you are angry, but I don't think it is logical to draw conclusions for an entire service -- much less make claims about it on a public forum -- based on one experience on one day, with no knowledge of the circumstances at Verizon.

I recognize that some people have different priorities for their service. I prioritize picture quality, Internet performance, and reliability over the quality of customer service. You may be different. I would like superior Internet, superior TV, and superior customer service for $20 less per month. But if something has to give, I would like it to be customer service, because I rarely have the need to call it.

That's not to say I've had problems with customer service. My only 'problem' was that you had to call before 6pm to add services to your account. That was an annoyance. But Verizon addressed that -- at least for me -- when they enabled online account changes (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/fios/online.png).

Your installation experience (or lack thereof) was bad. I am not suggesting otherwise. But it was not typical.

We can all see that you are angry, but I don't think it is logical to draw conclusions for an entire service -- much less make claims about it on a public forum -- based on one experience on one day, with no knowledge of the circumstances at Verizon.



I have only shared my experiance. There are no claims to make , simply stating facts of what has happened. Its also not my only bad experiance with verizion

I recognize that some people have different priorities for their service. I prioritize picture quality, Internet performance, and reliability over the quality of customer service. You may be different. I would like superior Internet, superior TV, and superior customer service for $20 less per month. But if something has to give, I would like it to be customer service, because I rarely have the need to call it.



I require installation most of all considering that without it all the other things you speak of wont come to pass .

I had Verizon DSL service for 3+ years and never dropped connection except during a power failure. I've had Verizon FiOS for 8 days and you guessed it... lost connectivity yesterday, which the FiOS tech blamed on their router... nice.

I have been a direct for years. I have their dvr and runing on a 67 inch samsung I have no complaints now. I now run hdmi directly from dvr to samsung. Pq seems very good. I have two other boxes for sd but may upgrade to another hd tv.

I have fios phone and internet service. No complaints on either been on it for over a year.

Verizon knocked on my door yesterday and offered triple play for 99 plu a 19 inch lcd tv.

I will save about 50 a month if I drop Direct but will have to pay a cancellation charge.

Am I making a mistake in number of hd channels, picture quality on both hd and sd and dvr?

Am I making a mistake in number of hd channels, picture quality on both hd and sd and dvr?


Mistake ?:D

I am not interested in starting any kind of argument but merely to give YOU my personal opinion SO:

After nearly 9 years, I left Directv in May for Verizon once FIOS was available in my area.
At least once every 2 weeks, I get various offers for the 'kitchens sink' worth of freebies in the mail to get me to go back.

Therefore, I have seen for myself how much better the PQ (both HD and SD) is from Verizon.
I am not talking about a subtle difference either.

I had everyhting set up so I could do an A/B comparison when the installation was done but I never even got that far.
When the technician was done the installation, I did not even need to do an A/B comparison. I felt like that ad for Directv where the consumer hugs the Directv Technician after he had finished the install:)

Having the best picture quality available from any of the providers is all that matters to me.
It is the classic Quality versus Quantity which is what I guess you are worried about. Go with the Betamax.

Well the thing to remember is fios is brand new. I'm sure that when direct tv , dishnetwork and the cable companys start making upgrades verizon will get passed up untill verizon rolls up new updates.

All of the services will upgrade to improve their chances at retaining their existing customers or getting new ones. IMO Verizon FIOS has the most technical potential for giving their customers the best internet / tv / phone service.

The other services have achilles heels which they need to overcome to match the bandwidth available to FIOS natively. Satellite is expensive to upgrade (need to push a satellite up) and inherently self limiting due to a limit in number of pipes available. Hence the transition from HD to HD lite as more bandwdth is needed. Cable has signal issues the more subscribers are hung off the line.

All of this before you consider IP based TV delivery (like FIOS does now with VOD) and what that could mean to FIOS capabilities.

Short term, for me, the channels delivered by FIOS cover most of my interests. I obviously would like more, and expect that we will get more this coming year. One thing that makes up for it is that the PQ on SD channels that I am interested in (History, GolTv, Fox Soccer Channel...) is so good, that I can wait. The internet has been rock solid, delivering consistent service at four to five times the speed for half the price of Comcast. The phone has been perfect, no problems there.

My installation went perfectly. I am sorry yours was cancelled / delayed, but as someone else said, I waited long enough, and now have what I consider the premier service available.

Pardon me for not reading all 80 pages, but it appears early in the forum that the answer is 'no' to whether or not diplexers can be used to send the OTA signal down the same coaxial pipe as the Fios.

Now, I plan on adding Fios, but want to keep the OTA signal via my OTA antenna for those moments when/if Fios were to fail, plus, a friend has Fios and he doesn't get the full compliment of local digital signals on Fios that I get OTA, such as 24 hr. live radar.

When I speak to Fios, I want to tell them that they cannot use my OTA cable lines and they'll need to run their own cables. Has this been an issue for anyone?

Well the thing to remember is fios is brand new. I'm sure that when direct tv , dishnetwork and the cable companys start making upgrades verizon will get passed up untill verizon rolls up new updates.


I also had a missed install, but unlike you, I figured things happen and just had them reschedule. They did an excellent install, have been prompt and reliable in any issues I have had since, for about a year and a half. They gave me HDMI, component and audio cables. New boxes and even rewired a few outlets due to weak signals.

The cable companies are not doing anything nearly as progressive as Verizon is doing with FIOS. The cable companies are dragging their old junk around and repackaging it, nothing is fiber optic nor new, they still boost their crappy signal at your house, rather than provide an adequate signal to begin with. Staying with them is like living in the past, and for you to do that to yourself because there was a glitch with your install is just diminishing your viewing experience, Verizon will live without you.

Your loss.

Pardon me for not reading all 80 pages, but it appears early in the forum that the answer is 'no' to whether or not diplexers can be used to send the OTA signal down the same coaxial pipe as the Fios.
The correct answer is no. The Fios TV signals use digital QAM (and analog NTSC for a few more months) channels which use the same frequencies as over the air broadcasts. You can not share a co-axial cable between OTA and a Fios or cable TV system. Diplexers are only used for DBS satellite in the typical home setup.

I agree it makes a lot of sense to keep the OTA antenna setup so you can switch away from Fios in the future, be able to use the ATSC tuner in the TV when the DVR is busy recording 2 other channels, or get out of market broadcast stations that Fios can't provide. But in most markets, Verizon does provide all the local SD sub-channels that accompany the HD sub-channel in the > 860 channel range. In the Washington Metro market, they recently added all 4 of the Ion network digital broadcast channels along with the 8 SD sub-channels from the two MHz (two station "network") stations.

Verizon usually connects to the cable input junction box for the TV signals. Are you using this system for the antenna signal? Verizon may be willing to run a couple of RG-6 lines for the $55 per outlet fee, but the installer may balk if the job is to run matching cable throughout the house as that may be an all day job or longer. How many outlets and how difficult will be to run co-axial lines to run?

Having used a Directv Tivo for a many years my family was sold on the Tivo service. In anticipation of my Fios I purchased and activated the unit using just my OTA antenna.

Ultimately after three trips from Verizon technicians and many hours of frustration with tech support and Tivo Tech Support. I returned the Tivo HD and deactivated my service. Neither technician had ever had sucess getting the Tivo HD working with Fios. Verizon will be here Wed to install their HD DVR.

It is amazing how little experience Verizon seems to have with these cards and how unprepared they are to support them at least in the DFW area. I felt like I was very prepared armed with information on how the procedure to install but it didn't help.

Anyone in the DFW have success with the Tivo 3 HD and Fios? Maybe I had a bad Tivo unit? I did have the latest firmware according to Tivo tech support.

Depending on how much time until your D* contract has until it expires, you may wait a bit. The verizon DVR still needs lots of work and there isnt as much content yet. I was with D* for almost 10 years before switching to FIOS. I had both for a few weeks before D* was turned off and frankly on my 38" HDTV CRT i saw no difference in HD and a little in SD. I have actually been very tempted to jump ship and go back to D* because of the damn DVR and hellish customer service regarding billing. I had the tripple play until I moved to Verizon Voicewing VOIP, which i was told at the time was able to be used as tripple play as well. It's not and once you drop verizons land line your account goes completely haywire. I guess they are a telco first! The only thing really keeping me is that I'm considering moving to an HDTivo. I think that is the only way to deal with the DVR but you cannot get VOD yet. Thats my 1 and 3/4 cents...



I have been a direct for years. I have their dvr and runing on a 67 inch samsung I have no complaints now. I now run hdmi directly from dvr to samsung. Pq seems very good. I have two other boxes for sd but may upgrade to another hd tv.

I have fios phone and internet service. No complaints on either been on it for over a year.

Verizon knocked on my door yesterday and offered triple play for 99 plu a 19 inch lcd tv.

I will save about 50 a month if I drop Direct but will have to pay a cancellation charge.

Am I making a mistake in number of hd channels, picture quality on both hd and sd and dvr?

Having used a Directv Tivo for a many years my family was sold on the Tivo service. In anticipation of my Fios I purchased and activated the unit using just my OTA antenna.

Ultimately after three trips from Verizon technicians and many hours of frustration with tech support and Tivo Tech Support. I returned the Tivo HD and deactivated my service. Neither technician had ever had sucess getting the Tivo HD working with Fios. Verizon will be here Wed to install their HD DVR.
Many people have reported excellent results using the Series 3 and TivoHD with Fios. What was the problem? There have been reports of persistent pixelation with the Tivos, but the solution appears to be to put an attenuator in the Fios signal path. The signal coming out of the ONT is apparently too strong for the Tivos in some cases. This has been discussed at length in the tivocommmunity.com Series 3 / TivoHD forum.

Having used a Directv Tivo for a many years my family was sold on the Tivo service. In anticipation of my Fios I purchased and activated the unit using just my OTA antenna.

Ultimately after three trips from Verizon technicians and many hours of frustration with tech support and Tivo Tech Support. I returned the Tivo HD and deactivated my service. Neither technician had ever had sucess getting the Tivo HD working with Fios. Verizon will be here Wed to install their HD DVR.

It is amazing how little experience Verizon seems to have with these cards and how unprepared they are to support them at least in the DFW area. I felt like I was very prepared armed with information on how the procedure to install but it didn't help.

Anyone in the DFW have success with the Tivo 3 HD and Fios? Maybe I had a bad Tivo unit? I did have the latest firmware according to Tivo tech support.Did you have the installers follow the included instructions?

The TivoHD / Series3 works great with FiOS, but installers are not trained on it. It's the luck of the draw whether you get an installer with Tivo setup experience. Some installers know what to do, having activated Tivos before, but many don't have the first clue what to do. TiVo does include step-by-step instructions for those situations. Some installers don't like to follow written instructions, but if they clearly don't know what they are doing, you should strongly encourage them to do so.

There are three basic steps Verizon should perform.

Add the serial number of each CableCard to Verizon's list of authorized devices. This cannot be done by computer from your home. This is supposed to be done at the regional Verizon office, but it can also be done over the phone. If the rep at the office does not do this, everything else is just a waste of time.


