No your number is not active on the copper. Your number is "rerouted" inside the CO off of the copper frame and into the fiber distribution equipment.

Don't even waste your time. Pop open a beer instead :D. Your assumption is correct, it is disconnected. Dual service on copper and fiber isn't doable.

The reason I asked is because of these posts in the Fios Programming thread :

I read this to say that when Verizon installs FIOS, they remove the copper wiring that runs from the street to my house...is that correct?

If so, why? Conduit space?

pj

Not at my house they didn't (northern New Jersey). As a matter of fact I still have one active analog line still functioning.

So, If it's rerouted/disconnected why does he still have an active analog line ?

It depends on the policy in the area and the kind of service the house has. In the long run Verizon would like to remove the copper to cut down on future maintenance and have you hooked on all the services available via fiber.

So, If it's rerouted/disconnected why does he still have an active analog line ?

One of two reasons I can think of. Either the copper line is under a different billing account or he may have equipment that is not compatible with POTS over FiOS (such as an alarm system or credit card machine).

One of two reasons I can think of. Either the copper line is under a different billing account or he may have equipment that is not compatible with POTS over FiOS (such as an alarm system or credit card machine).

Actually, I have a FIOS line and an analog dependent alarm system. I was not going to get the telephone service if it was VOIP, since my alarm company couldn't use it. The fact that it is analog in the house cleared that up, so my alarm system works fine with it.

So, in the house -> analog telephone system.
Outside the house -> ONT -> fiber : converted to VOIP.

No problems with any analog based systems in the house. I am switching a retail business that my wife and I own over to FIOS ASAP.

Sounds like an authorization problem. I'd call Verizon. Had this problem before, where I'd get some channels and not others. The online reset you do from your Verizon login account won't cut it. Verizon's reset sends a lot more info to the box and should fix the problem.

Just went through this last night with my DCT700 digital adapter. It wouldn't get anything above channel 49 and an online reset didn't help. Be sure to ask for tech support.

Turned out to be a signal loss issue to do multiply splitters being used. Long story short...4 way splitter out side...3 to TV's that were fine. One to structured media panel in newer part of house. That line went into 6 way splitter original installer put in. They put a amplifier in and everything is back to normal.

Well now I lost my HDMI signal AGAIN from the Verizon / Motorola QIP-6200. I have it connected to a JVC RS2, and on initial install it would show the image for about 1/2 second and the the blue screen "No Input" would come on. I did a cold re-boot and managed to get it working after that, but the cold re-boot no longer works. Verzion did a reset from there end with no luck. This is really getting frustrating, don't know what else to try, since my one and only component inputs are busy with something else.

Well now I lost my HDMI signal AGAIN from the Verizon / Motorola QIP-6200. I have it connected to a JVC RS2, and on initial install it would show the image for about 1/2 second and the the blue screen "No Input" would come on. I did a cold re-boot and managed to get it working after that, but the cold re-boot no longer works. Verzion did a reset from there end with no luck. This is really getting frustrating, don't know what else to try, since my one and only component inputs are busy with something else.

My first thought is the HDMI output on the 6200 may have died. Time for a new one.:(

UPDATE... My QIP-6200 was swapped for another QIP-6200 with Verizon, only to have the HDMI signal drop off everytime I turned off the STB. I had to do a cold re-boot of the STB every single time in order for the handshake to work with the JVC. I called upset about this, and the next day a verizon guy showed up in a car with a QIP-7100. Hooked it up and all is well. The QIP-7100 does not have any problem doing the handshake with the JVC, and I am also happy to report that the Green Band on the right is also corrected when using the 1080i output.

The QIP-7100 chasis is the same size as the QIP-6200 which is a good thing for me becuase I have mine on a middle atlantic rack with a custom face plate. They did drop the RCA output jacks that was on the face of the QIP-6200, and I do find it slow sometimes to switch channels. I also found a couple of picture freezes and skips when looking at the National Geographic Channel. That is all for now, will let you know if anything else creeps up with this unit. The official launch of the new 7000 series boxes is July 1.

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?


I just got a new (hdmi) ht recvr (yamaha v663) and have this same problem.

It seems to be an HDMI "handshaking" issue that can be prevented by powering on tv first, then the recvr. Perhaps the fios dvr queries the recvr (via hdmi) about video modes and the recvr only reports 720p (when the tv is off) or something related. I'll update this post if I figure it out.

This is a PITA!

Other ideas / solutions?

Update: The only suggestion is to power on the QIP 6416 last (which sometimes works) or just leave the QIP on all the time (sorta works)

PDS

I just got a new (hdmi) ht recvr (yamaha v663) and have this same problem.

It seems to be an HDMI "handshaking" issue that can be prevented by powering on tv first, then the recvr. Perhaps the fios dvr queries the recvr (via hdmi) about video modes and the recvr only reports 720p (when the tv is off) or something related. I'll update this post if I figure it out.

This is a PITA!

Other ideas / solutions?

PDS

Some devices are glitchy w/ HDMI. I have the same problem w/ my Samsung Blu-Ray player. Turning on devices in the right order, like you mention, seems to be the only solution.

Doug

We lost FiOS for two days due to a downed tree that knocked down the lines at the bottom of our street. When the signal was restored last night, it was like a breath of fresh air to enjoy the superlative HD PQ from FiOS again! You know the old saying, which an old boss used to paraphrase as: "Abstinence makes the heart grow fondle."

Doug

I'm brand new to this forum and not technically savvy. I'm hoping someone knows a solution to my problem or has at least encountered the same thing.

FiOS (TV, phone, and 'Net) was installed here on Wednesday. In one room, I have a Fujitsu plasma. On Tuesday, when I had an SA box, I could use the TV's zoom setting to zoom in on any 4:3 picture and get rid of the bars on the sides. Since FiOS, I can't do that.

I called Verizon, and they told me how to access the menu (by pressing power, select, menu) and I changed the 4:3 override so that the SD channels take up the full screen, but the HD channels still have the black bars on either side of the picture, and for some reason that I can't understand, the zoom function on my plasma display no longer works. It seems that nothing can be done to fix this.

Verizon says it's an issue with the plasma, but I can't believe that's the case because it worked fine when the FiOS guy pulled into my driveway. Why would it work with my SA set-top/Comcast but now doesn't work with Verizon and the Motorola set-top??? It makes no sense to me.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!

I'm brand new to this forum and not technically savvy. I'm hoping someone knows a solution to my problem or has at least encountered the same thing.

FiOS (TV, phone, and 'Net) was installed here on Wednesday. In one room, I have a Fujitsu plasma. On Tuesday, when I had an SA box, I could use the TV's zoom setting to zoom in on any 4:3 picture and get rid of the bars on the sides. Since FiOS, I can't do that.

I called Verizon, and they told me how to access the menu (by pressing power, select, menu) and I changed the 4:3 override so that the SD channels take up the full screen, but the HD channels still have the black bars on either side of the picture, and for some reason that I can't understand, the zoom function on my plasma display no longer works. It seems that nothing can be done to fix this.

Verizon says it's an issue with the plasma, but I can't believe that's the case because it worked fine when the FiOS guy pulled into my driveway. Why would it work with my SA set-top/Comcast but now doesn't work with Verizon and the Motorola set-top??? It makes no sense to me.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!

on HD chs that are not at the moment airing HD content this is a common misunderstanding.

if you're seeing pillar bx bars on an HD ch it's because the programming is a 4:3 upscaling.
SD programming is commonly scaled in two ways:

upscaling w/pillarboxing(preserves 4:3 aspect ratio) or

widescreen upscaling. the signal is airing in 16:9 widescreen but is scaled rather than native HD. in my area the NBC affiliate airs local news in 4:3 w/pillarboxing. the ABC affiliates airs local news in SD widescreen.

in either case the signal can't be altered with your TV's zoom or stretch modes-the bars are part of the signal.

for SD chs I don't know. I have 4:3 override enabled, Motorola box set to 16:9, & I can view a stretched SD image if i wish(with my TV set to FULL AR mode).

Thanks for the reply, HDntheCity. I understand what you're saying. I guess I don't understand why I could do it before but I can't do it now. I'll just have to live with it, I guess.

Thanks for the reply, HDntheCity. I understand what you're saying. I guess I don't understand why I could do it before but I can't do it now. I'll just have to live with it, I guess.

you're welcome laurdig.

I think it MIGHT be the stretch modes on your TV.

on mine(JVC 56FN97 LCoS) I have aspect ratio modes that allow me to watch the FiOS SD chs either stretched or with pillar boxes-with 4:3 Override on @ 480i & the box set to 16:9.

For those of you that access usnet groups, especially binaries, Vzn is cutting back access DRAMATICALLY ! It looks like all binary access will be prohibited

I received this email today :

"Dear Verizon Online Customer,

As a Verizon Newsgroup service user, we wanted to let you know about some important changes that we will soon be making to our Newsgroup service.

On June 24, 2008, we will be modifying our Newsgroup offerings to only offer groups in the Big-8 Newsgroup hierarchies, which are listed below. The 0.verizon.* newsgroup hierarchy will also continue to be available. Users will not be able to post or download from any other newsgroups using our Newsgroup service.

comp.*
humanities.*
misc.*
news.*
rec.*
sci.*
soc.*
talk.*

More details regarding the Big 8 newsgroup hierarchies is available at: http://www.big-8.org/.

This change will not affect your Internet access service. If you would like to subscribe to newsgroups other than those we offer, you will need to subscribe to a separate commercial news service. Please note that your use of any such service is still subject to our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy.

There are no changes required to your software, but you will need to unsubscribe from all Newsgroups other than the Big 8 hierarchies and the 0.verizon.* hierarchy noted above. The following link explains how to subscribe and unsubscribe in Outlook Express:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/171190

IMPORTANT: If you continue to subscribe to unsupported newsgroups, you may experience poor computer performance and slow throughput speeds. Failure to unsubscribe may also interfere with the functioning of the Verizon network or use of the network by other Verizon users, which is a violation of our Acceptable Use Policy.

We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,
Verizon Online "

UPDATE... My QIP-6200 was swapped for another QIP-6200 with Verizon, only to have the HDMI signal drop off everytime I turned off the STB. I had to do a cold re-boot of the STB every single time in order for the handshake to work with the JVC. I called upset about this, and the next day a verizon guy showed up in a car with a QIP-7100. Hooked it up and all is well. The QIP-7100 does not have any problem doing the handshake with the JVC, and I am also happy to report that the Green Band on the right is also corrected when using the 1080i output.

The QIP-7100 chasis is the same size as the QIP-6200 which is a good thing for me becuase I have mine on a middle atlantic rack with a custom face plate. They did drop the RCA output jacks that was on the face of the QIP-6200, and I do find it slow sometimes to switch channels. I also found a couple of picture freezes and skips when looking at the National Geographic Channel. That is all for now, will let you know if anything else creeps up with this unit. The official launch of the new 7000 series boxes is July 1.

Wow, that's awesome that you got a 7100 box! Did they add an option for native output (as opposed to fixed scaling to 720p or 1080i)? Overall, in the time you've had the box, would you say reliability is improved over the 6200?

I know this relates to FIOS internet and not TV service, but Verizon just announced that starting next week, 50/20 Mbps will be available to ALL FIOS customers. Additionally, the 15/15 Mbps service will be upgraded to 20/20 Mbps at the same price. :D

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

I have been a FiOS customer for approximately 18 months. As of about a month ago, at various times I will receive what sounds to be radio interference that comes out of my sub-woofer for approx. 15 seconds. It only happens once in a while and only one time in the evening that it occurs within. Does anyone know what could be causing this very strange interruption and how could it be coming out of my subwoofer?

I am joining the FIOS world next week and have a question about the HDDVR. I understand that it can store 18 hours of HD material. If one wanted more can the unit accept a USB2 external HDD? And if so what size would you guys recommend?

Thank you

I am joining the FIOS world next week and have a question about the HDDVR. I understand that it can store 18 hours of HD material. If one wanted more can the unit accept a USB2 external HDD? And if so what size would you guys recommend?

Thank you

No - for detailed questions for this DVR go to the thread for it in the HDTV recorders threads.

Which would be this one: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=617635&page=117. I don't think USB is enabled. Remember that these boxes are armed to to teeth with copy protection and anti-piracy measures. There's some discussions about external SATA drives, but try over in that thread.

I have been a FiOS customer for approximately 18 months. As of about a month ago, at various times I will receive what sounds to be radio interference that comes out of my sub-woofer for approx. 15 seconds. It only happens once in a while and only one time in the evening that it occurs within. Does anyone know what could be causing this very strange interruption and how could it be coming out of my subwoofer?

What type of radio broadcast is it? This sounds like classic RFI - Radio Frequency Interference, caused by a nearby transmitter. There is a pathway by which the radio signals get into the subwoofer amplifier, which then accidentally demodulates it and amplifies it. This pathway could be directly through the cabinet, or through the cables connecting to the subwoofer. It could also come from your audio receiver, and be passed through to the subwoofer.

A strong radio signal could be received if a police car is driving by, or someone nearby has a CB or Ham radio. If it sounds like a phone call, it could be coming from a cordless phone. If you live by the water, it could be a marine radio.

Do you have any idea what type of transmission you are receiving?

Scott

I have been a FiOS customer for approximately 18 months. As of about a month ago, at various times I will receive what sounds to be radio interference that comes out of my sub-woofer for approx. 15 seconds. It only happens once in a while and only one time in the evening that it occurs within. Does anyone know what could be causing this very strange interruption and how could it be coming out of my subwoofer?

I noticed a similar phenomenon when my daughter came to visit and placed her Blackberry near my sub-woofer. I also suspect it is EMI since I have noticed similar behavior while on conference calls and occasionally on a car radio when a cell phone is in close proximity.

What type of radio broadcast is it? This sounds like classic RFI - Radio Frequency Interference, caused by a nearby transmitter. There is a pathway by which the radio signals get into the subwoofer amplifier, which then accidentally demodulates it and amplifies it. This pathway could be directly through the cabinet, or through the cables connecting to the subwoofer. It could also come from your audio receiver, and be passed through to the subwoofer.

A strong radio signal could be received if a police car is driving by, or someone nearby has a CB or Ham radio. If it sounds like a phone call, it could be coming from a cordless phone. If you live by the water, it could be a marine radio.

Do you have any idea what type of transmission you are receiving?

Scott


It sounds like a police radio or something similar. It's only for a few seconds but it's so strange to hear this coming from a sub. Is there any way to keep it from happening that you know of?

Easy to do:
Try to find where the "antenna" is. First, disconnect the audio input and see if the problem goes away. Any chance of using an optical input? That would kill that path for sure.

If it's still there, your next step is to filter the power supply. That means an AC line filter. Nothing fancy, just enough filtering to kill it.

Alternatively, you could shorten the antenna by coiling up excess line runs- both the AC line cord and audio input sides.

Hard to do:
However, it may be due to the electronics inside the sub's amp. Pienza's example of placing a Blackberry in close proximity is a good indication of that. Do you have a Blackberry or cell phone that you can place next to it? Turn it on and see what happens (turn down the amp volume first!). If you can repeat the problem, then your amp needs the "tin foil hat" approach. RF shielding.

Blackberry's operate on cell phone frequencies: http://www.berryreview.com/2007/10/17/faq-which-frequency-and-wireless-network-does-my-blackberry-support/

Transmissions of only a few seconds are most probably 2-way communications. Can you hear the words, or is it a constant tone? If you can hear the words, then it's most probably an AM transmitter. Any cheap FRS radios around (those 2-way walkie-talkies that you get for under $20 at Walmart)? AM is easily demodulated by electroncs circuits (lots of diodes, etc.), FM is not. Police and fire are probably using the FM version.

Easy to do:
Try to find where the "antenna" is. First, disconnect the audio input and see if the problem goes away. Any chance of using an optical input? That would kill that path for sure.

If it's still there, your next step is to filter the power supply. That means an AC line filter. Nothing fancy, just enough filtering to kill it.

Alternatively, you could shorten the antenna by coiling up excess line runs- both the AC line cord and audio input sides.

Hard to do:
However, it may be due to the electronics inside the sub's amp. Pienza's example of placing a Blackberry in close proximity is a good indication of that. Do you have a Blackberry or cell phone that you can place next to it? Turn it on and see what happens (turn down the amp volume first!). If you can repeat the problem, then your amp needs the "tin foil hat" approach. RF shielding.

Blackberry's operate on cell phone frequencies: http://www.berryreview.com/2007/10/17/faq-which-frequency-and-wireless-network-does-my-blackberry-support/

Transmissions of only a few seconds are most probably 2-way communications. Can you hear the words, or is it a constant tone? If you can hear the words, then it's most probably an AM transmitter. Any cheap FRS radios around (those 2-way walkie-talkies that you get for under $20 at Walmart)? AM is easily demodulated by electroncs circuits (lots of diodes, etc.), FM is not. Police and fire are probably using the FM version.

Thanks GeekGirl. I'll try the Easy approach first. PCW

I was just having a FIOS guy re-set my cablecard because it loses some of my channels from time to time. Anyway, he reset my OTM because he said it may have not reset properly from our last power outage. anyway, he mentioned having a new 2-way cable card! He said they received a letter about it last month and even gave me a number to call to get one. he said it was called the "encore" card and gave me a number to call directly to inquire about it. I tried caling several times and keep getting a busy signal.

Haven't been on the forums for CC's in a while, sorry if this is old news, but is this true? anyone have one yet?

I was just having a FIOS guy re-set my cablecard because it loses some of my channels from time to time. Anyway, he reset my OTM because he said it may have not reset properly from our last power outage. anyway, he mentioned having a new 2-way cable card! He said they received a letter about it last month and even gave me a number to call to get one. he said it was called the "encore" card and gave me a number to call directly to inquire about it. I tried caling several times and keep getting a busy signal.

