However, I’m not sure if a smaller file (Mp3) can be converted to a bigger file (AAC or Lossless) as simply as it is converting a lossless file to a smaller file.
You can transfer the format of the file, but the sound won't be better than what you started with. You will just have a bigger file. I don't know anything about adjustability of the AAC compression algorithm. I do know that mp3 compression can be adjusted from practically mud to practically lossless.

I like mp3 because it's practically universal compression. I like Variable Bit Rate at 192 because it peaks at over 320k when you need it and ratchets down below 90k when you don't. Very good quality / space compromise. Human ear can't tell the difference above 320k.As I said, I’m new to this. I’ll do a test with a CD play back compared to the other options (Mp3, AAC and Lossless) and see if I hear any discernible nuances. I’m not one of those who claim to hear the differences between various components but I know what I like.

As a guideline or point of reference to my hearing, personally, I dislike my Sirius satellite’s compressed sound. I prefer CD’s in my car compared to Sirius but I still enjoy the benefits and pleasures of satellite.

By the way, this fellow told me that AAC is a newer “version” of MP3 and is the same type of file that is used for Blue Ray. I’m not endorsing his words just reporting them.

Anyway, it was a fascinating service call. :cool:


Great to hear. I am so far, very impressed with Verizon's customer service and their knowledge of their products. Compared to my experience with TWC, it's like night and day.

As I said, I’m new to this. I’ll do a test with a CD play back compared to the other options (Mp3, AAC and Lossless) and see if I hear any discernible nuances. I’m not one of those who claim to hear the differences between various components but I know what I like.

As a guideline or point of reference to my hearing, personally, I dislike my Sirius satellite’s compressed sound. I prefer CD’s in my car compared to Sirius but I still enjoy the benefits and pleasures of satellite.

By the way, this fellow told me that AAC is a newer “version” of MP3 and is the same type of file that is used for Blue Ray. I’m not endorsing his words just reporting them.
I don't know much about AAC other than it's proprietary to Apple. As long as you can get to that quality / space sweet spot that you want, it's all good.

Great to hear. I am so far, very impressed with Verizon's customer service and their knowledge of their products. Compared to my experience with TWC, it's like night and day.
I couldn’t ever imagine giving a TWCSR access to my computer.

It was a long day of headaches starting with a 9:30 Verizon appointment that never happened. I called the guy who was supposed to come over and he told me that they were going to do the upgrade this week so there was no need for him to come by. I still wanted a rep over. He sent over another guy who wasn’t their best tech but he was a good guy who stuck with it. He spent 4 hours with me trying to figure the HDMI mess out. :cool:

And then later on in the day, spending a couple of hours tying to get this media thing going with a phone call to another rep who tried his best to figure it out but couldn’t. He then got a high level guy to call me back at 9:30, 12 hours after my day began with them solving that issue. Very cool.;)


TW would have said, "unplug everything and then re-plug and then we'll send over a special signal" ....and you'll still be screwed.:D:p:D

By the way, this fellow told me that AAC is a newer “version” of MP3 and is the same type of file that is used for Blue Ray. I’m not endorsing his words just reporting them.

FWIW, AAC is a "more modern" audio compression scheme compared to mp3. 99% Apple led. Generally speaking, most will acknowledge a 128 AAC file is similar in quality to a 192 mp3.

Not 100% sure about BD, but most all DVDs run A/C3, an encoding that supports multiple channels.

I don't know much about AAC other than it's proprietary to Apple. As long as you can get to that quality / space sweet spot that you want, it's all good.

Actually, it isn't proprietary at all, it's an open standard. Yes, Apple was the first to aggressively use/promote it...

FWIW, AAC is a "more modern" audio compression scheme compared to mp3. 99% Apple led. Generally speaking, most will acknowledge a 128 AAC file is similar in quality to a 192 mp3.

Not 100% sure about BD, but most all DVDs run A/C3, an encoding that supports multiple channels.Hey RG, :) what’s your take on a good format for storing in iTunes?

By the way, this Media Manager thing is great. It’s another nice perk not found in the TW world, unless of course you create your own on a network. This thing is quite simple and fun (once we discovered that I needed smaller files for playback).

Regarding Media Manager…

A couple of things I encountered that caused problems in music playback:


Store files in smaller than Lossless
Keep STB on pause while using Media manager

As I find more idiosyncrasies I’ll post them.

…. And…. since the STB has to be paused, to play the music from the Media Manager, the player stops when the STB comes out of pause, :rolleyes: another problem for them to fix.

I have a follow up call from Verizon scheduled for tomorrow night. I’ll bring it up.

Why would I want Media Manager on my Mac? What am I missing by not bothering with it.

And yes, AAC is NOT an Apple proprietary standard, it is an open industry standard. But since the technical press is constantly implying otherwise, I can understand why people do not realize this.

Hey RG, :) what’s your take on a good format for storing in iTunes?

By the way, this Media Manager thing is great. It’s another nice perk not found in the TW world, unless of course you create your own on a network. This thing is quite simple and fun (once we discovered that I needed smaller files for playback).

Actually, that a very interesting question! Clearly, AAC is much the "better" format in that it can achieve "better" sound with smaller file sizes. BUT there are things that do NOT support it. So I could buy a car with an entertainment unit that can take mp3's on CD but not AAC's on CD (although there's zero chance I'll be buying a car).

So there has to be more going into the question... I use 128 bit AAC, the main reason being a one gig 2nd gen Shuffle is my primary listening device, so I want to minimize file size. AND 128 is more than adequate on the quality side as the overall level of outside sound is very high and I doubt even the goldenest of ears could really tell any difference with 192 bit files in the same environment. Not to mention that age plays a bigger factor than most people realize... I got a ring tone file that apparently school kids use for their cells as they can hear it but teachers can't. It's a 15k tone. I spread it around to everyone I know and the ONLY people who could hear it were all under 22.

Given all that, I probably should be using mp3... but I have a LOT of music already ripped... I really expected AAC to be better supported, but many CE guys still cling to mp3.

Regarding Media Manager…

A couple of things I encountered that caused problems in music playback:


Store files in smaller than Lossless
Keep STB on pause while using Media manager

As I find more idiosyncrasies I’ll post them.

Ah, does FiOS have anything similar to the Music Choice channels TWC runs? I DO find those quite the gem nobody knows about... I DO have a loose cable to my AVR so I can easily jack my iPods into it, but mostly I tune in a Music Choice channel.

Ah, does FiOS have anything similar to the Music Choice channels TWC runs?

Yup, pretty much the same thing on FiOS.

Ah, does FiOS have anything similar to the Music Choice channels TWC runs? .

Yup, pretty much the same thing on FiOS.;) Fios has the same Music Choice as TW plus there is a bunch more under another name. I forgot what they are called but they are in the sane part of the guide and basically are additional channels of similar genres. As an example there are additional Blues channels, various rock channels, etc.

;) Fios has the same Music Choice as TW plus there is a bunch more under another name. I forgot what they are called but they are in the sane part of the guide and basically are additional channels of similar genres. As an example there are additional Blues channels, various rock channels, etc.

URGE is the word you are looking for. That is the name of the other set of music channels.

hello can anybody tell me when verizon fios is coming to corona/jackson heights, queens area, seems like everyone has fios or getting close to getting it, i haven't heard a squeak from this part of nyc area,

Wow! I finally took a look at MSG to see the Knicks game.:eek: Holy crap that looks awful. It’s like I’m watching the game on my childhood Magnovox television-- through a dirty fish tank. :p:rolleyes: We need MSGHD and fast! Thankfully, there’s this World Series thing on tonight. :cool:

hello can anybody tell me when verizon fios is coming to corona/jackson heights, queens area, seems like everyone has fios or getting close to getting it, i haven't heard a squeak from this part of nyc area,

Is there any website that is tracking when which neighborhoods actually get FiOS? My impression is that there has been almost no "expansion" in service areas since they got the franchise agreement... with a building here or there as almost exceptions. They said 60% of Manhattan would be covered by the end of 09, but my impression is it will be more like 20%.

What I also find troubling is they still seem to be pouring millions into advertising. Money that I think is FAR better spent on running fiber...

FWIW here in South Bayside/Hollis Hills Queens there are 6-7 Verizon/Altell trucks on the block. They did the main trunk wiring almost a year ago and they are now back finishing the installation. We should have FIOS in 2-3 months. There are houses on the block (including mine) that will require manual wiring from Telephone poles in back yards.
So some progress is being made.:):)

Is there any website that is tracking when which neighborhoods actually get FiOS? My impression is that there has been almost no "expansion" in service areas since they got the franchise agreement... with a building here or there as almost exceptions. They said 60% of Manhattan would be covered by the end of 09, but my impression is it will be more like 20%.

What I also find troubling is they still seem to be pouring millions into advertising. Money that I think is FAR better spent on running fiber...

Wow! I finally took a look at MSG to see the Knicks game.:eek: Holy crap that looks awful. It’s like I’m watching the game on my childhood Magnovox television-- through a dirty fish tank. :p:rolleyes: We need MSGHD and fast! Thankfully, there’s this World Series thing on tonight. :cool:

LOL...

Larry, how did you make out with your issue?

LOL...

Larry, how did you make out with your issue?

Nothing has changed; still no HDMI and I haven’t pursued any alternatives (long component cables or converters). What I was told, last week, is that as soon as the upgrade (1.7) is successful in its few test areas (Texas for one), then it will be deployed here. This should be within a week or so. I haven’t called anyone since last week. I’ve been busy so it hasn’t really bothered me too much but I will call tomorrow for updates.

Nothing has changed; still no HDMI and I haven’t pursued any alternatives (long component cables or converters). What I was told, last week, is that as soon as the upgrade (1.7) is successful in its few test areas (Texas for one), then it will be deployed here. This should be within a week or so. I haven’t called anyone since last week. I’ve been busy so it hasn’t really bothered me too much but I will call tomorrow for updates.

It's clear the Moto box is a weak link, with a SciAtl box in the works.

So the 1.7 software download is now rumored for December. Who cares. This is basically for widgets, program guide and caller ID. It has nothing to do with the green screen HDMI incompatibility issue. I spoke to several FIOS technicians and they are aware of the issue and they do not care. There is no plans for any fix. It’s component or Tivo but don’t plan on using their STB with an HDMI cable because it does not function with the majority of displays.

And as far as SA boxes, that will be several months from now-- if it happens, and there is no guarantee that the issue will be resolved.

So the 1.7 software download is now rumored for December. Who cares. This is basically for widgets, program guide and caller ID. It has nothing to do with the green screen HDMI incompatibility issue. I spoke to several FIOS technicians and they are aware of the issue and they do not care. There is no plans for any fix. It’s component or Tivo but don’t plan on using their STB with an HDMI cable because it does not function with the majority of displays.

And as far as SA boxes, that will be several months from now-- if it happens, and there is no guarantee that the issue will be resolved.

There is some buzz that 1.7c was deployed to trial users Friday and it has some hdmi fixes.

There is some buzz that 1.7c was deployed to trial users Friday and it has some hdmi fixes.That would be great, nothing would please me more. Where did you here the buzz, DSL thread? According to the Verizon techs I spoke to, 1.7 has nothing to do with HDMI. I don’t know what to believe anymore. They’re blaming everything on HDMI saying it’s not their issue.

I have a 40 foot component cable arriving tomorrow from Monoprice that I’ll set up but this sucks. I specifically wired two rooms with HDM cables and bought a new receiver with HDMI in and out replacing a perfectly adequate non HDMI Denon. If were informed of this prior to switching over from TW, I could have saved a few of grand and done everything component. As it stands now, I got an additional 15 bucks off per month for a year from Verizon. Big deal. :rolleyes:

That would be great, nothing would please me more. Where did you here the buzz, DSL thread? According to the Verizon techs I spoke to, 1.7 has nothing to do with HDMI. I don’t know what to believe anymore. They’re blaming everything on HDMI saying it’s not their issue.

I have a 40 foot component cable arriving tomorrow from Monoprice that I’ll set up but this sucks. I specifically wired two rooms with HDM cables and bought a new receiver with HDMI in and out replacing a perfectly adequate non HDMI Denon. If were informed of this prior to switching over from TW, I could have saved a few of grand and done everything component. As it stands now, I got an additional 15 bucks off per month for a year from Verizon. Big deal. :rolleyes:
dslreports.com

So the 1.7 software download is now rumored for December. Who cares. This is basically for widgets, program guide and caller ID. It has nothing to do with the green screen HDMI incompatibility issue. I spoke to several FIOS technicians and they are aware of the issue and they do not care. There is no plans for any fix. It’s component or Tivo but don’t plan on using their STB with an HDMI cable because it does not function with the majority of displays.

And as far as SA boxes, that will be several months from now-- if it happens, and there is no guarantee that the issue will be resolved.

As best as I can tell, HDMI is a work in progress. I had it running a little while. Given my HDMI experience with TW, I went back to component on the first lockup. I just didn't want to be bothered. Was it my late 2005 Sammy display ? Maybe. I'm not going to trash my Sammy over HDMI.

I wanted FIOS guy to go straight to component. You don't want HDMI ??? asked he. It was 10:00pm after an 11 hour install. I gave up and got a free HDMI cable.

I live in Long Island NY and just made the switch to Verizon FiOS after 10+ years with cablevision. I was really looking foward to the HD picture quality with FiOS because with cable i noticed a lot of pixeliation and macro-blocking. After I made the switch I was very dissapointed to see that the HD PQ on FiOS is very similiar to cablevision. There is pixeliation and macro-blocking on a lot of channels. Especially when there is fast movement, you can clearly see large pixels flashing on the screen which is very annoying. I called FiOS and had a tech visit and he changed all the main spiltters into my home but that really didnt do anything. Anyone experience poor HD PQ on fios and have any solutions or suggestions? This is very dissapointing to say the least. I thought FiOS had the most bandwidth which produce a much more clean HD PQ. I am using a 1080p Panasonic Plasma which looks gorgeous with Blu-RAY so I know its not the TV, its FiOS. Thanks

I live in Long Island NY and just made the switch to Verizon FiOS after 10+ years with cablevision. I was really looking foward to the HD picture quality with FiOS because with cable i noticed a lot of pixeliation and macro-blocking. After I made the switch I was very dissapointed to see that the HD PQ on FiOS is very similiar to cablevision. There is pixeliation and macro-blocking on a lot of channels. Especially when there is fast movement, you can clearly see large pixels flashing on the screen which is very annoying. I called FiOS and had a tech visit and he changed all the main spiltters into my home but that really didnt do anything. Anyone experience poor HD PQ on fios and have any solutions or suggestions? This is very dissapointing to say the least. I thought FiOS had the most bandwidth which produce a much more clean HD PQ. I am using a 1080p Panasonic Plasma which looks gorgeous with Blu-RAY so I know its not the TV, its FiOS. Thanks

The difference between T-W and FIOS has been like night and day. Then, I live on the 29th floor. T-W's digital run ends in my building's basement. It's all coax from there. FIOS' fiber run ends in my front closet.

How old is your inside coax ? If you have old unused splices that have been coupled, that can cause signal loss. Besides changing the splitters, did the tech follow the coax all the way from the ONT ? Test signal strength at each break / splitter ? Test signal strength at the affected TV ?

I live in Long Island NY and just made the switch to Verizon FiOS after 10+ years with cablevision. I was really looking foward to the HD picture quality with FiOS because with cable i noticed a lot of pixeliation and macro-blocking. After I made the switch I was very dissapointed to see that the HD PQ on FiOS is very similiar to cablevision. There is pixeliation and macro-blocking on a lot of channels. Especially when there is fast movement, you can clearly see large pixels flashing on the screen which is very annoying. I called FiOS and had a tech visit and he changed all the main spiltters into my home but that really didnt do anything. Anyone experience poor HD PQ on fios and have any solutions or suggestions? This is very dissapointing to say the least. I thought FiOS had the most bandwidth which produce a much more clean HD PQ. I am using a 1080p Panasonic Plasma which looks gorgeous with Blu-RAY so I know its not the TV, its FiOS. Thanks
Sounds like you need a tech out there that knows what hes doing. I hate the company fios but I have to give them credit for having the best picture.
I will not give them credit for anything else cause they don't deserve it.

I live in Long Island NY and just made the switch to Verizon FiOS after 10+ years with cablevision. I was really looking foward to the HD picture quality with FiOS because with cable i noticed a lot of pixeliation and macro-blocking. After I made the switch I was very dissapointed to see that the HD PQ on FiOS is very similiar to cablevision. There is pixeliation and macro-blocking on a lot of channels. Especially when there is fast movement, you can clearly see large pixels flashing on the screen which is very annoying. I called FiOS and had a tech visit and he changed all the main spiltters into my home but that really didnt do anything. Anyone experience poor HD PQ on fios and have any solutions or suggestions? This is very dissapointing to say the least. I thought FiOS had the most bandwidth which produce a much more clean HD PQ. I am using a 1080p Panasonic Plasma which looks gorgeous with Blu-RAY so I know its not the TV, its FiOS. Thanks

From all we think we know, that should not be happening!

I'd go almost knocking on doors to see what others in your building are getting in terms of PQ. If you live in a house, try the houses around you. Make sure it is FiOS customers (I got into an argument with someone swearing someone next door HAD FiOS, something that was impossible)! Try and narrow down where an issue may lie... although truth be told, Verizon SHOULD be doing this!

From all we think we know, that should not be happening!