Add the correct serial number for the CableCard to the customer's account using the software activation program. This is typically done on the installer's notebook from the customer's home, but it can also be done over the phone if the rep is new.


Add the correct CableCard pairing information to the customer's account using the software activation program. This is typically done on the installer's notebook from the customer's home, but it can also be done over the phone if the rep is new.

The pairing information below is displayed about 120-180 seconds after a CableCard is inserted.

http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/CableCardSetup.gifCableCards should be installed and activated one at a time to avoid mixing up the information for each card (Tivo's instructions are also written to avoid that). The installer should install and activate the CableCard in the main (right) slot first. After that CableCard is activated, repeat these steps for the second (left) slot.

If the installer misses any of these steps, or there is an error in any information, the CableCard will not work.

Tune to an encrypted channel you are supposed to receive, such as 825 or 826 and then go to the System Information -> CableCard.. -> Conditional Access screen. A correctly activated FiOS CableCard will appears as follows:

http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/CableCard1_Correctly_Authorized.gif

For each CableCard, it should say Connected: yes, EnabledByCP: yes and Auth: Subscribed when tuned to an encrypted digital cable channel.

If it doesn't say all of that, then it means your card is not authorized and will not work. If the installer already left, and the cards were not activated, you should be able to activate them over the phone by calling Fiber Solutions @ 888-553-1555; when you call, say your CableCards were not activated properly.

Thanks for the GREAT post on configuring a TIVO HD unit, I am gettting ready to purchase one and this surely will help. Having used the Verizon DVR, it bites... Can't wait to get back to Tivo.

bfdtv,

Unfortunately I followed the steps you list by letter but we could never get the conditional access to come up as enabled CP as yes. We tried authorizing a total of 7 cards over three trips with no luck. I really wanted to make this work but no luck. Needless to say it was very frustrating and time consuming.

I figure I'll give them a few months to learn the cable cards and Tivo unit then maybe try it again in the future. For now we'll have to make due with the Motorola unit. I hope we are not too disappointed with this Fios DVR.

Thanks for detailed response however.

The installer either (1) failed to register the cards, as per step one, or (2) entered the wrong information.

If you still have the CableCards on hand, you might try calling Verizon Fiber Solutions @ 888-553-1555. More competent folks there.

Your installation experience (or lack thereof) was bad. I am not suggesting otherwise. But it was not typical.

We can all see that you are angry, but I don't think it is logical to draw conclusions for an entire service -- much less make claims about it on a public forum -- based on one experience on one day, with no knowledge of the circumstances at Verizon.

I recognize that some people have different priorities for their service. I prioritize picture quality, Internet performance, and reliability over the quality of customer service. You may be different. I would like superior Internet, superior TV, and superior customer service for $20 less per month. But if something has to give, I would like it to be customer service, because I rarely have the need to call it.

That's not to say I've had problems with customer service. My only 'problem' was that you had to call before 6pm to add services to your account. That was an annoyance. But Verizon addressed that -- at least for me -- when they enabled online account changes (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/fios/online.png).



No one could have said better you did. Some of us always try to blame and bash the service provider companies without doing our job right also. I just installed Triple play Verizon on October 24 and as far as installation and on timing concern I have had great experience with this continue as so far so good.

No one could have said better you did. Some of us always try to blame and bash the service provider companies without doing our job right also. I just installed Triple play Verizon on October 24 and as far as installation and on timing concern I have had great experience with this continue as so far so good.

Lol So what didn't I do right ? I was there between the times they said .

Anyway after they offered the hd dvr multiroom for a year free we let them come back . We got a good tech who did a good job. They can't get one of the tvs to work though and they are going to come back and try to work on it more. They claim the singal is to strong , they put some box on it to filter it.

So far its okay , only thing i'm not digging is no monster hd channel and with the dual room dvr others can't watch a program when its recording

Lol So what didn't I do right ? I was there between the times they said .

Anyway after they offered the hd dvr multiroom for a year free we let them come back . We got a good tech who did a good job. They can't get one of the tvs to work though and they are going to come back and try to work on it more. They claim the singal is to strong , they put some box on it to filter it.

So far its okay , only thing i'm not digging is no monster hd channel and with the dual room dvr others can't watch a program when its recording

Not sure what the last meant. I have the multi room DVR, I can watch another channel or the same channel while it's recording, I can also watch a recorded program at a remote STB from the Multi room DVR - what am I missing?

Did you have the installers follow the included instructions?

The TivoHD / Series3 works great with FiOS, but installers are not trained on it. It's the luck of the draw whether you get an installer with Tivo setup experience. Some installers know what to do, having activated Tivos before, but many don't have the first clue what to do. TiVo does include step-by-step instructions for those situations. Some installers don't like to follow written instructions, but if they clearly don't know what they are doing, you should strongly encourage them to do so.


Great post!

After about 12 years with DirecTV I bit the bullet, bought a TiVo HD DVR, a 500 GByte Expander external hard drive, and a TiVo Wireless USB Network Adapter -- and then called Verizon to have FIOS TV added to my FIOS Internet service. Amazingly they said that they could come the next day. I set up the Tivo HD DVR service using OTA that night. When I arranged the TV service installation I insisted that they send a tech who had done cable cards in a TiVo HD before. At 11:00 AM (for an 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM window) the Verizon tech showed up. He spent several hours setting up the ActionTech wireless router, connecting it to my 1GB D-Link Xtreme wireless router, replacing the RG6 cable and connectors that he didn't think were good enough, making sure that the RG6 cable from the basement to the attic had a good signal, installing an 8 port splitter in the attic and testing the signal strength for the SD Verizon STB in my library and the TiVo HD DVR in my home office were correct. He said that he had only done a couple of cable cards on a TiVo HD DVR but he had been successful. I gave him the directions that came with the TiVo HD which he followed to set up the first cable card. Interestingly during the cable card initialization process we received an error message for each cable card (I don't remember the error message number) which he said was typical in his previous experience. Unfortunately he only had one cable card with him and so he left to meet up another tech who had a cable card in his truck. He returned in about an hour and we went through the process again to set up the second cable card. He was using his wireless laptop to initialize service but for some reason I was not receiving the digital channels on either cable card. He then called back to the central office and the tech there initialized service for each cable card. Bingo - I had all the channels on both cable cards. The video quality was outstanding!

Two days later I ordered two more TiVo HD DVRs, two more 500GB Expander external hard drives, and two more TiVo Wireless USB Network Adapters. I called Verizon to arrange the installation and they offered to come the next day (Friday), Saturday or even Sunday. Since I had not received the two additional TiVo HD DVRS yet I arranged for installation the following Tuesday. At around 11:00 AM a different tech showed up that did not have as much experience with cable cards (which he said he hated setting up). He and I worked together to set up the cable cards on the two new TiVo HD DVRS and had the exact same experience as with the first installation - an error message during initialization using his laptop, and the need to contact the tech in the central office to initialize the service from there. After about an hour and a half we were done.

My suggestions for those thinking about using FIOS with a TiVO HD DVR are to: 1) when you setup the installation appointment tell the service rep that you are going to use TiVo HD DVRs; 2) that you need two cable cards per DVR; 3) that you need a tech with experience with cable cards and TiVo HD DVRs. When Verizon calls the day before the scheduled installation repeat 1 through 3. When the tech arrives give him the instructions for the TiVo HD for installing cable cards and help him get the numbers shown in bfdtv's post (N.B., those screens don't show up immediately for some reason after installing the cable cards). In addition, tell him that he will probably have to call the tech in the central office to initialize service from there. In addition I strongly recommend that you use the TiVo Wireless USB Network adapter instead of using a telephone line. It is much simpler and faster to setup the TiVo with the wireless network adapter. You can get these adapters from amazon.com for about $36 each.

I will soon be doing this again to replace my last remaining DirecTV HR10-250. I already have bought the TiVo HD, and wireless network adapter.

I will soon be doing this again to replace my last remaining DirecTV HR10-250. I already have bought the TiVo HD, and wireless network adapter.Since you already have the Actiontec router, there is a better alternative to the Tivo wireless adapter -- the Motorola NIM100.

The Motorola NIM100 provides a much faster connection between your TiVos for high-definition multi-room viewing.

The NIM100 has a coax input, coax [passthrough] output, and 100Mbps ethernet port. You disconnect the coax from the TiVo, connect the coax to the coax input on the NIM100, and connect the coax output on the NIM100 to the TiVo. Then you connect the ethernet port on the NIM100 to the ethernet port on your TiVo with a network (CAT5) cable.

Assuming you have the Actiontec router, you just need one NIM100 per TiVo. You can purchase them on ebay for $30-$50.

You should be aware that multi-room viewing between Series3->Series3 (25-40Mbps) and Series3->TivoHD (18-20Mbps) is much faster than TivoHD->TivoHD (12-14Mbps) with the current software. If you intend to take advantage of MRV, you may want to buy a Series3 as your second TiVo, along with a Motorola NIM100 for each.

Not sure what the last meant. I have the multi room DVR, I can watch another channel or the same channel while it's recording, I can also watch a recorded program at a remote STB from the Multi room DVR - what am I missing?

I think its jsut the hd programing. It can't be viewed on a non hd tv. Which is a bit odd to me as my old cable box dvr would downconvert it to sd. (I had two tvs upstairs one by my eliptical machine so spliting between the one in my bedroom and the one there was helpfull and only one was hd )

Can I have eight (8) set top boxes connected to FiOS in my home?
I currently have eight (8) cable TV connections through Comcast: 1 HD DVR, 2 HD, 3 with digital set top boxes, and 2 direct to cable-ready TVs. Comcast has a pretty robust basic cable lineup in my area.
I understand that to access more than just the very limited Local channel programming offered by FiOS, I must have a set top box of some kind.
A phone order taker told me that there was a limit of seven set top boxes. The on-line order process only allows you to order installation to four existing coax connections in addition to the three that are included with the einstallation, for a total of seven. But, the on-line order process does allow me to order eight boxes, and a Verizon on-line chat person said if the on-line order process allows it, then I am good to go. I don't want to go through this process only to have the tech tell me it can't be done.
Anyone have an answer?

Can I have eight (8) set top boxes connected to FiOS in my home?
I currently have eight (8) cable TV connections through Comcast: 1 HD DVR, 2 HD, 3 with digital set top boxes, and 2 direct to cable-ready TVs. Comcast has a pretty robust basic cable lineup in my area.
I understand that to access more than just the very limited Local channel programming offered by FiOS, I must have a set top box of some kind.
A phone order taker told me that there was a limit of seven set top boxes.
Yes, there is a limit of 7 set top boxes for Fios, but this is a billing limit, not a hardware/firmware limit, as I understand it. Each cable card counts as a device. Poorly thought out design limit, but Verizon is supposedly working to fix this in 2008. However, the limit does not apply to TVs or STBs with QAM tuners without cable cards which will get you the SD and HD digital locals which are in the clear. But I assume the 2 direct to cable-ready TVs are analog so they will only get the limited number of analog channels - which are going away soon. You can get the bare bones DCT 700 for those analog TVs, as it reportedly does not count against the 7 device limit because it provides no guide data.