Haven't been on the forums for CC's in a while, sorry if this is old news, but is this true? anyone have one yet?

He was probably talking about CableCARD 2.0 (http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/06/22/cablecard-2-0-is-ready/) (unless Verizon has some new proprietary thing that nobody knows about yet). As the linked article points out, the limitation is actually not with the CableCARD itself, but with the host devices. Assuming you've got a TiVo or Windows MCE, there's no way to get 2-way communication at the moment. Tru2way (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru2way) is on its way, but I don't think there are any 3rd party devices that currently support it.

EDITED TO ADD: Also, FiOS uses IPTV (rather than QAM) for Video On Demand, which makes things even more complicated, as currently only the Motorola boxes that Verizon rents you support IPTV. TiVo and Windows MCE do not support IPTV, and I'm pretty sure there aren't any other cable boxes that do. Interestingly enough, I believe the new 7000 series HD STBs that Verizon is rolling out in July come with CableCARDs rather than using integrated decryption like the 6000 series Motorola HD STBs. This could be what the Verizon tech was referring to, but ironically, the 2-way part would only work with the leased Motorola boxes.

He was probably talking about CableCARD 2.0 (http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/06/22/cablecard-2-0-is-ready/) (unless Verizon has some new proprietary thing that nobody knows about yet). As the linked article points out, the limitation is actually not with the CableCARD itself, but with the host devices. Assuming you've got a TiVo or Windows MCE, there's no way to get 2-way communication at the moment. Tru2way (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru2way) is on its way, but I don't think there are any 3rd party devices that currently support it.

EDITED TO ADD: Also, FiOS uses IPTV (rather than QAM) for Video On Demand, which makes things even more complicated, as currently only the Motorola boxes that Verizon rents you support IPTV. TiVo and Windows MCE do not support IPTV, and I'm pretty sure there aren't any other cable boxes that do. Interestingly enough, I believe the new 7000 series HD STBs that Verizon is rolling out in July come with CableCARDs rather than using integrated decryption like the 6000 series Motorola HD STBs. This could be what the Verizon tech was referring to, but ironically, the 2-way part would only work with the leased Motorola boxes.

Now that you mention it, I think he WAS referring to the latter. The reason I couldn't really understand what he was talking about was because he kept referring to "the new stb" and I kept trying to confirm and get clarity, "you mean the cable card, right?". He just kept responding, "yes, the stb!". I was so confused!, "wait, who's on first?"

So what's the advantage to the new box? Better video compression? no compression?

Now that you mention it, I think he WAS referring to the latter. The reason I couldn't really understand what he was talking about was because he kept referring to "the new stb" and I kept trying to confirm and get clarity, "you mean the cable card, right?". He just kept responding, "yes, the stb!". I was so confused!, "wait, who's on first?"

So what's the advantage to the new box? Better video compression? no compression?

No one that I know of knows the exact differences between the 7000 series and the 6000 series, other than it uses a CableCARD instead of integrated decryption to comply with an FCC mandate (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/05/16/verizons-cablecard-waiver-expires-july-1/). I could be wrong, but I think Verizon will (and is legally obligated to) upgrade all existing users of the 6000 series boxes to the 7000 series boxes. The CableCARD inclusion could be the only difference, but personally I'm hoping for some increased reliability 'cause the 6000 series boxes were SORELY lacking in that area.

Verizon already doesn't use any compression on their HD video (which is why it looks so much better than Comcrap) and likely won't for the foreseeable future, so even though the boxes do include better support for compressed video, that's not something that will be noticeably better since Verizon hasn't been and hopefully won't be using it.

If you've got a 3rd party box I'd stick with that -- IME these Motorola boxes suck, and I may be going the TiVo route myself pretty soon. I can live without On Demand. "HD" VOD is dead to me now that I've got a PS3 and can rent Blu-Ray.

I think one advantage that may not be used yet is that it can handle MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoding. Another is that it may be the motorola box that has an optional 250G drive. I'm of course assuming it is equivalent to the Motorola DCX3400.

It also supposedly has a more powerful processor to speed up things like scrolling through VOD, etc.

It also supposedly has a more powerful processor to speed up things like scrolling through VOD, etc.

I'd be happy to be able to just watch VOD without the picture and audio breaking up!

I'd be happy to be able to just watch VOD without the picture and audio breaking up!

I haven't seen that since the early implementation of HD VOD in my area. I also never saw it on SD VOD. Might be a bad box or something with the signal?

I think it is the box because it does it on HD and SD, yet my SD box plays it perfectly. I've held off replacing the box until the new ones are available :)

I think it is the box because it does it on HD and SD, yet my SD box plays it perfectly. I've held off replacing the box until the new ones are available :)

I'll bet the VOD app code module is corrupt. when you access the stb diag screen, there are 4 app code modules listed. One of them is the VOD app, however, i cannot recall which one it is.

Has someone at tech support sent a command to your dvr that wipes it clean & then takes approx. 10-15min. to reload yet? I believe it is called a "cold init", & it is the one that wipes your app code modules & re-downloads them.

I haven't seen that since the early implementation of HD VOD in my area. I also never saw it on SD VOD. Might be a bad box or something with the signal?

The problem could be a billion things, but my mother recently got this fixed. She in connected to the ONT via ethernet. So, the problem was that the ONT's coax had to be filtered because the MOCA WAN signal was messing with the LAN MOCA signal.

The tech said a certain number of ONTs have this issue and must be filtered at the ONT in order for LAN MOCA signal (from the actiontec router) to sync up with STBs.

I think if my mother's router was connected to the ONT via coax, this would not be the case.

More and more FIOS installs are coax only installs and they aren't running CAT5 cable.

The problem could be a billion things, but my mother recently got this fixed. She in connected to the ONT via ethernet. So, the problem was that the ONT's coax had to be filtered because the MOCA WAN signal was messing with the LAN MOCA signal.

The tech said a certain number of ONTs have this issue and must be filtered at the ONT in order for LAN MOCA signal (from the actiontec router) to sync up with STBs.

I think if my mother's router was connected to the ONT via coax, this would not be the case.

More and more FIOS installs are coax only installs and they aren't running CAT5 cable.

Ah... I have an ethernet connection, so my signals are nicely differentiated.

Well, now on 3rd or 4th problem with FIOS service in just over a month. First it was missing channels, then after that was fixed it was the internet going off for hours at a time. That got fixed, but not right. They had to come again to put new inline AMP and NID in...everything ok. Now today, no internet, no phone, TV going in and out. ONT has a solid red fail light.

Called them and test diagnose a damaged line. Techs coming between 2 and 8. $10 says its not the line, its the ONT! After this is fixed, its time to call them and get a nice credit for all these problems. Funny thing is, I had Directv before still have not canceled them (just lowered to base package) since getting FIOS in February because I wanted to keep it for "just in case". If these problems continue, that may have been a wise move not to cancel yet.

... Now today, no internet, no phone, TV going in and out. ONT has a solid red fail light.

Called them and test diagnose a damaged line.

Had that happen a few weeks ago. Turned out that a tech (from another install) moved my connection at the HUB. I was without internet, phone, TV for 2 days.

Had that happen a few weeks ago. Turned out that a tech (from another install) moved my connection at the HUB. I was without internet, phone, TV for 2 days.
+1, last month, same thing !

I'll bet the VOD app code module is corrupt. when you access the stb diag screen, there are 4 app code modules listed. One of them is the VOD app, however, i cannot recall which one it is.

Has someone at tech support sent a command to your dvr that wipes it clean & then takes approx. 10-15min. to reload yet? I believe it is called a "cold init", & it is the one that wipes your app code modules & re-downloads them.
Yes, more than once.
Interestingly, it's working OK today. Coincidentally, it's the first time my DVR is below 45% full.

I just ordered a free digital adaptor box for the converstion from analog. The rep stated I would be able to recieve all of the channels offer via FiOS, standard def of course. I didn't ask when that would apply, is that now or only when the conversion is complete.

I was thinking, I have a old Tivo that is connected to FiOS SD STB. Could I feed the Tivo using on of the free digital adaptor boxes? I know I would not get the guide and VOD and other options, but I can get the guide via the Tivo

Has any used one of these boxes before?

You have both composite and RF outputs available. Remember it's SD so it's not as critical. Composite is the better of the two, I'd record with that one.

I connected my digital adapter's composite output to my PC monitor's composite input. Free tuner with Picture-in-Picture while I'm on the PC.

The digital channels should be there now, you should be able to use the adapter as soon as it arrives. All you need to do is a simple activation over the web. E-Z instructions in the box.

The rep stated I would be able to recieve all of the channels offer via FiOS, standard def of course. I didn't ask when that would apply, is that now or only when the conversion is complete.Now. Fios has always carried all its channels in digital. A few of the channels were/are also carried in analog. But Fios' own STBs, as well as CableCards, have always used the digital versions.

I was thinking, I have a old Tivo that is connected to FiOS SD STB. Could I feed the Tivo using on of the free digital adaptor boxes?Yes, or you could continue using the STB.

Has any used one of these boxes before?Uh, yeah.

I just ordered a free digital adaptor box for the converstion from analog. The rep stated I would be able to recieve all of the channels offer via FiOS, standard def of course. I didn't ask when that would apply, is that now or only when the conversion is complete.


It's a stripped down version of their SD box that they charge $4.99 monthly for. No guide, no VOD, but it does get all the SD channels Fios offers. And it is also quite small. Nice that it's "free".

I wonder if there's a limit as to how many of these adaptors they will give out per household.

I wonder if there's a limit as to how many of these adaptors they will give out per household.
Yes, the limit is three.

I just ordered a free digital adaptor box for the converstion from analog. The rep stated I would be able to recieve all of the channels offer via FiOS, standard def of course. I didn't ask when that would apply, is that now or only when the conversion is complete.

I was thinking, I have a old Tivo that is connected to FiOS SD STB. Could I feed the Tivo using on of the free digital adaptor boxes? I know I would not get the guide and VOD and other options, but I can get the guide via the Tivo

Has any used one of these boxes before?

This is exactly what I am doing. I have a first generation Tivo, with lifetime service, and I'm using it with the digital adapter.

I hadn't used the Tivo in a while, and the only difficulty I had was during setup when I found that the 800 number used for the initial setup was no longer supported. I found some instructions online for faking out the dialing code to dial one of the local numbers.

This may seem like an odd topic, but I am in the process of downgrading my FiOS TV account to "Locals Only" which gets me all of the unencrypted digital stations -- primarily locals and WGN. We recently moved to a Vista Media Center solution with an HD Homerun tuner and an OTA antenna just wasn't providing a reliable solution (too far away from source it seems).

So, the CR at Verizon told me two things:

1. A technician visit is necessary to make the change.
2. An STB is required (for an additional $5.99 over the $12.99 cost of the Locals Only setup).

The first one is OK, except for the loss of time involved, but the second seems absolutely ridiculous given that the solution works for me today with no STB. Built-in digital cable tuners, by definition, do not require an STB!

My questions are whether anyone else has moved to this kind of setup and we you/weren't you required to have the STB; and/or are you aware of how I can ditch the STB and the additional 50% cost either during or after the technician visit?

The CR told me that STBs are required due to the digital transition in February, when a built-in tuner wouldn't be able to receive all stations. While this is true of an analog TV/tuner, it shouldn't apply to a digital tuner, should it?

This may seem like an odd topic, but I am in the process of downgrading my FiOS TV account to "Locals Only" which gets me all of the unencrypted digital stations -- primarily locals and WGN. We recently moved to a Vista Media Center solution with an HD Homerun tuner and an OTA antenna just wasn't providing a reliable solution (too far away from source it seems).

So, the CR at Verizon told me two things:

1. A technician visit is necessary to make the change.
2. An STB is required (for an additional $5.99 over the $12.99 cost of the Locals Only setup).

The first one is OK, except for the loss of time involved, but the second seems absolutely ridiculous given that the solution works for me today with no STB. Built-in digital cable tuners, by definition, do not require an STB!

My questions are whether anyone else has moved to this kind of setup and we you/weren't you required to have the STB; and/or are you aware of how I can ditch the STB and the additional 50% cost either during or after the technician visit?

The CR told me that STBs are required due to the digital transition in February, when a built-in tuner wouldn't be able to receive all stations. While this is true of an analog TV/tuner, it shouldn't apply to a digital tuner, should it?


no it shouldn't & IMO the CR:

1. is clueless or-

2. thinks YOU'RE clueless & is playing it safe(i.e. doesn't think you know the difference between an analog & a QAM tuner, or assumes your TV is analog-only, & is telling you what will work in ANY circumstances.)

it WILL work if your TV has a QAM tuner because I bypassed my SD STB & plugged the drop straight into the antenna port(just for the heck of it).

just make sure you connect the DIGITAL Cable tuner & run a ch scan.

as for a tech visit being needed I can't say one way or another.

This may seem like an odd topic, but I am in the process of downgrading my FiOS TV account to "Locals Only" which gets me all of the unencrypted digital stations -- primarily locals and WGN. We recently moved to a Vista Media Center solution with an HD Homerun tuner and an OTA antenna just wasn't providing a reliable solution (too far away from source it seems).

So, the CR at Verizon told me two things:

1. A technician visit is necessary to make the change.
2. An STB is required (for an additional $5.99 over the $12.99 cost of the Locals Only setup).

The first one is OK, except for the loss of time involved, but the second seems absolutely ridiculous given that the solution works for me today with no STB. Built-in digital cable tuners, by definition, do not require an STB!

My questions are whether anyone else has moved to this kind of setup and we you/weren't you required to have the STB; and/or are you aware of how I can ditch the STB and the additional 50% cost either during or after the technician visit?

The CR told me that STBs are required due to the digital transition in February, when a built-in tuner wouldn't be able to receive all stations. While this is true of an analog TV/tuner, it shouldn't apply to a digital tuner, should it?

Maybe you can try just plugging in the cable directly to your TV now. If you get the locals now, I would think you would get them after they "shut off" the other channels.

Maybe you can try just plugging in the cable directly to your TV now. If you get the locals now, I would think you would get them after they "shut off" the other channels.

Yes, the locals (SD and HD) definitely work without the STB, as we have been running like this for the past couple of months. My dilemma is convincing Verizon that they don't need to charge me for an STB. The CR told me that the system would not let him set up the order without an STB.

I searched a bit more on this topic, and apparently this isn't a completely unheard of problem. The cable operators quite often require an STB to force access to their PPV and other cost-added options. In the case of a locals-only account, however, this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Yes, the locals (SD and HD) definitely work without the STB, as we have been running like this for the past couple of months. My dilemma is convincing Verizon that they don't need to charge me for an STB. The CR told me that the system would not let him set up the order without an STB.

I searched a bit more on this topic, and apparently this isn't a completely unheard of problem. The cable operators quite often require an STB to force access to their PPV and other cost-added options. In the case of a locals-only account, however, this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

You should try calling the number for the digital conversion, and get your free Digital Adapter(s). Then, when they try to get you to add an STB, you can tell them you don't need one, because you already have the free digital Adapter.
For more information on the free Digital Adapter(s), see http://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/godigital.html

You should try calling the number for the digital conversion, and get your free Digital Adapter(s). Then, when they try to get you to add an STB, you can tell them you don't need one, because you already have the free digital Adapter.
For more information on the free Digital Adapter(s), see http://www22.verizon.com/content/fiostv/godigital.html

Thanks for the link!

A few times on this page they state explicitly that you don't require a STB or digital adapter if you have a TV with a built-in digital tuner. One place it states that "'Local only' customers are not required to have a set-top box (STB) in the home". I guess someone forgot to tell their ordering system.

If I feel like burning 30-40 minutes later this week I may try to get them to take the STB off the order before the tech shows up next week. Otherwise perhaps I can work it with the tech; although I have a feeling that getting the billing fixed after that will be troublesome.

The fact the Verizon explicitly says on their website that this *is not* required seems like all the ammunition I should need to force a supervisor to nix the STB. We shall see....

The fact the Verizon explicitly says on their website that this *is not* required seems like all the ammunition I should need to force a supervisor to nix the STB. We shall see....

If I were you I would send an e-mail message to the office in New York about this. My bet is you will get the help you need if you do that.

In the past the New York office has solved many problems right away, mostly because they don't want to be inundated with follow up e-mails.

Good luck.

Jim

I have FiOS HD/DVR and am changing from a SD 480i TV to a 1080p Samsung 46A750. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm going to call support and check but wanted to see if anyone had gone through this before. Do I just plug my new HDTV via HDMI to the STB?

I have FiOS HD/DVR and am changing from a SD 480i TV to a 1080p Samsung 46A750. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm going to call support and check but wanted to see if anyone had gone through this before. Do I just plug my new HDTV via HDMI to the STB?

Yes.

I just bought a Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate USB tuner and recorder. It works fine with rabbit ears, but after scanning the FIOS channels, it won't show any of them. Anyone out there use this device and if so, have you gotten it to work with FIOS?

I have FiOS HD/DVR and am changing from a SD 480i TV to a 1080p Samsung 46A750. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm going to call support and check but wanted to see if anyone had gone through this before. Do I just plug my new HDTV via HDMI to the STB?

I agree with what mrjgkelly said, you should simply have to plug the new TV into the STB via a HDMI cable.

However, as you have been using it for a SD 480i TV, you might also need to make sure the output on the HD/DVR is set to 1080i, not 480i.