I'd go almost knocking on doors to see what others in your building are getting in terms of PQ. If you live in a house, try the houses around you. Make sure it is FiOS customers (I got into an argument with someone swearing someone next door HAD FiOS, something that was impossible)! Try and narrow down where an issue may lie... although truth be told, Verizon SHOULD be doing this!

As best as I can tell, the standard installation procedure requires FIOS tech to test the signal into and out of the ONT, which is a piece of long term Verizon infrastructure. The job is not successfully completed unless i/o meets certain signal strength standard.

My internal copper did not handle incoming caller ID, yet, plugging a phone directly into the ONT gave caller ID. A post-install tech visit solved by bypassing the internal copper.

I suspect that a fair number of signal issues can be traced to existing coax on the video or existing copper on the phone.

I take it to mean "internal cooper" is the wiring after the ONT... interesting. Caller ID fails but TV doesn't seem affected by suspect internal wiring?

Right now, my phone and computer live right by where the TWC line comes in (i.e. where the ONT would go), but there's a long co-ax run to where the TV lives... and it's 30+ years old at that. At least my plan, should Verizon ever get up here, is to replace that run.

I have a reasonable understanding of the cooper delivery system, but very little about fiber. It frequently happens that my signal strength is just fine, but at a future date it gets degraded by actions happening outside my place. COULD something like that happen in a fiber delivery system... and how could that come about?

AND in a funny moment of irony, my board all went to a Co-Op conference and one of my fellow directors spoke to someone from Verizon about when we may get it... and was told flat out that it WAS in my neighborhood (it most definitely is not)!

We again asked our Verizon business contact who again declined to say anything about availability in the area, but who did reiterate that there very much was a threshold number of "sign-ups" needed before they would even bring wire into a building. We just had our Annual Meeting and interest in FiOS is definitely waning... people see tons of advertising and no action not to mention we were supposed to get it 4 months ago.

I take it to mean "internal cooper" is the wiring after the ONT... interesting. Caller ID fails but TV doesn't seem affected by suspect internal wiring?

Right now, my phone and computer live right by where the TWC line comes in (i.e. where the ONT would go), but there's a long co-ax run to where the TV lives... and it's 30+ years old at that. At least my plan, should Verizon ever get up here, is to replace that run.

I have a reasonable understanding of the cooper delivery system, but very little about fiber. It frequently happens that my signal strength is just fine, but at a future date it gets degraded by actions happening outside my place. COULD something like that happen in a fiber delivery system... and how could that come about?

AND in a funny moment of irony, my board all went to a Co-Op conference and one of my fellow directors spoke to someone from Verizon about when we may get it... and was told flat out that it WAS in my neighborhood (it most definitely is not)!

We again asked our Verizon business contact who again declined to say anything about availability in the area, but who did reiterate that there very much was a threshold number of "sign-ups" needed before they would even bring wire into a building. We just had our Annual Meeting and interest in FiOS is definitely waning... people see tons of advertising and no action not to mention we were supposed to get it 4 months ago.

Internal copper is the in-the-wall Verizon wiring you presently have. Normally it gets connected to the ONT. I now have a single external wire from the ONT to a jack in my kitchen. I don't need the internal wire with a Panny DECT 6.0 base with three remotes. When FIOS tech arrived on the second go round, the first thing he did was plug a test phone directly into an RJ-11 on the ONT. The solution was obvious to me then. Work around the problem.

The ONT has some troubleshooting and report-to-home capability. As I understand it, when you go from AC power to included battery back-up or if the battery backup goes, it calls home. Also, I can reboot the STB from the FIOS website. That tells me that they can "read" the STB from central.

Internal copper is the in-the-wall Verizon wiring you presently have. Normally it gets connected to the ONT. I now have a single external wire from the ONT to a jack in my kitchen. I don't need the internal wire with a Panny DECT 6.0 base with three remotes. When FIOS tech arrived on the second go round, the first thing he did was plug a test phone directly into an RJ-11 on the ONT. The solution was obvious to me then. Work around the problem.

The ONT has some troubleshooting and report-to-home capability. As I understand it, when you go from AC power to included battery back-up or if the battery backup goes, it calls home. Also, I can reboot the STB from the FIOS website. That tells me that they can "read" the STB from central.

Ah, now I see. I DO have "telco" wire run from my Verizon phone days... but it's all external. Still in use as it is plugged into my Arris cable-modem.

Ha, I have a Panny DECT w/ one remote! It's actually about 10 feet away from my coat closet, where an ONT would reside. In my setup, I'm more concerned about a ~70' run of co-ax from where an ONT would mount to my TV.

Ah, now I see. I DO have "telco" wire run from my Verizon phone days... but it's all external. Still in use as it is plugged into my Arris cable-modem.

Ha, I have a Panny DECT w/ one remote! It's actually about 10 feet away from my coat closet, where an ONT would reside. In my setup, I'm more concerned about a ~70' run of co-ax from where an ONT would mount to my TV.

I have a single TV setup. 50" Sammy HD. I had no problem with cabling when I was analog on T-W. When I went to the SciAtl SD DVR box I began losing entire channels, getting digital artifacts. T-W sent a tech and found about 3 coupled breaks in the coax. Ran me a new length from outside the apartment, replacing the 25 year old existing co-ax. FIOS cut the T-W co-ax from outside the apt and connected it to the ONT.

When FIOS came, the first thing the tech did was visually inspect the existing co-ax. When FIOS gets around to yours, they'll call the morning of install. Let them know how much co-ax they'll need.

I hear ya... but that may take a LONG while... things really seem to be stalled. Think it was 4 months ago there was some activity in Morningside Heights (my guess it was because there is a major switching station there), think it was laying conduit. Not one peep since then. I kinda figured they would head south from there along the WEA/RSD corridor, prime territory I'd think. Nada. There are no permits issued along Broadway, WEA, or RSD which means nothing will happen for the next few months.

:cool: HDMI is finally up and running with no green screen-- Thanks to Jim on the main FIOS thread. Apparently the series 6 boxes are more HDMI friendlier than the 7 series. ;) The Verizon tech brought over the 6400 HD DVR boxes replacing the 74 and the 73.

He didn’t have a 6200 but will get one eventually. This will give me the multi room capabilities again. Currently, with only 6400 DVRs, the multi room cannot function.

I’m happy since now I can watch another TV in a different room working off of an HDMI cable. I can send back to Monoprice the 40 foot component cable set up temporarily.

Good news Larry!

Can you get them to string the UWS from Columbus Circle to Columbia U. any time this next decade???

:cool: HDMI is finally up and running with no green screen-- Thanks to Jim on the main FIOS thread. Apparently the series 6 boxes are more HDMI friendlier than the 7 series. ;) The Verizon tech brought over the 6400 HD DVR boxes replacing the 74 and the 73.

He didn’t have a 6200 but will get one eventually. This will give me the multi room capabilities again. Currently, with only 6400 DVRs, the multi room cannot function.

I’m happy since now I can watch another TV in a different room working off of an HDMI cable. I can send back to Monoprice the 40 foot component cable set up temporarily.


Great news Larry!

My folks just got Fios tv (triple play package) in Coney Island. Am I correct in understanding that the only options for DVR is either through Verizon or Tivo?

Second question - for the Verizon DVR box can I add an external HDD via usb, or is there more to it?

Thanks

My folks just got Fios tv (triple play package) in Coney Island. Am I correct in understanding that the only options for DVR is either through Verizon or Tivo?

Second question - for the Verizon DVR box can I add an external HDD via usb, or is there more to it?

Thanks

DVR is Verizon or Tivo. You lose some functionality like on-demand and widgets with Tivo. Season to taste.

Don't know about the external HDD/USB.

There's another realistic option for third party DVR... Moxi.

One AVSer maintains a very good comparison chart:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17063966#post17063966

Thanks for the info. I'm kind of amazed (more so jealous) that Coney Island gets Fios before Stuyvesant Heights. Maybe because the lines run in the streets in Coney, but through backyards of brownstowns hear in Bed Stuy, making it harder

Manhattan and at least some suburbs were upgraded to IMG 1.7 today.

Great news Larry!

With the update to 1.7, the green screen issue has dissapeared for me with the 7 series box.

My folks just got Fios tv (triple play package) in Coney Island. Am I correct in understanding that the only options for DVR is either through Verizon or Tivo?

Second question - for the Verizon DVR box can I add an external HDD via usb, or is there more to it?

Thanks

You might find the following interesting, especially the 3rd paragraph. It appeared in Salon in August:

Today at Verizon's New York City headquarters the company showed off some upgrades to FiOS TV that are coming in September. One of the most noticeable upgrades in the new FiOS, version 1.7, is that premium channels like HBO and Showtime will now be able to promote specific shows when non-subscribers tune to those channels.

So if you don't have Showtime, instead of seeing a regular to-subscribe-fork-over-another-$9.99-a-month message when you flip to that channel, you'll see something like the screen above. FiOS already lets you subscribe to individual premium channels via your remote control (as opposed to a phone call), which has led to a huge spike in impulse-buying those channels, company reps said. Now they're taking it a step further with channels promoting shows and offering sample episodes for free.

Also coming up with version 1.7 is bidirectional side-loading of devices. What the frak is that? Verizon FiOS already lets you browse media (videos, music and photos) from computers on your home network; now you'll be able to browse media on devices attached to those computers via USB — portable media players, cameras, phones or whatever. There's no software to install, no delay; just plug them in and they'll show up in your FiOS Media Manager menu. Nice.

Lastly, look for major enhancements to FiOS's app store, the Widget Bazaar, next month as well.

While we're on the topic, anyone else disappointed with how slowly FiOS TV is spreading to new areas? And are you few lucky subscribers looking forward to these upgrades?


What I take from it is that the USB port is very functional now if it wasn't before.

Is anyone else who got the latest update finding that the Guide is now "stretched" across the screen? Maybe I am doing something wrong but I hate this.

With the update to 1.7, the green screen issue has dissapeared for me with the 7 series box.Thanks for the information. It’s great to hear that the green screen issue is gone with the 1.7. I just checked and see that I got the 1.7 today also.

Is there any advantage with the 7 series over the 6? Since switching over to the 6 everything is fine, so unless there is something really important I’ll hold on to this until the SA boxes come out or whatever the next generation is.

Is anyone else who got the latest update finding that the Guide is now "stretched" across the screen? Maybe I am doing something wrong but I hate this.

Everyone is getting it. Apparently, it is an intermediate phase between 4:3 and 16:9 Guide.

Everyone is getting it. Apparently, it is an intermediate phase between 4:3 and 16:9 Guide.

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the information. It’s great to hear that the green screen issue is gone with the 1.7. I just checked and see that I got the 1.7 today also.

Is there any advantage with the 7 series over the 6? Since switching over to the 6 everything is fine, so unless there is something really important I’ll hold on to this until the SA boxes come out or whatever the next generation is.

I am not sure as I have both. My DVR is a 6 series. The HD box in my bedroom is 7 series.

No sign of on screen CID here. Is anyone in the metro area getting it?

1.7 is definitely capable. Some in other regions are getting it.

Everyone is getting it. Apparently, it is an intermediate phase between 4:3 and 16:9 Guide.

Yeah and my non-hd channels are now streched to 16x9 where they were pillarboxed 4x3 before when I had the box upscaling all to 1080i. I can change the aspect ratio on my PJ to 4x3 but it's a PITA to do every time. I hope it goes back to how it was before. And the issue where you have to pick either 1080i or 720P and not select both sucks because channels that are 720P like ABC and FOX look pretty bad when 1080i is selected. I have to manually change the box output to 720P for these channels every time. Otherwise the box is supposedly downscaling the 720P to 540P and then upscaling to 1080i. Effectively losing res.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12982624&postcount=2963

If you have a 1080p set, you will probably set the stb output to 1080i. That means when you watch something that was originally 720p, during conversion from 720p to 1080i, each 720p field (720 lines) has to be fit into a 1080i field (540 lines), resulting in a loss of 180 lines of resolution (a 25% reduction in vertical resolution!). No scaler can add resolution beyond what's in the original image.

is there any info on whether verizon fios will do 1080p in the future?

is there any info on whether verizon fios will do 1080p in the future?

they cant provide what doesnt exist. no program provider is doing 1080p.

i recently saw a comercial for dish advertising 1080p, which is why I asked

they cant provide what doesnt exist. no program provider is doing 1080p.
DirecTV and Dish Network both provide a selection of "1080p" movies via their on-demand/PPV services.

I put "1080p" in quotes because a) there is no way to tell what they actually mean by that, and b) for all practical purposes, it doesn't matter anyway. With movies, 1080p doesn't deliver anything beyond what you get with 1080i (which is what Verizon and all cable companies use for their on-demand content.)

An improvement I haven't read about elsewhere.

Several weeks or months ago I posted that IR on the STB was quite weak. T-W's SciAtl was stronger. I had to point the remote at the STB, literally take aim. Since the 1.7 upgrade, I just point in the general direction.

Just gave up on TWC and activated my FiOS TV. Everything is great except for one problem. Sometimes commercials are twice as loud as the programming, and it's annoying to say the least. Is there a cure for this somewhere in the audio settings?

I just got another Tivo so called Customer Service and first they said I can just drop by and pickup to CableCards. Now I knew from the last time I added a Tivo and showed up at the service center they told me they do not give customers cablecards so after 10 minutes of trying to tell the service rep on the phone that info was wrong he went to a supervisor.
The rep gets back on the phone and tells me it has to be a truck roll and it would be $80 for the install of 2 cable cards.
Can you believe that $80 bucks?
Couldn't talk the rep out if it. I even asked when my agreement was up (February) so I told them expect a call in three months.
I shuold have just called the current Tivo in for a problem and and while the guy was there ask for new cablecards.
$80!!!

Just gave up on TWC and activated my FiOS TV. Everything is great except for one problem. Sometimes commercials are twice as loud as the programming, and it's annoying to say the least. Is there a cure for this somewhere in the audio settings?

Ongoing issue everywhere... plagues TWC as well.

Ongoing issue everywhere... plagues TWC as well.
Interesting. I never really noticed it on TWC.

I just got another Tivo so called Customer Service and first they said I can just drop by and pickup to CableCards. Now I knew from the last time I added a Tivo and showed up at the service center they told me they do not give customers cablecards so after 10 minutes of trying to tell the service rep on the phone that info was wrong he went to a supervisor.
The rep gets back on the phone and tells me it has to be a truck roll and it would be $80 for the install of 2 cable cards.
Can you believe that $80 bucks?
Couldn't talk the rep out if it. I even asked when my agreement was up (February) so I told them expect a call in three months.
I shuold have just called the current Tivo in for a problem and and while the guy was there ask for new cablecards.
$80!!!

Haven't experienced that problem yet. Almost a year since install.

I'll just ask you the usual so don't be offended.

Are your connections all nice and tight ?

Do you have new co-ax or are you using raggedy old co-ax that has been spliced through the years ?

The previous was for Justlou. My bad.

The previous was for Justlou. My bad.

Sorry, but I have no idea what you're referring to.

I just got another Tivo so called Customer Service and first they said I can just drop by and pickup to CableCards. Now I knew from the last time I added a Tivo and showed up at the service center they told me they do not give customers cablecards so after 10 minutes of trying to tell the service rep on the phone that info was wrong he went to a supervisor.
The rep gets back on the phone and tells me it has to be a truck roll and it would be $80 for the install of 2 cable cards.
Can you believe that $80 bucks?
Couldn't talk the rep out if it. I even asked when my agreement was up (February) so I told them expect a call in three months.
I shuold have just called the current Tivo in for a problem and and while the guy was there ask for new cablecards.
$80!!!

this was an on going discussion on the official verizon forums. in the end, they said to ignore whatever the rep told you. they said that official, billing doesn't even have an option to charge you for the installation. since a truck roll is required, they dont charge you unlike other requests that do not require a truck roll but you ask for it. here is the link the the discussion

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV-Technical-Assistance/FiOS-TiVo-and-CableCards/m-p/35807

JFI, I rebooted my box, and the option for Caller-ID is now there. It doesn't seem to be active yet, but the option is now there.

FCC Targets Loophole on Programming --- Order Would Give Dish Network, DirecTV and Others Access to Sports Broadcasts Withheld by Competitors
By Amy Schatz

The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2009, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)


WASHINGTON -- Sports fans could score more choice in pay-TV service under a Federal Communications Commission proposal to prohibit cable providers from withholding local sporting-event broadcasts and other popular channels from satellite-TV providers and other rivals.

The FCC's Media Bureau will circulate an order Wednesday that would close the so-called terrestrial loophole used by companies including Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. to withhold local sports channels from rivals, an FCC official said.

If approved, the proposal would mean consumers could soon have more choice in pay-TV services. Sports fans who want to watch local baseball, hockey and other games at home wouldn't be forced to subscribe to the largest local cable provider anymore.

In Philadelphia, for instance, fans of the Philadelphia Flyers, Phillies and Sixers can't get games broadcast on Comcast's SportsNet channel on DirecTV or Dish Network. In San Diego, subscribers to AT&T Inc.'s U-Verse television service can't get San Diego Padres games, which are carried on a channel owned by Cox Communications.

The FCC's move would be a victory for Dish Network Corp., DirecTV Group Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T, all of whom have had difficulties trying to get programming -- mostly regional sports channels -- from a local provider.

"Consumers shouldn't be forced to stick with their incumbent cable provider in order to have access to their local teams' games, or to watch those games in high definition," a Verizon spokesman said in a statement.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the cable industry's lobbying group, argued that exclusive distribution of channels "can be a pro-competitive tool."