What do you mean by "2 HD, 3 with digital set top boxes"? The limit is for set top boxes, DVRs, or cable cards. TVs don't count unless you stick a cable card in it.

Thanks for the response.
Let me try again. I have:
1 HD DVR box connected to a digital HD LCD projection TV
1 direct cable connection to that same HD LCD projection TV for PIP (non-HD channels only)
1 regular HD box connected to an HD LCD TV
3 regular digital set top boxes; one to an HD CRT TV and two connected to analog TVs
2 direct connections to cable-ready TVs
That makes 8. Any change in your advice.
Is the DTC 700 the "Digital Adapter" mentoned in the FiOS "Add Ons" list?

Hello all,

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

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

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

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

Help, please!

Hello all,

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

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

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

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

Help, please!All the information you need is this posted above (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12456341&postcount=2406).

If the installer is still having trouble, the card may not be in the Verizon system. In that case, have them call Fiber Solutions @ 888-553-1555.

If the CableCards that your installer has are not registered with Verizon, your TiVo can only be activated over the phone.

Thanks bfdtv. Can I just call Fiber Solutions myself and have them enter the card in the system? Will they even know what I am talking about. I fear I might be venturing even further into the Fios customer service black hole if I go this route. By the way, I'm a fan of the blog and all of your posts. Have you ever considered starting up a nerdy gadget head meet up group for folks in the Tampa Bay area?

Thanks bfdtv. Can I just call Fiber Solutions myself and have them enter the card in the system? Will they even know what I am talking about. I fear I might be venturing even further into the Fios customer service black hole if I go this route. By the way, I'm a fan of the blog and all of your posts. Have you ever considered starting up a nerdy gadget head meet up group for folks in the Tampa Bay area?You can call yourself. Just tell them that your CableCards were not activated correctly.

I would write down the physical serial number (on the card) and the information from the CableCard pairing screen for each card. Make sure you write down the correct information (don't mix them up!).

That way, you aren't fumbling with the remote or through the menu screens when they ask for the information.

I'm not sure what blog you are talking about. If you mean the "Big Fella’s Department," that's not me.

Thanks for the response.
Let me try again. I have:
1 HD DVR box connected to a digital HD LCD projection TV
1 direct cable connection to that same HD LCD projection TV for PIP (non-HD channels only)
1 regular HD box connected to an HD LCD TV
3 regular digital set top boxes; one to an HD CRT TV and two connected to analog TVs
2 direct connections to cable-ready TVs
That makes 8. Any change in your advice.
Is the DTC 700 the "Digital Adapter" mentoned in the FiOS "Add Ons" list?

By my count, if you're willing to forgo the PIP on your projector, you would only need 7 STB's. (in order to do PIP you'd need a second stb to get anything other than your locals, which then brings up the whole remote control issue)

Yes, the Digital Adapter should be the DCT 700. (Priced $1 less than QIP2500)

-Jim

I just had a guy stop buy to sell me Fios TV. I already have the internet and am a DirecTV customer. I have 2 HD DVRs. One thing that stopped me from switching earlier is their DVRs only hold 18 hours of HD programming. Well he said that they just came out with thier new HD DVRs that hold 100 hours of programming? Is this true and how good are these DVRs? I am conflicted on whether to switch or not. Any feedback from former DirecTV customers would be appreciated. Supposedly Fios will have the most HD channels soon. I do not really want an HDTivo because the I would need phone service I believe and I do not have home phone.

I. Any feedback from former DirecTV customers would be appreciated. Supposedly Fios will have the most HD channels soon. I do not really want an HDTivo because the I would need phone service I believe and I do not have home phone.

I was with Directv for around 10 years and switched to FIOS in May,2007.
I did have the HD TIVO HR10-250


I got Verizon's 160Gbyte (biggest disk they offer) Motorola 6416 HD DVR.
I did not like the User INterface but it was functional.

The disk size is the real problem. Between the fact that Verizon does not compress the High Def data so that each recording is a lot bigger then you had on Directv's HDTIVO and the fact that the disk is only 160 Gbyte, I had it at 95% full within a few days.

I did not need a phone line for the HD DVR.

The Picture Quality on both SD and HD but particulary HD is MANY times better then what I had with Directv. I did not even need to do an A/B to tell the difference. THe tech fired the system up after the install, went to one of the HD channels and my eyes popped :)




That was in May and I had to do something about disk space.
The choices are the 2 new Tivo's or a Cable Card PC.

In September, I went the Cable Card PC route and now have a dual tuner, 1.5 TB Raid, Cable Card PC made by HP.

LOVE it!!

Actually it is not a billing issue it is a hardware issue as each settop is addressable w/a ip and moca is limited to 7 plus the router you can however do 7 and the the dct700 which since dont do VOD or IMG you can add as many as the signal can handle

I was with Directv for around 10 years and switched to FIOS in May,2007.
I did have the HD TIVO HR10-250


I got Verizon's 160Gbyte (biggest disk they offer) Motorola 6416 HD DVR.
I did not like the User INterface but it was functional.

The disk size is the real problem. Between the fact that Verizon does not compress the High Def data so that each recording is a lot bigger then you had on Directv's HDTIVO and the fact that the disk is only 160 Gbyte, I had it at 95% full within a few days.

I did not need a phone line for the HD DVR.

The Picture Quality on both SD and HD but particulary HD is MANY times better then what I had with Directv. I did not even need to do an A/B to tell the difference. THe tech fired the system up after the install, went to one of the HD channels and my eyes popped :)




That was in May and I had to do something about disk space.
The choices are the 2 new Tivo's or a Cable Card PC.

In September, I went the Cable Card PC route and now have a dual tuner, 1.5 TB Raid, Cable Card PC made by HP.

LOVE it!!

Hmm, cable card PC. I have a HTPC in my living room but not in my bedroom. I guess I will have to look into how complicated it would be to upgrade my HTPC to be cable card ready. If you use cable card don't you sacrifice some of the features like On Demand?

Actually it is not a billing issue it is a hardware issue as each settop is addressable w/a ip and moca is limited to 7 plus the router you can however do 7 and the the dct700 which since dont do VOD or IMG you can add as many as the signal can handle

I'm not sure why that would be the limitation... DHCP on the Actiontec is giving out addresses with a 24-bit mask.. 253 addresses available, and the STBs have been getting .100 and up.

it is a hardware issue as each settop is addressable w/a ip and moca is limited to 7

It is possible! We've done installs with more than 7 MoCA STB's on one ONT. It just requires adding a NIM to handle the additional STB's.

Well he said that they just came out with thier new HD DVRs that hold 100 hours of programming? Is this true and how good are these DVRs?

I have heard A LOT of things that the door-to-door people have been "promising" customers, but that is a new one. The only new dvr that I am aware of is the QIP2708 which is a standard def dvr.

BTW, did he happen to offer you a great price on a bridge or some land in Florida? :D

And yes, you do lose any interactive functions with a cable card (i.e. VOD, program guide, widgets and future "features").

I have heard A LOT of things that the door-to-door people have been "promising" customers, but that is a new one. The only new dvr that I am aware of is the QIP2708 which is a standard def dvr.

BTW, did he happen to offer you a great price on a bridge or some land in Florida? :D

And yes, you do lose any interactive functions with a cable card (i.e. VOD, program guide, widgets and future "features").

Well he came back I explained to him my concerns. He called into his main info center and confirmed the HD DVRs only hold like 20 hours of HD programming. He was a nice kid and even admitted I probably know more about this stuff than he does. I told him the DVR was my main reason for holding off and that if they upgrade their DVRs I would definitely switch. Cable card could be an option but I will have to do more research on all the advantages/disadvantages before I make the jump.

Well he came back I explained to him my concerns. He called into his main info center and confirmed the HD DVRs only hold like 20 hours of HD programming. He was a nice kid and even admitted I probably know more about this stuff than he does. I told him the DVR was my main reason for holding off and that if they upgrade their DVRs I would definitely switch. Cable card could be an option but I will have to do more research on all the advantages/disadvantages before I make the jump.

I signed up when a kid came to the door, too. He was a contractor and had just flown down from NY that day, so it was his first day. He was a little unsure about some of the FiOS features, but I had already gleaned all the info I needed from this thread (Thanks, folks!). Anyway, he was so polite and thorough that I easily forgave his inexperience.

So, be wary of the door-to-door salespeople.

Doug

Hmm, cable card PC. I have a HTPC in my living room but not in my bedroom. I guess I will have to look into how complicated it would be to upgrade my HTPC to be cable card ready. If you use cable card don't you sacrifice some of the features like On Demand?

I do sacrifice a few features since the current (and only) Cable Card tuner is a one way device.

I don't use On Demand because I won't pay for Standard Definition broadcasts and if it is in HD then I simply add that to my Netflix Queue.

Considering the fact that I have 1.5 Terabytes of disc space, I never have a problem with finding something to watch

You will NOT be able to use your current PC.

Thanks to Cable Labs Inc., you have to get the PC from an OEM (like HP) because it has a special BIOS to permit Cable Cards to work and a special cable card version of Vista Premium is needed.
See here or more information:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=934453

Well I am going to have to scratch that idea if I can not use my current HTPC. The Tivo could be an option. Am I correct in seeing that you do not have to have a phone line connected to these new Tivos to function correctly? Will an internet connection work? Also is there any way to get PPV with a Tivo. I don't order PPV often but would like to option to order a UFC even if I want. Also what is the difference between the $300 HD Tivo and the $500-$600 "Home Theater" HD Tivo besides a little more storage capacity? It seems the $300 one plus an external drive is the best buy. Am I missing anything?

Well I am going to have to scratch that idea if I can not use my current HTPC. The Tivo could be an option. Am I correct in seeing that you do not have to have a phone line connected to these new Tivos to function correctly?Tivo hasn't required a phone line in more than four years.

Will an internet connection work?Yes, that's what you use. The Tivo has a 100Mbps ethernet connection. You can use that, or you can buy their $40 802.11g wireless adapter.

For best performance with high-definition multi-room viewing and TivoToGo (downloads from Tivo to computer), I would suggest you buy a Motorola NIM100 if the Tivo is not in the same room with your Internet router. The Motorola NIM100 -- sold on ebay for $40 -- provides a 100Mbps wired ethernet connection in any room where you have coax cable.

Also is there any way to get PPV with a Tivo.

I don't order PPV often but would like to option to order a UFC even if I want.Not with FiOS. FiOS uses IPTV for VOD and PPV, so no CableCard box can support that.

Also what is the difference between the $300 HD Tivo and the $500-$600 "Home Theater" HD Tivo besides a little more storage capacity? It seems the $300 one plus an external drive is the best buy. Am I missing anything?The DVR functionality and picture quality on both units is the same.