I know this relates to FIOS internet and not TV service, but Verizon just announced that starting next week, 50/20 Mbps will be available to ALL FIOS customers. Additionally, the 15/15 Mbps service will be upgraded to 20/20 Mbps at the same price. :D

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

It appears that the upgrades require that existing customers REQUEST that they be upgraded. It is NOT automatic. Requesting the upgrade may result in a new 1 or 2 year contract. :mad:

Anyone have a motorola DCH3416 stb with verizon FIOS?

Anyone have a motorola DCH3416 stb with verizon FIOS?

I doubt it.

AFAIK FiOS boxes are HD- 62xxx series & 64xxx series(DVR)
SD- 25xxx series & an SD DVR(don't remember the model#)


also FiOS boxes have the designation QIP(which I'm guessing means Qam/Internet Protocol).

there have been reports of Vz starting to rollout new 71xxx series Moto boxes.

I've got FiOS with a 6416 HD-DVR, 6200 HD-STB, and multiple 2500 STBs, and for a number of reasons I'd like to completely block access to VOD, ideally, without affecting the IMG or firmware updates sent by Verizon. Since VOD operates over IPTV, I thought the easiest way to do this would be to find out what TCP/UDP port VOD communicates with and use the firewall on the Actiontec router to block outbound traffic on that port; hopefully preventing the STBs from being able to request VOD content.

Does anyone know if this would work? Do the IMG or firmware updates require outbound communication over the same port, or are they just sent "downstream"? And most importantly, does anyone have any idea what the VOD port number might be?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I just got Fios TV installed (I've had fios internet for some time now). I had the tech set up 1 large converter box and 2 of the smaller DCT700's. I'd like to get more of the DCT700's for my DVR (Snapstream Beyond TV). I know I can rent them from Verizon for 3.99/month, but I'd really rather just make the purchase once and not have to pay a monthly fee.
I've seen DCT700 on ebay from other cable companies for anywhere from $15-50. Can I just buy one of those and install it? Will I need to reset it? Has anyone done this yet? And if so, how hard is it to get Fios to activate the boxes?

I've seen repair manuals for this box on ebay, but something tells me that that info is already out there on the net for free and will not need to buy a repair manual. (I've already been able to find the reset codes)

thanks in advance for any help.

Hi everyone. I just got Fios TV installed (I've had fios internet for some time now). I had the tech set up 1 large converter box and 2 of the smaller DCT700's. I'd like to get more of the DCT700's for my DVR (Snapstream Beyond TV). I know I can rent them from Verizon for 3.99/month, but I'd really rather just make the purchase once and not have to pay a monthly fee.
I've seen DCT700 on ebay from other cable companies for anywhere from $15-50. Can I just buy one of those and install it? Will I need to reset it? Has anyone done this yet? And if so, how hard is it to get Fios to activate the boxes?

I've seen repair manuals for this box on ebay, but something tells me that that info is already out there on the net for free and will not need to buy a repair manual. (I've already been able to find the reset codes)

thanks in advance for any help.

You can check with Verizon, but I'm almost positive that they won't activate anything that you're not renting from them. So yes, the ones being sold on eBay are a scam -- they're no good to you. Unless you want to watch a very limited number of channels, I don't think you can get out of renting some kind of box or CableCARD for every TV in your house that you want to get FiOS on.

EDITED TO ADD: But, I'm pretty sure Verizon is having a promotion right now where you can get up to 3 DCT700s free for the life of your subscription (even for existing subscribers). I'm not sure how that works though. Someone else on here want to elaborate?

You can check with Verizon, but I'm almost positive that they won't activate anything that you're not renting from them. So yes, the ones being sold on eBay are a scam -- they're no good to you. Unless you want to watch a very limited number of channels, I don't think you can get out of renting some kind of box or CableCARD for every TV in your house that you want to get FiOS on.

EDITED TO ADD: But, I'm pretty sure Verizon is having a promotion right now where you can get up to 3 DCT700s free for the life of your subscription (even for existing subscribers). I'm not sure how that works though. Someone else on here want to elaborate?

My understanding is that it is up to 2 and is only for existing subscribers who received the end-of-analog promotion letter.

Verizon is starting to setup fios network cables around my neighborhood, don't no how long its going to take for completion. I live in covina, ca. Want should I expect when they complete the network setup. Want do I need to do to make the installation go easy. All this is new to me.

If this is the wrong area to post, sorry.

I posted this in the other thread, but it might go better here under technical:

This thread caught my eye:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1054514

It's not specifically about FiOS - but a Pace Box, but it deals almost exactly with an issue I see on FiOS.

Is the time on the DVRs around the country about :30 slow - or is it just in some certain areas?

If you are unsure, its pretty easy to tell if the first few seconds of your shows are usually cut off - especially at 8:00pm.

Trying to gauge how widespread the problem is so I know which contact in FiOS to go to and try to get it resolved. Not worth dealing with on the local level if it is from TV Guide as this other poster says.

I *assumed* the time was synced at the local VHO.

I've got FiOS with a 6416 HD-DVR, 6200 HD-STB, and multiple 2500 STBs, and for a number of reasons I'd like to completely block access to VOD, ideally, without affecting the IMG or firmware updates sent by Verizon. Since VOD operates over IPTV, I thought the easiest way to do this would be to find out what TCP/UDP port VOD communicates with and use the firewall on the Actiontec router to block outbound traffic on that port; hopefully preventing the STBs from being able to request VOD content.

Does anyone know if this would work? Do the IMG or firmware updates require outbound communication over the same port, or are they just sent "downstream"? And most importantly, does anyone have any idea what the VOD port number might be?

Thanks in advance!

I would think its rather easy to do by just putting a one way amp in front of the stb so that the stb cannot request info from the router. However, you do realize that you will loose the program guide as well?

Hi everyone. I just got Fios TV installed (I've had fios internet for some time now). I had the tech set up 1 large converter box and 2 of the smaller DCT700's. I'd like to get more of the DCT700's for my DVR (Snapstream Beyond TV). I know I can rent them from Verizon for 3.99/month, but I'd really rather just make the purchase once and not have to pay a monthly fee.
I've seen DCT700 on ebay from other cable companies for anywhere from $15-50. Can I just buy one of those and install it? Will I need to reset it? Has anyone done this yet? And if so, how hard is it to get Fios to activate the boxes?

I've seen repair manuals for this box on ebay, but something tells me that that info is already out there on the net for free and will not need to buy a repair manual. (I've already been able to find the reset codes)

thanks in advance for any help.

Every system has its own unique decryption key in the Digicipher II unit.

If you purchase a unit that was not on the Verizon FiOS system, the Decryption key will not work with the system. If you do purchase one that was on the FiOS system, it will be a stolen unit and Verizon will gladly confiscate it from you (no idea if they would press charges for possession of stolen property).

Its usually roughly 5-6 months from when they start to when they offer the service.

With Internet/phone first - with TV serivce later.

Verizon is starting to setup fios network cables around my neighborhood, don't no how long its going to take for completion. I live in covina, ca. Want should I expect when they complete the network setup. Want do I need to do to make the installation go easy. All this is new to me.

You might go here and see if there is an L.A. forum, or one closer to home that you could also monitor:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45
This might also be helpful:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber

With Internet/phone first - with TV serivce later.

I would agree that in the past that was the case, but as we have seen in the past several months (including NYC), especially with states that have statewide franchise agreements with Verizon, the bundle of all services is available in most places from Day 1.

Reposting these due to AVS database failure and loss of 9 days of posts.

Posted by: BeachComber
On: 08-05-08 03:58 PM

Answering part of my own question, but it will be here for future reference.

The time for the FiOS STBs comes from atomic NTP to DAC in the SHE, to RADD in the VHO, to OM to STB over PON.

The time as displayed on the LED of the STB is not accurate - but it is supposedly only a display issue. The internal clock is which directs start and stop times to the DVR is supposedly correct. IMG 1.6 deploying later this year changes the logic controlling the LED writes to keep the clock in sync with real time.

I *assumed* that the time displayed on the front of the DVR was the time the internal clock went by (as do most others) as it makes little sense to have two clock functions within the DVR (especially as the DVR is so limited in features). Apparently that is not the case.

This still fails to explain why the beginning of shows at 8:00:00 PM get cut off.
************

Posted by: ne01
On: 08-05-08 06:48 PM


---Quote (Originally by ne01)---
I've got FiOS with a 6416 HD-DVR, 6200 HD-STB, and multiple 2500 STBs, and for a number of reasons I'd like to completely block access to VOD, ideally, without affecting the IMG or firmware updates sent by Verizon. Since VOD operates over IPTV, I thought the easiest way to do this would be to find out what TCP/UDP port VOD communicates with and use the firewall on the Actiontec router to block outbound traffic on that port; hopefully preventing the STBs from being able to request VOD content.

Does anyone know if this would work? Do the IMG or firmware updates require outbound communication over the same port, or are they just sent "downstream"? And most importantly, does anyone have any idea what the VOD port number might be?

Thanks in advance!
---End Quote---
I'm also answering my own question in the interest of posterity. Thanks to FiosFAQ for giving me the answer (http://www.fiosfaq.com/content.php?contentid=336). One can disable VOD while retaining guide data by blocking the following ports on their router:

TCP Any -> 49207
TCP Any -> 554
UDP 21310 -> Any

On a side note, are any other parents disturbed that FiOS offers "Hooters" VOD with a TV14 rating?

Now I have that Install headache to worry about. There's a Attic room that will be difficult to wire up. If I do it now because I think Verizon won't, I can't be exactly sure how much RG6 & Cat6 to run because I can't be sure where the ONT will be.

There's a perfect spot in the basement for the ONT and all the connections. But, there's a bad spot outside where the Electric Meter is attached to the house and the current Phone/Cable come in. That spot on the outside has Marble facing & windows with little room for anything else like an ONT.

At least in the past, in some parts of the Country Verizon lets you choose within reason where everything goes. In others, they don't - side of the house and nowhere else for the ONT. This also could also be at the whim of the Installer. You never know for sure.

Has this situation improved ?

In the basement nearly all current wiring will be perfect where the ONT could go since there's a bit of extra length on all the cables. But, there's probably not enough for an outside Install. I'd hate to have them redo all the wiring simply to put the ONT on the outside of the house.

Now I have that Install headache to worry about. There's a Attic room that will be difficult to wire up. If I do it now because I think Verizon won't, I can't be exactly sure how much RG6 & Cat6 to run because I can't be sure where the ONT will be.

There's a perfect spot in the basement for the ONT and all the connections. But, there's a bad spot outside where the Electric Meter is attached to the house and the current Phone/Cable come in. That spot on the outside has Marble facing & windows with little room for anything else like an ONT.

At least in the past, in some parts of the Country Verizon lets you choose within reason where everything goes. In others, they don't - side of the house and nowhere else for the ONT. This also could also be at the whim of the Installer. You never know for sure.

Has this situation improved ?

In the basement nearly all current wiring will be perfect where the ONT could go since there's a bit of extra length on all the cables. But, there's probably not enough for an outside Install. I'd hate to have them redo all the wiring simply to put the ONT on the outside of the house.


Thought it was to local code re; grounding.

They can ground it anything like a water pipe in the basement most likely, however, I sure would not do that - as that presents a different ground in your house and will most likely give you ground loops in your TV set.

That said, there are different types of ONTs - but I know the one they installed on my house has a 90 degree connection from where the ground comes in to the grounding terminal and I know that lightning or a surge will NOT take the 90 degree turn, so I am wondering what idiot designed these ONTs.

Last I heard the ONT's were designed in France.

Side Note: Seems like the USA Energy Policy (McCain) is going that way too. Suddenly everyones a Frankophile and not a Frankophobe.

In others, they don't - side of the house and nowhere else for the ONT. This also could also be at the whim of the Installer. You never know for sure.

Has this situation improved ?

In the basement nearly all current wiring will be perfect where the ONT could go since there's a bit of extra length on all the cables. But, there's probably not enough for an outside Install. I'd hate to have them redo all the wiring simply to put the ONT on the outside of the house.
Just talk to the guy - he'll want the install to be as easy as possible - if that's inside and you ask for it he'll do it.

that does pique one's curiousity.

anyone have a FiOS Moto 7xxx HD-DVR?

Just wanted to let everyone know that on Thursday, due to the HDMI port on my QIP-6200 being defective, a Vz technician came and delivered a new 7100 box. Nothing all that different from the 6200 from what I could tell, except that it had a Dolby Digital Plus logo on the front, which I assume means that the box is capable of decoding DD+...

I doubt there's gonna be any TV programs delivered with DD+ any time soon, so maybe Vz is intending to roll out VOD with DD+ at some point in time? Maybe w/ 1080p so they too can compete with DISH and claim that their VOD rivals Blu?

Speculation, but I just thought you might like to know

what market?

Sorry in advance if a few of these have already been covered elsewhere in the thread. I've read some, though admittedly not all, of the earlier replies.

We live in a condo and have had FiOS available for a few months. I've been longing to make the switch from Comcast, but have waited until I could take some time off from work to be home for the install. We live in an MDU, and actually already have the fiber run into our unit--it's secured to a mounting board in our guest room closet.

We currently have no POTS service, having switched from Verizon to Vonage several years back. Our TV and Internet service are through Comcast, which has been notoriously unreliable--we lose our Internet connection intermittently several times a week, sometimes for over an hour.

Other prefatory information... we've been using a ReplayTV 5000 as our primary "set top box." If/when we get FiOS, I plan to purchase a TiVo HD and rent two cablecards (or one, if Verizon has the dual-mode cards available in our area). I loath set top boxes in general, and have no interest in Verizon's DVR offerings.

My main questions revolve around the cable wiring within our unit, and how much I can expect the installer to do. As I mentioned, the fiber comes into our unit and terminates in the closet of a guest room that doubles as a home office. Our computer is located there, and our TV/telephone are in our living room. To further complicate matters, the existing copper left over from our old POTS service comes in near the front door and runs from there to the kitchen, on the far side of the unit.

I plan to buy the phone/TV/Internet combo, but will simply go with the cheapest local direct dial plan and keep our Vonage service. I've read that Verizon customer service can be a nightmare if you don't have a Verizon phone number, so adding a basic voice line to the package will hopefully avoid that aggravation.

We currently use wifi to bridge our Internet service from our living room (where our cable RG6 terminates to our TV and cable modem) to the PC in our guest room/office. Since the ONT and Actiontec router will presumably be installed in the office closet where the fiber terminates, I could theoretically run CAT5e from the router in the closet to the computer in the same room. Since the installer will also have to run RG6 from the ONT/router to our living room, I'm hoping he will be willing to run a second strand of CAT5e to the same spot. This would enable me to split the ethernet using my own hub/router at the TV and connect the TiVo, my XBox 360, Vonage MTU, and other devices.

I realize that the installer could site the router at the TV and I could connect everything that way; however, then I would still have to use wifi to reach the computer in the office, which is actually closer to the ONT. I'm hoping to have a fully-wired setup and get rid of wifi altogether, so the plan I outlined above is my preference. Does anyone know whether the installer will do this?

I should add that our building is very old (~70 years), so the internal walls are mostly plaster, and there is no attic or crawl space through which to snake cables; any cable runs will likely have to go, at least in part, along ceiling corners or baseboards. This is obviosly not ideal from an aesthetic standpoint.

Also, since our POTS copper is on the far side of our apartment, the installer will have to run additional wire to connect our phone outlets. Again, I'm hoping to install with a minimum of fuss and as little visible wiring as possible. We may be able to conceal some of the runs in closets or along air ducts.

Last question (for now): I tried to set up my order online, but couldn't configure it without at least one set top box in addition to the two cable cards. I don't want to pay another $5.99 a month for something I'll never use; does anyone know the best way to handle this with Verizon?

Thanks in advance for your help.

To start-

-Since you have ComCast now, the installer will try to utilize the existing coax where-ever possible.

-Don't make a decision based on customer service. I can dig up any number of complaints about any provider you choose. Verizon seems to get an unusual amount of complaints about billing. But, you're stuck with that at any rate.

-The ActionTec router works just fine. I would connect to that first and see how it goes. It's labeled as wireless, but you can turn that off and it becomes a wired 4-port router (that's how I do it). There's normally no problems unless you are running a game server or something that needs a high number of simultaneous connections.

-If you want to use your own router, there's a thread over on Broadband Reports that tells you exactly how to do it. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17679150-Howto-make-ActionTec-MI424WR-a-network-bridge

-Check out a ton of info over on the Broadband Reports Verizon OnLine FiOS and TV forums: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv, and don't forget the FAQ: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/verizonfios

Sorry in advance if a few of these have already been covered elsewhere in the thread. I've read some, though admittedly not all, of the earlier replies.



Last question (for now): I tried to set up my order online, but couldn't configure it without at least one set top box in addition to the two cable cards. I don't want to pay another $5.99 a month for something I'll never use; does anyone know the best way to handle this with Verizon?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Definitely give them a call on the phone. In my experience, except for an occasional longish wait time, the reps have been extremely helpful and friendly. Make sure you ask for package discounts.

Definitely give them a call on the phone. In my experience, except for an occasional longish wait time, the reps have been extremely helpful and friendly. Make sure you ask for package discounts.

I disagree. If you sign up on the phone, you usually do not get the first month free service they offer from web signup - and the rep on the phone makes a commission.

I would sign up on web for a DVR or STB as well as the cablecards - and then not have them install the STB on install day. The installer will just take it off the order.

To start-

-Since you have ComCast now, the installer will try to utilize the existing coax where-ever possible. Not an option in my case--the coax enters the unit through an entirely different route that does not go near the path from our office (where the ONT will be) and the living room. Besides, I plan to keep comcast for at least a month until I decide if I'm happy with FiOS.