"Exclusivity allows competing providers to invest in new services that have dramatically changed the marketplace, as can be witnessed by DirecTV's overwhelming success with the NFL Sunday Ticket package," association spokesman Brian Dietz said.

The FCC requires cable operators to offer access to channels they partially or wholly own to rivals at reasonable rates, but some have used a loophole in a 1992 law to exclude local sports programming.

The loophole allows cable operators to withhold a channel from rivals if it is sent over a cable instead of beamed by satellite. Other pay-TV providers, including satellite TV and now phone companies, have complained to the FCC about the practice for years.

Last year, AT&T filed a complaint against Cox for denying it permission to air San Diego Padres games. Verizon filed a similar complaint against Cablevision for denying it access to a high-definition feed of games from Madison Square Garden.

FCC officials have considered the issue of closing the loophole for several years but until recently, questioned whether the agency had legal authority to do anything about it. Separately, FCC officials Wednesday are expected to offer some details about what they will propose in the National Broadband Plan, a blueprint for improving the availability and affordability of high-speed Internet.

Sorry, but I have no idea what you're referring to.

It was a suggestion for a self-check of your co-ax from ONT to STB to rule out a signal strength issue.

It was a suggestion for a self-check of your co-ax from ONT to STB to rule out a signal strength issue.


Because the commercials are too loud? :confused: Hasn't it already been confirmed this not a Verizon issue?

Cablevision to spin off Garden, MSG, Rangers, Knicks in 2010.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34416732/ns/business-sports_biz

Hopefully this marks the end of James Dolan's influence and an improvement in the fortunes of these two franchises.

The spin-off means that current Cablevision stockholders will receive shares in a new corporation.

The new corporation will also be controlled by the "The Dolans!"

They ain't goin' no where!!!!!

Because the commercials are too loud? :confused: Hasn't it already been confirmed this not a Verizon issue?

Just an observation. Whether one chooses to call it a FIOS or non-FIOS issue. It's a FIOS issue to the extent that the installer is supposed to check signal strength on install.

I'm reading that the install experience varies. Some installers are using existing co-ax without testing signal strength.

In cases where the installer is installing new co-ax, you are far less likely to have a signal strength issue.

The spin-off means that current Cablevision stockholders will receive shares in a new corporation.

The new corporation will also be controlled by the "The Dolans!"

They ain't goin' no where!!!!!

I thought it might have been a harbinger to FiOS getting MSG HD... maybe not.

I thought it might have been a harbinger to FiOS getting MSG HD... maybe not.

That question is currently being considered by the FCC - the withholding of programming to competitors. There's a loophole that has been used, one that the Commission is trying to plug!

That question is currently being considered by the FCC - the withholding of programming to competitors. There's a loophole that has been used, one that the Commission is trying to plug!

Wouldn't the spin-off of MSG from Cablevision close that loophole on its own ?

The MSNBC issue with Cablevision gets interesting with Comcast buying NBC-Universal.

I think we need Perry Mason for this one!

I would first look to see who controls the voting stock of both corporate entities.

The loophole has to do with the sports teams'/arenas' signals being sent over land lines -
not using satellites or other dishes.

This problem is all over the place. I really think that Washington will address this problem.

the whole loudness issue for commercials was just banned by the fcc. they said its illegal for the companies to play the commercials louder than the reg programming. its not a fios issue but everyones issue

A new FiOS ad in the NYC market is touting that they have HBO & Cinemax HD VOD channels... TWCF only carries their SD VOD channels.

A new FiOS ad in the NYC market is touting that they have HBO & Cinemax HD VOD channels... TWCF only carries their SD VOD channels.Yeah, that's a great feature here at FIOS, along with HDNET Movies... and in On Demand too. :cool:

Yeah, that's a great feature here at FIOS, along with HDNET Movies... and in On Demand too. :cool:

And soon all FOX channels.

On Screen Caller ID is available in Manhattan.

Menu > Settings > Caller ID

Caller ID should be third listed in Settings. You need to "Check Availability" and turn it on.

There is a warning that service may take up to 48 hours to activate. Mine was active right away.

On Screen Caller ID is available in Manhattan.

Menu > Settings > Caller ID

Caller ID should be third listed in Settings. You need to "Check Availability" and turn it on.

There is a warning that service may take up to 48 hours to activate. Mine was active right away.

Curious if it's the same as TWC... what shows up on the TV is frequently very different from what shows on the phone; you get the official phone company listing, not how you have it stored on your phone. My sister is listed, but shows up on the TV as "NY Call." On my phone, she shows up by her name.

How many entries does FiOS store? TWC gives you 10, after that it starts deleting.

Curious if it's the same as TWC... what shows up on the TV is frequently very different from what shows on the phone; you get the official phone company listing, not how you have it stored on your phone. My sister is listed, but shows up on the TV as "NY Call." On my phone, she shows up by her name.

How many entries does FiOS store? TWC gives you 10, after that it starts deleting.

Can't help you with the first part of your question.

As for the second part, to my knowledge there is no way to store entries or go back and look at who recently called. If there is a way, I haven't found it yet.

The options are:
- on/off
- Length of time you want the notification to be displayed on the screen
- Where on the screen you want the alert positioned.

Finally was able to take a day off work to stay home for Fios install today.

It's awesome. Much better picture than TWC, and my internet is blazing fast (35/25).

One question- the green "Message" light is lit on the STB, yet when I go into the menu to look at "Messages," it says there are none. Not a huge deal, but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Maybe it'll just go away soon.

ps. I'm using HDMI into a Samsung plasma, and there are no issues whatsoever (I know some people were having issues, eg a green screen with HDMI).

ps. I'm using HDMI into a Samsung plasma, and there are no issues whatsoever (I know some people were having issues, eg a green screen with HDMI). The green screen issue was resolved with the 1.7 firmware update.

Congrats on the install.:cool:

The green screen issue was resolved with the 1.7 firmware update.

Gotcha. Haven't totally been following this thread lately. When the tech saw my TV though, he did say, "Samsung? Uh oh." "Why, green screen?" "Yep." But everything worked great.

Congrats on the install.:cool:

Thanks! I am absolutely blown away by Fios so far. It's so much better than TWC, it's ridiculous. Just ridiculous. I mean, it's an insult to call this "cable TV" because it is so much more advanced than my previous service. The interface is SO MUCH better, PQ is much better, no dropouts/pixelation/macro-blocking of ANY kind yet (had it often with TWC), VOD is better, you got widgets, everything's easy to use. FINALLY, I have the NFL Network. Incredibly fast internet. And I'm saving like $40 a month. And no, I don't work for Verizon, I really am this blown away.

All of this almost seems too good to be true. I feel like there has to be some downside! But considering how few posts there are in this thread, there don't seem to be that many technical issues. Fingers crossed.

Any downside I should be aware of?

Thanks! I am absolutely blown away by Fios so far. It's so much better than TWC, it's ridiculous. Just ridiculous. I mean, it's an insult to call this "cable TV" because it is so much more advanced than my previous service. The interface is SO MUCH better, PQ is much better, no dropouts/pixelation/macro-blocking of ANY kind yet (had it often with TWC), VOD is better, you got widgets, everything's easy to use. FINALLY, I have the NFL Network. Incredibly fast internet. And I'm saving like $40 a month. And no, I don't work for Verizon, I really am this blown away.

All of this almost seems too good to be true. I feel like there has to be some downside! But considering how few posts there are in this thread, there don't seem to be that many technical issues. Fingers crossed

Location perhaps... and was it available for the past six months?

The interface is SO MUCH better, The interface has improved a bit with 1.7. A bit faster. Still takes a little longer to schedule a recording than it did with TWC.

Anyone else having problems with surround sound watching the National Championship (ABC-HD, 507)? My front speakers, center speaker, and subwoofer are all working, but no sound is coming out of my rear speakers. Maybe this is typical of ABC-HD (there's not much on it I watch), but most (all?) football games have crowd noise in the rear speakers.

I checked to make sure it wasn't my speakers. Other channels work properly, and, there was even a commercial a few minutes ago on ABC-HD where the rear speakers were on. Not a big deal, just wondering if this is happening for everyone.

Sound design is really an art.. there are a LOT of hacks out there with too few that do a really good job. How many DD 5.1 movies have I watched where even music moments collapse to the front speakers with no sense of an ambience the side speakers CAN bring.

I actually do see it getting oh so slowly better over time. BUT there are still hacks out there... I think the last football game on CBS I saw had the announcers mikes mixed so low that it was difficult to impossible to hear what they were saying. Yet, they did have crowd noise coming almost equally from all speakers. Been that way for a long while...

Sound design is really an art.. there are a LOT of hacks out there with too few that do a really good job. How many DD 5.1 movies have I watched where even music moments collapse to the front speakers with no sense of an ambience the side speakers CAN bring.

I actually do see it getting oh so slowly better over time. BUT there are still hacks out there... I think the last football game on CBS I saw had the announcers mikes mixed so low that it was difficult to impossible to hear what they were saying. Yet, they did have crowd noise coming almost equally from all speakers. Been that way for a long while...
All I know is I love hearing people in the crowd cussing up a storm in the rear speakers. Especially when the home team is stinking up the place, like the Giants did in the last two weeks of the season. :D

All I know is I love hearing people in the crowd cussing up a storm in the rear speakers. Especially when the home team is stinking up the place, like the Giants did in the last two weeks of the season. :D

Hard to hear any of them given the invective I was spewing at my TV!

Anyone have fios in Tribeca?

Anyone have fios in Tribeca?

Harrison & Greenwich

Is that recent? I live on Beach and Greenwich and when I go to the fios website, it says that it's not yet available.
How is the pricing compared to TWC?

Harrison & Greenwich

Is that recent? I live on Beach and Greenwich and when I go to the fios website, it says that it's not yet available.
How is the pricing compared to TWC?

First, well placed landlord, second, vertical access to 1200 apartments. It's the three 40 story towers by the Food Emporium. Remember the movie Hackers? Internet and digital phone service was made available around May 2008. Video about August 2008. I signed on in December 2008 when I learned that MSNBC-SD was available in Manhattan.

I heard a rumor that a main line runs across N. Moore Street.

I'm ok so far with the pricing. Service is way better than TW, although I must say I never had a problem with TW until they went digital about 10 years ago.

Pricing (approx)

$110 - Phone / Internet / TV with DVR box
$ 35 - Movie Package - all - west coast and HD feeds if
available
$ 20 - Taxes

There are other plans. Check the web site. I'm a happy camper.

I should add that when my building was built around 1975, it was prefabbed for cable, easy access to the basement. FIOS took one of the compactor rooms on each floor running fiber optic vertically through the building and setting up a hub on each floor leaving the compactor room with its original functionality.

Anyone else having issues with their caller id display on the phone as well as on the TV? Seems like sometimes it works and other times it doesn't... no rhyme or reason. The last few days though, it pretty much has not been working at all.

Anyone else having issues with their caller id display on the phone as well as on the TV? Seems like sometimes it works and other times it doesn't... no rhyme or reason. The last few days though, it pretty much has not been working at all.

Plug one of your phones directly into the ONT. If that solves your problem, the issue is your house copper. If it doesn't solve the problem, you need to file a ticket with Verizon.

I had a problem with the house copper, now I avoid it altogether with a Panny DECT 6.0 system. Base connected to the ONT, remote units throughout the apt. No worries.

Plug one of your phones directly into the ONT. If that solves your problem, the issue is your house copper. If it doesn't solve the problem, you need to file a ticket with Verizon.

I had a problem with the house copper, now I avoid it altogether with a Panny DECT 6.0 system. Base connected to the ONT, remote units throughout the apt. No worries.

Was it one of the new 1900 Mhz DECT systems? DECT started in the 5Ghz band, but that can have an issues with 802.11n systems, so they apparently switched to 1900... which supposedly gets better range than their old 5 Ghz units... FWIW!

Was it one of the new 1900 Mhz DECT systems? DECT started in the 5Ghz band, but that can have an issues with 802.11n systems, so they apparently switched to 1900... which supposedly gets better range than their old 5 Ghz units... FWIW!

1.9GHz. No range problems. No WiFi or microwave issues.

My microwave oven, wireless router and DECT 6.0 base unit are within 4 feet of each other. The router and DECT are right next to each other. I have another DECT into the router for my Vonage line.

Best cordless phone I've used. Best feature set.

Anyone else having issues with their caller id display on the phone as well as on the TV? Seems like sometimes it works and other times it doesn't... no rhyme or reason. The last few days though, it pretty much has not been working at all.

Plug one of your phones directly into the ONT. If that solves your problem, the issue is your house copper. If it doesn't solve the problem, you need to file a ticket with Verizon.

I had a problem with the house copper, now I avoid it altogether with a Panny DECT 6.0 system. Base connected to the ONT, remote units throughout the apt. No worries.


Well my ONT is on the side of my house so I can't plug the phone into it directly anytime soon.

But my caller id (on both the phone and television) was working fine up until recently. I re-booted the box in the house (with the battery... I actually don't know the name of it) but that doesn't seem to help either.

Guess I'll make a call to Verizon.

Well my ONT is on the side of my house so I can't plug the phone into it directly anytime soon.

But my caller id (on both the phone and television) was working fine up until recently. I re-booted the box in the house (with the battery... I actually don't know the name of it) but that doesn't seem to help either.

Guess I'll make a call to Verizon.

Neighbors with FIOS have similar problems?

For a while I have posted my feeling about the FIOS roll out in NYC being stalled... some expressed disbelief. Yes, it was my conclusion based on things I observed... but the general press seemed not to talk about this issue. Well, now they are:

http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2010/01/fiber-fail-hong-kong-booms-as-verizon-retrenches.ars

In case some missed this yesterday, I thought I’d repost it here…

Business Notes
Verizon Sets New FiOS Bundles, Hikes Early Termination Fee
Telco Adds More HD to Entry-Level FiOS TV; Lowers Price on 7.1-Mbps DSL
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 1/15/2010

Verizon Communications next week will upgrade FiOS TV packages to include more HD channels, introduce two new symmetrical Internet tiers of 25- and 35-Mbps -- and the telco's also boosting the penalty for customers who cancel their FiOS contracts early from $179 to as much as $360.

On the DSL side, Verizon is dropping the price of its 7.1-Mbps DSL service when ordered in bundles by $10, to match the same price as bundles with the 3-Mbps tier, and is offering other sign-up incentives to new customers of DSL-based bundles.

The three new FiOS bundles, terms and pricing, which apply to new customers, go into effect Sunday, Jan. 17. The revised tiers are Prime HD (which replaces Essentials as the entry-level package), Extreme HD and the new Ultimate HD:

* The Prime HD bundle ($109.99 per month) includes at least 40 HD channels including AMC, Bravo, MTV, Food Network and TBS; FiOS Internet service with a connection speed of up to 15/5 Mbps; and FiOS voice service. By comparison, the Essentials service included only the HD channels of local broadcast stations.

* The Extreme HD bundle ($124.99 per month) includes 65 or more HD channels; 25-Mbps symmetrical Internet; and FiOS voice service.

* The Ultimate HD bundle ($139.99 per month) includes 90 or more HD channels; premium content from EPIX, Showtime, TMC, Flix and the NFL RedZone; 35-Mbps symmetrical Internet; and FiOS voice service.

The new bundles are designed to provide more options to customers specifically regarding HD, Verizon spokeswoman Heather Wilner. Previously, under the two previous FiOS TV tiers, "you either got a lot of HD or just a little."

In the New York City metro area -- where Verizon competes primarily with Cablevision Systems and Time Warner Cable -- the offers are slightly different. Prime HD includes all of the TV content offered with FiOS TV Extreme HD, for a total of more than 65 HD channels; Extreme also includes Showtime, TMC and Flix, for a total of 80 or more HD channels for $119.99 a month; and Ultimate includes HBO/Cinemax and other premium channels for a total of 125 or more HD channels for $149.99 a month.

The FiOS multiplay bundles are available with a 24-month service agreement that locks in the rate for two years. Canceling the contract can result in an early-termination fee (ETF) of up to $360, although Wilner said the ETF is pro-rated to drop $15 for each month a customer has maintained service.

Wilner also noted that Verizon will not apply a charge penalty to customers who decide to downgrade their bundles (i.e., change from a triple-play to a double-play). In addition, for the first time, FiOS bundles are available in month-to-month plans that do not require a minimum term agreement. The no-contract bundles will generally be about $20 more than the same bundles with two-year contracts, Wilner said.

Verizon has reinstituted symmetrical-bandwidth tiers for the top two FiOS bundles (http://www.multichannel.com/article/295518-Verizon_Eliminates_Symmetrical_FiOS_Internet_Tier.php), after the telco last summer phased those out because most customers apparently didn't want or need that much upstream capacity. Verizon will use the 25/25 and 35/35 tiers to emphasize its upstream capability in contrast to cable services, which are typically lower on the upload side.

Meanwhile, Verizon is offering additional incentives to new customers who sign up for a qualifying FiOS bundle by April 17. These offers include:

* A 12-month introductory price of $89.99 for customers who subscribe to the Prime HD triple-play bundle, $114.99 for the Extreme HD triple-play bundle and $129.99 for the Ultimate HD triple-play bundle. In the New York City area, the prices for these bundles would be $89.99, $99.99 and $129.99, respectively; or

* A free Verizon Home Media DVR, which provides multiroom DVR, media-sharing and Web video features, plus a free standard- or HD set-top box for six months (up to a $179 value). Customers who choose this option also qualify for special introductory prices of $99.99 for the Prime HD triple-play bundle, $124.99 for the Extreme HD triple-play bundle and $139.99 for the Ultimate HD triple-play bundle. In the New York City area, the 12-month introductory prices for these bundles would be $99.99, $109.99 and $139.99, respectively.