The TiVo Series3 ($550 - $200 mail-in rebate from Amazon) includes a larger built-in hard drive (250Gb vs 160Gb) and has an OLED display on the front which tells you what is recording when your TV is off.

The Tivo Series3 allows capacity expansion with any eSATA drive, whereas the TivoHD only supports capacity expansion with the "Tivo Verified" Western Digital MyDVR Expander sold at Best Buy. Of course, you can easily upgrade the internal hard drive in either TiVo with the free WinMFS utility. With the Series3, multi-room viewing transfers and [recording] downloads to your computer are also 50+% faster.

TivoHD with FiOS Screenshots

Recorded list (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/nowplaying3.jpg)
Season passes (series recordings) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/seasonpass.jpg)
Wishlists (autorecord content regardless of date, time, and channel using boolean search) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/wishlist3a_large.jpg)

Separate Recorded List for children (http://www.tivo.com/whatistivo/tivofeatures/tivokidzone/setup/index.html)

Plug and play eSATA (external drive) expansion (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/esata/esata1.jpg)
Recording capacity with 500Gb external drive from Best Buy (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo.jpg)
Recording capacity with 1TB internal drive upgrade (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo_1tb.jpg)

Remove Channels from Guide (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/pick_channels.jpg)
Program Guide: Grid style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_grid.jpg)
Program Guide: Tivo style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_tivo.jpg)

Download SD and HD recordings from the DVR using any web browser (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.png)

Automatically download certain series to your computer (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivodesktoptransfer.png)
Automatically remove commercials from downloaded recordings (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/videoredo/videoredo3.png)
Burn commercial-free to DVD with Dolby Digital 5.1. (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/videoredo/videoredo_dvd.png)

Not with FiOS. FiOS uses IPTV for VOD and PPV, so no CableCard box can support that.That's true for VOD ... but only partially for PPV.

PPV can be ordered via phone (and, I think on-line) and watched on CableCard equipment (at least in the DC area and I believe for all markets).
http://www22.verizon.com/ResidentialHelp/FiOSTV/Other%20Hardware/CableCARDs/QuestionsOne/84912.htm

What digital programs can I watch with my CableCARD?

You can view all FiOS TV Standard Definition and High Definition digital channels to which you subscribe. You can also order certain Pay-Per-View events by calling the Verizon Fiber Solutions Center.PPV can't be ordered from CableCard equipment (requires IP upstream) ... but it can be viewed (they use linear QAM for PPV). You just have to call (or go on-line) to order. Once you order, the PPV will be available on all boxes and/or CableCard equipment.

Considering the fact that I have 1.5 Terabytes of disc space, I never have a problem with finding something to watch


I have also been looking at an HTPC as an option. We watch *a lot* of VOD. The kids are especially big consumers of the large array of kids programming available.

One thought I had, however, was that if I had nearly unlimited recording space couldn't I essentially create my own, custom-built, VOD library? It would be very easy to record every episode of whatever looked even mildly interesting, plus movies, etc. and then watch them at my leisure.

Another aspect to consider is the growing amount of content available directly over the internet. This would satisfy additional aspects of VOD. Comedy Central, the major networks, hulu.com, joost, etc. all offer a growing amount of content of various sorts that can be accessed from an HTPC -- but not from a DVR or TiVo in most cases. There are also online movie sites just as Amazon unbox, Vongo, etc. that provide additional for-pay options.

I think considering an HTPC involves rethinking the overall content experience available and playing some "what if" games concerning what you could do if you had four tuners (2 OTA and 2 cable), huge disk space, and open internet access.

Of course, all of this costs $$. TiVo is much cheaper, but has the added burden of a monthly fee.

can i turn off my STB and still record programs to the dvr?
i've been leaving my STB on every day. i didnt want to miss a recording.

thanks! this could save me some money for bills!

can i turn off my STB and still record programs to the dvr?
i've been leaving my STB on every day. i didnt want to miss a recording.

thanks! this could save me some money for bills!

No. STB must be left on in order to get recordings.

I have also been looking at an HTPC as an option. We watch *a lot* of VOD. The kids are especially big consumers of the large array of kids programming available.

One thought I had, however, was that if I had nearly unlimited recording space couldn't I essentially create my own, custom-built, VOD library? It would be very easy to record every episode of whatever looked even mildly interesting, plus movies, etc. and then watch them at my leisure.That's the reason why many people upgrade their TiVos with 1Tb or 2Tb storage. [My TiVo has 1.75 TB.] In effect, you create your own VOD box with hundreds of hours of HD storage or thousands of hours of SD storage.

Because TiVo allows you to auto-record content -- using boolean expressions (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/wishlist3a_large.jpg) -- based on subject matter, genre, keywords, etc you can record hundreds of hours of kids programming automatically every week with just a few minutes of initial setup. If you are looking for a specific list of recommended shows for kids, Tivo has six of those lists (http://www3.tivo.com/tivo-tco/mix/kzindex.do); you simply place checkmarks next to the programs you want recorded.

One advantage of Tivo over something like Vista Media Center is that it has a separate DVR environments for kids. Tivo calls this feature "KidZone." When they turn on the DVR, they get their own "KidZone" recorded list with only the recorded programming you approved for them. When you enter your 4-digit password, you get the adult version of the recorded list without any of the kids programming. They don't see your recordings; they only see theirs.

Another aspect to consider is the growing amount of content available directly over the internet. This would satisfy additional aspects of VOD. Comedy Central, the major networks, hulu.com, joost, etc. all offer a growing amount of content of various sorts that can be accessed from an HTPC -- but not from a DVR or TiVo in most cases. There are also online movie sites just as Amazon unbox, Vongo, etc. that provide additional for-pay options.This is the primary benefit of a HTPC. Tivo has direct access to Amazon Unbox, but that's about only option for Internet-delivered programming aside from webcasts, podcasts, etc.

Tivo will play recordings on your PC over the network, but downloading a program to your PC and then moving to your living room isn't exactly seamless. Furthermore, many of these sites never give you a file to download, so it's not possible to watch their content on the TiVo. Vista Media Center is unique in its integration with those services. If you're using the Xbox360 as a Vista Media Extender, then you have all the HD PPV choices on the Xbox Live service as well.

Of course, all of this costs $$. TiVo is much cheaper, but has the added burden of a monthly fee.Tivo sells HD DVRs with a wireless adapter and no monthly fees for $698, but you need another TiVo owner's service number to place the order (http://www.tivo.com/tivohdgiftoffer/). Of course, you'll be hit with the Verizon monthly fee for CableCards regardless of what solution you buy.

I personally would not want to spend $698 on "feeless" TiVo at this point, primarily because resale value will be limited once the "Series4" is out next year. TiVo expects the "Series4" to be one of the first third-party DVR solutions with built-in support for cable VOD and SDV when it ships by the end of fiscal 2008 (October). Of course, none of that does anything for FiOS, since they don't use SDV and rely on IP for VOD. But even if other core functionality remains the same, Tivo will have the benefit of newer technology (faster processors, hard drives, network adapter, etc).

Tivo hasn't required a phone line in more than four years.

Yes, that's what you use. The Tivo has a 100Mbps ethernet connection. You can use that, or you can buy their $40 802.11g wireless adapter.

For best performance with high-definition multi-room viewing and TivoToGo (downloads from Tivo to computer), I would suggest you buy a Motorola NIM100 if the Tivo is not in the same room with your Internet router. The Motorola NIM100 -- sold on ebay for $40 -- provides a 100Mbps wired ethernet connection in any room where you have coax cable.

Not with FiOS. FiOS uses IPTV for VOD and PPV, so no CableCard box can support that.

The DVR functionality and picture quality on both units is the same.

The TiVo Series3 ($550 - $200 mail-in rebate from Amazon) includes a larger built-in hard drive (250Gb vs 160Gb) and has an OLED display on the front which tells you what is recording when your TV is off.

The Tivo Series3 allows capacity expansion with any eSATA drive, whereas the TivoHD only supports capacity expansion with the "Tivo Verified" Western Digital MyDVR Expander sold at Best Buy. Of course, you can easily upgrade the internal hard drive in either TiVo with the free WinMFS utility. With the Series3, multi-room viewing transfers and [recording] downloads to your computer are also 50+% faster.

TivoHD with FiOS Screenshots

Recorded list (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/nowplaying3.jpg)
Season passes (series recordings) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/seasonpass.jpg)
Wishlists (autorecord content regardless of date, time, and channel using boolean search) (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/wishlist3a_large.jpg)

Separate Recorded Lists for adults and children (http://www.tivo.com/whatistivo/tivofeatures/tivokidzone/setup/index.html)

Plug and play eSATA (external drive) expansion (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/esata/esata1.jpg)
Recording capacity with 500Gb external drive from Best Buy (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo.jpg)
Recording capacity with 1TB internal drive upgrade (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/sysinfo_1tb.jpg)

Remove Channels from Guide (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/pick_channels.jpg)
Program Guide: Grid style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_grid.jpg)
Program Guide: Tivo style (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivo/guide_tivo.jpg)

Download SD and HD recordings from the DVR using any web browser (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.png)

Automatically download certain series to your computer (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivodesktoptransfer.png)
Automatically remove commercials from downloaded recordings (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/videoredo/videoredo3.png)
Burn commercial-free to DVD with Dolby Digital 5.1. (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/videoredo/videoredo_dvd.png)


Wow bfdtv, thank you for the helpful response! This really makes the Tivo solution more attractive. There is more capabilities there than I was aware of. I am surprised you are allowed to burn DVDs of recordings. If it is HD does it down rez it as SD or is there a way to author it as an HD DVD?

Also I ran CAT 5 to all my TV locations. I can not stand wireless networks so I have hard lines everywhere. The only advantage I see to the "Series 3" is the faster transferring ability though I am not sure that is wort the cost. Also I like the look of the Series 3 better. They do sell refurbs on tivo.com for less than $500.

Another poster mentioned in the other Fios thread that they may switch to IPTV (I have no idea what that is) and then it would make Cable Cards no longer an option. Is this true because that would make Tivo no longer an option.

There was one other thing I was wondering in reference to the Tivo. When I go to DirecTV.com they say their HD DVR can record 50 hours of HD or 200 hours of SD while on the Tivo website it states 32 hours HD or up to 300 hours of SD. Obviously these ratios are off from one another. Why is this?

It is possible! We've done installs with more than 7 MoCA STB's on one ONT. It just requires adding a NIM to handle the additional STB's.

That's great but that's why I stated a hardware issue by adding the nim another moca controller you can add more equipment but thanks for that info good to know for future big installs :D

Another poster mentioned in the other Fios thread that they may switch to IPTV (I have no idea what that is) and then it would make Cable Cards no longer an option. Is this true because that would make Tivo no longer an option.

IPTV=Internet Protocol Television.