-Don't make a decision based on customer service. I can dig up any number of complaints about any provider you choose. Verizon seems to get an unusual amount of complaints about billing. But, you're stuck with that at any rate.Good point. I've just been burned by Comcast so many times, almost anything would be an improvement.

Thanks for the replies! Anyone have any comment on whether my wiring plan (running both RG6 and CAT5e fromt the ONT to our living room) will fly with the installer?

Thanks for the replies! Anyone have any comment on whether my wiring plan (running both RG6 and CAT5e fromt the ONT to our living room) will fly with the installer?

if i understood your wiring scheme my gut feeling is probably not, & here's why:

you'll be daisy-chaining your own router with the FiOS router-& since that's not Vz hardware, the installer won't want to touch it. pretty much a standard procedure with every installer I've ever dealt with(I can remember when cable installers wouldn't even use S-Video connections on their own boxes from fear of "frying someone's gear". that's an actual quote!!).

also there's no reason to run coax AND Cat5 from the ONT-the coax cable carries internet & video, & the installer will likely want to keep wiring to a minimum. all you need to do is connect the Actiontec router to your own router. one thing the installer MAY do if you ask nicely is help figure out a tidy Cat5 run from the Actiontec router to your router.

now it seems to me you actually NEED an additional router with all the Ethernet devices you have, but I think you'll be on your own there.

but I understand using an additional router is pretty straightforward & there are multiple posts in this thread on how to go about it.

Thanks for the replies! Anyone have any comment on whether my wiring plan (running both RG6 and CAT5e fromt the ONT to our living room) will fly with the installer?

I ran my own cable through my walls and my attic, simply because I already did nice network ports all over the house, and I didn't want them to put cables everywhere. And I was told they wouldn't run things through the walls.

So, I did my own, instead of a 5-8 hour install (which is what it was when I first got it)... it was closer to 1.5 hours. And the installer could have kissed us... He knew we knew what we were doing.

I don't know about running both, though. I just did the RG6. :)

Hope that helps.

Not an option in my case--the coax enters the unit through an entirely different route that does not go near the path from our office (where the ONT will be) and the living room. Besides, I plan to keep comcast for at least a month until I decide if I'm happy with FiOS.

Good point. I've just been burned by Comcast so many times, almost anything would be an improvement.

Thanks for the replies! Anyone have any comment on whether my wiring plan (running both RG6 and CAT5e fromt the ONT to our living room) will fly with the installer?

Just to make you aware

1) They charge you extra if they do not use the existing wiring. Be prepared.

2) The wiring does not need to enter in the same place. They can go into the RG6 at any point in the house and wire it accordingly.

All information I found in a different forum, which I didn't find hear. :eek:

you need to read that sale pitch better though

I have access to FIOS and have not made the change for several reasons.

1) DVR is junk compared to even a 622, let alone a 722. They're dvr only has 20 hr record time,
my 622 has been over 20 hours used for 3 months. various programs i haven't watched yet, etc.

2) only 2 tuners per box. Dish's 622/722 offer 3 via OTA, which I have and use regularly.
This is a huge issue, as I'd have to connect 2 FIOS HD DVR's to one DVR to resolve this.

3) sharing. requires 1 media center dvr, and the unit for the other tv's is limited to the base SD
tuner. You will NOT get your shows in HD. it's a waste considering you need a tuner in every room.
If you want that, just use the RF out on the 722 to feed it's signals to your other TVs

4) from reports, they are no where near as reliable as the dish dvr's

5) haven't found out for sure, but do the moto's fios uses spool the programming on the 2nd tuner
while you watch the 1st, or while you watch a recorded show?? my 622 allows the "other" tuner to
keep spooling it's programming while I watch the "active" tuner, and I can swap back and worth to
watch 2 live shows at the same time, without watching them live or, the 2nd tuner spools while I
watch a dvr program, then I can check out the 2nd tuner when done. for example, I'll put on baseball,
swap tuners so baseball is the 'other' tuner, watch a dvr program, when over, swap back to baseball,
and if my team scored, I rewind and watch how they scored it's friggin awesome!!

These are issues I do not think FIOS can resolve, and FIOS is WAY behind on HD offerings. They're
channel offering is still weak compared to Dish and DTV. Do your due diligence before buying into the hype

FYI, I have a personal incentive to push fios, as I have a job supporting FIOS. But for the reasons I've
listed, I can't make the change, it simply isn't worth it right now.
__________________
Regards,

It's even worse than that. Not only will you not get your shows in HD, but if they were recorded in HD,
you won't be able to get them on the 2nd TV at all! Not even downrezzed to SD. The STB on TV2 will show it
as available in the EPG, but if you try to play it, you get an error message.

You would have to record every show twice, once in HD and once in SD, if you thought you might ever want
to watch it on TV2. This also means you can't start watching on TV1, pause it, and finish watching in bed on
TV2.

I couldn't believe they were so lame when I first heard it. A friend got FiOS and I thought he just wasn't
familiar with multi-room DVRs. But I have since verified it on AVS Forum, and talking to other FiOS users.

Info you need to know before you switch not after!!!

These are issues I do not think FIOS can resolve, and FIOS is WAY behind on HD offerings. They're channel offering is still weak compared to Dish and DTV. Do your due diligence before buying into the hype
Now that we have heard from the Dish marketing department :cool:, you do know that the Fios subscribers in NY and northern NJ now have 102 HD channels? The rest of the markets should have 100+ HD channels before the end of the year.

As for the Fios DVR, yes, it has a big drawback with the limited capacity of the 160 GB hard drive which provides for around 20-25 hours of HD capacity. For me, this is the only serious drawback for it. Reportedly, Verizon will enable the eSATA port on the QIP6416 DVRs soon (but I am not holding my breath on that). Multi-room HD viewing now reportedly works with the IMG 1.6 upgrade which was pushed out here in VA & MD several days ago, but I have only one Fios DVR so I can't speak for whether it works. And, unless Dish or DirecTV, if you are unhappy with their DVR, you can always get a HD Tivo and go for 1.5 TB or more storage capacity (and OTA recording capability).

All information I found in a different forum, which I didn't find hear. :eek:


I believe that's "here", not hear.

A simple question, as you started this misleading topic and that is the first line, of course you did not find it here because you started the thread and the info is not in your first line. Furthermore, all info you mention has been asked and answered in the FiOS DVR thread and the FiOS Installation thread which IS in this forum and is a sticky topic at the top of the page.



you need to read that sale pitch better though



Why, none of the so called weak points you state about FiOS - or Dish for that matter are discussed in the sales pitch for Dish or FiOS. Reading it better will not find anything you state here - or you would not have posted it here.



I have access to FIOS and have not made the change for several reasons.

1) DVR is junk compared to even a 622, let alone a 722. They're dvr only has 20 hr record time,
my 622 has been over 20 hours used for 3 months. various programs i haven't watched yet, etc.



Junk no? Its well known that it isnt as good as a Tivo Series 3, but it does not cost you several hundred dollars upfront either and you can buy a Tivo with that same several hundred dollars and own the unit if that concerns you.

FiOS's advantage is that it looks BETTER on every channel than what Dish delivers.



2) only 2 tuners per box. Dish's 622/722 offer 3 via OTA, which I have and use regularly.
This is a huge issue, as I'd have to connect 2 FIOS HD DVR's to one DVR to resolve this.



As you stated, 1 is Over The Air. Most people don't want an antenna in addition to the Dish Dish. Internal antennas don't do the job in most locations.



3) sharing. requires 1 media center dvr, and the unit for the other tv's is limited to the base SD tuner. You will NOT get your shows in HD. it's a waste considering you need a tuner in every room.

If you want that, just use the RF out on the 722 to feed it's signals to your other TVs



The new 7000 series DVRs which they are now delivering solves this. HD is available on any TV. Dish limits you to SD ONLY on only 1 remote TV that must be hardwired to the DVR.


4) from reports, they are no where near as reliable as the dish dvr's


Again, you can buy a Tivo if you want - but the new 7000 have no reliability issues at this time. However, Dish DVRs DO HAVE RELIABILITY ISSUES as well.


5) haven't found out for sure, but do the moto's fios uses spool the programming on the 2nd tuner
while you watch the 1st, or while you watch a recorded show?? my 622 allows the "other" tuner to
keep spooling it's programming while I watch the "active" tuner, and I can swap back and worth to
watch 2 live shows at the same time, without watching them live or, the 2nd tuner spools while I
watch a dvr program, then I can check out the 2nd tuner when done. for example, I'll put on baseball,
swap tuners so baseball is the 'other' tuner, watch a dvr program, when over, swap back to baseball,
and if my team scored, I rewind and watch how they scored it's friggin awesome!!



yes, there is a way to accomplish this


These are issues I do not think FIOS can resolve, and FIOS is WAY behind on HD offerings. They're channel offering is still weak compared to Dish and DTV. Do your due diligence before buying into the hype



Interesting, most of the issues that you state "cannot be resolved" already have been.

FiOS has promised 100 channels by end of the year and is rolling out these every week to deliver on the promise.

Bottom line in terms of picture quality, FiOS is #1 - Directv is ahead of Dish in picture quality. Do you want a supplier that has the best picture quality or one that is #3 or #4.


FYI, I have a personal incentive to push fios, as I have a job supporting FIOS. But for the reasons I've listed, I can't make the change, it simply isn't worth it right now.



I guess that's why FiOS cannot get enough installers and the reason Dish made recent history by being the first satellite company to ever loose net subscribers in a quarter
:D


__________________
Regards,

It's even worse than that. Not only will you not get your shows in HD, but if they were recorded in HD, you won't be able to get them on the 2nd TV at all! Not even downrezzed to SD. The STB on TV2 will show it as available in the EPG, but if you try to play it, you get an error message.

You would have to record every show twice, once in HD and once in SD, if you thought you might ever want to watch it on TV2. This also means you can't start watching on TV1, pause it, and finish watching in bed on
TV2.

I couldn't believe they were so lame when I first heard it. A friend got FiOS and I thought he just wasn't familiar with multi-room DVRs. But I have since verified it on AVS Forum, and talking to other FiOS users.



as noted above, your info is old and outdated - this issue is now solved.


Info you need to know before you switch not after!!!

And not listen to the trolls. Friends don't let friends get Dish Network - just look at the current sub numbers.

Topics merged.

A simple question, as you started this misleading topic and that is the first line, of course you did not find it here because you started the thread and the info is not in your first line. Furthermore, all info you mention has been asked and answered in the FiOS DVR thread and the FiOS Installation thread which IS in this forum and is a sticky topic at the top of the page.

Why, none of the so called weak points you state about FiOS - or Dish for that matter are discussed in the sales pitch for Dish or FiOS. Reading it better will not find anything you state here - or you would not have posted it here.

First off I didn't post in this thread cause I didn't want it to get lost in all this miss information. Also any time I do post in here someone cry's and they delete my post. So I stay out. Never mind I didn't want to give you one of your only defenses of calling me a troll!!


Junk no? Its well known that it isnt as good as a Tivo Series 3, but it does not cost you several hundred dollars upfront either and you can buy a Tivo with that same several hundred dollars and own the unit if that concerns you.

How bad is that when you have to bring in a third company to defend yours.


FiOS's advantage is that it looks BETTER on every channel than what Dish delivers. That maybe the only advantage you have. That explain why everything else is just miss information. But nothing else works the way you would expect it too.:eek:


As you stated, 1 is Over The Air. Most people don't want an antenna in addition to the Dish Dish. Internal antennas don't do the job in most locations.
Well that was just another option which you don't have with fios.
By the way fios doesn't have all my HD locals, so that would be a nice option.


The new 7000 series DVRs which they are now delivering solves this. HD is available on any TV.
Well I just got off the phone with fios they are still just test the 7000 in some state. Mine not being one of them and they have no clue when it will be. So they had to come out with a new box to get the mutliroom dvr box to work.:eek: By the way every Dish network multi room dvr works as a multi room dvr.
Dish limits you to SD ONLY on only 1 remote TV that must be hardwired to the DVR.

Also as far as Dish limits you to only one SD tv is absolutely not true. You do have to hard wire it to other tv's but don't forget you have to hard wire every tv for fios too. The IRD comes with 2 remotes one being a UHF Remote. But you can still change channels independently cause of that UHF remote. Also don't forget with fios you need a HD box for every tv for the multi room dvr to work. That is just not the case with Dish. Also a box for every tv unless you just want locals, you can't use one box for two tv's and tune them independently.

A nice feature with dish is you can hide the box and just use the UHF remotes.


Again, you can buy a Tivo if you want - but the new 7000 have no reliability issues at this time. However, Dish DVRs DO HAVE RELIABILITY ISSUES as well.
I believe we where talking about fios and dish. As far as RELIABILITY ISSUES I haven't seen any after almost 3 years of use. Just do some read around the net and you find out which is the best hands down.

5) haven't found out for sure, but do the moto's fios uses spool the programming on the 2nd tuner
while you watch the 1st, or while you watch a recorded show?? my 622 allows the "other" tuner to
keep spooling it's programming while I watch the "active" tuner, and I can swap back and worth to
watch 2 live shows at the same time, without watching them live or, the 2nd tuner spools while I
watch a dvr program, then I can check out the 2nd tuner when done. for example, I'll put on baseball,
swap tuners so baseball is the 'other' tuner, watch a dvr program, when over, swap back to baseball,
and if my team scored, I rewind and watch how they scored it's friggin awesome!!


yes, there is a way to accomplish this

Well the tech on the phone didn't go into details why but he said with the equipment I would get today I couldn't do this. If that's some more miss information take that up with fios. If thats the case about miss information that's the one thing fios is good at.


Interesting, most of the issues that you state "cannot be resolved" already have been.
Interesting still a lot of miss information in this forum.:eek:


FiOS has promised 100 channels by end of the year and is rolling out these every week to deliver on the promise.
So has Dish in fact they are a head of fios if you go by URFloorMatt (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1058081) post about HD and full time available. Some nice info there you may want to take a look. If that's wrong take it up with him.


Bottom line in terms of picture quality, FiOS is #1 - Directv is ahead of Dish in picture quality. Do you want a supplier that has the best picture quality or one that is #3 or #4.

Like I said thats all you have everything else is wait and see and cross your fingers and hope it works. Obviously the dvr needs a lot of help just to do what a multi room dvr should do.


I guess that's why FiOS cannot get enough installers and the reason Dish made recent history by being the first satellite company to ever loose net subscribers in a quarter
:D
Lets see how many subscribers fios loose after the first year.
Do you know why dish lost subscribers, I don't but I bet one of the reasons is the fight the most to keep the price down. They shut off channels while they are fighting for a better price. When you have time you want to do some reading we may all be in for a surprise.
Dish: TV Stations Seeking 200% Fee Hike (http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6590967)


as noted above, your info is old and outdated - this issue is now solved.


Obviously my info isn't out dated, infact its right up to date.


And not listen to the trolls. Friends don't let friends get Dish Network - just look at the current sub numbers.

I tell people read the fine print because fios/verzion hasn't changed much.

You arent worth spending the time on quoting ever part.

I have E*, D*, BEV, SC, 2 Cable Systems and FiOS installed.

We constantly use it compare all providers.

They all have their issues.

E* was the leader 18 months ago.

They hardly rank #4 now. FiOS is at the top.

c'ya

EDIT: Forgot to mention C Band for monitoring the source feed.

EDIT #2: (and I know I am going to regret this) I am going to ask you, what HDTV(s) do you have?

The cable channels (aside from music channels) are encrypted, but the local channels are in the clear and available with a QAM tuner.

With a QAM tuner, you'll be missing out on 200+ digital channels and 25 HD channels, plus another 30 HD channels (55+ total) coming in the next few months.

Are any other channels, like new channels, available in clear QAM?

- Rich

Sorry to ask this here but I can't find any post for it. Does anybody know if verizon is going to offer N.H.L. Center Ice this year? Thank you for any response.

BeachComber, It's just best to burn the bridge the troll lives under then to try and rebuild it.

BeachComber, It's just best to burn the bridge the troll lives under then to try and rebuild it.

I know....but when the troll complains and will not even confirm the TV he is using.....

whatever...

If we take his nick as being truthful, which might be a tough putt, there is something very interesting.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8319341&highlight=#post8319341

The Olvedia 37" HDTV do not have any CMS.

Thus, to get the Olvedia 37" TVs to correctly show the color gamut properly, you need an external unit such as a Lumagen.

It's just comical to hear him bash FiOS as he needs to buy a TiVO to get a properly working DVR - but then again, he is is not bashing Olvedia and his ENTIRE TV CANNOT DISPLAY the PROPER picture/Color Gamut he is paying for without purchasing a unit FAR MORE EXPENSIVE than a Series 3 Tivo? Yet a review of his posts find him doing nothing but praising that unit.

You can also see he did install/service calls for either Verizon or Optimum, probably got let go for obvious reasons, and has a hidden agenda.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9429167&highlight=#post9429167

Verizon is starting to setup fios network cables around my neighborhood, don't no how long its going to take for completion. I live in covina, ca. Want should I expect when they complete the network setup. Want do I need to do to make the installation go easy. All this is new to me.

If this is the wrong area to post, sorry.

In my neighborhood the process took 2 months from the time I first saw Verizon putting up the fiber optic cables in my development. I live in Northern Virginia. Verizon had installed the main fiber optical lines under the main road that runs by my area at least 2 years before. But once they received permission to add FO in my neighborhood it was less 2 months until I was able to order service.

BTW the HD picture quality is outstanding!:D

When you guys can't win with the facts you just call someone a troll.

When you guys can't win with the facts you just call someone a troll.

No, actually we have all answered and are comfortable with the facts.