Finally, customers who order FiOS bundles online will receive an additional $5 off their monthly service rate for the first year of service.

In areas where FiOS is unavailable, Verizon is putting promotional offers together for DSL-based bundles. New customers who order bundles with DSL, DirecTV and Verizon phone service are eligible to receive a Compaq Mini netbook (valued at $299) or a $150 Visa prepaid gift card.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/444522-Verizon_Sets_New_FiOS_Bundles_Hikes_Early_Termination_Fee.ph p

Last week I noticed that I was getting NHL channel SD & HD, previously exclusive to the sports add-on.

I tried to search but couldn't find this answer so forgive me if this has been answered before. If I have two DVRs, one home media DVR and a regular DVR, would I be able to watch the recordings at a regular DVR from home media DVR?

I tried to search but couldn't find this answer so forgive me if this has been answered before. If I have two DVRs, one home media DVR and a regular DVR, would I be able to watch the recordings at a regular DVR from home media DVR?

No, the multi room DVR only works with a HD STB.

In case some missed this yesterday, I thought I’d repost it here…

Very interesting Larry. I know about ETFs from cell carriers... but it really DOES make sense there as the very cheap phones DO cost them a lot and they really should be able to re-coup that cost. BUT WTF on these kinds of accounts? There is NO subsidy at all (not to mention the cable box is rented via monthly charges AND remains their property).

Anyway, I have long hit their site to get an idea of how their pricing goes, but it seems one HAS to either have an account or live in the limited scope where they do have service or one has NO idea about pricing.

Still, I was surprised to see the $140 bundle has 35Mb symmetric IP.

Very interesting Larry. I know about ETFs from cell carriers... but it really DOES make sense there as the very cheap phones DO cost them a lot and they really should be able to re-coup that cost. BUT WTF on these kinds of accounts? There is NO subsidy at all (not to mention the cable box is rented via monthly charges AND remains their property).

Anyway, I have long hit their site to get an idea of how their pricing goes, but it seems one HAS to either have an account or live in the limited scope where they do have service or one has NO idea about pricing.

Still, I was surprised to see the $140 bundle has 35Mb symmetric IP.
Verizon does take a big hit on the installation costs.

Verizon does take a big hit on the installation costs.

As does every cable based MSO. Don't forget TWC totally made over their infrastructure from copper trunks to fiber based ones a LONG time ago. Pretty sure it's fiber to each "node" with each node having 500 accounts (max).

I understand this is all business decisions, but they hiked the ETF so drastically at the point where they have a extremely small footprint, thus they really have very limited potential for customers.

One COULD suggest this is a good time to do this, while most of the potential customers in wait mode. The downside is what happens if most of us remember?

To me the increase in ETF's is a response to their competitors strategy for winning back customers.

For example, I have heard that Cablevision offers to pay ETF's for someone coming back. If true, then all VZ has done is up the cost of reacquiring a customer for their biggest competitor. If that's true, then CV has to decide how much more of a loss they want to take on their product or stop slashing their rates to win customers back because they can't affors to absorb the extra $$ on ETF.

To me this decision strikes at their competitor more than it impacts the subscriber and helps reduce the churn being caused by the aggressive marketing campaigns of CV.

I may be wrong, but as someone who thinks FIOS is the best product around I could care less what they charge as an ETF since I don't plan on going anywhere.

FCC Requires Cable Firms to Share Local Sports Channels


By AMY SCHATZ

WASHINGTON–The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday voted to stop cable operators from withholding local sports channels from rivals, a move that could give consumers more choice in pay-TV providers.

The 4-1 FCC vote ends the so-called "terrestrial loophole" that's been used by cable operators, including Comcast Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp., to withhold local sports programming from rivals such as Verizon Communications Inc.

Satellite operators and phone companies have complained the loophole has put them at a competitive disadvantage since many consumers want to watch live local sporting events at home.

Last July, Verizon filed a complaint against Cablevision for withholding a high-definition version of a channel in New York that shows Knicks and Rangers games. Last year, AT&T Inc. filed a similar complaint against Cox Communications Inc. for denying it permission to air San Diego Padres games.

In Philadelphia, the loophole has allowed Comcast to withhold its SportsNet channel from satellite TV providers DirecTV Group Inc. and Dish Network Corp.

The decision, which might face a court challenge, could be a blow to cable operators that used exclusive access to their popular local sports channels as a competitive advantage. It could give sports fans in some markets more choice in pay-TV providers, and heat up competition for subscribers.

Federal law requires cable operators to offer access to channels they partially or wholly own to rivals at reasonable rates. But the law includes a loophole that allows cable companies to deny access if a channel's video feed doesn't travel via satellite at some point between the TV studio and the consumer's home.

The issue has been around for years, but has become more contentious recently, as phone companies have begun competing with cable operators to offer high-definition TV in some markets. The FCC has considered closing the loophole before, but there have been some questions about whether the agency had legal authority to do so.

One of the FCC's Republican commissioners, Robert McDowell, voted against the proposal, which was approved by the FCC's five-member board by a 4-1 vote. Mr. McDowell said he believes it is "beyond our statutory reach" under current law. He predicted that the cable industry would mount a legal challenge to the action.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said consumers shouldn't be forced to choose between watching local sporting events on one pay-TV provider if they would otherwise prefer another.

Write to Amy Schatz at Amy.Schatz@wsj.com

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704320104575015133103866518.html

Doesn't FiOS carry MSG SD?

Doesn't FiOS carry MSG SD?

Yeah but it’s unwatchable and not because of the Knicks performance. It’s a real murky looking SD channel.

I don’t watch much SD, no need to with the FIOS HD line up, so I can’t really say MSG is better or worse than other SD channels but it looks awful.

One SD channel I’ll tune to is TCM. We don’t get TCMHD, however their SD channel is acceptable.

After I posed the question, I read a better description and it seems it very much is the HD channel even if Cablevision allows access to the SD version.

More interesting is the details of the press release you posted... it seems to look like new customers are getting a MUCH better deal than existing ones... while that always tends to be true, it seems the disparity is quite large. How would existing customers feel about paying more and getting 25/15 as opposed to better/cheaper deals with 35/35 IP?

Anyone running Verizon cable straight to the tv for QAM channels?

If yes, do you notice that primetime shows look great in HD, but once the later shows start, the quality goes downhill alot?

http://www.multichannel.com/article/446360-FiOS_TV_Finally_Gets_MSNBC_In_NY_DMA.php

FiOS TV Finally Gets MSNBC In NY DMA

Cablevision Loses Exclusive Terrestrial Distribution Rights To News Channel
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 1/28/2010 9:41:13 AM

Cablevision Systems has lost its exclusive hold on terrestrial distribution of MSBNC in the New York metro area, with Verizon set to add the news channel to FiOS TV lineup for subscribers in the area starting next week.

MSNBC will be available on FiOS TV channel 103 in New York on Feb. 2 and in New Jersey by Feb. 11. Initially, Verizon will carry only the standard-definition version of MSNBC, with the HD version "to come later," said spokeswoman Heather Wilner.

Under previous contract, Cablevision had exclusive terrestrial rights to carry MSNBC throughout the entire New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey, Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.

"We're excited to add MSNBC to the FiOS TV lineup for all of our metropolitan-area subscribers," said Terry Denson, Verizon's vice president of content strategy and acquisition. "Now these subscribers can enjoy some of the most thought-provoking news and commentary available, delivered over Verizon's advanced all-fiber network."

MSNBC president Phil Griffin commented, "Launching on Verizon FiOS TV in the broader New York area could not come at a better time. MSNBC has established itself as ‘The Place for Politics,' achieving historic ratings success, and we look forward to being widely available in the nation's No. 1 TV market."

Does anyone know if FIOS has BBC America in HD? I looked at their channel lineup and could only find it in SD.

Does anyone know if FIOS has BBC America in HD? I looked at their channel lineup and could only find it in SD.

I find BBC HD to be excellent... then again I DO like some of their serials (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Being Human, Robin Hood etc.).

I find BBC HD to be excellent... then again I DO like some of their serials (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Being Human, Robin Hood etc.).

I also love Dr. Who, Torchwood and the newest one called Demons which you should check out.

What is the channel number for BBC America in HD?

No BBC-HD.

No BBC-HD.


I just had FIOS installed today and was looking forward to seeing BBC America in HD. What a shame! :mad:

I find BBC HD to be excellent... then again I DO like some of their serials (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Being Human, Robin Hood etc.).

No BBC-HD.

We have two conflicting answers. So do they have it or not?

At this time, the only carrier that has BBC America HD is Time Warner Cable in New York City.

We have two conflicting answers. So do they have it or not?

Sorry, I should have said "When FiOS gets it, you'll like it."

Then again, FiOS gets HDNet and TWC does not.

At this time, the only carrier that has BBC America HD is Time Warner Cable in New York City.

That sucks as they have some great shows.
If I recall correctly HDNet used to broadcast Torchwood and I winder if they will carry some other BBC programing going forward?

I just noticed that Sundance is another channel that is only in SD. What gives with this as it is a popular channel?

Sundance in Demand has HD programming but not the channel itself.

Sundance in Demand has HD programming but not the channel itself.

What is the logic behind that?

A short while back, TWC started running "attack FiOS" TV ads in my market. At first it was about "fake" HD channels that FiOS has. Of course, nobody had a clue what a "fake" channel is. Looks like that message got through because now the ads say that a "fake" channel is a time shifted version of another channel. They seem to specify there are about 10 of these "fake" channels.

WTF??? The ONLY thing I can see is that all of the premium services run multiple channels with pretty much the same content, it's obviously at different times and those channels tends to be roughly organized by some theme.

BUT such channels are carried by both services... so can anyone guess what this may be about?

What is the logic behind that?

Could be a bandwidth issue between a VOD channel and a full time HD channel. Could be that a mod is needed to the carriage agreement. Not to mention we have heard about national agreements and a LONG period of time before every system actually rolls out the channel even when we see an agreement reached.

A short while back, TWC started running "attack FiOS" TV ads in my market. At first it was about "fake" HD channels that FiOS has. Of course, nobody had a clue what a "fake" channel is. Looks like that message got through because now the ads say that a "fake" channel is a time shifted version of another channel. They seem to specify there are about 10 of these "fake" channels.

WTF??? The ONLY thing I can see is that all of the premium services run multiple channels with pretty much the same content, it's obviously at different times and those channels tends to be roughly organized by some theme.

BUT such channels are carried by both services... so can anyone guess what this may be about?

All of the cable providers do the same thing. case in point, there are multiple HBO channels that carry some of the same content at different times.

FIOS carries a number of west coast feeds of premium HD programming including HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and TMC.

A short while back, TWC started running "attack FiOS" TV ads in my market. At first it was about "fake" HD channels that FiOS has. Of course, nobody had a clue what a "fake" channel is. Looks like that message got through because now the ads say that a "fake" channel is a time shifted version of another channel. They seem to specify there are about 10 of these "fake" channels.

WTF??? The ONLY thing I can see is that all of the premium services run multiple channels with pretty much the same content, it's obviously at different times and those channels tends to be roughly organized by some theme.

BUT such channels are carried by both services... so can anyone guess what this may be about?

FIOS carries a number of west coast feeds of premium HD programming including HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and TMC.

Ah, now I see... although it's hard to accept TWC has even a grain of truth in it's advertising!

Still, far as I know, all the subchannels carry programming that HAD appeared on their "main" channel, so Verizon COULD fight back and say TWC had several "fake, time shifted" channels as well.

You know all the "maps" ads Verizon is running? If TWC had a scintilla of a brain, they'd run maps of FiOS in NYC... I'd guess they be a lot less populated than what they are claiming against AT&T for 3G coverage!

MSNBC-HD will debut on FIOS with the Olympics on ch 603. That would begin on 02-12. Gathered from several sources.

Whether it remains on after the games are over? That it will be on 603, which would be its normal sequence slot with MSNBC-SD on 103, rather than a "special" Olympics channel, suggests it will remain on.

hello guys, i want ur opinion, im new here in NYC and i live in queens, im planning to apply for cable with the best HD channels and Internet, but i dont know which is im gonna choose, Verizon Fios or TWC? hope any one can give me some ideas. thanks Caloy

hello guys, i want ur opinion, im new here in NYC and i live in queens, im planning to apply for cable with the best HD channels and Internet, but i dont know which is im gonna choose, Verizon Fios or TWC? hope any one can give me some ideas. thanks Caloy

FiOS easily..TWC doesn't have HDNet and HDNet Movies...FiOS does! Better PQ as well. I doubt you'll find anyonme preferring TWC.

FiOS easily..TWC doesn't have HDNet and HDNet Movies...FiOS does! Better PQ as well. I doubt you'll find anyonme preferring TWC.

thanks, do u live in NY too?what is the best offer fios has right now?i only want cable and internet. i wonder how many HD channels are available?and i heard one of my friend TWC he pays like $150 for just the cable and internet itself.so fios much better? thanks caloy

thanks, do u live in NY too?what is the best offer fios has right now?i only want cable and internet. i wonder how many HD channels are available?and i heard one of my friend TWC he pays like $150 for just the cable and internet itself.so fios much better? thanks caloy

NJ here. Here's a link to their site which answers many of your queries:

http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/FiOSTV/Overviewab/Overviewab

thanks, do u live in NY too?what is the best offer fios has right now?i only want cable and internet. i wonder how many HD channels are available?and i heard one of my friend TWC he pays like $150 for just the cable and internet itself.so fios much better? thanks caloy

FiOS currently has the largest amount of HD channels out of any provider and they don't add any additional compression to their channels unlike TWC. It's also the cheapest option in most places.

Ah, now I see... although it's hard to accept TWC has even a grain of truth in it's advertising!

Still, far as I know, all the subchannels carry programming that HAD appeared on their "main" channel, so Verizon COULD fight back and say TWC had several "fake, time shifted" channels as well.

You know all the "maps" ads Verizon is running? If TWC had a scintilla of a brain, they'd run maps of FiOS in NYC... I'd guess they be a lot less populated than what they are claiming against AT&T for 3G coverage!

i strongly disagee with u there riversideguy. bigger service area does not mean better service when it comes to a "wired" connection. for mobile, geographic availibility means a lot more whereas a land based connection you're only concerned with your home and who has the better service and/or pricing. i believe as misleading as the ads from both phone and cable companies are, they are quite affective.

i strongly disagee with u there riversideguy. bigger service area does not mean better service when it comes to a "wired" connection. for mobile, geographic availibility means a lot more whereas a land based connection you're only concerned with your home and who has the better service and/or pricing. i believe as misleading as the ads from both phone and cable companies are, they are quite affective.

Can't figure out what you disagree with, nothing in my post you referenced says anything about wired or wireless.

Not sure how effective FiOS ads are when they run constantly, cost a ton of money while ~80% of the people seeing them have no way to actually get FiOS.

Can't figure out what you disagree with, nothing in my post you referenced says anything about wired or wireless.

Not sure how effective FiOS ads are when they run constantly, cost a ton of money while ~80% of the people seeing them have no way to actually get FiOS.

disagree because u say TWC should run maps of fios availability similar to how verizon runs 3g maps of AT&T. TWC current ads are aimed at retention and pointing out what fios lacks (new york 1 news, sports in HD, start over) makes customers not want fios regardless if it is available now or coming later. of course there are those like you that TWC can never please and will jump to fios first chance it comes to your area.

One area that is a major disappointment for me as a new FIOS customer switching over from RCN is the lack of a screen saver programmed into their DVR. I own a Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma and although their are safe guards built into this set by Pioneer to prevent image retention and burn-in, this is always a concern for anyone owning a plasma set.

The RCN DVR I had was a Motorola 3416 and if I hit the pause button a screen saver would be enabled after a short period of time. FIOS does not have this function programmed into the Motorola 7216 DVR I had installed.

Obviously the technology existed for Motorola DVR's and FIOS is sleeping at the wheel. When I complained to their tech support people they didn't even have a method to pass on my complaint/suggestion to the proper people responsible for this in their own company.

One area that is a major disappointment for me as a new FIOS customer switching over from RCN is the lack of a screen saver programmed into their DVR. I own a Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma and although their are safe guards built into this set by Pioneer to prevent image retention and burn-in, this is always a concern for anyone owning a plasma set.

The RCN DVR I had was a Motorola 3416 and if I hit the pause button a screen saver would be enabled after a short period of time. FIOS does not have this function programmed into the Motorola 7216 DVR I had installed.

Obviously the technology existed for Motorola DVR's and FIOS is sleeping at the wheel. When I complained to their tech support people they didn't even have a method to pass on my complaint/suggestion to the proper people responsible for this in their own company.Even though they don’t have an actual screensaver, there is a fail safe. After about 10 minutes or so, the pause unfreezes and goes live. This sucks for a sporting event since it could spoil things but at least it puts your mind at ease if you’re concerned about burn in. I have a 151 and burn in is not a concern of mine.

Even though they don’t have an actual screensaver, there is a fail safe. After about 10 minutes or so, the pause unfreezes and goes live. This sucks for a sporting event since it could spoil things but at least it puts your mind at ease if you’re concerned about burn in. I have a 151 and burn in is not a concern of mine.

I have the 111FD and although Pioneer has integrated some really sophisticated software into the Kuro to prevent burn-in I recall reading posts on AVS saying that it can occur. FIOS is way behind other cable providers on this one issue.