I believe that FiOS will eventually go with MPEG-4 codec plus IPTV(part of the service is IP now[VOD & guide]) however-

such a switch will require additional new infrastructure-new STB's for all subs, new ONTs, extensive hardware upgrades at the CO's-so I predict AT LEAST 2-3 yrs. before we see it.

I am surprised you are allowed to burn DVDs of recordings. If it is HD does it down rez it as SD or is there a way to author it as an HD DVD?You can author HD-DVDs and AVCHD disks too, but that requires a different program. I use Ulead MovieFactory6 Plus ($79). Below are the steps used to create HD-DVDs using a standard 4.7Gb or 8.5Gb DVD media.

Step #1: Automatically download recordings (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivodesktoptransfer.png) (or use web browser (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/tivoweb.png))
Step #2: Automatically remove commercials (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/videoredo/videoredo3.png)
Step #3: Launch MovieFactory (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/author/create.jpg)
Step #4: Open recording (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/author/import.png)
Step #5: Pick menu (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/author/menu.png)
Step #6: Burn (http://mysite.verizon.net/~fiosdvr/author/burn.png)

It took about 10 minutes (total) to make that HD-DVD of Dexter using a 4.7Gb DVD.

Most one-hour network series will fit on a SL DVD after you remove the commercials. Most series from HBO and Showtime will fit on a SL DVD, as is, although I typically remove the intros and previews. Most HD movies from Starz and HBO will fit on a DL DVD. Movies and sports broadcasts from higher-bitrate channels like Hdnet and ESPN-HD will generally not fit on a DVD (unless you span them across multiple disks).

The only advantage I see to the "Series 3" is the faster transferring ability though I am not sure that is wort the cost. Also I like the look of the Series 3 better. They do sell refurbs on tivo.com for less than $500.The best place to buy the Tivo Series3 is Amazon.com, but they are out of stock. Their regular price is $350 after rebate ($550 - $200 mail-in rebate).

Another poster mentioned in the other Fios thread that they may switch to IPTV (I have no idea what that is) and then it would make Cable Cards no longer an option. Is this true because that would make Tivo no longer an option.Verizon has said it has plans to deliver some channels in IPTV within the next three years. These channels are unlikely to ever be supported by the Series3.

There will not be any HDTV added using IPTV in 2008, meaning the "up to 150 HD channels" will be available to the Tivo. Future channels added in 2009 or 2010 may not be available to the TiVo. Verizon plans to deploy new STBs in late 2008 and 1H 2009 that will support MPEG-4. These are the boxes that Verizon will eventually use to deliver channels with IPTV.

Note both the TivoHD and Series3 include hardware support for MPEG-4 HD, although that is not yet enabled with the current software.

There was one other thing I was wondering in reference to the Tivo. When I go to DirecTV.com they say their HD DVR can record 50 hours of HD or 200 hours of SD while on the Tivo website it states 32 hours HD or up to 300 hours of SD. Obviously these ratios are off from one another. Why is this?The Tivo Series3 includes a 250Gb hard drive, whereas the DirecTV HDTV DVRs include a 300-320Gb drive. DirecTV re-compresses their HD, so their content requires significantly less space than the same content on FiOS; that accounts for the remaining difference.

The claimed 300 hours of SD assumes analog channels recorded on the lowest quality setting. There are no analog channels on FiOS with CableCards. Recording capacity for FiOS' digital SD channels -- recorded bit-for-bit identical to the original-- will be closer to 160 hours on the TiVo Series3.

There was one other thing I was wondering in reference to the Tivo. When I go to DirecTV.com they say their HD DVR can record 50 hours of HD or 200 hours of SD while on the Tivo website it states 32 hours HD or up to 300 hours of SD. Obviously these ratios are off from one another. Why is this?

MPEG2 vs. MPEG4 ?

IPTV=Internet Protocol Television.

I believe that FiOS will eventually go with MPEG-4 codec plus IPTV(part of the service is IP now[VOD & guide]) however-

such a switch will require additional new infrastructure-new STB's for all subs, new ONTs, extensive hardware upgrades at the CO's-so I predict AT LEAST 2-3 yrs. before we see it.

I don't know that it will require all of this. Remember that all VOD content is currently delivered by IPTV. That means that the current ONTs, ActionTec router and the MOCA infrastructure (DVR's, STBs) are capable of handling IPTV. I think the real power in the FIOS architecture is the promise of IPTV.

I think they are ready to go now with it. The issues that will come up will be the bandwidth load and the robustness of each of the components (router, ONT, etc.) to deal with it. It is an unknown to us, but I'm willing to bet it is being tested at Verizon. It says something that they have already beta tested HD VOD delivery by IPTV, and are going on line with it in the near future (already present in some places).

I think the delay will be more in that they will want to see the impact of IPTV based deliverables on the FIOS infrastructure and subs, rather than that they need to make changes to make it possible. It seems to me that it is in place now.

This will impact the Tivo owners, since the transition of distributed channels to IPTV cuts out Tivo. Given the kind of committment it would take to transition everything over to IPTV, I also would expect 2-3 years, in which time if Verizon is as successful with FIOS as we all think it will be, Tivo may have its own cable cards that can handle IPTV. Who knows?

The Tivo Series3 allows capacity expansion with any eSATA drive, whereas the TivoHD only supports capacity expansion with the "Tivo Verified" Western Digital MyDVR Expander sold at Best Buy.



Is the Tivo HD locked using the WD Expander by a unique cable or is the drive "chipped" to allow it to work?
If you bought the Expander could you change the size of the drive inside?
If it's simply a cable mod, would having the correct cable allow use of any ESATA drive?

I don't know that it will require all of this. Remember that all VOD content is currently delivered by IPTV. That means that the current ONTs, ActionTec router and the MOCA infrastructure (DVR's, STBs) are capable of handling IPTV. I think the real power in the FIOS architecture is the promise of IPTV.

I think they are ready to go now with it. The issues that will come up will be the bandwidth load and the robustness of each of the components (router, ONT, etc.) to deal with it. It is an unknown to us, but I'm willing to bet it is being tested at Verizon. It says something that they have already beta tested HD VOD delivery by IPTV, and are going on line with it in the near future (already present in some places).Channel delivery and HD VOD are two entirely different things.

Virtually all FiOS customers have BPON ONTs. BPON shares a 655Mbps data connection between 32 customers. This gives FiOS just over 20Mbps per customer. The current FiOS STBs and DVRs only support MPEG-2, not MPEG-4. FiOS is doing HDTV VOD over IP with MPEG-2 @ ~14Mbps. Many of FiOS' QAM HD channels use 17-19Mbps.

Verizon is able to do HD VOD with MPEG-2 using BPON technology because only a small minority of customers are using it at any given time. You might have five or ten customers of the 32 on that PON card using HD VOD, but probably no more than that. However, 20Mbps isn't going to work for MPEG-2 IP channel delivery with BPON, unless you want to limit each household to one HD channel. Verizon has no plans to do that.

Verizon plans to deploy its first HD channels over IP using the combination of new MPEG-4 STBs/DVRs and GPON. MPEG-4 will enable Verizon to maintain existing resolution and quality with no more than 12Mbps. GPON will up the data connection from 655Mbps to 2.4Gbps, or 75Mbps per customer. The new STBs and DVRs won't be available to most customers until 1H 2009, and Verizon still needs to replace all the existing ONTs on people's homes.

Here's a recent article (http://www.xchangemag.com/articles/the-big-enchilada.html) on the status of FiOS GPON deployment. According to the article, Verizon is supposed to issue a statement on general GPON availability before the end of the year.

Channel delivery and HD VOD are two entirely different things.

Virtually all FiOS customers have BPON ONTs. BPON shares a 655Mbps data connection between 32 customers. This gives FiOS just over 20Mbps per customer. The current FiOS STBs and DVRs only support MPEG-2, not MPEG-4. FiOS is doing HDTV VOD over IP with MPEG-2 @ ~14Mbps. Many of FiOS' QAM HD channels use 17-19Mbps.

Verizon is able to do HD VOD with MPEG-2 using BPON technology because only a small minority of customers are using it at any given time. You might have five or ten customers of the 32 on that PON card using HD VOD, but probably no more than that. However, 20Mbps isn't going to work for MPEG-2 IP channel delivery with BPON, unless you want to limit each household to one HD channel. Verizon has no plans to do that.

Verizon plans to deploy its first HD channels over IP using the combination of new MPEG-4 STBs/DVRs and GPON. MPEG-4 will enable Verizon to maintain existing resolution and quality with no more than 12Mbps. GPON will up the data connection from 655Mbps to 2.4Gbps, or 75Mbps per customer. The new STBs and DVRs won't be available to most customers until 1H 2009, and Verizon still needs to replace all the existing ONTs on people's homes.

Here's a recent article (http://www.xchangemag.com/articles/the-big-enchilada.html) on the status of FiOS GPON deployment. According to the article, Verizon is supposed to issue a statement on general GPON availability before the end of the year.

Thanks for the info - you live and learn. Makes me glad that I rent the equipment, not own it.

So once the new STBs/DVRs and the upgraded infrastructure, each customer could comfortably accomodate 75/12 = ~ 6 concurrent HD channel streams? or is there some more optimization happening here?

Is the Tivo HD locked using the WD Expander by a unique cable or is the drive "chipped" to allow it to work?
If you bought the Expander could you change the size of the drive inside?
If it's simply a cable mod, would having the correct cable allow use of any ESATA drive?It's a software restriction which looks for the specific make and model drive in the DVR Expander. The enclosure itself doesn't matter.

The Tivo has to prepare the external drive for use, and the software on the TivoHD refuses to prepare any drive except the Western Digital My DVR Expander. The Tivo Series3 will prepare any drive.

You can prepare a different drive yourself for the TivoHD, but this requires that you connect both the internal drive and the external drive to your PC and run the free WinMFS software. However, if you are going to do that, you might as well replace the internal drive first. To do that, you connect the internal drive to your PC, select "Backup" in WinMFS, and then connect the new drive to your PC and select "Restore" in WinMFS.

As of 12/19, we now belong to the FiOS club. My installation took all day. Our house is 70 years old, and the phone lines are a confusing maze throughout the basement. The installer was very courteous, professional, and knowledgeable. When I first showed him the mess, he said he thought it would be no problem, which surprised and relieved me - but not for long. My DirecTV coax comes into the basement on the side of the house opposite to the copper phone lines. He dropped the fiber into that side of the house (there's also an outlet there; none on the copper side). I had been afraid they'd charge extra for moving the drop, but no worries (maybe I should hold that thought until I see the first bill!). I figured out a way he could run the cables/wires concealed through the main support beam in the finished basement. I also thought he might balk at that, but he was fine with doing it.

He asked me to test the phones and they all had a dial tone. My wife tried to call, and the phones didn't ring. It took him many hours to fix that mess. He basically had to keep running the inside phone lines through an ancient splitter behind a wall, which isn't ideal, but it works.