We have also shown that you do not weigh the facts evenly - complaining how to get the features that are important to you, you must pay for your own DVR (exactly what you did with E* btw - so much for being fair and balanced).

You complain about how you must buy a 3rd party unit to make the DVR work right, yet you say nothing about how you must buy a 3rd party unit to make the colors correct on your TV.

The fact is.... you don't like the facts.

Wtf are we having a pissing contest. I'm done you proved my points.

Wtf are we having a pissing contest. I'm done you proved my points.

Actually, your points were non-starters.

Hey guys, I dont want to cause a stir or anything and Im sure this question has been addressed but this thread is over 100 pages long and I was wondering if someone could point to a pae or topic or just answer it

I have FiOS and was wondering with the DVR receiver, motorola silver one with USB on the front and back also with esata. Is it possible to hook up another HD for recording OR better yet is it possible to hook up another HD with media on it (or jumpdrive) in order to play it thru the STB?

Ive read the motorola manual on the unit and it says such features vary from provider to provider, so I figure if anyone knows its you guys. Is this possible in general? or thru hacks of sorts?

Thanks in advance for any help that is given

Sorry... not a habitual cross-poster, I posted this on the Phila thread. It should have gone here.

I think I am good to go for my install on Friday. I just installed an outlet in the basement breaker closet for the ONT, PS & BBU. I still need to mount the 2' X 2' plywood board to the basement wall... ugh. The walls are poured concrete and I can't pound the concrete nails into it. I'll have to run up to the rental center tomorrow and get a "gun".

Any chance the FIOS tech would do it, if can't?

So, what am I looking at in terms of cables coming into the basement? They obviously have to bring the fiber in. What do they do with the existing copper phone lines? Can they just pick off the inside wire? How about the coax that goes from the outside splitter box? All my runs feed of splitters in that box.

How big of a hole will they need to cut in to the house for all this?

My thoughts on interconnect (sanity check, please) are:

Fiber -> ONT

Coax from ONT -> Actiontek: using existing run from outside splitter box to the outlet where I want the DVR and Actiontek. Can this be split at the destination, one feed to Aciontek, the other to DVR?

CAT-5 from Actionteck (LAN) -> WRT54G (WAN): using the WR54G as the wireless router. Actiontek will serve up addresses.

Will the other feeds from the outside splitter remain hot? They go to the upstairs B/R's, currently w/o TV's - but, will in the future.

I may look into the "free" digital adapters, if I can find the link to the phone number to call & request them.

Watching Eagles game now with macroblocking... I cannot wait to walk into the Comcast store in town next week with all my boxes & say "Please cancel all my services!!"

Sorry... not a habitual cross-poster, I posted this on the Phila thread. It should have gone here.

I think I am good to go for my install on Friday. I just installed an outlet in the basement breaker closet for the ONT, PS & BBU. I still need to mount the 2' X 2' plywood board to the basement wall... ugh. The walls are poured concrete and I can't pound the concrete nails into it. I'll have to run up to the rental center tomorrow and get a "gun".

Any chance the FIOS tech would do it, if can't?

So, what am I looking at in terms of cables coming into the basement? They obviously have to bring the fiber in. What do they do with the existing copper phone lines? Can they just pick off the inside wire? How about the coax that goes from the outside splitter box? All my runs feed of splitters in that box.

How big of a hole will they need to cut in to the house for all this?




Have you checked with them to find out if they will install the ONT inside? Standard Procedure is outside - and grounded at the same point that the electrical comes to the meter - not at the breaker panel - though I am sure different local codes/procedures in different places (though I have never heard of doing this yet).

For the most part, I would think a ground would be wanted outside before the breaker panel.

Have you checked with them to find out if they will install the ONT inside? Standard Procedure is outside - and grounded at the same point that the electrical comes to the meter - not at the breaker panel - though I am sure different local codes/procedures in different places (though I have never heard of doing this yet).

For the most part, I would think a ground would be wanted outside before the breaker panel.

I know that there are inside (basement) ONT installs in my area. Not sure how the ground issue was handled - I will look into that, thanks!

Why does FiOS keep rebooting the STBs once or twice a week overnight?

This is really beginning to piss me off.

Why does FiOS keep rebooting the STBs once or twice a week overnight?

This is really beginning to piss me off.

I've two hd boxes, neither of them do this rebooting thing. Call in & see about them doing a reset/dump/reload or see what they have to say. You may have lost a cooling fan, or have a box going bad. Also unless your box is undergoing firmware upgrades, reboots ought not to be a regular occurance.
I had t get an HD DVR swapped out because it was exhibiting vareious wierd operartional problems.

Hey guys, I dont want to cause a stir or anything and Im sure this question has been addressed but this thread is over 100 pages long and I was wondering if someone could point to a pae or topic or just answer it

I have FiOS and was wondering with the DVR receiver, motorola silver one with USB on the front and back also with esata. Is it possible to hook up another HD for recording OR better yet is it possible to hook up another HD with media on it (or jumpdrive) in order to play it thru the STB?

Ive read the motorola manual on the unit and it says such features vary from provider to provider, so I figure if anyone knows its you guys. Is this possible in general? or thru hacks of sorts?

Thanks in advance for any help that is given

No support for an external drive yet, through USB or eSATA. Some posters have reported that at least the USB connection is hot, but the issue is not connectivity, but that the internal firmware limits the drive's useable space to the 160G size.

Other posters have experimented with this, exchanging larger internal drives, only to see the extra space unused as the drive is formatted to a 160G partition.

So AFAIK, the size is explicitly limited right now. Hopefully a later upgrade in the firmware (1.6?) will change things so we can attach a drive through either USB or eSATA (ideally).

BeachComber.....I know what ur talking about, it pisses me off too

hernanu.....Thanks for the input, any idea of hooking up an external device specifically just for playback?

I've two hd boxes, neither of them do this rebooting thing. Call in & see about them doing a reset/dump/reload or see what they have to say. You may have lost a cooling fan, or have a box going bad. Also unless your box is undergoing firmware upgrades, reboots ought not to be a regular occurance.
I had t get an HD DVR swapped out because it was exhibiting vareious wierd operartional problems.

Reboot is the wrong word.

I'll call it a soft reset as it does not restart the startup process - and odds are you would not know it happened as the power never goes out (and thus the stb comes back to the same state as it was prior).

The only way you would notice it would be:

1) You were watching it live overnight

or

2) You are watching a DVR'd movie from overnight and either
a) The Movie will have a time gap in it
or
b) It will be split into 2 parts.


As it is happening on a half dozen units, I know it for real. STBs are on different UPS and different electrical circuits so its not an electrical issue (that would result in STB coming back to the power off/ clock display state anyway).

FWIW, SA used to have this issue on their software years ago where it would do the same every night at 3:00am local time.

Thought I'd share my FIOS experience. To avoid double-posting, here's a link to my post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14616725#post14616725

Thought I'd share my FIOS experience. To avoid double-posting, here's a link to my post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14616725#post14616725

Good post, and welcome.

I saw Verizon strike out on an installation Saturday. They were trying to bring their FIOS into a basement room, and the installer, who was obviously new at this, had a 3/4", x 18", half-inch shank twist drill bit in his hammer drill and was trying to penetrate a brick wall with it.

I told him that the appropriate bit would have small tungsten chippers in the end of it and that if he had twenty bucks on him, he could run over to Home Depot, which is just a couple of miles a way, and pick one up. He told me that is the only drill, "they gave me" (he was in an official, painted Verizon van) and so that was his only option. I told him that wasn't an option because that drill would never penetrate that wall. Half an hour later, he gave up.

I came back a few hours later. I saw, lying on the floor, a different hammer drill and a 3/8" bit of the right design, but no truck and no technician. I then went to the other side of the wall and saw that whomever had arrived as "the cavalry" to replace the first installer had not yet penetrated the wall before running off for reason unknown, but then I saw the Verizon cable outside and saw that it has a big plug - nearly 3/4" in diameter - molded onto the end of it, so I guess he really will need to make a 3/4" hole in something to get this customer hooked up.

Anyway, when I came back again that night, this second drill and bit were gone and no hole had been made. The next day, I saw the resident and told him that he should call Verizon first thing on Monday morning and tell them that all they have to do is penetrate the wooden, first floor livingroom wall the same place that Comcast had and then go through the corner of the livingrooom floor into his room, as Comcast had. He said no one from Verizon had yet contacted him to tell him there was a problem with the installation.

Is there any workaround for the problem of making a 3/4" hole in a wall? Could the technician have taken his "pre-terminated" fiber cable and pushed it through a 3/8" penetration hole and then run that back to the junction, or is there a similarly large nub on the other end of this fiber cable as well? Or could he have left the 3/4" termination outside and then interfaced that with an RG-6 coax?

Unnecessary posts remove.

Here's a link to my installation post on the Philadelphia Verizon thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14653459#post14653459

We've had the FIOS internet package now for about a month, and just yesterday had the TV installed. We previously had Comcast HD and Verizon DSL.
As far as the installations go, the only complaints we have is that for both installations, the installers were late (not for the beginning of the appoinment, but for the end). Both times they showed up at about 6pm. Apparently, there is quite a demand for them!

We had two HD-DVR's and one SD STB installed, and used all the existing cable (a mixture of RG-6 and RG-59, with a few crummy splitters in the mix). My house has the cable come in on the SW corner, then go the long way around to the NW corner to the distribution box, then two of the runs come all the way back around to the SE corner. Signal strength was an issue with the Comcast HD, and they had to install an amplifier to get the SE TV to get a passable signal.

So far, the FIOS internet is occasionally slower than the DSL package was (had the same 10/2M speed on both) - I have verified this with the speedtest website. Other than that, its the same as the DSL (not worth paying more for if you are considering it).

After only 24hrs on the TV package, it appears to both my wife and I that the colors are crisper and a little brighter. I have it connected using HDMI to the Pioneer TV. The channels definitley change quicker (Comcast was horribly slow). Overall operation of the STB's is obviously similar. I think I like the Comcast Guide display better - it seemed easier to read for my 42 year old eyes. There are a lot more channels to pick from - too many for us. Hopefully I'll be able to hide some of the ones we dont get, and the ones we dont watch.

The installer pulled the amplifier out, and we still had a passable signal in the TV on the SE end of the house - so they are pushing a fairly strong signal. I have noticed a couple breaks in the audio so far while watching the NASCAR race this afternoon. But, compare that to the audio and video breaks watching football last weekend, and I'm happy.

FWIW, the FiOS signal is about 10 dB stronger than Comcast at the home entrance. Pulling out an amplifier is fine.

More info then you ever wanted to know about your STB: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/15925.

I have a question regarding shared viewing of recorded shows on the DVR's. We have two of the HD-DVR's, and one SD-STB. The sales lady on the phone informed me that the HD-DVR's could not view each others recorded information - only the SD-STB's could play shows recorded on a different DVR. Our installer said that she was mistaken. Well, yesterday I quickly recorded a show on the primary HD-DVR, and last night right before going to bed, I checked to see if I could see it on the other HD-DVR, and there was nothing there, apparently proving the installer to be mistaken. However, when I tried to access it, it said that I had to connect to a network before viewing recorded shows, I clicked the "OK" button, and thats when it stated that there was nothing to see.
Did I proceed correctly? Was the installer wrong?

I have a question regarding shared viewing of recorded shows on the DVR's. We have two of the HD-DVR's, and one SD-STB. The sales lady on the phone informed me that the HD-DVR's could not view each others recorded information - only the SD-STB's could play shows recorded on a different DVR. Our installer said that she was mistaken. Well, yesterday I quickly recorded a show on the primary HD-DVR, and last night right before going to bed, I checked to see if I could see it on the other HD-DVR, and there was nothing there, apparently proving the installer to be mistaken. However, when I tried to access it, it said that I had to connect to a network before viewing recorded shows, I clicked the "OK" button, and thats when it stated that there was nothing to see.
Did I proceed correctly? Was the installer wrong?

A couple of things:

1. You need a Home Media DVR (an additional $5 / mo) rather than a standard DVR to distribute remote content.

2. You will only be able to see it on an STB, not on DVR's, HD or not.

3. Currently, you will only be able to see SD (Standard Definition, 480i) on the STB, not High Definition (HD).

In the near future, an upgraded firmware version (1.6) is slated to come out which will allow HD content to be streamed. I don't know, but have heard that it may also allow the Home Media HD DVR to stream content to HD DVR's as well as to HD STB's.

If any of this is wrong, please correct, but I think this is the way things stand and the near future.

I've read through the posts here but I'm still confused.
I'm having fios triple play installed in a couple of weeks and want to run any required data cables before they get here. If I have the router installed in my office, do I need to have a data cable (cat5?) between the router & the ONT?
I have a coax already installed in the office.
If cat5 is not required, is there an advantage to having both cat5 & coax connected between the router and the ONT?
Thanks

I've read through the posts here but I'm still confused.
I'm having fios triple play installed in a couple of weeks and want to run any required data cables before they get here. If I have the router installed in my office, do I need to have a data cable (cat5?) between the router & the ONT?
I have a coax already installed in the office.
If cat5 is not required, is there an advantage to having both cat5 & coax connected between the router and the ONT?
Thanks


You do not need to run Cat 5 as I think they can break it out from the RG6. I ran a Cat 5 cable from my ONT to a structured wireing panel. Dont know if there is better performance but it cant hurt.

You indicate that you ran cat5 from the ONT to a "structured wireing panel", I'm not sure what that is or what it's used for? Do you have any computers / devices connected to this panel that actually use the cat5 cable for their data?
Thanks

The ONT cat5 outputs are turned off by default. Use the ports on the ActionTec instead. If you want to use the ONT's cat5 ports, you need to call Verizon to turn them on. Remember that the ActionTec is still needed to supply the IMG info to the STBs over coax.

The ONT cat5 outputs are turned off by default. Use the ports on the ActionTec instead. If you want to use the ONT's cat5 ports, you need to call Verizon to turn them on. Remember that the ActionTec is still needed to supply the IMG info to the STBs over coax.

... and VOD as well as the feeding of media by the Home Media DVR, as well as the widgets (currently underused, I only see the weather widget).

All of these are IPTV based, and depend on the ActionTec to work. Of course if you have Tivo, none of these matter.

FIOS has not been installed yet so I can have the installer turn on and use cat5 for the internet connection during install. I understand now that I still need the ActionTec router but I know I've seen references here about the cat5 being a better option but I cannot find any specific reasons as to why. Any thoughts?
Thanks

FIOS has not been installed yet so I can have the installer turn on and use cat5 for the internet connection during install. I understand now that I still need the ActionTec router but I know I've seen references here about the cat5 being a better option but I cannot find any specific reasons as to why. Any thoughts?
Thanks

ok here goes:

1. I have never seen any such claim/reference/whatever about Cat5 "being a better option".

2. Cat5 is not needed! data is carried over RG6 coax just fine. there is a reason the FiOS hardware is MOCA capable. MOCA = Multimedia Over CoAx.

3. I'm skeptical that your installer will use Cat5 because:

it's not needed.

and therefore makes the install more complex.

if I remember correctly the main concern was having existing wiring set up for the installer. if so I would say have good quality RG6 runs to where ever you want the Actiontec router & your STBs. save the Cat5 for any wired connection to your computer(s).

and keep in mind the RG6 line coming out of the ONT will be split-one run to the router, the other to the STB(s).

ok here goes:

1. I have never seen any such claim/reference/whatever about Cat5 "being a better option".

2. Cat5 is not needed! data is carried over RG6 coax just fine. there is a reason the FiOS hardware is MOCA capable. MOCA = Multimedia Over CoAx.

3. I'm skeptical that your installer will use Cat5 because:

it's not needed.

and therefore makes the install more complex.

if I remember correctly the main concern was having existing wiring set up for the installer. if so I would say have good quality RG6 runs to where ever you want the Actiontec router & your STBs. save the Cat5 for any wired connection to your computer(s).

and keep in mind the RG6 line coming out of the ONT will be split-one run to the router, the other to the STB(s).

Have to agree. I do have a CAT5 and Coax installation from the ONT, but that is because my installation is older (~2 years ago). I haven't had any problems with it, but obviously now the preference is to use coax only. I don't mind having the CAT5 run directly from the ONT, since I had existing CAT5 runs, but since I don't have TIVO, I need the ActionTec anyways.

I haven't seen any problems noted in any postings with the coax only setups (and believe me, here you would), so I'd go for the simpler approach. MoCa seems to work very well.

Thanks to all for your responses!
I may have seen the reference to cat5 Better or better option over on dslreports, or I just took it out of context, my eyes were pretty blurry the other night going through all the posts on fios installs.
Looks like I don't have to prepare anything as I already have coax where I want to put the router.
Thank you again!

You indicate that you ran cat5 from the ONT to a "structured wireing panel", I'm not sure what that is or what it's used for? Do you have any computers / devices connected to this panel that actually use the cat5 cable for their data?
Thanks

A structured wiring panel is basically one location that all sources run to and from. Prior to FIOS installing the ONT i ran a new RG6 and CAT5 cable out to where the ONT was to be mounted on the side of the house. I then ran those cables to the centrally located panel. I then ran an RG6 and CAT5 cable from that panel out to each location in the house that I wanted to either have a data port or a TV. When FIOS was installed they just mounted the ONT, terminated the fiber into it, connected the RG6 and CAT5, then i mounted the Actiontec rounter in the panel and connected the other RG6 and CAT5 cables to it. Works great. Minimal loss due to multiple splitters routing the coax to different rooms.