I have the 111FD and although Pioneer has integrated some really sophisticated software into the Kuro to prevent burn-in I recall reading posts on AVS saying that it can occur. FIOS is way behind other cable providers on this one issue.Yeah, there is definitely room for improvement on their boxes but FIOS is still way better than TW. Regarding the burn in issue, I’ve followed the pio and panny threads and haven’t seen any issues. I think the only times BI comes up is when a plasma hater chimes in. ;)

MSNBC HD broadcasting on 603 as of this morning!

MSNBC HD broadcasting on 603 as of this morning!

You beat me. Fully listed in the guide too. Commercials in HD, Chris Mathews in SD.

Some of the cameras are HD, not all.

I think the only times BI comes up is when a plasma hater chimes in. ;)

Here's an irony for ya... way back when I got HDed, I wanted a plasma (back then, they did kill LCD). BUT I have a TON of non-M$ windows, live on the top floor, and have extremely bright apartment. Hi-gloss screens would be a HUGE issue as I will not make my place into a cave. NOW, most LCDs also sport such make-up mirror screen surfaces (I call it permanent torch mode)... so I'm holding onto my old LCD and hoping it doesn't go boom!

http://www.multichannel.com/article/448911-MSNBC_HD_Now_On_FiOS_TV_Lineups_In_Cablevision_Territories.p hp

MSNBC HD Now On FiOS TV Lineups In Cablevision Territories
Launch Finally Arrives In Time For Network's Olympics Presentation
Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/11/2010 4:44:34 PM

Keith Olbermann is finally available in high-definition to FiOS TV customers in the New York suburbs.

Verizon announced Thursday that it added MSNBC HD to its FiOS TV lineup, available on channel 603, in northern New Jersey and Long Island. The telco added the standard-definition MSNBC feed to FiOS lineups in those areas earlier this month after Cablevision Systems lost its exclusive hold on terrestrial distribution of MSBNC in the New York metro area.

NBC Universal plans to deliver live curling coverage and other events on MSNBC from the Winter Olympic Games, which run Feb. 12-28.

"Delivering the content our customers want in high definition has always been a priority for Verizon, and making MSNBC HD available this month is no exception," said Terry Denson, Verizon vice president of content strategy and acquisition. "Our subscribers can now enjoy MSNBC's thought-provoking news and commentary -- all with the high-def experience that FiOS TV can deliver."

Last summer, Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal complained to Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski over Cablevision's exclusive terrestrial deal for MSNBC, which also prevented AT&T U-verse TV from carrying the service in areas that overlapped with the MSO's footprint.

What's the latest thinking on any additional HD channels we might get on FiOS in the foreseeable future? Obviously there's the ongoing saga with the MSG HD channels etc. I'm wondering if there is any sense as to if/when we might get BBC America HD, G4 HD and Fox Soccer Channel HD (which just got up and running and for now is only on Dish). Thanks.

HBO debuts online video service with Verizon

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon's FiOS TV customers who subscribe to HBO will be able to watch the cable network's shows online, marking the latest effort by a big media company to stay relevant to people as they spend more time on the Web.

HBO Go is part of a drive by program makers to offer paying cable and satellite subscribers more flexibility to watch their favorite shows away from their TV sets and outside their homes at no extra cost.

HBO's parent Time Warner Inc has been pushing the concept as "TV Everywhere," and cable companies like Comcast Corp are embracing it as On Demand Online.

HBOGO.com will feature more than 600 hours of HBO shows, including its hit series "The Wire." That is more than four times what is typically available on HBO's TV on demand services. HBO will update the roster more regularly than TV on demand, which it usually refreshes once a week.

Verizon FiOS customers will be the first to get access to the HBO Go site, though Comcast HBO subscribers can see similar content through Comcast's Fancast site.

"The name of the game here is customer retention," said Eric Kessler, co-president of HBO, in an interview with journalists at the launch on Wednesday.

TV on demand programing increases program viewership by 20 to 30 percent, according to HBO research, Kessler said. HBO expects online viewing to provide a similar enhancement.

While HBO Go users will be able to see shows on a PC or a Mac anywhere in the United States, they will not initially be able to watch them on newer non-Flash-compatible devices like Apple Inc's iPad.

HBO is working on making the service compatible with other devices including smartphones, Kessler said.

HBO has been careful to position its new online service as a partnership with cable, phone and satellite operators. HBO Go is not intended as a standalone service that could encourage users to drop their local cable company, Kessler said.

Some investors have worried that the future of the cable business model is under threat from new services and devices like the iPad and the iTunes digital media store.

ITunes users can pay to download episodes of some HBO shows without having to be cable subscribers. HBO also is working on a download option that would let people watch shows when they do not have Web access, such as on a plane trip.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke. Editing by Robert MacMillan)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G4HT20100217

can anybody tell me when fios will be available in western queens eii. jackson heights, astoria, woodside' i cant wait to dump directv or time warner, theyre service really sucks

can anybody tell me when fios will be available in western queens eii. jackson heights, astoria, woodside' i cant wait to dump directv or time warner, theyre service really sucks

If you live in a 1000+ unit complex, you may stand a good chance to get it by 2014... if not, it's supposed to be 2017. BUT they COULD continue to get extensions.

are u basing that on facts or pure speculation on your part?
2014 is the completion date


http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2010/verizon-continues-rollout-of.html

If you live in a 1000+ unit complex, you may stand a good chance to get it by 2014... if not, it's supposed to be 2017. BUT they COULD continue to get extensions.

are u basing that on facts or pure speculation on your part?
2014 is the completion date


http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2010/verizon-continues-rollout-of.html

I would run Riverside_Guy's comment through your sarcasm meter if I were you.;)

are u basing that on facts or pure speculation on your part?
2014 is the completion date


http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2010/verizon-continues-rollout-of.html

Based on what I read about the franchise agreement, which I take to be facts. 2014 IS mentioned as a completion date, BUT the agreement also specifies 3 additional one year extensions that were agreed to at inception. That brings it to 2017. Which does NOT preclude Verizon asking for additional time... the "economy" sure as hell would be a very good excuse to get additional time... and I'd put some money this will come to pass (THAT is speculation!).

Right now what I know is their statement to having 60% of Manhattan wired is way, way wrong. It's getting close to a year since agreement, yet the "roll out" areas they STATED they cover do NOT have service. I'd love to hear of one person who can get it in the East Village... that was specifically mentioned by Verizon and none of the 3-4 pals I have down there can get it.

i live in W village and dont get it--have frineds in e village that dont get it but my frineds in tribecca and fidi get it.

i live in W village and dont get it--have frineds in e village that dont get it but my frineds in tribecca and fidi get it.

As best as I can tell, only high and medium rise multiple dwellings built within the last 35 years in Tribeca are getting FIOS at this time. Lofts and buildings converted to residential use are not getting it yet.

As best as I can tell, only high and medium rise multiple dwellings built within the last 35 years in Tribeca are getting FIOS at this time. Lofts and buildings converted to residential use are not getting it yet.

I wonder if Tribeca was one the areas they claimed to cover when the agreement became effective? I wish I had written them down, I very specifically remember E.Village as I have multiple pals living down there. If it was not mentioned back then, then I am incorrect saying no new areas... BUT I DO wonder about penetration.

As I can find nobody in the East Village that can sign up, I'm guessing they are incorrectly using StyTown as being in the East Village in claiming that rea is covered. Not to mention they have an actual store front on first, where a good percentage of walkins get turned away because they do not live in StyTown. I'd bet if the cost of that were applied to running more trunks could net them hundreds of thousands of potential customers they simply can't reach now because there's no trunk work seemingly going on.

We DID hear from our Verizon contact they would ONLY go into huge complexes with 800+ units at first... as frustrating as they may be, it kinda sorta makes sense.

it is available in the east village. i know someone at 10 st & avenue c that has it. and yes it is in a huge complex. dont know if its over 800 units but probably close to it.

I wonder if Tribeca was one the areas they claimed to cover when the agreement became effective? I wish I had written them down, I very specifically remember E.Village as I have multiple pals living down there. If it was not mentioned back then, then I am incorrect saying no new areas... BUT I DO wonder about penetration.

As I can find nobody in the East Village that can sign up, I'm guessing they are incorrectly using StyTown as being in the East Village in claiming that rea is covered. Not to mention they have an actual store front on first, where a good percentage of walkins get turned away because they do not live in StyTown. I'd bet if the cost of that were applied to running more trunks could net them hundreds of thousands of potential customers they simply can't reach now because there's no trunk work seemingly going on.

We DID hear from our Verizon contact they would ONLY go into huge complexes with 800+ units at first... as frustrating as they may be, it kinda sorta makes sense.

it is available in the east village. i know someone at 10 st & avenue c that has it. and yes it is in a huge complex. dont know if its over 800 units but probably close to it.

Ah, good to know, one of my pals is on 10th & 1st/A and that's a block with all tenements/brownstones so aside from landlord issues (which CAN be significant), I doubt it will be available to him for several years at best.

I wonder if Tribeca was one the areas they claimed to cover when the agreement became effective? I wish I had written them down, I very specifically remember E.Village as I have multiple pals living down there. If it was not mentioned back then, then I am incorrect saying no new areas... BUT I DO wonder about penetration.

As I can find nobody in the East Village that can sign up, I'm guessing they are incorrectly using StyTown as being in the East Village in claiming that rea is covered. Not to mention they have an actual store front on first, where a good percentage of walkins get turned away because they do not live in StyTown. I'd bet if the cost of that were applied to running more trunks could net them hundreds of thousands of potential customers they simply can't reach now because there's no trunk work seemingly going on.

We DID hear from our Verizon contact they would ONLY go into huge complexes with 800+ units at first... as frustrating as they may be, it kinda sorta makes sense.

March 2008 they worked each of the floors establishing nodes and lowering the molding. They forthwith offered FIOS internet. I believe the first video installation was August 2008. I got mine end of December 2008.

I don't remember how that dovetails with the licensing procedures.

Ah, good to know, one of my pals is on 10th & 1st/A and that's a block with all tenements/brownstones so aside from landlord issues (which CAN be significant), I doubt it will be available to him for several years at best.

Takes less time and is more cost-efficient to wire one 800 unit complex than 100 eight unit buildings.

Takes less time and is more cost-efficient to wire one 800 unit complex than 100 eight unit buildings.

Depends on the economic makeup, although that is kind of an extreme example. I can think of MANY ~300 unit buildings that might net them FAR more subs than one 800 unit complex.

BTW, I just heard of them starting to market the service in a 100 unit build, West Village. Just maybe they are starting to run fiber again????

Nice little video to check out....

Behind the scenes in NYC FiOS

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/15/tech_tt_fiber_fios.cnnmoney/

Nice little video to check out....

Behind the scenes in NYC FiOS

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/15/tech_tt_fiber_fios.cnnmoney/


Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

Nice little video to check out....

Behind the scenes in NYC FiOS

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/15/tech_tt_fiber_fios.cnnmoney/I like the last line regarding Google getting into "this" business-- "...yada yada yada Google has no chance....unless they buy a phone company..." :rolleyes: They can buy several phone companies.

Ah, good to know, one of my pals is on 10th & 1st/A and that's a block with all tenements/brownstones so aside from landlord issues (which CAN be significant), I doubt it will be available to him for several years at best.

a colleague of mine just told me she has it in village view housing which is a complex that extends from 2 st to 5 st on 1st avenue so there's a definite fios presense in the east village but it seems mostly large complexes.

Nice little video to check out....

Behind the scenes in NYC FiOS

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/03/15/tech_tt_fiber_fios.cnnmoney/

One thing struck me... the "reporter" claimed that one individual, yellow jacketed line ran from the a central office all the way to the customers premises. With the quick glance at the map in the beginning, it looks like each office may service up to several hundred thousand possible customers, so I seriously doubt some huge bundle of hundreds of thousands of lines emanates from the office.

I would "guess" it's multi-plexed in some way, not sure exactly when that turns into individual lines. I DO know they need a sort of node point typically covering one whole block. Not sure if it's spilt into individual lines there, I suspect it gets split at the building.

Does anyone know for sure otherwise (hey, I'm not saying I KNOW, just that I think/suspect)?

One thing struck me... the "reporter" claimed that one individual, yellow jacketed line ran from the a central office all the way to the customers premises. With the quick glance at the map in the beginning, it looks like each office may service up to several hundred thousand possible customers, so I seriously doubt some huge bundle of hundreds of thousands of lines emanates from the office.

I would "guess" it's multi-plexed in some way, not sure exactly when that turns into individual lines. I DO know they need a sort of node point typically covering one whole block. Not sure if it's spilt into individual lines there, I suspect it gets split at the building.

Does anyone know for sure otherwise (hey, I'm not saying I KNOW, just that I think/suspect)?

There is a hub on each floor of my building. On each hub, there is a node for each apartment on the floor. I hope I got the terminology right. From the hub, thin fiber cable, much like an optical audio cable is run to the apartment.

There is a hub on each floor of my building. On each hub, there is a node for each apartment on the floor. I hope I got the terminology right. From the hub, thin fiber cable, much like an optical audio cable is run to the apartment.

For the story to be accurate, it would seem a bundle of multiple "lines" would need to enter the building, so if it was 300 units, 300 lines. Going to each floor would require the number of apartments in terms of lines gong into the floor node. That SEEMS awfully wasteful to me.

Expand that a bit, take a 40 block (where I live) run. There are 2 "central" offices at each end (this is a reality of where I live). Logic says half would be served by one, half the other. So we have a 20 block run. JUST along that avenue, not even counting all the side streets, there are about 6 buildings per block (on one side of the street), averaging maybe 300 units each... so 6 x 300 is 1800, 3600 for the block, 72,000 for the 20 block run. Not to mention that on either side of this avenue (West End Ave.) there are 2 very short blocks that most likely will be served by that same run, so start upping the 72,000.

So while I can NOT say this with 100% knowledge, somehow I don't see a cable bundle of 80-90,000+ lines going down that avenue. I COULD be wrong, but i also think that chance is kinda slim.

And please understand I was attacking the claim every sub got an individual line directly from the central office. I suspect it all depends on the number of units per floor as to whether they run individual lines from the basement... I'd guess larger number of units get a multiplexed line to that node you mentioned, with individual lines running from it to every apartment on that floor.

I am a board member, so if FiOS ever gets around to being available, I will be able to learn a lot more about the process than most... back when we were told we'd get it (08/08) we also indicated we'd be HAPPY to "host" the above ground "node" that would service the whole block (they would pay the building a fee). Our business contact has declined to say ANYTHING after they missed that date... one of the factors in my judgement that they had halted all expansion.

I am a board member, so if FiOS ever gets around to being available, I will be able to learn a lot more about the process than most... back when we were told we'd get it (08/08) we also indicated we'd be HAPPY to "host" the above ground "node" that would service the whole block (they would pay the building a fee). Our business contact has declined to say ANYTHING after they missed that date... one of the factors in my judgement that they had halted all expansion.

FYI, as a board member you should know that my building on 69th & WEA received a sizable one time fee from FIOS in order to let them wire our 400 unit building.

For the story to be accurate, it would seem a bundle of multiple "lines" would need to enter the building, so if it was 300 units, 300 lines. Going to each floor would require the number of apartments in terms of lines gong into the floor node. That SEEMS awfully wasteful to me.

Expand that a bit, take a 40 block (where I live) run. There are 2 "central" offices at each end (this is a reality of where I live). Logic says half would be served by one, half the other. So we have a 20 block run. JUST along that avenue, not even counting all the side streets, there are about 6 buildings per block (on one side of the street), averaging maybe 300 units each... so 6 x 300 is 1800, 3600 for the block, 72,000 for the 20 block run. Not to mention that on either side of this avenue (West End Ave.) there are 2 very short blocks that most likely will be served by that same run, so start upping the 72,000.

So while I can NOT say this with 100% knowledge, somehow I don't see a cable bundle of 80-90,000+ lines going down that avenue. I COULD be wrong, but i also think that chance is kinda slim.

And please understand I was attacking the claim every sub got an individual line directly from the central office. I suspect it all depends on the number of units per floor as to whether they run individual lines from the basement... I'd guess larger number of units get a multiplexed line to that node you mentioned, with individual lines running from it to every apartment on that floor.

I am a board member, so if FiOS ever gets around to being available, I will be able to learn a lot more about the process than most... back when we were told we'd get it (08/08) we also indicated we'd be HAPPY to "host" the above ground "node" that would service the whole block (they would pay the building a fee). Our business contact has declined to say ANYTHING after they missed that date... one of the factors in my judgement that they had halted all expansion.

This may have been an inartful attempt by the source to point out a difference between cable and FIOS.

With cable every individual apartment or house is part of a geographical group or hub. The hub has limited throughput capacity. A lot of people on your hub using Roadrunner at once degrades service. I rarely received stated throughput with TW.

If I get a slowdown with FIOS, which is very rare, it isn't due to the number of clients sharing service. It's the central office or before. Hence, I have a direct line to the central office. The number of people using the hub in the compactor room on my floor or the main switch in the basement does not impact my service.

FYI, as a board member you should know that my building on 69th & WEA received a sizable one time fee from FIOS in order to let them wire our 400 unit building.

Ah, can't tell you enough how GOOD that makes me feel! I'm on a very short block, 4 large 300+ units buildings at the corners with a 39 and 50 unit buildings in the middle as well... our back yard is close to equidistant from those 4 big buildings, so I figured it SHOULD be a good place for such a "node."