Internet is lightning-fast, and TV is beautiful. Even my wife admitted that it looks better than D. Based upon other posters, I was also worried about wireless reception. The router is on the main computer in the basement, but the DVR upstairs gets a strong signal. I set up my daughter's computer, also upstairs, and it gets 54Mb connection. The DVR wasn't properly initialized at first, and it took him a few hours trying to reach Verizon. He finally gave up and was able to use some new software on his laptop to initialize it for me.

I agree that the IMG navigation is clunky. We came from a D TiVO, which was a joy to use. I can't find a smooth way to search for a program title. The IMG insists on using my input as a keyword and bringing up all kinds of unrelated programs. Also, the CC controls on the TV don't work, so I guess FiOS reserves those controls for the IMG. However, the CC button on the FiOS remote doesn't seem to work; I have to navigate through about 6-8 clicks in the Menu to turn on/off the CC.

The webmail doesn't have a calendar. We're leaving AT&T DSL and their webmail calendar has become the crutch for my life. Also, the FiOS option to forward all my mail and contacts from AT&T didn't work.

Other than these quirks, we're very happy so far.

Regards,
Doug

Doug,

Congrats on getting FIOS. Though I have FIOS internet, I have abstained
from getting their TV service until MSNBC becomes available. Right now
I understand Cablevision has locked up the rights to that network.

I am currently a DirecTV customer with Tivo.

What I am particularly interested in having you report back is the
migration from Tivo to the Fios DVR. I'm certain the Fios DVR can't
hold a candle to Tivo, and I am interested in just how much worse it is.

Look forward to further reports from all.

Back in October I turned in one of my digital set top boxes. I am still being billed for it. After a 3 hour wait for a supervisor, I have been informed that it can take one to three billing cycles for the box to removed from your bill! Please be aware that if you turn in your box, you will need to continually check your bill to see when it does come off and then call in for a credit.

[QUOTE=

Also I ran CAT 5 to all my TV locations. I can not stand wireless networks so I have hard lines everywhere. The only advantage I see to the "Series 3" is the faster transferring ability though I am not sure that is wort the cost. Also I like the look of the Series 3 better. They do sell refurbs on tivo.com for less than $500.


Regarding the use of CAT 5 ethernet cable, I already have one ethernet connection run (75') from my router to my home theater, but it's being used by my Vudu. Can I split the connection rather than fishing another 75' cable? Please say yes.

It is possible! We've done installs with more than 7 MoCA STB's on one ONT. It just requires adding a NIM to handle the additional STB's.

I can definitely order all the equipment I need online. In fact, I can even get by with two dtc700s. Can I be sure that the tech won't balk at installing the 8the connection? If so, I am ready to go FiOS.

Regarding the use of CAT 5 ethernet cable, I already have one ethernet connection run (75') from my router to my home theater, but it's being used by my Vudu. Can I split the connection rather than fishing another 75' cable? Please say yes.Yes, you certainly can.

You need a switch like this (http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=479) or this (http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=494) if you want gigabit ports. These are small, low-power, and relatively cheap from Amazon.com. You would connect your 75' ethernet cable to the last port on the switch, and then connect your Vudu, Tivo, PS3, etc to the other ports. Models with 8 ports are also available.

If you want a gigabit connection between your computer and TV room, you would connect another switch (http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=495) to a LAN port to your Actiontec, and then connect all your other ethernet cables to that.

Yes I use D-Link switches. They are cheap and work very well. I have already maxed out the 5 port in my main system. If I add any other devices (PS3 maybe), I will have to move up to an 8 port.

One thing bfdtv did not mention is you need to make sure your PC has gigabit ethernet on it. A lot of integrated ethernet ports are not gigabit so you would need a card for that.

Wheww!! Thanks for the good news and the links.
Now a few more questions and pardon my stupidity, but I don't know what gigabit ethernet is. I would guess I have 'regular' ethernet. Do I need gigabit? The verizon fios would be a 20mb download speed, right?, but how does that translate to regular or gigabit ethernet? If I get the dgs2205 gigabit($25 from Tigerdirect) and don't have gigabit ethernet, will it not work at all or just not provide gigabit? Sorry, but I'm obviously in a fog here.

I recently added FIOS TV to my existing FIOS internet service. I am noticing occasionally, the router signal drops out for a second or two. And at other times, some websites just hang and take alot longer to load. Does the coax connection to the router have any effect with the internet signal?

thanks.

I recently added FIOS TV to my existing FIOS internet service. I am noticing occasionally, the router signal drops out for a second or two. And at other times, some websites just hang and take alot longer to load. Does the coax connection to the router have any effect with the internet signal?Are you using wireless ow wired to the router?

Wheww!! Thanks for the good news and the links.
Now a few more questions and pardon my stupidity, but I don't know what gigabit ethernet is. I would guess I have 'regular' ethernet. Do I need gigabit?Gigabit is 1000Mbps while "regular" fast ethernet is 100Mbps, before overhead.

Gigabit only benefits local transfers -- i.e. file transfers between two different PCs or Macs -- and would not have any affect on your Internet performance. The Actiontec router and Verizon ONT supports 100Mbps, but it is capped at 20Mbps for your 20/5 plan.

If I get the dgs2205 gigabit($25 from Tigerdirect) and don't have gigabit ethernet, will it not work at all or just not provide gigabit? That's correct. Switches negotiate whatever speed your computer (and router) supports. It will work just fine with "regular" 100Mbps fast ethernet, and give you the option to upgrade your PCs to gigabit in the future.

The Actiontec router and Verizon ONT supports 100Mbps, but it is capped at 20Mbps for your 20/5 plan.

Are the Verizon routers really only capped to 20Mbps? That would explain some of my slower file transfers. Maybe I should go ahead and pick up a new 8 port and move the 5 port to my main PC.

I currently have FIOS Internet and am thinking of adding on the the Fios TV and had some questions.

I currently do NOT use the Actiontec router that comes with Fios installation, but instead have the Cat 5 going directly to my border firewall. I would prefer to keep this configuration even after getting Fios TV.

When I have searched via Google on this topic, the consistent response that seems to come back is that if you want TV you need the router as it does the bridging between the cat5 and coax to enable VOD and Channel Guide etc.

Now, since I have a Tivo HD and don't really care about VOD and the Fios Channel Guide, do I really need the Actiontec router in the mix?

So the questions are:

1) Can I directly connect the coax in the house (currently connected to my cable provider) to the Fios ONT directly and get all of the Fios channels (HD and Premium) via a Cablecard enabled Tivo HD?

2) Does Fios currently support Multistream Cable Cards in the Howard County, MD area or do you still have to deal with 2 Singlestream CableCards?

Are the Verizon routers really only capped to 20Mbps? That would explain some of my slower file transfers. Maybe I should go ahead and pick up a new 8 port and move the 5 port to my main PC.No, the ONT can do 100Mbps over CAT5 and the Actiontec router can sustain 80+Mbps. But if you only pay for the 20Mbps plan, you are capped at that speed. When Verizon does system maintenance, you may notice brief periods when you can do 80+Mbps.

Usually, Verizon caps the ONT at even higher rate (30-50+Mbps, varies by area), but only VOD and guide data can use that extra bandwidth above and beyond your Internet plan.

I currently do NOT use the Actiontec router that comes with Fios installation, but instead have the Cat 5 going directly to my border firewall. I would prefer to keep this configuration even after getting Fios TV.

When I have searched via Google on this topic, the consistent response that seems to come back is that if you want TV you need the router as it does the bridging between the cat5 and coax to enable VOD and Channel Guide etc.

Now, since I have a Tivo HD and don't really care about VOD and the Fios Channel Guide, do I really need the Actiontec router in the mix?The Actiontec router is unnecessary if you only use CableCards.

That said, even if you had Motorola STBs / DVRs, you could still keep your existing CAT5 and router. You would simply plug the Actiontec into a LAN port on your existing router -- that's what I do.

1) Can I directly connect the coax in the house (currently connected to my cable provider) to the Fios ONT directly and get all of the Fios channels (HD and Premium) via a Cablecard enabled Tivo HD?Yes.

Does Fios currently support Multistream Cable Cards in the Howard County, MD area or do you still have to deal with 2 Singlestream CableCards?Multistream CableCards will be available in your area until late 1Q 2008. Until then, you'll need two single stream CableCards.

Be sure to subscribe before January 18, 2008, because the programming package increases from $42.99 to $47.99 after that. If you subscribe to TV by January 18, you lock in the current $42.99/mo until 2009. That $42.99/mo rate includes 200+ digital channels and 20+ HD channels today, and should include 50+ HD channels by next spring and 100+ HD channels by the end of the year. [Premium movie channels and sports packages are extra.]

Are you using wireless ow wired to the router?

Both, the wireless is what was dropping out. I made a couple of changes to the router settings. Seeks like it did the trick.

Be sure to subscribe before January 18, 2008, because the programming package increases from $42.99 to $47.99 after that. If you subscribe to TV by January 18, you lock in the current $42.99/mo until 2009. That $42.99/mo rate includes 200+ digital channels and 20+ HD channels today, and should include 50+ HD channels by next spring and 100+ HD channels by the end of the year. [Premium movie channels and sports packages are extra.]

Do you think Verizon will create (start charging for) an HD tier similar to what D* did? And/Or will they move some of the HD sports channels (i.e. NFL-HD) to the sport tier like Comcast does?

I'm thinking of switching to Vz and would like to "lock in" the 42.99 rate, as well as take advantage of the DVR+ (HBO or Movie Pack) for $20/mo.

The Actiontec router is unnecessary if you only use CableCards.

That said, even if you had Motorola STBs / DVRs, you could still keep your existing CAT5 and router. You would simply plug the Actiontec into a LAN port on your existing router -- that's what I do.

Be sure to subscribe before January 18, 2008, because the programming package increases from $42.99 to $47.99 after that. If you subscribe to TV by January 18, you lock in the current $42.99/mo until 2009. ]

Thanks!

Are you using the router purely for its wireless capabilities or do you also have it plugged back into the Coax line? If so, are you then able to get VOD etc. on the on STB?

I am scheduled to have Verizon come in on Jan 1.. Is that still month to month pricing or do you have to get a package to remain at that rate?

Was hoping somebody can give me insight into how good or bad
the HD DVR is compared to Tivo?

Thanks

Do you think Verizon will create (start charging for) an HD tier similar to what D* did?Verizon has said they intend to keep the HD channels in the main package for the forseeable future. They promote the fact that they don't charge extra for any HD channels.

And/Or will they move some of the HD sports channels (i.e. NFL-HD) to the sport tier like Comcast does?At one time, NFL-HD was in Verizon's sports package, but it was moved to the standard tier.

I seriously doubt they would move it back, given all the marketing the NFL Network has done recently. Having NFL Network in the main package helps to differentiate them from Comcast.

Verizon has announced that $5/mo rate increase -- which affects customers signing up after January 20, and all other customers in 2009 -- citing the programming costs for new channels.