The ONT cat5 outputs are turned off by default. Use the ports on the ActionTec instead. If you want to use the ONT's cat5 ports, you need to call Verizon to turn them on. Remember that the ActionTec is still needed to supply the IMG info to the STBs over coax.

Mine were not turned off since the FIOS tech hooked them up when he mounted the ONT. The RG6 is only split once and that is to go between the router for IMG data and the splitter for all the other room runs.

ok here goes:

1. I have never seen any such claim/reference/whatever about Cat5 "being a better option".

2. Cat5 is not needed! data is carried over RG6 coax just fine. there is a reason the FiOS hardware is MOCA capable. MOCA = Multimedia Over CoAx.

3. I'm skeptical that your installer will use Cat5 because:

it's not needed.

and therefore makes the install more complex.

if I remember correctly the main concern was having existing wiring set up for the installer. if so I would say have good quality RG6 runs to where ever you want the Actiontec router & your STBs. save the Cat5 for any wired connection to your computer(s).

and keep in mind the RG6 line coming out of the ONT will be split-one run to the router, the other to the STB(s).


I ran all new cabling and discarded all the old original coax in the house. It cant hurt to have a dedicated CAT5 cable run to the ONT but i doubt the installer will do it for you.

Topic unstuck.

Topic unstuck.

The topic was stuck???

The topic was stuck???


It previously was a "sticky" at the top of the HDTV Technical section. That's what Ken was referencing with his post.

It previously was a "sticky" at the top of the HDTV Technical section. That's what Ken was referencing with his post.

ah...

Does anyone know if the QIP-7100 HD Set top box supports HDMI-CEC? My current 6200 box doesn't seem to.
I have one button power on of my bd player, AVR, and TV through the AVR remote but when I select the STB the TV doesn't come on automatically. Would the 7100 remedy this?

Does anyone know if the QIP-7100 HD Set top box supports HDMI-CEC? My current 6200 box doesn't seem to.
I have one button power on of my bd player, AVR, and TV through the AVR remote but when I select the STB the TV doesn't come on automatically. Would the 7100 remedy this?

I would doubt it for now, but I could be wrong. The CEC implementations are so different that each manufacturer seems to have one. It would be crazy to come out with something that will probably work with 20% of the equipment out there. This seems like a very risky move to make, when Verizon could avoid a lot of trouble by not offering it.

Better to wait until it has been standardized and avoid all the service calls.

I have found, as others, the POS router gets hung up just trying to get my emails, forget about anything REALLY complicated. Obviously, this is a well know issue.

So I purchased a Motorola MOCA NIM-100 off eBay.

With a typical cable modem, one has to call the cable company to change the cable modem with their head-end. However, I am wondering if one has to do this with FiOS as I imagine that its all keyed off the ONT?????????

Also, the Motorola unit did not have a power supply. It's clearly 12V DC (I think, lol). Can someone please give me the amps off their Power Supply and if the pin or outer sleeve is hot?

I have found, as others, the POS router gets hung up just trying to get my emails, forget about anything REALLY complicated. Obviously, this is a well know issue.

So I purchased a Motorola MOCA NIM-100 off eBay.

With a typical cable modem, one has to call the cable company to change the cable modem with their head-end. However, I am wondering if one has to do this with FiOS as I imagine that its all keyed off the ONT?????????

Also, the Motorola unit did not have a power supply. It's clearly 12V DC (I think, lol). Can someone please give me the amps off their Power Supply and if the pin or outer sleeve is hot?

Curious, how did this work out for you?

Curious, how did this work out for you?

still waiting for someone to give me power supply specs so i dont blow the unit up.

We currently use wifi to bridge our Internet service from our living room (where our cable RG6 terminates to our TV and cable modem) to the PC in our guest room/office. Since the ONT and Actiontec router will presumably be installed in the office closet where the fiber terminates, I could theoretically run CAT5e from the router in the closet to the computer in the same room. Since the installer will also have to run RG6 from the ONT/router to our living room, I'm hoping he will be willing to run a second strand of CAT5e to the same spot. This would enable me to split the ethernet using my own hub/router at the TV and connect the TiVo, my XBox 360, Vonage MTU, and other devices.

I realize that the installer could site the router at the TV and I could connect everything that way; however, then I would still have to use wifi to reach the computer in the office, which is actually closer to the ONT. I'm hoping to have a fully-wired setup and get rid of wifi altogether, so the plan I outlined above is my preference. Does anyone know whether the installer will do this?We're getting close to scheduling an install, so I thought I would bump my prior post in this thread to seek more input. From what I've seen on the last few pages, it sounds like the installer will want to place the Actiontec near our TV in the living room, rather than near the ONT. Again, the ONT will be in our office closet where the fiber run terminates (see the image below).
http://homepage.mac.com/jespring/.Public/Apartment.jpg
Again, I was hoping to have the Actiontec placed near the ONT in the office closet and have the RG6 and CAT5e go out from there--ideally, with a dual run of RG6 and CAT5e to our living room to connect to our new TiVo HD and to our other networked devices. I was hoping to get rid of wifi, but it sounds like the installer is not likely to accommodate this request.

Also, one more thing I just thought of. The closet where the ONT will reside does not have an electrical outlet; however, it does have a single lightbulb socket mounted on a service box that sits on top of the wall. Will this be sufficient for the installer to tap into our electrical service to power the ONT?

Thanks!

The closet where the ONT will reside does not have an electrical outlet; however, it does have a single lightbulb socket mounted on a service box that sits on top of the wall. Will this be sufficient for the installer to tap into our electrical service to power the ONT?

I would be VERY surprised if the installer is licensed to do that kind of electrical work. The ONT has a plug on it and is designed to plug into a wall outlet.

I would be VERY surprised if the installer is licensed to do that kind of electrical work. The ONT has a plug on it and is designed to plug into a wall outlet.So that means that before I even schedule the FIOS install, I need to have an electrician come and add an outlet? :(

You could just screw in a socket -> plug adapter. The ONT is less demanding than the average light bulb, so it's reasonable.

You could just screw in a socket -> plug adapter. The ONT is less demanding than the average light bulb, so it's reasonable.Thanks--I had no idea such a thing existed, but it looks like it will do the trick. Does the ONT require a grounded outlet?

So that means that before I even schedule the FIOS install, I need to have an electrician come and add an outlet?

That would be my guess. But rather than relying on the guesswork of the forum members, why not just call Verizon and ask them? They'd be able to provide the definitive answer.

Does the ONT require a grounded outlet?

I'm at work right now so I can't check, but if memory serves the plug on the ONT is a three-prong unit. I'll try to remember to check when I get home tonight.

It's a 2-wire connection, but the ONT itself needs to be properly grounded. DSL Reports has a thread that explains everything you are asking about: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21260715-New-install-what-exactly-will-Verizon-be-doing-to-my-home Lots of good info in the forums: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

Thanks for the links. I've done some more reading, and tried consolidating/reposting my question over at DSL Reports, but have yet to get a response. I'll try again here:

I am also considering getting FIOS in the near future. We live in a co-op apartment (like a condo), so we own it and may install wiring, etc. within reason without getting board approval.

In theory, the hard part is done. I already have the fiber run into our apartment, and spooled up ready for use just under a board for mounting the ONT and other hardware. The only real problem is the location. For whatever reason, the fiber install contractors decided that the best way to route the fiber into our apartment was to come through the floor from the unit below us (we're on the second floor) and terminate in the closet of our spare bedroom/home office. This location, while close to our home computer, is remote from our living room (TV) and even more distant from the kitchen, where our POTS wiring terminates.

We currently have Comcast cable service, which terminates in our living room. However, I'm not sure of the route that the Comcast RG6 takes into our unit. I don't think it goes anywhere near the path between the ONT and our TV. Further, like the OP, I would like to leave the Comcast line alone anyway, in case some future owner of our apartment doesn't want FIOS for TV or Internet.

One more issue: there is no power outlet in the closet where the installers terminated the fiber run (though there is a single socket light fixture, which perhaps may be adapted to power the ONT).

I had assumed/hoped that the Verizon installer who did the final install would do some or all of the following:

1. Install the Actiontec router in the same closet with the ONT
2. Run coax RG6 from the ONT/Actiontec to our living room for TV service, and drop a faceplate at the site of the TV
3. Ideally, run CAT5e along with the RG6 to the TV, so that I can have a wired ethernet connection between the Actiontec and our home router (for subsequent connection to our TiVo, X-Box, etc.)
4. Run a second string of CAT5e out from the closet in our office to our PC (I was hoping to ditch wifi), which we currently use to connect our computer in the office to our wifi router/cable modem in the living room.
5. Run wiring from the ONT to our front door/entry (where the POTS service enters the apartment) and connect to the existing copper.

Below is a diagram of what I had in mind (except for the phone connection):

http://homepage.mac.com/jespring/.Public/Apartment.jpg

In the diagram, the blue lines represent the cable runs--between the ONT and the TV, as noted above, I hoped to have both RG6 and CAT5e installed. I didn't expect that it would be installed in-wall, but hoped that it could be run along the ceiling from the closet to the master bedroom, and then fished down inside the wall to a terminal on the other side.

Based on what I've read in this thread and over at AVS Forum, it seems like the scenario above is unlikely. Rather, the installer will probably simply run RG6 from the ONT to the TV, place the Actiontec there, and call it good. Also, it sounds like the RG6 run will not be terminated at an outlet, but rather stapled along trim/basedboards, etc. I assume this would also be the case for any phone wire that must be run.

Getting to my question, how likely is it that I can convince the installer to run the necessary cable as I outlined above? I understand that it may cost extra, but I'd rather have it done right or not at all.

Also, if I cannot power the ONT from the existing light socket, I'll need to have an outlet installed in the closet. It seems like this is also outside the scope of the Verizon install, so I would need to hire an electrician to do this.

Should I just suck it up and hire a cabling contractor to install all this for me before I even place my order with Verizon?

A few comments:

- You'll need a proper ground for the ONT. That's Verizon standard procedure, they shouldn't install without one. You're in a multi-unit dwelling. Consider that they might install the ONT in the basement / building entrance and do things a little differently than you expect. Try searching for keywords over on DSL reports for things like "apartment" "multi-unit dwelling", etc. and see if you can find similar installs.

- Consider that they could splice that fiber and run it somewhere else.

- While you're at DSL reports, do a search for a device called a NIM-100. It's an adapter that gives you ethernet over coax - no need for running separate CAT-5 cables. I don't use one, but it might be an option for you.

Is anyone using an IR receiver with the QIP 6200? I see it has a 1/8th port on the back for this. I assume I can just buy an eye and plug it in??

still waiting for someone to give me power supply specs so i dont blow the unit up.

The NIM-100 takes 12v DC, as engraved in the chassis. The sticker on the back shows that the center is +. The PS that came with it is rated for 750 ma.

Is anyone using an IR receiver with the QIP 6200? I see it has a 1/8th port on the back for this. I assume I can just buy an eye and plug it in??

What would you use an IR receiver for?

What would you use an IR receiver for?

I am mounting a plasma on the wall and I want to relocate the 6200 to a shelf in a closet. I need to run an IR receiver eye descreatly placed on the front of the plasma to the 6200. I need to know if the port on the back of the 6200 is for a recieving eye or a blaster.

The NIM-100 takes 12v DC, as engraved in the chassis. The sticker on the back shows that the center is +. The PS that came with it is rated for 750 ma.

Thank you!

I have a box full of various old Power Supplies so I should be able to find one that will work supplied with this info.

A few comments:

- You'll need a proper ground for the ONT. That's Verizon standard procedure, they shouldn't install without one. You're in a multi-unit dwelling. Consider that they might install the ONT in the basement / building entrance and do things a little differently than you expect. Try searching for keywords over on DSL reports for things like "apartment" "multi-unit dwelling", etc. and see if you can find similar installs.

- Consider that they could splice that fiber and run it somewhere else.Thanks. I probably should have clarified... the fiber has already been run into our unit and spooled at the place indicated on the floor plan. Since we're in an owner-occupied MDU, Verizon contractors ran the fiber into every unit, and mounted a piece of particle board for mounting the ONT and power supply. However, it's up to individual owners to choose to order FIOS, triggering the "second" part of the install--putting in the ONT and other equipment, and running cable.

Hopefully, the contractors considered the grounding issue when they sited the cable spool in our guest room closet. :o All of our electrical outlets are fully-grounded, so it shouldn't be too big a deal to add one inside the closet (in fact, there's one on the wall just outside the closet that an electrician could presumably chain off of).

- While you're at DSL reports, do a search for a device called a NIM-100. It's an adapter that gives you ethernet over coax - no need for running separate CAT-5 cables. I don't use one, but it might be an option for you.So, if I'm understanding correctly, I could use the NIM100 in conjunction with the Actiontec (leaving the Actiontec near the ONT, and placing the NIM100 behind a splitter in the living room). So the wiring would look something like this:

ONT --(RG6)--> Actiontec --(RG6)--> Splitter --(RG6)--> NIM100 --(Cat5e)--> Ethernet Router
\
\
--(RG6)--> Television

This seems like it would work, but complicates things slightly. Since I'm going to use my TiVo HD and not a Verizon STB/DVR, I don't actually need Moca at all, right?

It seems like in order to realize my goal of keeping the Actiontec in the closet near the ONT, the best course of action is to simply run the Cat5e from the ONT to the living room myself. That way, I don't have to worry about whether the Verizon installer will do it--I can simply ask him or her to run RG6 along the same route. Once I've got RG6 from the ONT to the living room, it shouldn't matter which end of the cable the Actiontec is on. If I understand correctly, since I don't need the services provided by Moca, I could do away with the Actiontec altogether and simply have the RG6 connected directly to the ONT. This would mean, I believe, that I would need to ask the installer to provision me for Internet over Cat5 instead of coax.

wheeler,
check to see if IR will work in front of your plasma.
Standard IR receivers will not work, if I recall.
You will have to get a specail type to avoid interferance.
See the Xantech website.
nw

wheeler,
check to see if IR will work in front of your plasma.
Standard IR receivers will not work, if I recall.
You will have to get a specail type to avoid interferance.
See the Xantech website.
nw

Ive read that as well. The big question is is the port on the back of the Moto QIP6200 an in or out. If its an input I should be able to buy an IR receiver and plug it directly into the box. I fear though its an output for controlling other sources. Any know where I can find out?

Ive read that as well. The big question is is the port on the back of the Moto QIP6200 an in or out. If its an input I should be able to buy an IR receiver and plug it directly into the box. I fear though its an output for controlling other sources. Any know where I can find out?

From the QIPXXXX User's guide, in the back panel description:

IR – Enables QIP6xxx to control a VCR while recording a selected
program (not supported by all program guides)

There was no other information in the document. It seems like it's output only.

Now, surprisingly enough, the qip7200 users guide describes that connector as a "IR remote input" in the back panel description.

I would maybe ask for a 7200 model and tell them why you need it, how you'd like to use it. I would think they would either try to get you one in the outset or maybe when they become available.

Does any one know if Verizon plans on extending the Media Manager capabilities to the 2500 STB's?

This seems like it would work, but complicates things slightly. Since I'm going to use my TiVo HD and not a Verizon STB/DVR, I don't actually need Moca at all, right?

It seems like in order to realize my goal of keeping the Actiontec in the closet near the ONT, the best course of action is to simply run the Cat5e from the ONT to the living room myself. That way, I don't have to worry about whether the Verizon installer will do it--I can simply ask him or her to run RG6 along the same route. Once I've got RG6 from the ONT to the living room, it shouldn't matter which end of the cable the Actiontec is on. If I understand correctly, since I don't need the services provided by Moca, I could do away with the Actiontec altogether and simply have the RG6 connected directly to the ONT. This would mean, I believe, that I would need to ask the installer to provision me for Internet over Cat5 instead of coax.I would double-check on MoCA. I think that the guide info gets to the ActionTec using MoCA, which then turns around and sends it to the STB. I don't have a TiVo, so know if the TiVo uses that info (from the ActionTec), or off the coax direct. Either end of the coax should work.

The installer will have to enable the ethernet ports on the ONT for you, Verizon has it disabled by default. Be sure that your ethernet run can handle the coax - it doesn't bend as easily as CAT-5 and it's thicker.

I have the green line with 1080i over hdmi. The green line is not there with 1080i over component or with 720p over hdmi. What should i go with?

The green line will go away when the most current program guide upgrade happens in your area. I believe the PG update is tied to the 100+ HD channel rollout for your area. (At least it did for me.)

Vern

I'm getting FiOS Internet and TV installed this weekend and switching away from Comcast. My house has coax and phone already run to every room, but I've been wanting to network them together. At least the loft (where my router and media server currently reside) to the basement/theater (three floors down). All of my devices (consoles, Tivo, print server, etc) in the basement and my two laptops connect to my current network wirelessly. I'd like to get a wired network setup between these floors.

Is there any chance that the FiOS installer will run cat 5 for me? Ideally, I'd network the bedrooms as well as the living room but that's probably asking for way too much from the tech. I know the new installs generally connect the modem/router to the ONT via coax. Do I just have to get lucky and have an installer that is willing to do this extra work for me? I'm not too concerned if he wants to charge extra for it, I just want to know if there's any chance he would even do it at all.

It seems like jespring was looking for a similar info. I guess I'm wondering if I can get a mini home network (or a full blown one while I'm wishful thinking) wired up on Verizon's dime. Unlikely?

Odds are slim to none. One of the reasons Verizon went with wireless routers from the beginning was so installers didn't have to waste time running cables all over the house.

and what does it do?
This arrived about the same time as FiOS came into our neighborhood, and I am assuming it is related.
This is a green, electronic equipment type box, outside mounted (on a telephone pole) with dimensions about 15"X12"X2'H (eyeball), connected to the overhead wiring system(don't know whose overhead wiring system). Don't see any kind of a nomenclature label on it. It has just been sitting there, quietly doing whatever it does for a couple of years. Lately, however, as I ride my bike by it daily, something has been running inside - sounds almost like a pump. So, something has changed.
Any idea what it is/does?