I know all about their "large building" plans... we had heard this from them. Frankly, I'd ALMOST want them to pay us a more modest fee... just to insure we GET service with such a small building (I'm in the 39 unit).

The deal that HAD been talked about was not for a big one time fee, but a monthly/yearly charge as they would be using our property for distribution.

I've LONG maintained the corridor from Morningside Heights to Lincoln Center along WEA SHOULD be VERY fertile ground for Verizon. From another post and yours, it looks like it's working at the southern end, but on 104th, I'd probably get it from the Morningside CO. Last summer there was all sorts of street work up there, but I have yet to hear anyone who actually was able to get service.

This may have been an inartful attempt by the source to point out a difference between cable and FIOS.

With cable every individual apartment or house is part of a geographical group or hub. The hub has limited throughput capacity. A lot of people on your hub using Roadrunner at once degrades service. I rarely received stated throughput with TW.

If I get a slowdown with FIOS, which is very rare, it isn't due to the number of clients sharing service. It's the central office or before. Hence, I have a direct line to the central office. The number of people using the hub in the compactor room on my floor or the main switch in the basement does not impact my service.

Indeed, this is an age old argument... from an engineering standpoint it makes perfect sense. HOWEVER, I'm enough of a geek to be very frequently checking it... I can't recall ONE instance of a slowdown that I could NOT specifically trace to the server and not the connection.

Not to mention that I use the Speakeasy speedtest <http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/> frequently AND I typically test at least 3 sites, NY, midwest and west coast. Typically I get 20 in NYC, around 15 mid-west and right at contractual limits of 10 on some of the west coast
servers (too bad NY doesn't host as many central servers as it did 10 years ago).

TWC's "fiber to cooper" node is right at 104th & WEA, so I'm not that far... I assume they are using the 500 connections per node. BUT the point is that while I have LOADS of enmity for TWC, my IP connection is NOT a concern... then again, for what seems like the same price, FiOS goes 35/35 while I only get 10/512.

Indeed, this is an age old argument... from an engineering standpoint it makes perfect sense. HOWEVER, I'm enough of a geek to be very frequently checking it... I can't recall ONE instance of a slowdown that I could NOT specifically trace to the server and not the connection.

Not to mention that I use the Speakeasy speedtest <http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/> frequently AND I typically test at least 3 sites, NY, midwest and west coast. Typically I get 20 in NYC, around 15 mid-west and right at contractual limits of 10 on some of the west coast
servers (too bad NY doesn't host as many central servers as it did 10 years ago).

TWC's "fiber to cooper" node is right at 104th & WEA, so I'm not that far... I assume they are using the 500 connections per node. BUT the point is that while I have LOADS of enmity for TWC, my IP connection is NOT a concern... then again, for what seems like the same price, FiOS goes 35/35 while I only get 10/512.

My connection is too fast for Speakeasy. It's speedtest,net for me. I recall speed variations being a problem with TW a few years ago. Your mileage has varied.

My connection is too fast for Speakeasy. It's speedtest,net for me. I recall speed variations being a problem with TW a few years ago. Your mileage has varied.

Oh my... dumb of me not to remember it only goes to 20 Mb/s... which is a non-issue when one only has 10mb/s!

speedtest.net yields almost identical results (for me). I DO wonder about TWC's "powerboost." I had thought the testing guys had it figured out how to NOT invoke that... I had THOUGHT PB doesn't happen until a large amount of data HAD already passed when it kicked in... these tests use very small bits of data, so I do not believe PB plays a role.

I wish the day comes soon that I can say "oh I can't use that test, it doesn't measure over 20Mb/s." At 35, one can get pretty close to BD bit-rates.

Oh my... dumb of me not to remember it only goes to 20 Mb/s... which is a non-issue when one only has 10mb/s!

speedtest.net yields almost identical results (for me). I DO wonder about TWC's "powerboost." I had thought the testing guys had it figured out how to NOT invoke that... I had THOUGHT PB doesn't happen until a large amount of data HAD already passed when it kicked in... these tests use very small bits of data, so I do not believe PB plays a role.

I wish the day comes soon that I can say "oh I can't use that test, it doesn't measure over 20Mb/s." At 35, one can get pretty close to BD bit-rates.

The past two days I've been getting 35-36 down, 30-31 up consistently, same as I got last month.

Been so quite in here... just wanted to remind everyone how much I absolutely LOVE Fios!

Sorry couldn't resist.

Been so quite in here... just wanted to remind everyone how much I absolutely LOVE Fios!

Sorry couldn't resist.
Me too!

While Verizon seems to still be sitting on their hands, an interesting development is happening. On 6/2, TWC is going SDV... something like 241 overall channels and 60-70 HD channels are going that way. Not to mention there IS some additional bandwidth right now (maybe 10 or so additional HD channels). This will give our market a HUGE amount of "open" bandwidth.

Nobody really knows why or what it may be used for, but as I understand it, it COULD possibly represent a lot better PQ than we currently get. OTPH, that only has meaning to the geeks in us, probably 80% of the population care not a whit.

The optimist in my says that MAY spur Verizon to really re-start wiring (sorry, Manhattan focus)... because TWC may end up with a better "story" to market.

Of course, if this is bungled in any way, TWC takes a big hit. SDV has gone well and piss poor in other markets...

What I DO know is that there was a huge amount of interest (in my nabe) in FiOS last summer... all of which has been pretty negated by this time. Folks are way, way tired of seeing so many TV ads when they can NOT get it, nor find out by Verizon when they MAY be getting it.

TWC is going SDV...
I hope that it does improve TW’s overall service but we know it’s always about money—never picture quality or customer satisfaction.

I think they are doing this SDV to add more pay per view on demand programming competing with Netflix streaming etc.

I am a board member of a 144 unit building by Lincoln Center. We have been talking to Verizon for at least 2 years. They initially promised that they would be "live" here by September 2009 - then it was bumped to February 2010. Needless to add, nothing has happened. The rep emailed us yesterday with a new date of June 2010. My bulk contract with TWC comes up for renewal shortly and I was hoping to have Verizon in the building before the renewal date but that will not happen. Since they have missed several deadlines with little visible progress, it is hard to depend upon Verizon at this point, which is a huge shame because I would love to have the competition with TWC as well as the presumably better PQ and internet speed.

I am a board member of a 144 unit building by Lincoln Center. We have been talking to Verizon for at least 2 years. They initially promised that they would be "live" here by September 2009 - then it was bumped to February 2010. Needless to add, nothing has happened. The rep emailed us yesterday with a new date of June 2010. My bulk contract with TWC comes up for renewal shortly and I was hoping to have Verizon in the building before the renewal date but that will not happen. Since they have missed several deadlines with little visible progress, it is hard to depend upon Verizon at this point, which is a huge shame because I would love to have the competition with TWC as well as the presumably better PQ and internet speed.

FIOS is currently installing their service in the 8 buildings located in Lincoln Towers on West End Avenue between 66 & 70 streets. Therefore their main underground fiber optic line may not be too far from you at this point.

FIOS is currently installing their service in the 8 buildings located in Lincoln Towers on West End Avenue between 66 & 70 streets. Therefore their main underground fiber optic line may not be too far from you at this point.

That's probably something like 3-4000 or more units. Seems even where there ARE trunk lines, any building less than 500 units ain't getting it.

Lisa, at least you got farther than me... we had been told 08/09, but after that was missed, the Verizon guy would not say boo (but he very much did say that they were only going for the largest buildings).

Cross-Posting from the TW thread as this is pertinent to those here……

-------

I have been seeing people saying that the FIOS expansion in Manhattan is dead. That is simply not true. About a month ago a user posted here that on East 12th and Fifth that their building was contacted about installing FIOS. I live in a 20 story building at East 12th and Fourth Ave. For the last month or two work is being done all over the neighborhood’s streets, by private contractors and also a literal army of Verizon trucks that have been around Union Square.

I am on the board of my building and we had our Board Meeting last night. The building manager presented a letter of intent by Verizon that she received two days ago of Verizon wanting to install the equipment necessary to offer FIOS in our building. I am calling the sender of the Verizon letter today to find out what that build-out will entail, what impact it may have on the building, and what their intended timeline is, so that we may sign off and let them install.

FIOS expansion is definitely not dead.

(And I am very excited over the opportunity to now ditch Time Warner. I know FIOS is not perfect but I have had enough of the grass over here, and want to see if it is greener over there).

I got a notice from Verizon about wanting to wire my building for FIOS. I gave my permission about 18 months ago, and nothing has happened. Best repsonse I get when I call is "soon". I live on a brownstone block on upper east side between park&lex. There is a very large apartment complex across the street on Park that my gut tells me the want to wire (1185 Park). Does not seem to be any way to follow the progress. It suddenly became more important to me as SDV on TWC threatens my Moxi reception.

Would anyone share the name and contact info for someone at Verizon to inquire about FIOS? I live in a 600-unit building on 57th and 11th Ave owned and managed by Durst and built five years ago. I've asked management about FIOS service and have been told the building is all wired for fiber and the bottleneck is Verizon. I'm not sure I believe that so I'd like to reach out to someone at Verizon to see what they have to say but I cannot find a contact listing on their site. With SDV about to start on TWC, I'd really like to get rid of cable but not to satellite. Any contacts at Verizon would be greatly appreciated.

Cross-Posting from the TW thread as this is pertinent to those here……

-------

I have been seeing people saying that the FIOS expansion in Manhattan is dead. That is simply not true. About a month ago a user posted here that on East 12th and Fifth that their building was contacted about installing FIOS. I live in a 20 story building at East 12th and Fourth Ave. For the last month or two work is being done all over the neighborhood’s streets, by private contractors and also a literal army of Verizon trucks that have been around Union Square.

I am on the board of my building and we had our Board Meeting last night. The building manager presented a letter of intent by Verizon that she received two days ago of Verizon wanting to install the equipment necessary to offer FIOS in our building. I am calling the sender of the Verizon letter today to find out what that build-out will entail, what impact it may have on the building, and what their intended timeline is, so that we may sign off and let them install.

FIOS expansion is definitely not dead.

(And I am very excited over the opportunity to now ditch Time Warner. I know FIOS is not perfect but I have had enough of the grass over here, and want to see if it is greener over there).

(Cross-posting again. Sorry if this bothers anyone)

Following up on my earlier post, I received the Verizon Notice of Intent package from our building manager today. It not only includes the legal sign-off paperwork, but it also includes very detailed plans of where they are dropping the FDH/FDT in our basement, how they are running it up our stairwells, and the plans for each hallway. They even took pictures and show the physical install locations (it seems they have been working on this since September 2008) .

I called the design engineer to confirm what the plans call for, and he did. He told me that Verizon is being very aggressive in wanting to install FIOS in the Union Square area, and that they are planning on working on the building itself starting June 1. He was asking that we get back to them no later than May 15th.

I am posting this because it seems this is way more than Verizon simply asking if we want FIOS in our building. Plans have been drawn up, trucks are outside, and engineers are taking our calls. It seems they are really serious and this will happen.

Would anyone share the name and contact info for someone at Verizon to inquire about FIOS? I live in a 600-unit building on 57th and 11th Ave owned and managed by Durst and built five years ago. I've asked management about FIOS service and have been told the building is all wired for fiber and the bottleneck is Verizon. I'm not sure I believe that so I'd like to reach out to someone at Verizon to see what they have to say but I cannot find a contact listing on their site. With SDV about to start on TWC, I'd really like to get rid of cable but not to satellite. Any contacts at Verizon would be greatly appreciated.

I am not comfortable posting here the contact information on our Notice of Intent. It is the Network Engineering Manager and the FTTP-MDU Acquisition Specialist who are working in our area. I do not believe that they are the people you need to be talking to about this anyway; they seem to be the ones that show up after decisions have been made.

I will say this. Our Co-Op did not actively solicit Verizon for FIOS, but I do believe that our Managing Agent as an organization, Douglas Elliman, was doing so in some way. The Notice of Intent seemed to us to drop out of nowhere, but it was addressed directly to the managing agent. I would suggest pushing the individual from Durst that is managing your building to be more aggressive in working with the Durst organization, and use that leverage to get some better answers out of Verizon.

I am not comfortable posting here the contact information on our Notice of Intent. It is the Network Engineering Manager and the FTTP-MDU Acquisition Specialist who are working in our area. I do not believe that they are the people you need to be talking to about this anyway; they seem to be the ones that show up after decisions have been made.

I can understand your reluctance to post names in the thread but would you consider sending it in a PM? The job title of the FTTP-MDU (Fiber To The Premises Multi Dwelling Units) specialist sounds like he actually would know a lot about FIOS deployment, even if he is not the ultimate decisionmaker.

The reason I am trying to reach someone at Verizon directly and not rely on the word of my building is I have the suspicion the building has inked an exclusivity contract with a satellite service provider that locks out Verizon. There was a recent push in the building to switch from TWC to satellite with flyers and even an information session. I know Verizon deployed FIOS in my area, there is a similar sized building a block north of mine that offers FIOS. Ultimately, if my building isn't willing to allow FIOS, there's nothing I can do but I'd like to figure out where the bottleneck is, Verizon, Durst or maybe even both. I tend to think Verizon would jump at the chance to offer FIOS in my building. It is big, new and fully wired with modern cabling so it would be relatively cheap and easy to start service there.

In any case, I'd be grateful if you'd consider providing a Verizon contact in a PM.

I have been seeing people saying that the FIOS expansion in Manhattan is dead. That is simply not true.

That is GREAT news (and I am one who has been saying it APPEARS to be dead)... I do keep my ears open and have heard they did a lot of street work up by Morningside Heights over 6 months ago, but never offered service.

It would be much better if we heard it being available in >50 unit buildings...

I got a notice from Verizon about wanting to wire my building for FIOS. I gave my permission about 18 months ago, and nothing has happened. Best repsonse I get when I call is "soon". I live on a brownstone block on upper east side between park&lex. There is a very large apartment complex across the street on Park that my gut tells me the want to wire (1185 Park). Does not seem to be any way to follow the progress. It suddenly became more important to me as SDV on TWC threatens my Moxi reception.

Ha, I had a very similar experience (I'm on my board, but we are small). The business contact w/Verizon was through the managing agent we have... their plan in early 09 was to run from the big Columbia hub down WEA to Lincoln Center... it made total sense, that should be a very fertile area for them. They were clear it would only be large buildings, smaller ones would have to wait. Our back yard is pretty much equidistant for the block bounded on WEA and RSD, so we even offered to allow them to rent space to house equipment to serve the whole block (apparently, their plan did it that way).

08/09 it was supposed to be here, then the contact clammed up and refuses to say ANYTHING.

I am posting this because it seems this is way more than Verizon simply asking if we want FIOS in our building. Plans have been drawn up, trucks are outside, and engineers are taking our calls. It seems they are really serious and this will happen.

One very essential bit of info is what size buildings are getting it? Far as I know, it's only well over 500 unit buildings that get it.

Through the kindness of a forum member who provided me with a Verizon contact - thank you MacAlert! - I've learned that my building has signed an agreement with Verizon. Engineering plans are being finalized, work is expected to begin in the next month or two with service beginning hopefully by the end of summer. This means that I may only have to endure a short summer with the buggy SDV tuning adapters on TWC (I have a Tivo/Cablecard setup that will need this new equipment starting in June).

One wrinkle: I looked at Verizon's FIOS lineup and noticed there are a number of HD channels that I have with TWC that are not available in HD on Verizon - Cartoon Network, BBC America, E!, MSG, Style, Turner Movie Classics, BET and a couple more - as well as a couple channels that are not available at all on Verizon such as the Sundance Channel. Any inkling whether these channels might become available in the next couple months? Of course, it's worth noting Verizon has a couple HD channels that TWC doesn't such as Lifetime and Nickelodeon.

Correction: I was wrong to say above that Sundance isn't available on Verizon. It is but it appears to treated as a premium channel that's part of Verizon's Movie Package. IFC is also part of that package. Both these channels are included in TWC's digital package and aren't treated as premium channels.

I've learned that my building has signed an agreement with Verizon. Engineering plans are being finalized, work is expected to begin in the next month or two with service beginning hopefully by the end of summer.

Happy for ya, hope you can get the $89.95 triple play they are "promoting" right now. BTW, am curious how everyone thinks about the $360.00 cancellation fee (I'm assuming it is only for the current deal)?

As for channels, I DO watch a lot on BBC-A HD, they DO seem to have "good" HD, so losing it WOULD "hurt." OTOH, I think you'll get the HDNets back, that one really sticks in my throat having lost it.

I would ask that everyone keep an eye open to any "new" FiOS installs (or even noticing street openings especially Empire Subway subcontracting for Verizon) and post them here. I'm surprised there isn't (AFAIK) some web site that tracks such details.

I would ask that everyone keep an eye open...
If you haven’t yet checked out the DSL Reports forums, you might want to peruse it every now and then. It’s more active than this one. Not as user friendly IMO as AVS but there is good info.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

If you haven’t yet checked out the DSL Reports forums, you might want to peruse it every now and then. It’s more active than this one. Not as user friendly IMO as AVS but there is good info.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

Thanks Larry, but that seems a forum covering the whole country, not specific to NYC?? Funny, I had an account there years ago and it let me in while saying I had no e-mail address (which I sure did, I found an ack. from them in 2000 in my e-mail).

Dear All:

i may be moving to a building (new building, only 3 years old, Manhattan) that already has Fios. Additionally, the unit I might be moving into has been using Fios and the rooms are pre-wired for Fios distribution to televisions (i do not know what the large boxes near the front door's closet do, but they appear to be Fios and then some fancy splitter of sorts, possibly changing to coaxial cables, possibly then distributed to the rooms).