I am scheduled to have Verizon come in on Jan 1.. Is that still month to month pricing or do you have to get a package to remain at that rate?So long as you sign up by January 18, you maintain the current $42.99/mo rate -- even as all the new HD channels are added -- until January, 2009. If you sign up with a two year contract, then you'll preserve the $42.99/mo rate until January, 2010.

Was hoping somebody can give me insight into how good or bad the HD DVR is compared to Tivo?Ron,

With the latest software, the FiOS DVR is about where the DirecTV HR20 DVR was 9 months ago. It still has a ways to go to match the usability of the latest Tivo software. Verizon hasn't stopped work on the software; they'll continue to eliminate bugs and improve functionality, but it will take time. I understand they plan another update next spring and then another after that around mid-year.

The primary 'issues' with the FiOS DVR are (1) limited 120Gb capacity with no expansion available -- just 20 hours of HD storage, and (2) unreliable guide data. The guide data provider used by Verizon isn't nearly as reliable as Tribune Media Services (used by DirecTV and TiVo). Programming schedule changes aren't updated as regularly and first-run episodes are periodically mislabeled as repeats. The season pases on the FiOS' Motorola DVR probably missed 2-3 episodes per month, on average. That convinced me to buy a $250 TivoHD, which has missed none.

I do not see either of the above 'issues' changing anytime soon, so if you are coming from a TiVo, then I would suggest you stick with that on FiOS. After you figure in CableCards, the total monthly cost for the $250 TivoHD is $16.73/mo, which isn't far off from the $15.99/mo cost of the Verizon DVR.

I can definitely order all the equipment I need online. In fact, I can even get by with two dtc700s. Can I be sure that the tech won't balk at installing the 8the connection? If so, I am ready to go FiOS.

No need to order anything, Vz supplies the gear. You can't be sure the tech won't balk. Every tech is different. Me, I wouldn't have a problem doing it. In fact, I like the challenge. ;)

I'm thinking about jumping to V fios. I've read here about the V HD DVR only holding 20hrs of HD,which is not enough, so I figured I'd go with Tivo HD-DVR's(I've had hr10-250's for quite a while with much success). However, a Verizon agent said that I need to rent their HD box ($10) plus the 2 cc's($3ea) all in addition to me buying the Tivo box. Is that right? I thought I just needed to add CC's to the Tivo. Thanks

I'm thinking about jumping to V fios. I've read here about the V HD DVR only holding 20hrs of HD,which is not enough, so I figured I'd go with Tivo HD-DVR's(I've had hr10-250's for quite a while with much success). However, a Verizon agent said that I need to rent their HD box ($10) plus the 2 cc's($3ea) all in addition to me buying the Tivo box. Is that right? I thought I just needed to add CC's to the Tivo. Thanks


If you're using the Tivo (S3 or Tivo HD), you do not need Verizon's HD box. You only need 2 cable cards.

It's amazing the about of misinformation their agents give out.

Thanks Ron. That's what I had gleaned from this forum. I guess my first clue to ignore should've been when he asked me "what's Tivo?"!! Yes it is amazing--Thank God for this forum.
Now I just have to decide whether to get the Tivo HD-lite(and beef it up--20hrs isn't enough) or the Series-3 HD (30-40 hrs HD (times 2 boxes) should be enough.) I don't really need the remote or PPV but like the Thx cert and I wonder if the series 3 box isn't more ready for the future???
I also need to decide where to get it. Tivo Community store has the Series 3 for $400 after rebate, but is out of stock. DVRupgrade has it in stock but for $500. I like them but that's quite a premium. Thanks again

No, the ONT can do 100Mbps over CAT5 and the Actiontec router can sustain 80+Mbps. But if you only pay for the 20Mbps plan, you are capped at that speed.Let's make this clearer: The "cap" you're referring to is for Internet (LAN to WAN) transfers only. If you're transferring data from one computer on your LAN to another, and it happens to pass through the Actiontec (but not out to the wider Internet), you can get a full 100Mbps. In this situation, AFAIK, the Actiontec is merely acting as a switch. I believe this is the situation TommyV was asking about.

I'm thinking about jumping to V fios. I've read here about the V HD DVR only holding 20hrs of HD,which is not enough, so I figured I'd go with Tivo HD-DVR's(I've had hr10-250's for quite a while with much success). However, a Verizon agent said that I need to rent their HD box ($10) plus the 2 cc's($3ea) all in addition to me buying the Tivo box. Is that right? I thought I just needed to add CC's to the Tivo. Thanks


You had you question answered but I thought I would add my .02

I had the same Tivo (HR10-250) as you when I was with Directv who I dropped after 10 years in May.

If you do switch to Verizon, I gurantee that you will quickly want something other than their HD PVR because of that dinky disk.

Whether you get a Cable Card PC (like I use) or a Tivo, get the biggest disk you can.


The HR10-250 always was good enough for me with Directv but remember that Verizon's signal is full data rate so your recordings will be a LOT bigger than they were on the HDTIVO.

I had my Verizon HD DVR (the 160 Gbyte one) at 95% full within a few days of my switching service.

I had my Verizon HD DVR (the 160 Gbyte one) at 95% full within a few days of my switching service.

I'm switching from Comcast to Verizon. They both use the same box for their DVR. With Comcast, an hour of SD programming seemed to take 2-3% and an hour of HD programming seemed to take about 5-6%.

How does this compare to what you're seeing with the FiOS service?

I spoke with a VZ Tech last night and he pointed out an issue on dropped frames that may help. Although I was aware of VOD & the Guide being sent via IP, I missed the fact that all recorded content on your DVR is also sent via IP. This explains why I was able to hit record when when experiencing glitchy video (So I could show a tech) and play back that video and still see that the glitches (dropped frames) were present... AND... A few weeks later that same video clip would play back 100% correct!

This can happen if the problem is more in the router than the STB because when you play recorded content it has to travel back to the router BEFORE being returned to the STB & exiting out the video ports! (so swapping out the Motorola boxes WILL NOT FIX the ISSUE! !!<<<bad info! Read below!!

In all the trouble shooting that was done & parts replaced, they only swapped out my router one time, very early on and never checked for firmware updates. (My STB was changed 3 times)

So, I asked about router firmware updates and he said that they were automatically pushed out when they became available, but when I checked my router it wasn’t set to auto-update. Sure enough, an update was available. I wish I'd have written down the old firmware version info for further study. Anyway, I will still have to see if this fixes the dropped frames issue.

Wish me luck!

Wish me luck & I'll keep you posted.

Well, here's my update 1 month later. The studdering video is back & I'm scheduled to have FiOS TV removed on 01/02. I don't believe the information I was given (above) is correct. To test, I disconected everything from the router & played recorded content. The studdering was present, so I'll rule out the router as the source of the problem; it must be the STB. The motorola HD boxes that Verizon uses simply are NOT able to consistently display smooth video. This is the case with both the DVR and non-DVR STBs. (3 boxes tested on 4 TVs. all had same issue)

The big question that I have is "why isn't everyone with FiOS HD screaming about this?" My guess(es) 1) they dont associate the problem with FiOS... they believe it is a problem with the source signal sent to Verizon. 2) I'm more sensitive to the problem than most (?) It may not affect different people the same and I'm just hyper-sensitive to dropped frames? 3) My house is the only place that has this issue. (I seriously doubt this, since I have confirmed that the signal reaches the Motorola box intact & it is between the input at the box & the TV display where the frames are dropped.) (((Any other guesses that point me towards a solution may entitle you to inclusion in my will!)))
I'm so sad about this. When FiOS is at its best I don't think anything I've seen can compare, but it is so very rare to watch an entire show with no little glitches appearing. Maybe I'll be back when the next gen STBs are released. I'll also be losing my Grandfathered-in prices. D'OH!


I'm not sure what I will replace it with yet, but I think the DirecTV service that I had was on average better than FiOS was able to deliver. DTV was much smoother & I may just decide to live with the rain fade problem.

The big question that I have is "why isn't everyone with FiOS HD screaming about this?" My guess(es) 1) they dont associate the problem with FiOS... they believe it is a problem with the source signal set to Verizon. 2) I'm more sensitive to the problem than most (?) It may not affect different people the same and I'm just hyper-sensitive to dropped frames? 3) My house is the only place that has this issue.This is the AVS Forum. Members here are very sensitive to PQ issues.

The answer is none of the above.

I'm sure you aren't the only one experiencing this issue, but it is not a common occurrence. It seems to affect customers in certain parts of NJ more than other areas.

The big question that I have is "why isn't everyone with FiOS HD screaming about this?" My guess(es) 1) they dont associate the problem with FiOS... they believe it is a problem with the source signal set to Verizon. 2) I'm more sensitive to the problem than most (?) It may not affect different people the same and I'm just hyper-sensitive to dropped frames? 3) My house is the only place that has this issue. (I seriously doubt this, since I have confirmed that the signal reaches the Motorola box intact & it is between the input at the box & the TV display where the frames are dropped.) (((Any other guesses that point me towards a solution my entitle you to inclusion in my will!)))

I have never experienced this issue. I am also in NJ. Where in NJ are you located? . I own a home theater business and would quickly notice issues like this. I maybe experienced some type of pixalation once maybe twice and I tape and watch 10-15+ hrs each week on HDTV.

I previously had comcast and had nothing but issues with this same Moto DVR. As I said I have had virtually no complaints with Verizon. Comcast took forever from the time you sent the command on a remote to when the box decided to act and spit them all out. The quality also does not compare.

My only issue is that if you fast foward at 4x speed and get a little over 50% of the way through the program it then ends and brings you back to the DVR menu as if the program is finished. (Does not happen if you do it 3x speed or slow down to 3x speed at the 50% mark). Not to mention I am still waiting for the IMG.

I'm in NJ too, going on a year w/ FiOS. The only time I experience stuttering is if I try to watch VOD while something is recording. Never any other time, or at least so rarely that I don't notice. We use the DVR(s) a lot too.

I got the stutter too a few times. I unplugged the power cord from the unit for a few hours. When it rebooted it was fine.
Then when I played back a recording that had stutter, all the HD movie channels had stutter when surfing them. Very weird. I deleted the recording with stutter and rebooted the box and everything was fine again.

I have never experienced this issue. I am also in NJ. Where in NJ are you located? . I own a home theater business and would quickly notice issues like this. I maybe experienced some type of pixalation once maybe twice and I tape and watch 10-15+ hrs each week on HDTV.


I'm in Morris County NJ (Mendham). Maybe you guys who get a piece of studdering video on recorded content would like to try this... Keep that piece on the DVR for about a month & try looking at it often. See if you get the same results as me. If so, the clip will eventually play better and better until there is no studder at all! The only explanation I can guess at is that the DVR performs some kind of defragging over time. I've repeated this and so far it has been the case with 3 clips.

This tells me that 100% of the signal makes it to the DVR, and the DVR is not able to display it. I don't see how this could be a problem in just NJ unless our area is getting older STBs or something. I had 3 STBs with this issue so??? Well, I'm just at a loss, but for me DTV's rain fade was not as big of an issue... and I really hated rain fade :(.