Does anyone know if any, and if so, which channels are available to TV's attached to the FIOS ONT without using a FIOS STB, just the QAM tuner in the TV? I'm in Montgomery County, MD. I assume that there are no analog channels coming from the ONT, so a older TV with just an analog tuner is useless in a FIOS home without a STB, true?

I'd like to displace comcast, but have 7 TV's in the home and don't want to rent 7 STB's, maybe one or two... Thanks in advance...

Local broadcast networks in SD and HD, public/education/government channels, WGN, Weatherscan, and the music channels are available with a QAM tuner. Generally, only the local DTV channels will have remapping information. WGN is on 55.100, SD locals, MC, and the PEG channels will be in the 60s, and Urge will is on 84.

FWIW, just switched out the Actiontec POS with the Westell Router yesterday (I've had 4 different Actiontec POS Routers in my place - all the same issue). Thus far its head and tails above the Actiontech.

Final straw was when I lost the internet service again for over 8 hours and reboots were not working. I spoke with the CSRs and told them that they were either 1) Hard wiring a 100 foot CAT5 run to the ONT and my Dell Switch or 2) Bringing out a Westell and try that - or 3) Disconnect the service.

The CSR originally said the Westells were only available in Oregon - I told them BS they were sitting at the warehouse waiting for the Actiontecs to run out.

Box is more square cosmetically than the Actiontec (not that I care about looks - I just want it to work properly) but the firmware when accessing the from a web browser looks very similar if not the same.

For the first time over a 24 hour period my POP3 emails have not hung at some point
when logging into the server.

I cannot comment on the Wireless coverage as I never used it with the Actiontec as I had my house covered by my other network.

Local broadcast networks in SD and HD, public/education/government channels, WGN, Weatherscan, and the music channels are available with a QAM tuner. Generally, only the local DTV channels will have remapping information. WGN is on 55.100, SD locals, MC, and the PEG channels will be in the 60s, and Urge will is on 84.
Thanks for your response. Just to be clear, the channels you noted are in the clear and there are no analog channels available from the ONT, correct?

Thanks for your response. Just to be clear, the channels you noted are in the clear and there are no analog channels available from the ONT, correct?
Correct. Depending on the area you live, you might be able to get up to 3 digital converter boxes for free from Verizon, though that may only be good for a certain period of time after the digital conversion in your area. The boxes are very basic; only RF in, RF out, and composite video/RCA audio (yellow/white/red) out, but they tune all the SD channels you subscribe to and the price is right. Ask when you order, or call (888)505-3512 to find out if they can tell you availability based on your location and order date.

So I have been struggling with something that seemingly should be really basic. I'm trying to configure a Linksys WRT54G router running DD-WRT (lite) to act as a wireless bridge to the Actiontec. The reason I want to do this is to hook up by blu-ray player on a different floor with an ethernet connection. Soon I hope to get a Roku player (or have Samsung release the update for P1500). I also want to take advantage of all the BD-Live goodness available, and I figure a wireless bridge is the best way to go about things. Problem is that I can't get the Actiontec to allow anything other than access to other internal devices to the WRT54G. Does anyone know what settings I should be using to allow this to happen? Thanks!

Chill, you're not alone. Not my configuration, but head on over to the Verizon Fiber Optics forum at DSL Reports and checkout an incredible amount of info on doing just that. Search for "actiontec bridge", etc. here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber

One possible thread: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17679150-Howto-make-ActionTec-MI424WR-a-network-bridge

They've even made some FAQs: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/verizonfios/3.0_Networking, and http://www.dslreports.com/faq/verizonfios/3.1_Actiontec

I just ordered FiOS TV and will have it installed later this week. I noticed my order includes the Motorola DCT-700 Digital Adapter. I assume the DCT-700 is a DVR, but I noticed that equipment does not have an external serial ATA disk interface. I would like to have SATA to hook up my external drive to record shows that don't fit on the DCT-700. Should I change my order to the Motorola 7216 HD DVR? or am I stuck with the DCT-700?

Should I change my order to the Motorola 7216 HD DVR? or am I stuck with the DCT-700?

As a paying customer you should not be stuck excepting anything unless the selection is limited in your area.

I would call the CSR back and see what equipment is available.

When Verizon calls to confirm the time and date that the tech will arrive at your home I would have Verizon read off what is going to be done, including what equipment will be installed.

Jim

Verizon wouldn't ship me a 72xx when I added a DVR a month ago and gave me a 6216 instead. However, regardless of which DVR you get, you won't be able to connect an external hard drive to it. It's not supported. Nor can you expand the size of your storage by replacing the internal hard drive. I'm pretty sure the new drive will be automatically reformatted by the DVR to 160 GB and any additional space ignored.

The DCT-700 is the lowest of low-end boxes. It mainly serves to allow analog-only TVs to receive programming from FiOS's all-digital lineup. It only supports SD channels, and doesn't offer a guide or any advanced features like a DVR. In terms of HD DVR boxes, Verizon offers the QIP6416 and QIP7216 boxes, depending on local availability. As far as I know, neither supports external storage at this time.

I just ordered FiOS TV and will have it installed later this week. I noticed my order includes the Motorola DCT-700 Digital Adapter. I assume the DCT-700 is a DVR, but I noticed that equipment does not have an external serial ATA disk interface. I would like to have SATA to hook up my external drive to record shows that don't fit on the DCT-700. Should I change my order to the Motorola 7216 HD DVR? or am I stuck with the DCT-700?

The DCT-700 is the "Digital Adapter" that is the absolute most basic box Verison has. It has no Guide, DVR, or VOD capabilities. (although according to Motorola's website, the box CAN do this).
Since they aren't sending an analog signal from the ONT anymore, you can't plug a TV directly in (even a cable-ready one) to the system anymore. You need some sort of box (or a cable-card), and this is their least expensive box.

For a while, they were sending (up to 3 of) these free to existing customers who requested them.

I just ordered FiOS TV and will have it installed later this week. I noticed my order includes the Motorola DCT-700 Digital Adapter. I assume the DCT-700 is a DVR, but I noticed that equipment does not have an external serial ATA disk interface. I would like to have SATA to hook up my external drive to record shows that don't fit on the DCT-700. Should I change my order to the Motorola 7216 HD DVR? or am I stuck with the DCT-700?

As noted, the DCT-700 is a basic digital box, has no DVR functions. It is not a full blooded STB either, so you won't be able to get the guide, or to subscribe to any of the premium channels with it, video on demand is also out with this.

If you want a DVR, the 62** or 72** are the versions of the DVR (both HD); the 62 is older and the predominant DVR, the 72 is the latest version, which you may or may not get with a new installation.

The 62** has an eSATA port, but it is not enabled, I believe the 72** doesn't have an eSATA port. Both have USB and ethernet ports, but those are also disabled. AFAIK, the firewire ports are enabled.

So there is no expansion capability as of now. Given your question, you want the DVR.

As far as needing a digital box, that may not be so if you have a TV with a QAM tuner. That should be able to pick up a subset of FIOS channels once you do a scan. Please correct if this is wrong.

In my Basement, I'm trying to install a mounting Board for the ONT and associated equipment (an outside installation is not possible/practical). I'm getting Triple Play.

Skimming through this thread and others, it looks like I'll need somewhere between a 16" x 20" or a 2' x 2' Board. Is this enough for everything (it seems small) ?

I'm putting this over paneling that's over a Cinder Brick basement wall.

If I want Verizon to screw everything fast without going all the way through the Board, how thick should it be ?

The board size used by the installers who did my neighborhood is 13"x26". I would bet your installer will have a board ready to go for your installation. Is there a reason why you need to install your own?

As noted, the DCT-700 is a basic digital box, has no DVR functions. It is not a full blooded STB either, so you won't be able to get the guide, or to subscribe to any of the premium channels with it, video on demand is also out with this.

If you want a DVR, the 62** or 72** are the versions of the DVR (both HD); the 62 is older and the predominant DVR, the 72 is the latest version, which you may or may not get with a new installation.

The 62** has an eSATA port, but it is not enabled, I believe the 72** doesn't have an eSATA port. Both have USB and ethernet ports, but those are also disabled. AFAIK, the firewire ports are enabled.

So there is no expansion capability as of now. Given your question, you want the DVR.

As far as needing a digital box, that may not be so if you have a TV with a QAM tuner. That should be able to pick up a subset of FIOS channels once you do a scan. Please correct if this is wrong.
So really if your looking for external storage you best bet for HD is to get a DVHS deck off ebay to use the firewire ports?

So really if your looking for external storage you best bet for HD is to get a DVHS deck off ebay to use the firewire ports?
The best solution is probably a Tivo HD+CableCards. I believe you can transfer pretty much everything from the Tivo to a PC (albeit slowly) and then do whatever you want with it from there.

The board size used by the installers who did my neighborhood is 13"x26". I would bet your installer will have a board ready to go for your installation. Is there a reason why you need to install your own?

I thought all these boards were at least 16" so that they went across the studs in the wall ?

=

To answer your comments:

Hate to say it but the Wife is a stickler for colors (anywhere).

She wants to paint it or stain it.

I would, also, like to make sure I had a little more room on it to mount my own Router or Network Switch since I have all the wiring ready for Cat-6 Gb service within the house. Perhaps, I could route all the wiring better too. So, I was likely going to make the Board a bit bigger than necessary.

Still concerned about thickness, plywood, particle board and so on. The Wife (don't ask) has this thought that she wants the Paneling as undamaged as possible.

I thought all these boards were at least 16" so that they went across the studs in the wall ?

...

I would, also, like to make sure I had a little more room on it to mount my own Router or Network Switch since I have all the wiring ready for Cat-6 Gb service within the house. Perhaps, I could route all the wiring better too. So, I was likely going to make the Board a bit bigger than necessary.

Yes, sorry. In my case it's 26" wide. Depending on the additional components I think you'll need something at least 24" square. Maybe 24"x30".

The best solution is probably a Tivo HD+CableCards. I believe you can transfer pretty much everything from the Tivo to a PC (albeit slowly) and then do whatever you want with it from there.

I prefer hard drive storage as well but properly stored tape can last a long time. Longer than a continuously running hard drive can. I played with a VCR timer remote and a JVC DVHS deck a few times on the FiOS and I was not disappointed with it. That rare showing of Last Tango in Paris on Showtime HD is one of my prized recordings.

I prefer hard drive storage as well but properly stored tape can last a long time. Longer than a continuously running hard drive can. I played with a VCR timer remote and a JVC DVHS deck a few times on the FiOS and I was not disappointed with it. That rare showing of Last Tango in Paris on Showtime HD is one of my prized recordings.

Have to agree that the best is probably Tivo3 or TivoHD if you want more storage. You can transfer the recordings to / from a PC and work with it there. It also allows for large storage drives, add on (Tivo3 and TivoHd) or internal. The only difference, I believe is that the Tivo3 allows you to use any eSATA drive for expansion, with the TivoHD you need to use Tivo's. (I think).

A good solution if you want to also use the FIOS on demand and other capabilities is to get a Tivo for a DVR and a regular (non-DVR) STB for on demand.

Have to agree that the best is probably Tivo3 or TivoHD if you want more storage. You can transfer the recordings to / from a PC and work with it there. It also allows for large storage drives, add on (Tivo3 and TivoHd) or internal. The only difference, I believe is that the Tivo3 allows you to use any eSATA drive for expansion, with the TivoHD you need to use Tivo's. (I think).

A good solution if you want to also use the FIOS on demand and other capabilities is to get a Tivo for a DVR and a regular (non-DVR) STB for on demand.

I looked into a TIVO 2 years ago but decided to go with a Vista Media Center PC. My logic was that I could eat the upfront cost and only have a recurring cost of renting 2 Cable Cards.

I have a 1.5 TB ESATA RAID on the PC so I do have 'unlimited' disk space as you do with the TIVO but I am not sure I would recommend going the Media Center route.


In hindsight though, I probably would have gone the Tivo route because I have grown to really dislike Vista Media Center. Not totally MSFT's fault yet I do have my share of staring at the spinning circle.
The darn ATI Tuner's need a really hot signal or I get the dreaded 'no tv signal was detected so no recording was done' or I get pixelated pictures.

The Extenders are a great idea as well but I often get the Media Center popup of 'Network Issue'

I suspect all of this is why Media Center has never really taken off like Microsoft had hoped it would. The shame is that the SW is actually very good as far as the UI and features goes. The only missed recording is when the ATI Tuner has trouble.


If the Verizon Motorola DVR allowed for use of that expansion port then it would have been a no brainer to use it with an add on disk.
The day that I can rent a DVR from Verizon with a BIG disk or drive expansion is the day I throw out the Media Center PC.





Question about Tape:
I have a JVC and tried it 2 years ago with the Moto DVR. I could record the Local's through it and 3 other non-local stations but the rest all had the 5c flag set.

How is it that you can use a D-VHS with the TIVO?

Tivo has never had firewire ports so I'm guessing so you can't you D-VHS for HD transfer.

I understand the newer FiOS-provided multi-room DVRs are now able to send HD content to HD set top boxes in other rooms. My question is: if I get 2 multi-room DVRs, can each send HD shows to the other, thus effectively doubling the storage space for my house as a whole?

I understand the newer FiOS-provided multi-room DVRs are now able to send HD content to HD set top boxes in other rooms. My question is: if I get 2 multi-room DVRs, can each send HD shows to the other, thus effectively doubling the storage space for my house as a whole?

The current release of the firmware (at least in Maryland) allows the DVR to stream content to both the SD and HD set-top boxes. However, you still cannot strean content to another DVR.
From my understanding, Verizon WILL allow two DVR's, but only the first one can be set up as the Multi-Room system, and the second one will not have access to the Multi-Room content from the first one. (I used "first" and "second" to *try to* reduce confusion in my post. I don't think the order in which they are added to the account really matters).

The current release of the firmware (at least in Maryland) allows the DVR to stream content to both the SD and HD set-top boxes. However, you still cannot strean content to another DVR.
From my understanding, Verizon WILL allow two DVR's, but only the first one can be set up as the Multi-Room system, and the second one will not have access to the Multi-Room content from the first one. (I used "first" and "second" to *try to* reduce confusion in my post. I don't think the order in which they are added to the account really matters).

That's too bad. So much for my idea. I might wait a bit on FiOS then until they allow external HDs.

I almost hate to bring this up again, but to be clear searching previous posts;

1. Verizon use to use analog channels just as CATV providers still do as thier basic tier,
2. They have now dropped these in favor of going all digital (QAM),
3. Only the OTA local network stations are 'in the clear',
4. Which means, your TV's tuner is basically useless just as it is with satellite programming.

Is the above correct or is this upgrade only in larger and/or newer markets?

Last question; are they using SDV?

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Mostly, but there are a couple others
4. If your TV has a QAM tuner, you can pick up all the local broadcasts in SD and HD, all the PEG channels, WeatherScan, TV Guide, CNBC, MusicChoice and Urge. Analog tuners are useless unless you get the digital adapter or an SD box and use the RF output.
5. All FiOS markets
6. No SDV at this time or mention of any plans to use it

"PEG channels"?? :confused:
At least one good thing; no SDV! :)

Thanks for the above. It would be nice if they weren't so paranoid about security. Considering it is via fiber, it's kinda tough to 'tap into' that feed in the first place. :rolleyes:
Since they do offer CC's, has anyone been able to use one of the two popular DVR's with Verizon (LG or Sony) via a CC?

PEG channels are the local public, educational, and government channels. Cable channels from the school districts, cities, and whatnot. Can be useful if they televise city council or school board meetings if you're interested in that sort of thing but can't make it to the meeting.

Thanks, I've seen the term before, I just didn't reconize it. Not exactly at the top of the list of acronyms to remember.

Regarding instalations, has anyone received static when requesting to have the equipment installed inside the basement as opposed to outside the house (as long as AC power was available and the location unobstructed)?

Nope. Mine's in my basement. My friend's setup is in the garage. Maybe you have an access problem or something that would preclude sufficient space to install the equipment?

Guys,

My install is our crawlspace that can only be accessed from inside the home (think of it as a basement for people 3 feet tall).

They used an "apartment" box which is designed for internal use in large apartment buildings rather than the plastic box that you see outside of most homes.

The metal box they used in my install is akin to an alarm system control box. It's actually installed right next to the Brinks Alarm system box and its practically the same dimensions.

There should be no issue with an internal setup unless you live in a submarine.

I hope this helps.

Brian

I see no posts in this forum for over a month. I can't believe folks have stopped having FiOS installation and/or hardware problems. Is there a better forum/newsgroup?

I see no posts in this forum for over a month. I can't believe folks have stopped having FiOS installation and/or hardware problems. Is there a better forum/newsgroup?

Can't speak for "everyone" but, I just ordered the FiOs Triple Play and the installer showed up on the scheduled date, hooked everything up and it is working. So far, so good. Hopefully I won't need to contact them since they seem to have such notoriously poor customer account service...

If I have any problems, I promise to scream... :)

I see no posts in this forum for over a month. I can't believe folks have stopped having FiOS installation and/or hardware problems. Is there a better forum/newsgroup?They're probably over on broadband reports.

FiOS TV: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv
FiOS internet: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber

This topic really isn't specific to HD, so I'm guessing the thread is past it's useful life on AVS forum.