I've been with Time Warner for many many years here in Manhattan and have gotten used to their "... @nyc.rr.com" email which has been my main email for many years. For me to switch over to Fios, i'd be forced to immediately change my email address (a major hassle on top of moving), and i have to see how the Verizon DVRs perform (i have no idea if Verizon's DVRs are better, same, or worse than Time Warner's). How are the Verizon DVRs, btw?

Also, for those of us who do not do any major downloading, uses the internet only for basic emailing and surfing the net, even though for a good amount of time each day, i see little reason to go to Fios for its INTERNET-related benefits, right? I do not see the slowness of my interent connection as the culprit, more typically, it's the response time of the server of the website i'm visiting that's holding things up. the 6 to 8 MBPS of a standard middle-of-the-road Time Warner roadrunner service is plenty good for most of us.

I do not know how much of a hassle it is to distribute Time Warner around the apartment? I see that at the entry door of the apartment's closet, is several rather large Verizon Fios boxes, and seemingly, some fancy looking unusual splitter of sorts change regular wires into coax cabling, so i'd suspect that it is coax that's going from that main entry area of Fios to the other rooms: that is, enter apartment via Fios fiber, but once inside the apartment's front door, change over to coax to distribute WITHIN the apartment. Is this correct? Or am I mistaken?


May I ask:

(1) what are the key benefits to changing from Time Warner to Fios, especially if i do not need the additional internet connection speed? I do not download a ton of anything, except the occasional new program update to an existing program that i have on my pc. However, i do occasionally use the Netflix streaming via my Sony Bluray player's Sony Bravia Internet features, and sometimes, use the Pandora on my Onkyo AV Receiver's internet connection.

(2) would Time Warner's Roadrunner allow me to continue with the "... @nyc.rr.com" email for a small fee for a number of months to ensure that i do not lose any emails, even if i do leave Time Warner to go to Verizon?

(3) what do i lose by going to Fios? Less GB's of hard drive space on the Fios DVRs? I do know that i'll lose NY1, which while a loss, is not critical.

(4) Losing BBC-America HD and E! are not desirable for me, but if the over all benefits are there, i'll simply have to forgo those two.

(5) anything else that i might have forgotten that might impact a person's decision to go from Time Warner (plus ".rr.com" email) to Verizon Fios?

Thanks so much in advance.

Very good questions... it turns out that I may be confronting the issue sooner than I thought. Yesterday, there was a Verizon truck at th top of my block... installing FIBER! That run comes from the big node at 108th & Morningside, and will run south. Yes, they did say that they do NOT need to do the whole run, that that specific node COULD serve my block after they finish in that manhole. How the business side handles that is another matter... I have yet to hear of them going into a building with fewer than 500 units, so it remains to be seen. It certain COLD some to pass it's a year or more away... my building is small, although we have 4 biggies on each corner of a very short east-west block.

I have no issues with e-mail as I use my own domain, have for YEARS. As for IP, I really want the speed, not just down but up. I do a lot of web photo galleries and it can take 15-20 minutes to u/l... with FiOS, a minute or two. Sure, TWC does DOCSIS 3, but for an additional 50 bucks you get 50 down, 5 up... 35/35 just seems a far better deal, especially as there's no extra charge for it.

On programing, I think it's BBC HD and MSG, both of which I'd HATE to lose. BUT there SHOULD be negotiations ongoing to bring those to FiOS (unless someone knows otherwise). OTOH, one DOES pick up the HDNets and I really regret losing them!

My recollection is they charge a lot more for DVR than TWC... if so, that SHOULD mean a better cost./benefit ratio for TiVO or Moxi.

BUT, better to hear from those who already transitioned from TWC to FiOS.

Very good questions...

... Sure, TWC does DOCSIS 3, but for an additional 50 bucks you get 50 down, 5 up... 35/35 just seems a far better deal, especially as there's no extra charge for it.

On programing, I think it's BBC HD and MSG, both of which I'd HATE to lose. BUT there SHOULD be negotiations ongoing to bring those to FiOS (unless someone knows otherwise). OTOH, one DOES pick up the HDNets and I really regret losing them!

My recollection is they charge a lot more for DVR than TWC... if so, that SHOULD mean a better cost./benefit ratio for TiVO or Moxi.

BUT, better to hear from those who already transitioned from TWC to FiOS.

Riverside Guy: thx for your reply post. may i ask for clarification to a few items? i'm a total newbie to Fios so i'm trying to "get" what you're saying, if you don't mind educating this total newbie here.

you wrote:

(1) "...TWC does DOCSIS 3": what's DOCSIS 3?

(2) "...35/35 just seems a far better deal, especially as there's no extra charge for it." What do you mean? what's 35/35?

You mentioned that Fios charges a lot more for DVRs than Time Warner, well, for one thing, i can call Verizon Fios to inquire and get an answer. Also, we never got around to finding out the pros and cons of the features and firmware/software of the Fios DVR versus the Time Warner DVRs. I've had Time Warner DVRs for so long that I don't even remember much about the Tivo had before Time Warner started providing DVRs! It would be great if a Fios user would pitch in here to educate us.

go to wikipedia for an explanation of what docsis 3 is...forget about the technical terms and pricing for individual items such as DVR. look at pricing of total package. i know of 3 people that switched to fios over the past year or so and all say they are paying "about the same" for much better service.

fios offers multi room DVR which means 1 DVR box and you can watch content from that DVR on any non dvr box in the house.


Riverside Guy: thx for your reply post. may i ask for clarification to a few items? i'm a total newbie to Fios so i'm trying to "get" what you're saying, if you don't mind educating this total newbie here.

you wrote:

(1) "...TWC does DOCSIS 3": what's DOCSIS 3?

(2) "...35/35 just seems a far better deal, especially as there's no extra charge for it." What do you mean? what's 35/35?

You mentioned that Fios charges a lot more for DVRs than Time Warner, well, for one thing, i can call Verizon Fios to inquire and get an answer. Also, we never got around to finding out the pros and cons of the features and firmware/software of the Fios DVR versus the Time Warner DVRs. I've had Time Warner DVRs for so long that I don't even remember much about the Tivo had before Time Warner started providing DVRs! It would be great if a Fios user would pitch in here to educate us.

Pricing is so flexible that comparisons CAN be hard to make. Not to mention all the "deals" that at least I KNOW TWC does. Right now, FiIOS basic triple play is 90, TWC is 140. Problem is, there's no knowing exactly what will happen after that. In broad brush strokes, I think both will be in pretty much the same ballpark. So I think it fair to say you get a "better" service from FiOS, cost not REALLY being a long term factor.

35/35 or 10/768k are typical shortcuts for the down the up speed of an IP service (IP being Internet Protocol). I understand frustration, but we DO tend to talk in a kind of code. BOOKMARK wikipedia (or set it in your search engine choices). Rarely have I not found a "what do they mean by lmao" explanation!

BUT, I'm not so sure about ignoring individual pricing... DVR is ALWAYS extra and not hidden in any triple play deals. far as know, TWC charges 12, FiOS 17. The significance is in deciding on a third party, from the $$ perspective. Not to mention each of the third parties have different cash flow structures.

BUT, I'm not so sure about ignoring individual pricing... DVR is ALWAYS extra and not hidden in any triple play deals. far as know, TWC charges 12, FiOS 17. The significance is in deciding on a third party, from the $$ perspective. Not to mention each of the third parties have different cash flow structures.
How are you only paying $12 for DVR? You should be paying $12.95 for DVR service and an additional amount for box rental. With FiOS, it's just one charge.

...

35/35 or 10/768k are typical shortcuts for the down the up speed of an IP service (IP being Internet Protocol)...



I understand that those are shorthand for speeds, but i do not know what follows them, i.e. 35/35 what? Does it mean 35MBPS/35MBPS? there is no "unit of measure" following the numbers. That was what i was referring to.

as i wrote on a previous post, if i recall correctly, my current Time Warner Roadrunner's speed is the middle of the road option of around 6 or 7MBPS. The ultra cheap basic is around 2MBPS, and if one were to pay extra, one can get the super fast 15 or 20MBPS (i don't recall the exact figure). My memory seems to tell me that the middle of the road, most popular option that i got, is the 7MBPS.

So, the 35/35 in the post above would need a unit of measure in order for me to understand how to compare it with what i have currently.

One thing to mention is FiOS doesn't break out DVR service as a separate charge. That is to say they don't charge for the box rental and then charge extra for DVR; their $17 DVR charge includes box rental.

FYI.

How are you only paying $12 for DVR? You should be paying $12.95 for DVR service and an additional amount for box rental. With FiOS, it's just one charge.

Yup, 12.95 is correct. BUT whatever box rental fee is "buried" in the triple play price and while I have asked a few times, nobody can say if their triple play went DOWN because they had NO box from TWC.

I don't trust their breakdowns on the bills... I KNOW they way they break down my premiums is NOT how the charge it. The charge a big fee for the first, less for the second and after that 5 bucks each. On top of that, there the "deals." If I were to drop one of my premiums, they could go rate card in which case I'd actually pay MORE.

I understand that those are shorthand for speeds, but i do not know what follows them, i.e. 35/35 what? Does it mean 35MBPS/35MBPS? there is no "unit of measure" following the numbers. That was what i was referring to.

as i wrote on a previous post, if i recall correctly, my current Time Warner Roadrunner's speed is the middle of the road option of around 6 or 7MBPS. The ultra cheap basic is around 2MBPS, and if one were to pay extra, one can get the super fast 15 or 20MBPS (i don't recall the exact figure). My memory seems to tell me that the middle of the road, most popular option that i got, is the 7MBPS.

So, the 35/35 in the post above would need a unit of measure in order for me to understand how to compare it with what i have currently.

Yes it gets odd at time.. sometimes folks use different measures and many don't see there is a big difference between B and b. B, bytes, is 8 b, bits. So your 7MBPS is actually incorrect, it's 7mb/s. Not to mention some test servers us kb/s... or kB/s.

In general I think most folks talk about connection speeds in mb/s.

Yeah, it's confusing... and get more so when you see stuff quoted that is not really correct. Sometimes have to scratch my head to translate on into another!

One thing to mention is FiOS doesn't break out DVR service as a separate charge. That is to say they don't charge for the box rental and then charge extra for DVR; their $17 DVR charge includes box rental.

FYI.

Yup, that's my understanding. EXCEPT what is the charge if one did NOT have a DVR from Verizon? My guess is it's buried in their triple play, just like TWC. If it IS true for FiOS as I'm pretty sure it's with TWC, I'd most likely get the non DVR with a third party DVR for a third tuner.

There are further complexities with Verizon.

Their Home Media DVR (multi room) has 20 hours only of recording time in HD. You'll still have to rent a $5.99 HD Receiver (discounted from $9.99 normally) as a 2nd "box" for your 2nd TV.

There are several issues with this:

- limited time of recording to only 20 hours.
- you cannot at your 2nd TV location decide when watching something good, to say, hey, i like this show, let me click record now and record the series. You must write it down on a piece of paper, and remember to do it in your living room, and program your Home Media DVR the next day.

There are some ways out of this though:

- you can increase recording time by getting TWO HD DVRs (not their Home Media DVRs). HD DVRs are single room use, but have the same 20 hour recording time. So in theory, you can have 20 hours of programming in your living room and 20 hours of other stuff in your bedroom. HOWEVER, say you recorded Leno in your living room HD DVR and you're in your bedroom and want to watch that, you cannot. You have to ALSO have been recording Leno in your bedroom's HD DVR as well, thereby reducing the benefits of the additional 20 hours of recording time on your bedroom HD DVR unit.

- You DO increase flexibility in when you choose to record something. You can channel surf on any of your tv's and be able to click record. BUT, you must WATCH that recorded program at that TV, not in the other room.

Clunky DVR Programming Interface:

I asked about how to tell the DVR to keep only 1 or 3 or 5 episodes: say you asked your DVR to record Parenthood. On my Time Warner, I can tell it to "keep only 1 or 3 or 5 episodes". That way, it wouldn't be clogged up with too many episodes of the same show. Apparently, according to the representative from Verizon, who didn't really know if this is possible, she asked her neighboring colleague and they decided that it's either ALL episodes of a series to be recorded, OR, 5 episodes, but not 1 or 3 episodes.

Sigh. So many odd idiosyncrasies.

i wouldnt call them complexities. anyway u look at it, at least verizon offers multi room dvr and remote dvr programming which the cable companies do not offer yet.

comcast dvr is limited to 160gb as well. time warner is starting to have 320gb dvr boxes but neither offers multiroom dvr.

There are further complexities with Verizon.

Their Home Media DVR (multi room) has 20 hours only of recording time in HD. You'll still have to rent a $5.99 HD Receiver (discounted from $9.99 normally) as a 2nd "box" for your 2nd TV.

There are several issues with this:

- limited time of recording to only 20 hours.
- you cannot at your 2nd TV location decide when watching something good, to say, hey, i like this show, let me click record now and record the series. You must write it down on a piece of paper, and remember to do it in your living room, and program your Home Media DVR the next day.

There are some ways out of this though:

- you can increase recording time by getting TWO HD DVRs (not their Home Media DVRs). HD DVRs are single room use, but have the same 20 hour recording time. So in theory, you can have 20 hours of programming in your living room and 20 hours of other stuff in your bedroom. HOWEVER, say you recorded Leno in your living room HD DVR and you're in your bedroom and want to watch that, you cannot. You have to ALSO have been recording Leno in your bedroom's HD DVR as well, thereby reducing the benefits of the additional 20 hours of recording time on your bedroom HD DVR unit.

- You DO increase flexibility in when you choose to record something. You can channel surf on any of your tv's and be able to click record. BUT, you must WATCH that recorded program at that TV, not in the other room.

Clunky DVR Programming Interface:

I asked about how to tell the DVR to keep only 1 or 3 or 5 episodes: say you asked your DVR to record Parenthood. On my Time Warner, I can tell it to "keep only 1 or 3 or 5 episodes". That way, it wouldn't be clogged up with too many episodes of the same show. Apparently, according to the representative from Verizon, who didn't really know if this is possible, she asked her neighboring colleague and they decided that it's either ALL episodes of a series to be recorded, OR, 5 episodes, but not 1 or 3 episodes.

Sigh. So many odd idiosyncrasies.

Sigh. So many odd idiosyncrasies.

Ah the hallmark of our home telecommunication choices! Don't forget there ARE 2 third party choices, TiVO and Moxi. At this INSTANT, my inclination s to stay w/TWC'x box, but go Moxi with FiOS.

Ah the hallmark of our home telecommunication choices! Don't forget there ARE 2 third party choices, TiVO and Moxi. At this INSTANT, my inclination s to stay w/TWC'x box, but go Moxi with FiOS.

May i ask why it makes sense to spend $300 to $500 PER TV (I'll need two as i'll have two tv's, one living room, one bedroom), with the possibility of equipment obsolescence (which was what happened to me for my first Tivo unit, it became obsolete when Time Warner started offering their DVRs for rental), rather than paying for Verizon Fios' Home Media DVR rental (plus a regular single room DVR rental)?

May i ask why it makes sense to spend $300 to $500 PER TV (I'll need two as i'll have two tv's, one living room, one bedroom), with the possibility of equipment obsolescence (which was what happened to me for my first Tivo unit, it became obsolete when Time Warner started offering their DVRs for rental), rather than paying for Verizon Fios' Home Media DVR rental (plus a regular single room DVR rental)?I had a 3800HD for four years (with Passport) with TWC. It was good but not great. I wanted to add a second DVR and Time-Warner was about to convert to the new software. I calculated that if I got two TiVo HD XL's and a lifetime subscription, after another 4 years I would have DVR service almost for free (except for the cost of the cable cards). Its a gamble that the TiVo's will last more than four years, but I think there is a good chance of that. In addition I have perfect performance and much more recording space. Thats why I think it makes sense to go the TiVo route.

Cynthia

May i ask why it makes sense to spend $300 to $500 PER TV (I'll need two as i'll have two tv's, one living room, one bedroom), with the possibility of equipment obsolescence (which was what happened to me for my first Tivo unit, it became obsolete when Time Warner started offering their DVRs for rental), rather than paying for Verizon Fios' Home Media DVR rental (plus a regular single room DVR rental)?

Actually, with one of those options, you don't have to. Moxi has an item called a Mate... you hook those to additional TVs. Yes, they DO have limitations, but it seems Moxi is addressing them slowly but surely. Figure out what you want and call them!

I see the street being ripped open on Park and 94th, with metal conduit being laid. I also see PVC conduit stacked up on 95th between park and lex, and the PVC is stamped Verizon. Does this mean that Fios is finally coming to my neighborhood? If this is indeed for fiber cable, how long from when the cable gets laid until Verizon offers Fios in a typical neighborhood? Verizon is completely stealth when it comes to Fios availability.

I see the street being ripped open on Park and 94th, with metal conduit being laid. I also see PVC conduit stacked up on 95th between park and lex, and the PVC is stamped Verizon. Does this mean that Fios is finally coming to my neighborhood? If this is indeed for fiber cable, how long from when the cable gets laid until Verizon offers Fios in a typical neighborhood? Verizon is completely stealth when it comes to Fios availability.

yes it is being fed from the verizon office on 97 street & 3rd ave

yes it is being fed from the verizon office on 97 street & 3rd ave

One interesting thing about my "report..." it sure looked like they had snaked the cable through existing conduits already... none of the avenue or side streets around that manhole got ripped up. It looked like they were setting up/installing whatever underground "node" equipment they need.