The big question that I have is "why isn't everyone with FiOS HD screaming about this?" My guess(es) 1) they dont associate the problem with FiOS... they believe it is a problem with the source signal sent to Verizon. 2) I'm more sensitive to the problem than most (?) It may not affect different people the same and I'm just hyper-sensitive to dropped frames? 3) My house is the only place that has this issue. (I seriously doubt this, since I have confirmed that the signal reaches the Motorola box intact & it is between the input at the box & the TV display where the frames are dropped.) (((Any other guesses that point me towards a solution may entitle you to inclusion in my will!)))
I'm so sad about this. When FiOS is at its best I don't think anything I've seen can compare, but it is so very rare to watch an entire show with no little glitches appearing. Maybe I'll be back when the next gen STBs are released. I'll also be losing my Grandfathered-in prices. D'OH!

I too had the stuttering problem. If you search the forum you will note others having the same issue. For me, in Fairfax, Virginia, it only lasted about a month and a half. When the problem occurred, I turned off the STB, changed the output resolution to 480i, turned the STB back on for a few minutes, turned the STB off, reverted the output to 1080i, and everything was great again.

All of these FIOS issues should be fairly easy to diagnose - just plug the coax directly into an HDTV with QAM tuner and compare against the output of the DVR (look at a high action HD football broadcast). If both have issues the problem is in the signal, if only the DVR has the issue, then it's the DVR.

First of all, if there is a better forum for this question, please point me to the right one.

I do really like my Fios TV service but there is one big annoyance with the on screen guide. When a new show starts on a channel, it will pop that information on the screen. However, network TV time and FIos TV time aren't exactly synced, so the new show information will pop up as the old show is still going on. I looked through the settings if there is was a way to turn this off but there wasn't. Also going through the online Verizon support, there wasn't a link to send suggestions, and the only way to let Verizon know about this is to phone in to tech support.

Just wondering if anyone else is annoyed by this or how to best let Verizon that is an issue.

"After Verizon updated the menus for my QIP6200-2 I lost the ability to get into the setup menu by pressing "menu" when the power was off to the unit. The new menu's don't have the option to change the output of SD channels to 480i or or 480p. Anyone have any idea where I can change this setting now that the menu system has changed?"

With the STB Power on. Press the Power off. Then press Select. Press Select again. then press Menu.

Sorry to bring this topic up again. Here's my experience:
DVR: I can get to the menus via this method, but once I'm in the menus, I can't edit anything. I've tried every button on the box as well as on the remote.

non-DVR SD boxes: I can't even get to the menus using this method.

I'd like to set the HD & SD output resolution, as well as activate the CC.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Doug

First of all, if there is a better forum for this question, please point me to the right one.

I do really like my Fios TV service but there is one big annoyance with the on screen guide. When a new show starts on a channel, it will pop that information on the screen. However, network TV time and FIos TV time aren't exactly synced, so the new show information will pop up as the old show is still going on. I looked through the settings if there is was a way to turn this off but there wasn't. Also going through the online Verizon support, there wasn't a link to send suggestions, and the only way to let Verizon know about this is to phone in to tech support.

Just wondering if anyone else is annoyed by this or how to best let Verizon that is an issue.

I have found this, too. I wish they sould fix this, as I tend to lose either the beginning or end of some shows, depending on the network and/or the day.

Thanks Ron. That's what I had gleaned from this forum. I guess my first clue to ignore should've been when he asked me "what's Tivo?"!! Yes it is amazing--Thank God for this forum.
Now I just have to decide whether to get the Tivo HD-lite(and beef it up--20hrs isn't enough) or the Series-3 HD (30-40 hrs HD (times 2 boxes) should be enough.) I don't really need the remote or PPV but like the Thx cert and I wonder if the series 3 box isn't more ready for the future???
I also need to decide where to get it. Tivo Community store has the Series 3 for $400 after rebate, but is out of stock. DVRupgrade has it in stock but for $500. I like them but that's quite a premium. Thanks again


I got two Series 3 Tivo's from Costco because of their great return policy. They were $599.99 each with a $200 rebate for each. I wanted the larger HD capacity and the grandfathered expansion using Non Tivo hard drives...

Thought I would let you forum members that follow this thread, know my experience with Verizon so far. I ordered the triple package in early Nov. and the earliest I could get an installation date was 20 Dec. No one showed on that date and I received no phone call warning me that they would not arrive - 8 wasted hours waiting in vain., After 10 hours on the phone being shuffled back and forth, the best date I could get for rescheduling was 31 Dec. (Originally supervisors kept telling me the best they could do was 17 Jan.) Looking online I saw the order continued to be confirmed for today, but I received no confirming phone message the night before like I did the first time. So I call Verizon to confirm. While the agent is looking up the status, I mention I see no fiber drop outside anywhere and ask him to see if the computer records confirm that the drop took place. To my dismay he says the records indicate no drop. A supervisor says he is looking into accelerating my drop, but I hold little hope in getting any kind of acceptable customer service from Verizon. For those of you considering Verizon, be wary of their commitments and double check to see that a line drop is actually in place, before taking a day off work to wait for an installer that may or may not show.

I've done a lot of reading of posts and FAQs re: FIOS, but still need to clarify a few things.

Here's my situation. Am seriously considering ordering the Triple Play. Home has never been wired for TV or interet (currently use DSL and OTA reception for TV). My son and I plan to wire the house before putting in the Triple Play order. Plan to have FSU and PSU installed in garage, assuming ONT will be installed near where the current telephone box is located. Actiontec router will be located in my home office which is in a central location within the house. We plan to wire 5 TV locations (3 bedrooms, living room and kitchen).

From what I understand, I need to run RG6 Coax from each TV location to the garage. I will also need to run a Cat5e line from where the Actiontec is located to the garage. I will also (based on the schematics I've seen) have to run an additional RG6 Coax line from where the Actiontec is located to the garage (in order to get VOD and the Program Guide). This means I will have 7 cables running from various locations and terminating at a single location in the garage. Correct?

In the configuration I've described, it is my understanding from the schematics I've seen that the 5 TV RG6 lines will terminate at a Coax splitter, the 6th RG6 line will terminate at a Splitter/Combiner, and the Cat5 line will terminate at the ONT. Is this correct?

My thinking is that the BSU, PSU, Combiner/Splitter and Coax splitter will all be located in proximity to each other in the garage.

Does this make sense? Can anyone post any actual pictures of a similar configuration showing the the BSU, PSU, the Combiner/Splitter and the Coax Splitter (a picture's worth a thousand words - I haven't been able to find a pic that shows all the components that bring the various cables together, including the splitters).

Can all 6 RG6 lines and the Cat5e line come through a single hole from my crawlspace into the garage or would that cause some cross interference between the lines?

I assume that, before the installers arrive, I should NOT put any connectors on the lines in the garage, but I SHOULD put the appropriate connectors on the ends of the lines where the TV's and the Actiontec will be connected.

If I've missed anything important, please advise.

Thanks

In the configuration I've described, it is my understanding from the schematics I've seen that the 5 TV RG6 lines will terminate at a Coax splitter, the 6th RG6 line will terminate at a Splitter/Combiner, and the Cat5 line will terminate at the ONT. Is this correct?There will be one COAX line coming out of the ONT. It will be split 2-ways, 3-ways, 4-ways, 6-ways, or 8-ways depending on the number of TV outlets you have. CAT5 and one COAX line from the splitter will go to the Actiontec router (or a NIM100); the remaining COAX lines will go to the TV outlets.

If you want to use your own router, you would connect the CAT5 to the WAN port on your router, the coax to the Actiontec, and then connect the WAN port on the Actiontec to a LAN port on your router. Be sure to set your own router to something other than 192.168.1.x so as not to interfere with the Actiontec. If you aren't using the wireless on the Actiontec, be sure to login to it at 192.168.1.1 with admin/password (or admin/password1) and disable its wireless.

Can all 6 RG6 lines and the Cat5e line come through a single hole from my crawlspace into the garage or would that cause some cross interference between the lines?Yes, the CAT5 can run through the same hole as the coax.

I assume that, before the installers arrive, I should NOT put any connectors on the lines in the garage, but I SHOULD put the appropriate connectors on the ends of the lines where the TV's and the Actiontec will be connected.Sounds good to me.

I just ordered the triple play option. I have 4 HDTVs but order only two HD DVRs. Will comcast pass through the HD broadcast channels so I can avoid HD boxes for the bedroom TVs that have QAM tuners built in?

Thanks

I just ordered the triple play option. I have 4 HDTVs but order only two HD DVRs. Will comcast pass through the HD broadcast channels so I can avoid HD boxes for the bedroom TVs that have QAM tuners built in?I assume you mean, will FiOS...?

The answer is yes. Local HD channels on FiOS are unencrypted.

.... it is my understanding from the schematics I've seen that the 5 TV RG6 lines will terminate at a Coax splitter, the 6th RG6 line will terminate at a Splitter/Combiner, and the Cat5 line will terminate at the ONT. Is this correct?
...
I assume that, before the installers arrive, I should NOT put any connectors on the lines in the garage, but I SHOULD put the appropriate connectors on the ends of the lines where the TV's and the Actiontec will be connected.

Thanks
You are correct, the CAT-5 will run from the ONT to the ActionTec router (but that CAT-5 might not be needed if you get one of the newer ONTs that supports MOCA.)

I wouldn't put any connectors on the coax... Verizon cut all of mine off and replaced them (even though the cables were brand new.)

I will also need to run a Cat5e line from where the Actiontec is located to the garage. I will also (based on the schematics I've seen) have to run an additional RG6 Coax line from where the Actiontec is located to the garage (in order to get VOD and the Program Guide).
Thanks

Only if you have more than two phone numbers, you would need the Cat 5 from ONT to the router. The standard ONT used for residential applications are MoCA enabled but only have two voice ports. If you needed more than two voice lines, a non-MoCA ONT would be used. It still might not be a bad idea to run the CAT 5 run for any future, since you're already running the RG-6.

And I would leave the RG-6 unconnectorized.

And I would leave the RG-6 unconnectorized.

?? HAHA ;)

I recently got fios and have it hooked up as follows: HDMI-DVI-Pioneer Elite Pro 730 HD and Optical digital to B&K 507 receiver. For a while, the sound worked through the receiver and appeared to be a DD 5.1 signal. Now no sound is passed at all. It will pass analog sound though, but that is unacceptable. I do not ever us the TV for sound, all sound is through the reciver at all times.

To try and troubleshoot, I tried different inputs on the B&K, different cables, I even used coaxial cables, and nothing worked. I tried unplugging the video cable, and again it did not work. I tried componet video, and the picture was wrong, but the sound still did not work (green and blue lines only, though I may have hooked it up wrong as this was my last attempt and I just wanted to see if the audio worked.) I also unplugged it for 20 minutes to reset and still nothing. I have read the manual, which is worthless, and I have tried to access the menu where you enter when the power is off, to no avail. (My box is just the HD model, not the DVR.) Any thoughts?