This has probably been answer before but I couldn't find it. If I get the Home Media DVR do you have to run a cable from the DVR to the standard definition receiver to view recorded shows on the sdr? If so is it coax or cat5e cable?

It uses the existing coax already connected to both receivers.

Thank you

Can't speak for "everyone" but, I just ordered the FiOs Triple Play and the installer showed up on the scheduled date, hooked everything up and it is working. So far, so good. Hopefully I won't need to contact them since they seem to have such notoriously poor customer account service...

If I have any problems, I promise to scream... :)


Would love to say I had some problems, but FIOS triple play was installed last weekend, 9 hour install and I had to fix the computer end of the install as tech was very bright but could not explain why all worked minutes earlier with my Optimum Online service but not when FIOS was hooked up. But other than than, brilliant Service, Amazing Picture, Blazing Internet and can't complain.

Multi-room DVR is a dream, SD channels rival HD in some instances and all in all I save $900 per year from Cablevision.

BTW I am a former Cablevision Staff person (left when VOOM HD closed) and, a current Cablevision Freelance person.

I am singing the praises (quietly but steadly) of how Cablevision is in the Dark Ages and FIOS is the "Age of Enlightentment"...

Ditto on the hope to never contact customer or tech service as when I was trying to fix computer problems, the lead tech person my tech spoke to said "Tell the customer to call DELL!!"

Since it worked under cablevision a minute earlier, it clearly WASN'T a DELL problem.. And, calling DELL, THAT would have been hell...

...
Since it worked under cablevision a minute earlier, it clearly WASN'T a DELL problem.. And, calling DELL, THAT would have been hell...

Help us out... what was the problem?

I finally did the switch from Directv to FIOS and I got the multiroom DVR with 3 additional HD boxes.

Currently, I have a multiswitch from directv in the basement of the house and then the signal splits (RG6 wire) to my TVs. I obviously want FIOS to do the same. Do they bring a splitter or should I have one present?

Next question, can the FIOS DVR record 2 shows at the same time? If so, will it require 2 seperate RG6 runs to it (the Directv did)?

I finally did the switch from Directv to FIOS and I got the multiroom DVR with 3 additional HD boxes.

Currently, I have a multiswitch from directv in the basement of the house and then the signal splits (RG6 wire) to my TVs. I obviously want FIOS to do the same. Do they bring a splitter or should I have one present?

Next question, can the FIOS DVR record 2 shows at the same time? If so, will it require 2 seperate RG6 runs to it (the Directv did)?
-They will bring a splitter(s).
-Yes, 2 at the same time, only one rg6 required (no lnb's to deal with)

-They will bring a splitter(s).
-Yes, 2 at the same time, only one rg6 required (no lnb's to deal with)

That is fantastic! TY

my setup is almost completely unable to watch DVRs on the slave boxes from the home media dvr... EVERY Time i try to watch one, it screws up and goes back 20 minutes in the show or it will give me a message saying it has lost communication with the hub... TERRIBLE hardware.

my setup is almost completely unable to watch DVRs on the slave boxes from the home media dvr... EVERY Time i try to watch one, it screws up and goes back 20 minutes in the show or it will give me a message saying it has lost communication with the hub... TERRIBLE hardware.

Have you called Verizon to get the hardware replaced? We've only had one problem with the remote box in the year we've had it (it wasn't seeing the current contents of the DVR). Resetting everything fixed it and we haven't had any trouble since. The only gripe my wife has is when you're using the 30 second skip it's a little laggy.

I am having FIOS come in this weekend and install the Triple Play. I read through some posts here and have answered many of my questions but I have a few more. Also, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Fiber optic cable comes outside into my house and goes into the ONT. Since I have triple play the ONT will have 3 outputs (1 for TV, 1 for Internet, 1 for Telephone).

Am I correct so far?

The installer run a RG6 wire from the ONT (TV portion) to where current Directv Switch it that runs to all my TVs (Obviously replacing the switch with a splitter). The distance from where I believe the ONT to be placed and the splitter will be about 35' of wire.

The installer would then run another RG6 from the ONT to the router they provide me (then plug in my current router to that so my home network is up and running).

The installer would then run a regular phone line from a working jack into the ONT for my telephone service.

Is this all correct? I want to have everything mapped out the way I want it for a smooth and quick install.

Internet and TV use the same coax.

I am having FIOS come in this weekend and install the Triple Play. I read through some posts here and have answered many of my questions but I have a few more. Also, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Fiber optic cable comes outside into my house and goes into the ONT. Since I have triple play the ONT will have 3 outputs (1 for TV, 1 for Internet, 1 for Telephone).

Am I correct so far?

The installer run a RG6 wire from the ONT (TV portion) to where current Directv Switch it that runs to all my TVs (Obviously replacing the switch with a splitter). The distance from where I believe the ONT to be placed and the splitter will be about 35' of wire.

The installer would then run another RG6 from the ONT to the router they provide me (then plug in my current router to that so my home network is up and running).

The installer would then run a regular phone line from a working jack into the ONT for my telephone service.

Is this all correct? I want to have everything mapped out the way I want it for a smooth and quick install.

I believe that's correct. The only option you may have (if you want it) is to run a direct ethernet connection from the ONT to the router in addition to the RG6. This is not a standard installation, since the usual is the RG6 to the router only, but some (myself included) have both the RG6 and a CAT-5 or 6 cable run to the router. Either way, it works well.

Does anyone know the code to command a Sony s550 with the fios/hd remote?
thanks

Hey all I have a couple questions about the home media dvr stb. The fios CS are telling me that I can add an esata drive to the stb and that it will work. Also he could not tell me whether the box has descrete power commands or if it is a TOAD. Is this service really better than the DVR service of D* ? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

The fios CS are telling me that I can add an esata drive to the stb and that it will work.Not, it will not...unless you purchase the TivoHD ($199 @ Sears) for FiOS.

Also he could not tell me whether the box has descrete power commands or if it is a TOAD.No Motorola DVRs from any provider offer discrete commands for on/off.

Is this service really better than the DVR service of D* ? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.Picture quality on FiOS is better than DirecTV, but their DVR service is definitely not. You can get a TivoHD for FiOS -- which many feel is better than the DirecTV DVR -- but you've got to pay for it.

Hello,

I am not sure if they is the right thread, but I will ask anyways.


We have had fios since Jan. of this year. We have a total of two cable boxes.

At the current time, we plan to swap tvs to a few new locatons in the house.

In the one room there used to be a coaxial cable from the last cable company we had. I was able to connect a splitter and ran that to the current tv and I am able to get connection (just a test).

My question, if I end up using that same line with a splitter going to two different cable boxes, would that work (one line with two boxes)?

The reason is the bedroom and tv in the living room share the same wall with that coaxial cable.


Thanks,
Tony

Yes, it will work fine, assuming your signal isn't very low to begin with. The signal from the ONT is very hot to begin with, so that's a fairly safe assumption.

Yes, it will work fine, assuming your signal isn't very low to begin with. The signal from the ONT is very hot to begin with, so that's a fairly safe assumption.


Thanks for your response.


Tony

Hi - First time poster but I've been a long time lurker of the Comcast HD thread in the other section. I just recently moved from Atlanta to Arlington, VA and tonight ordered Fios TV + Internet for the new condo, which is pre-wired for Fios. I'm also thrilled to report that for $35 dollars less than I was paying with Comcast, I am getting every premium HD channel (vs. only HBO on Comcast) and the highest possible Internet speed as well. I cannot wait. I do have a few questions though that I'm hoping you all can help me with:

1. Since the building is pre-wired, I'm assuming the installation should be a synch. Am I wrong in that assumption?

2. The "earliest" that the technicians can come out is April 14. I ordered the service online and plan to call tomorrow to see if I can move it to a closer date. Do you think I will have luck?

3. Is there anything else I should know/be aware of?

Thanks in advance

-S

1. Nope. Installations on a prewired location are generally pretty quick and painless, assuming the person on the other end of the phone doesn't screw up when provisioning.
2. Probably not; demand is pretty high for FiOS right now and many areas do have a pretty big delay until installation. Never hurts to ask though.
3. Schedule your install for the earliest window available, even if it's inconvenient for you. The later in the day you are, the more chance there is for something to go wrong at an earlier install and push yours back until really late in the day or until a later date.

All of our On-demand pixelate, block and stutter even after resetting via phone-call and unplugging. Any input is appreciated.

Posted this in the wrong forum originally, will try again here:

I switched to Fios from Comcast about six months ago, and for the most part I've been thrilled, but there's one problem that pops up every now and then that's really annoying and I'm not sure if it's degrading my PQ.

Here's how my townhouse is set up: the ONT is in the basement, and there's a coax cable that goes from that to the existing line where the Fios installer spliced in. Then, that cable goes up to a triple splitter in the living room, where the three outputs are connected to the cables for my two upstairs rooms and the main line for the living room, which is double split one more time to feed my STB and router.

Here's the problem: If the cable coming up from the basement gets bent too much, I lose all of my TV - I still have internet and the guide information is still there, but there's no picture or sound, just a "This channel is not available" message. And because of the way the cables come down from upstairs I can't screw them on to the triple splitter and fit everything back into the wall without the channel loss, so ever since we switched the whole mess has been hanging out of the wall and hidden by a small bookcase. But every time I need to move the bookcase, it takes ten minutes to position it correctly so that I don't lose everything again - and I'm thinking that it can't be good for my PQ to be so close to total video loss all the time.

Here's what I'm thinking of doing: If I buy a couple of 1.5' RG6 cables & double splitters from Monoprice, I can do something like this:


| - upstairs room
| - |
| | - upstairs room
basement line - |
| | - STB
| - wall plate --- |
| - Router


And probably fit everything back in the wall without producing any sharp bends. If there are no bends in the basement cable I should be okay, right? Or should I just call Verizon and get a tech out to my place to rewire everything?

Thanks!

I have the Home Media DVR activated on my HD DVR 6xxx and just got a second HD DVR for my son. I assume you cannot have two DVR's activated as Home Media DVR's? I want to be able to watch shows I record from my living room in our family room and he wants to do the same for shows he records in his bedroom, but I guess that's not possible.

Most likely he will win out, so I assume a FIOS CSR can deactivate the HMDVR on one and add it to the other?

twxabfn - 6 months might be a bit too long to get Verizon to come out and fix an installation problem.

I'll bet you have a broken shield or connector at the splitter behind the bookcase. The guide data is at lower frequencies, so it's probably coming through the best. The actual channels are much higher in frequency, so you are sure to lose them first (more loss at higher frequencies).

Coax is not flexible like the PC mouse's wire. No sharp angled bends. Think of it like a pipe that can sort-of bend, but not very well.

First things first. Move the bookcase out of the way. Have someone bend the cable at that splitter and find the offending coax (good signal, no signal). The connection has to be properly screwed into the splitter (no cross-threading and it should take several turns to tighten). You should see what needs to be done from there. If the coax / connector is broken just cut off the end and replace it. Search the forum for tips on how to do that.

Do you know they make right-angle adapters for coax? Available from Radio Shack: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102529&CAWELAID=107593404 Especially designed to keep homeowners out of trouble in tight-coax bend situations, like behind bookcases.

1. Nope. Installations on a prewired location are generally pretty quick and painless, assuming the person on the other end of the phone doesn't screw up when provisioning.
2. Probably not; demand is pretty high for FiOS right now and many areas do have a pretty big delay until installation. Never hurts to ask though.
3. Schedule your install for the earliest window available, even if it's inconvenient for you. The later in the day you are, the more chance there is for something to go wrong at an earlier install and push yours back until really late in the day or until a later date.

They were actually able to move me up a few days, to April 9th, so I'll let you all know how it goes!

Hi All -

I have Verizon FIOS and my living room STB is the Motorola QIP 7200. I have it hooked up to an LCD flat panel via HDMI. The LCD is wall mounted with an open face Bello entertaiment stand positioned under the TV. I am considering replacing the open faced entertainment stand with a Pottery Barn Andover Cabnet constructed for media. However, the PB cabinet is a closed face cabinet (doors).

My delema/question is that I would like to place the Motorola STB inside the Pottery Barn cabinet with the doors closed. Understanding this will not work so well for changing channels, can anyone recommend a remote control extender or IR eye that I could use with the Motorola STB that would allow me to have the STB inside the cabnet and operational with the doors closed??

Thanks - PWH

STBs don't like being in an enclosed space with limited airflow. Unless you want to replace the box (and lose all your recordings) every 6-8 months, you'd best leave the box out where the heat can escape.

coyoteaz - thanks for your response. The cabinet in question is sizable and does have what I would consider decent airflow (from the back). So I would be willing to give it a try with the STB inside the cabinet.

Any recommendations for a IR extender? I have found a ton of them in research, but would like to hear from any of you that may have used them and had positive results.

Thanks.

Any recommendations for a IR extender? I have found a ton of them in research, but would like to hear from any of you that may have used them and had positive results.

Thanks.
Setp up to theNext Generation Remote Control Extender (http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA). I haven't used it but I have read a lot of good about them.
For the price how can you go wrong.
As far as the cabinet you could always geta fan (http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-Fan-External-Cooling/dp/B00080G0BK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237505249&sr=8-1).

Question...I have the FIOS HD DVR, the 6xxx model. I just switched to an HDMI cable connection to my TV instead of the component cable. Since doing this yesterday, twice my picture has gone black but audio is still going. Is this an ongoing problem with the FIOS DVR and HMDI?

Both times I shut the cable box off and turned back on and the picture game back. HDMI cable is secure, have checked. TV is a Sony Bravia LCD. Actually just did it a third time as I typed this. This time it was when I changed the channel.

Any help would be appreciated.

Setp up to theNext Generation Remote Control Extender (http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA). I haven't used it but I have read a lot of good about them.
For the price how can you go wrong.
As far as the cabinet you could always geta fan (http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-Fan-External-Cooling/dp/B00080G0BK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237505249&sr=8-1).

Thanks for the suggestions... Definitely cheap but seemingly effective choices. I will give them a try.

Question...I have the FIOS HD DVR, the 6xxx model. I just switched to an HDMI cable connection to my TV instead of the component cable. Since doing this yesterday, twice my picture has gone black but audio is still going. Is this an ongoing problem with the FIOS DVR and HMDI?

Both times I shut the cable box off and turned back on and the picture game back. HDMI cable is secure, have checked. TV is a Sony Bravia LCD. Actually just did it a third time as I typed this. This time it was when I changed the channel.

Any help would be appreciated.

Did you try switching to another HDMI port?

I have the solution that will be less then the Next Generation Extender. I know because I was instrumental in the manufacturing of the Extender. I have a receiver cable available for $13.99 plus $3.95 for shipping. NGHP extender ranges from $33-$59. Look at our Ebay site and read the comments on the cable. cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190298299638&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Thank you!!!...please pass the word that we have the solution!! We also have it listed in our store inventory. The above link will be listed for the next 22 hours. Look up our store inventory @ stores.ebay.com/Infrared-Resources

Please note the shipping charge in the store inventory is $2.00 more to cover additional Ebay charges.

Best regards,
Steve

I have been in the business of HDMI since the start. My expierence is that you may have bought an old 1.2a version of cable and or bought an inexpensive cable that will not support the timing and speed needed to talk with the Set top box. A lot of people think all cables are the same. They are not! I would go with a 1.3b version Cat 2. This cable will handle deep color needed for Blu-ray. Current cheap cables only support 1080I if that. Legit cables will now handle up to 1440P. Let me know if you would like to try another cable as we are a manufacturer of Top Qlty HDMI cables. In fact we manufacturer for top OEM name brands that sell for $$$. We offer reasonable prices that are much lower.

Hope this helps!

Steve

please look at my recent post #3238. I have what you need.

I may have fixed my HDMI problem. After reading something elsewhere, I checked my DVR's setup screens (Power, OK, Menu). Under the "Additional HDMI Settings", the setting for "HDMI/DVI Mode" was set to DVI. I changed that and have not had the issue of a blank screen since.

I may have fixed my HDMI problem. After reading something elsewhere, I checked my DVR's setup screens (Power, OK, Menu). Under the "Additional HDMI Settings", the setting for "HDMI/DVI Mode" was set to DVI. I changed that and have not had the issue of a blank screen since.

Pretty freakin' tricky - thanks for posting that, I would never have thought of that, just in case it ever becomes an issue.

Apologies if this has already been asked, but I haven't been able to find the answer: Verizon is installing the Moto 7216 in my area as FiOS HD DVR - can I plug in my indoor antenna directly into the 7216 to continue to receive/record OTA channels as I now do with my DirecTV HD-DVR?

Thanks!

No. That isn't a feature of any cable-company-provided box.

No. That isn't a feature of any cable-company-provided box.


thanks - sounds like I need the TivoHD then?

thanks - sounds like I need the TivoHD then?

Is there something wrong with the locals from FIOS?

thanks - sounds like I need the TivoHD then?
If you really want OTA, yes.

Is there something wrong with the locals from FIOS?

Exactly, if you're already paying V* for them why bother with OTA? Let me guess, you can't get by without that RTN subchannel that FIOS doesn't carry?

I've actually been trying (unsuccessfully so far) to daisy chain my Linksys WRT54G to my Actiontec router solely because I have a huge number of advanced configuration settings in there that I'm not looking forward to duplicating on a new system that I'm not familiar with. I can't even figure out how to set up port forwarding in the same way on the Actiontec. I was actually really annoyed that they gave me a combo modem/router (I wasn't home; my wife was), I figured it would be a modem with a separate router that I could then just clone the MAC off of and replace with my Linksys.

I have the Verizon/Westell 9100EM router. I need additional ethernet ports. Do I just need to buy something like the Netgear 16-port ethernet switch?

Thanks.