Cabling/wiring requirements for any of Verizon's set top boxes:

May I ask if anyone knows what type of cabling requirements there are for any of their HD boxes? I mean their: (1) whole house media DVR, (2) single room DVR, (3) HD box (no dvr), and (4) even their SD box (no dvr) which i may need for my PC's tv card.

Is the ONLY thing required a coax cable? Or, do we need a coaxial cable, PLUS an RJ45 CAT 5 in order for FULL functionality? I ask that because it was made clear that the Actiontec wireless router is ESSENTIAL for the full functioning of the boxes, due to the incorporation of the older small box INTO the Actiontec nowadays.

I'm thinking of putting wiring in the walls and i have to figure this out ahead of time.

Thanks very much in advance.

Cabling/wiring requirements for any of Verizon's set top boxes:

May I ask if anyone knows what type of cabling requirements there are for any of their HD boxes? I mean their: (1) whole house media DVR, (2) single room DVR, (3) HD box (no dvr), and (4) even their SD box (no dvr) which i may need for my PC's tv card.

Is the ONLY thing required a coax cable? Or, do we need a coaxial cable, PLUS an RJ45 CAT 5 in order for FULL functionality? I ask that because it was made clear that the Actiontec wireless router is ESSENTIAL for the full functioning of the boxes, due to the incorporation of the older small box INTO the Actiontec nowadays.

I'm thinking of putting wiring in the walls and i have to figure this out ahead of time.

Thanks very much in advance.

COAX only.

thx for the reply.

i can't imagine that i won't need other cables, i.e. cat 6 and HDMI. how would my bluray player be connected without HDMI from wherever the dvr/set top box is located to the tv's location?

In general, won't every person typically require at least a DVR/set top box, plus a bluray player? that would be a minimal typical requirement, right? Right there off the bat, there would require TWO HDMI cables running from the location of the "equipment area" (where the DVR/set top box sits, and the bluray sits) to where the tv is located.

thx for the reply.

i can't imagine that i won't need other cables, i.e. cat 6 and HDMI. how would my bluray player be connected without HDMI from wherever the dvr/set top box is located to the tv's location?

In general, won't every person typically require at least a DVR/set top box, plus a bluray player? that would be a minimal typical requirement, right? Right there off the bat, there would require TWO HDMI cables running from the location of the "equipment area" (where the DVR/set top box sits, and the bluray sits) to where the tv is located.

My advice is that if you are dealing with wiring, it's a DAMN good idea to run cat 6 (I'd go so far as to run shielded, may not be strictly necessary, but it doesn't seem to add huge extra costs) as well (and I'm talking room to room, hdmi should only be in specific room). More and more with all sorts of equipment, you need an IP connection. Most DB players have video sources (like youtube etc., biggest one is Netflix streaming) that depend on an IP connection. PS3 is another. Seems most new TVs also need it... as more streaming services are gaining ground.

RUN IT<g>!

One interesting thing about my "report..." it sure looked like they had snaked the cable through existing conduits already... none of the avenue or side streets around that manhole got ripped up. It looked like they were setting up/installing whatever underground "node" equipment they need.

the fios network has no electronics in the ground. its a passive network with electronics on the central office and customer end. there may be splices in the manholes where it may go from a trunk cable to a feeder cable (say a 432 count fiber down to a 216 , 144 or smaller to feed that block/area,

the fios network has no electronics in the ground. its a passive network with electronics on the central office and customer end. there may be splices in the manholes where it may go from a trunk cable to a feeder cable (say a 432 count fiber down to a 216 , 144 or smaller to feed that block/area,

Ah, now THAT is an interesting bit of info... I had no idea, but kinda thought they MAY have some active stuff down there, but it's probably better to NOT have to rely on it.

One piece of info I'm REALLY looking for is the issue of length of co-ax AFTER an ONT. i.e. what kind and how "degradation" as the length of co-ax increases. Inside many apartments, one could find the need for runs of 50 to 100 feet (I'd need about 60' from where I'd guess they hang an ONT). IP/phone are no issue, it's just TV service. What about 200', 300', 400'?

ONT RF out is very hot like in the 15-20db range more than enough for long cable runs to 8 tv's. in many cases techs attenuate the signal to not overdrive the boxes.

Ah, now THAT is an interesting bit of info... I had no idea, but kinda thought they MAY have some active stuff down there, but it's probably better to NOT have to rely on it.

One piece of info I'm REALLY looking for is the issue of length of co-ax AFTER an ONT. i.e. what kind and how "degradation" as the length of co-ax increases. Inside many apartments, one could find the need for runs of 50 to 100 feet (I'd need about 60' from where I'd guess they hang an ONT). IP/phone are no issue, it's just TV service. What about 200', 300', 400'?

If we get one "whole house DVR" and one "HD box", say the DVR is in the living room and the HD Box is in the bedroom, and BOTH the DVR and the HD box are connected via coax, then HOW do these two boxes communicate with each other?

for example, if when we are in the bedroom, we are selecting to watch something in the "whole house DVR" in our living room, how does the signal in the bedroom's HD box get communicated to the living room's "whole house DVR"?

thx in advance. i'm trying to think ahead about wiring which i'll have to decide in a matter of days. thx!

May I ask if it makes much difference how far my building is away from our "local Verizon FIOS distribution 'center'"?

I've been told that in the basement of a building, either my future building, or a building nearby like next door, is the big roomful of Verizon Fios equipment where they distribute Fios to the local neighborhood.

I'm asking in hopes that this will mean better service, faster speeds to those of us who live IN the building just literally above the Fios local distribution room.

I'm uncertain if this "distance from the distribution center" makes much of a difference in Fios though...I do recall that in DSL, the distance from the DSL local distribution center makes a big difference.

Thx in advance.

If we get one "whole house DVR" and one "HD box", say the DVR is in the living room and the HD Box is in the bedroom, and BOTH the DVR and the HD box are connected via coax, then HOW do these two boxes communicate with each other?

I would expect (educated guess) because they all have wire (co-ax) run from the ONT (the central piece of hardware, typically located near where the fiber comes into your place).

FWIW, there's an interesting post in the Moxi forum... from a guy with 2 DVRs and several "mates" (smaller boxes that don't have recording or HDDs, but can access stuff from the DVRs). All those boxes work totally seamlessly, any can see all recordings on either of the DVRs or tune any channel as long as ONE of the DVRs has a free tuner. Almost better than typical computer network where you generally have to hook into a specific server. The RIGHT way to design such software IMO.

May I ask if it makes much difference how far my building is away from our "local Verizon FIOS distribution 'center'"?

I've been told that in the basement of a building, either my future building, or a building nearby like next door, is the big roomful of Verizon Fios equipment where they distribute Fios to the local neighborhood.

I'm asking in hopes that this will mean better service, faster speeds to those of us who live IN the building just literally above the Fios local distribution room.

I'm uncertain if this "distance from the distribution center" makes much of a difference in Fios though...I do recall that in DSL, the distance from the DSL local distribution center makes a big difference.

Thx in advance.

We've heard they don't have any active equipment in local nodes (manholes)... so within what that node covers, all should be good. Fiber is very different than copper... in the copper days, it was VERY critical how far you were from a central office (not to mention not all central offices had the same capacity).

HOWEVER, yes they DO place a bunch of equipment above ground... they actually pay buildings to do that. I'm not at all sure exactly how much "coverage" is available to such above ground 'nodes." All I now is TWC standard, which is fiber to copper to ~500 customers, typically.

My suspicion is that NONE of this makes any difference to end users. I'd like to THINK that the fiber that arrives in one's place has all the "oomph" it had when it left any Verizon central office..

riverside guy i'm not sure your use of the term node is corrent.

a node is something that converts from optical light over fiber to RF.in fios case the ONT placed in your home is the "node"

time warner does not have nodes in manholes but rather in a basement, alley way, or sidewalk vault in manhattan..in outer boros u may also see them on a pole or sidewalk pedestal.

only thing between the verizon central office and your ont is optical splitters which are in the field (basement, hallway, etc)

We've heard they don't have any active equipment in local nodes (manholes)... so within what that node covers, all should be good. Fiber is very different than copper... in the copper days, it was VERY critical how far you were from a central office (not to mention not all central offices had the same capacity).

HOWEVER, yes they DO place a bunch of equipment above ground... they actually pay buildings to do that. I'm not at all sure exactly how much "coverage" is available to such above ground 'nodes." All I now is TWC standard, which is fiber to copper to ~500 customers, typically.

My suspicion is that NONE of this makes any difference to end users. I'd like to THINK that the fiber that arrives in one's place has all the "oomph" it had when it left any Verizon central office..

May I ask if it makes much difference how far my building is away from our "local Verizon FIOS distribution 'center'"?

I've been told that in the basement of a building, either my future building, or a building nearby like next door, is the big roomful of Verizon Fios equipment where they distribute Fios to the local neighborhood.

I'm asking in hopes that this will mean better service, faster speeds to those of us who live IN the building just literally above the Fios local distribution room.

I'm uncertain if this "distance from the distribution center" makes much of a difference in Fios though...I do recall that in DSL, the distance from the DSL local distribution center makes a big difference.

Thx in advance.
Verizon ONT's uses MoCA (multimedia over coaxial).

In my understanding of it, your settop boxes are networked through the coaxial cables.

We've heard they don't have any active equipment in local nodes (manholes)... so within what that node covers, all should be good. Fiber is very different than copper... in the copper days, it was VERY critical how far you were from a central office (not to mention not all central offices had the same capacity).

HOWEVER, yes they DO place a bunch of equipment above ground... they actually pay buildings to do that. I'm not at all sure exactly how much "coverage" is available to such above ground 'nodes." All I now is TWC standard, which is fiber to copper to ~500 customers, typically.

My suspicion is that NONE of this makes any difference to end users. I'd like to THINK that the fiber that arrives in one's place has all the "oomph" it had when it left any Verizon central office..
Each Verizon FiOS "node" serves a maximum of 32 customers in a BPON (Broadband Passive Optical Network) or GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network.) My guess is MDUs will get their own GPON terminals in the basement or riser, one per 32 units.

Verizon ONT's uses MoCA (multimedia over coaxial).

In my understanding of it, your settop boxes are networked through the coaxial cables.
Bingo. Think of MoCA as equivalent to Ethernet, except they use coaxial cables instead of Cat-5/5e/6 UTP cable.

Each Verizon FiOS "node" serves a maximum of 32 customers in a BPON (Broadband Passive Optical Network) or GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network.) My guess is MDUs will get their own GPON terminals in the basement or riser, one per 32 units.

the only thing in the basement would be optical splitters or some type of conversion of fiber cable from underground/outdoor to indoor/riser. the "terminal" would be the ONT in your home. as u said its a passive optical network means just that...PASSIVE!!!!

the only thing in the basement would be optical splitters or some type of conversion of fiber cable from underground/outdoor to indoor/riser. the "terminal" would be the ONT in your home. as u said its a passive optical network means just that...PASSIVE!!!!
There has to be some sort of GPON terminal in the basement of an MDU, otherwise how would Verizon be able to serve more than 32 units?

There has to be some sort of GPON terminal in the basement of an MDU, otherwise how would Verizon be able to serve more than 32 units?

no terminal in basements. just fiber splitters. various combinations of fiber splitters to reach 32 users. 1 x 32, 2 x 16, 4 x 8, etc etc

a building with 32 units may get 1 incoming fiber split 32 ways, 640 units may get 20 incoming fibers that are split

an example illustated here:
http://www.tcil-india.com/new/html/ftthdetail_files/image002.jpg

at&t uverse which is not available in nyc area have terminals somewhere before your home because they are fiber to the curb. fiber then twisted pair over the last several hundred feet.
http://www.fttxtra.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FTTN-Network-Architecture1.jpg

riverside guy i'm not sure your use of the term node is corrent.

a node is something that converts from optical light over fiber to RF.in fios case the ONT placed in your home is the "node"

time warner does not have nodes in manholes but rather in a basement, alley way, or sidewalk vault in manhattan..in outer boros u may also see them on a pole or sidewalk pedestal.

only thing between the verizon central office and your ont is optical splitters which are in the field (basement, hallway, etc)

Maybe I used the term not quite correctly... but I'm pretty sure that under a manhole, TWC goes from fiber to copper for distribution to those "500 on a node." I think of that as a node.

Not disagreeing, but if FiOS uses only splitters until it gets inside one's apartment, why the need to locate significant equipment above ground? I know such exist, but am short on the details but Do tend to THINK of such installations as a node... maybe distribution point is a better term!

I WILL be able to more intelligently discuss this when I get to meet their engineering folks... I just got the business contact and reached out to him. One building ON my block has been wired, another is in progress, the block is VERY short, so not too long.

Not to mention, but something I have been saying I can happily retract! I have NOT read or heard about smaller buildings getting wired.. to date. NOW I have, there is a 65 unit building on my block that has been wired (ewrr, "fibered").

Bingo. Think of MoCA as equivalent to Ethernet, except they use coaxial cables instead of Cat-5/5e/6 UTP cable.

I could have this wrong, but my impression is one also needs a MoCA to Ethernet piece of equipment to be able to create a network other devices can hook into (some TVs, some BD players, game consoles all need an ethernet/Cat5/6 input); and that such devices that can cost in the $200+ range?

I could go unshielded Cat 6 for 10 bucks plus a few hours of my time... or opt for shielded for around 20 bucks... and we're talking a 75' run of "pre-fab" Cat 6... don't need that long a run, but bulk wire plus connectors plus a tool would cost more.

a building with 32 units may get 1 incoming fiber split 32 ways, 640 units may get 20 incoming fibers that are split

I'm curious about locating the ONTs in the basement (10 story 39 unit building) in a secure location and going copper to each unit? AND I ONLY ask because we have at least one very vocal shareholder who is going to SCREAM about running anything looking like wires in the hallways. Not to mention some folks will believe whatever this guy is selling... which always revolves around what HE wants to impose on others. Co-op shareholders should know exactly that I'm talking about.

I'm curious about locating the ONTs in the basement (10 story 39 unit building) in a secure location and going copper to each unit? AND I ONLY ask because we have at least one very vocal shareholder who is going to SCREAM about running anything looking like wires in the hallways. Not to mention some folks will believe whatever this guy is selling... which always revolves around what HE wants to impose on others. Co-op shareholders should know exactly that I'm talking about.

where ont and distribution are located will vary by situation. every building is unique. most cases the distribution is located parallel to time warner's. older buildings may have a riser in the staircase with molding above the door. newer buildings may have a dedicated telecom closet with all wiring in the walls.

this is what a node that time warner uses looks like:
http://www.leecatv.com/usrimage/sg2000%20lg.jpg

it converts fiber to copper. these run on 60 or 90 volts AC and there are no electronics allowed in underground manholes. these nodes are located in easily accessible areas. closest thing you will see these to being underground is a dedicated "vault" literally on the sidewalk with a metal plate that may say "TWC" or older ones may say "PCM" or "Manhattan Cable"

PCM is reference to old Paragon Cable Manhattan. Those sidewalk vaults are more visible on blocks with walk up buildings and usually next to a payphone.
Blocks with bigger buildings will have fiber come from a manhole into a node in basement, side of building, or alley. key is accessible, not IN manhole.




Maybe I used the term not quite correctly... but I'm pretty sure that under a manhole, TWC goes from fiber to copper for distribution to those "500 on a node." I think of that as a node.

Not disagreeing, but if FiOS uses only splitters until it gets inside one's apartment, why the need to locate significant equipment above ground? I know such exist, but am short on the details but Do tend to THINK of such installations as a node... maybe distribution point is a better term!

I WILL be able to more intelligently discuss this when I get to meet their engineering folks... I just got the business contact and reached out to him. One building ON my block has been wired, another is in progress, the block is VERY short, so not too long.

Not to mention, but something I have been saying I can happily retract! I have NOT read or heard about smaller buildings getting wired.. to date. NOW I have, there is a 65 unit building on my block that has been wired (ewrr, "fibered").

at&t uverse which is not available in nyc area have terminals somewhere before your home because they are fiber to the curb. fiber then twisted pair over the last several hundred feet.
http://www.fttxtra.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FTTN-Network-Architecture1.jpg

While not NYC proper, U-Verse is available in New Jersey and Connecticut.

The terminals are called V-RADs.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t60/uverseuser/vrad2.jpg

There have been a few problems with them, namely people being upset about ATT putting this fridge sized box on their lawn and some of the boxes even catching fire.

I could have this wrong, but my impression is one also needs a MoCA to Ethernet piece of equipment to be able to create a network other devices can hook into (some TVs, some BD players, game consoles all need an ethernet/Cat5/6 input); and that such devices that can cost in the $200+ range?

I could go unshielded Cat 6 for 10 bucks plus a few hours of my time... or opt for shielded for around 20 bucks... and we're talking a 75' run of "pre-fab" Cat 6... don't need that long a run, but bulk wire plus connectors plus a tool would cost more.
The router Verizon supplies uses both MoCA and Ethernet and can create one big IP network out of both. So it uses the MoCA connection to network your TV boxes to each other and the Internet, it uses the 4 Ethernet ports to connect your PCs and other Ethernet devices, and it has a 802.11G access point for your wi-fi devices, all on one giant IP network.

Verizon uses IP over MoCA to deliver video-on-demand streams as well as your program guide data, VoD catalog, etc.