Philadelphia, PA - Verizon [Text View] - Page 3

Quatre

09-15-07, 03:09 PM

no more motion blur/frame rate probelms/distortions on nfl games anymore with fios. Football both college and nfl has looked great.

one problem I"m having is my hd dvr stb 4:3 over ride setting keeps resetting to off causing the sd chans to be 4:3. I prefer 480p so i know when its an sd chan as my tv will say 720x480 and fill the 16:9 screen, and for hd chans it displays 1920x1080i. Its bad enough when the HD chans are broadcasting in 4:3 which i guess is not hd or when the commercials are 4:3. The stretch option for 4:3 over ride would also be fine to fill the screen for sd chans but it will display 1920x180i which be a nice upconversion but doesnt' seem to look any better, possibly worse, and doesn't let me differentiate between the hd and sd chans.

because fios seems to mix in some sd chans with the set of HD chans starting at 810 for me. its like htey are trying to trick ppl into thinking there are more hd chans then there are by placing certain sd chans in themiddle of the grouping of hd chans. Comcast seems to get NFLnet in hd while fios's seems not to be. for more on that and related stuff here is my post in the PHila comcast thread which is also relevant here"

the new hd channels and the chanels number in delco upper chichester

NG HD CH. 210
FOOD HD CH. 216
HGTV HD CH. 213
NFL HD CH. 218
A&E HD CH. 211

new dig classic channles
WE ch. 117
fuse ch. 148

FIOS has had these NG HD , FOOD HD, AND HGTV HD, for some time now. not sure about A&E but i think maybe fios doesn't have it and fios nflnet station seems to be mixed in with the hd chans but isn't always hd if ever , not sure.

i guess my question is, is which now has more HD chans? Comcast or FIOS? it was FIOS before comcast just got these new hd chans. are they equal now? or does fios still have more, or does comcast now have more. does fios have a&e hd and nflnet hd?

if comcast has equal or more hd chans to fios now is there any reason to keep fios?

what about direcTV? are they really getting 150 hd chans as they advertise and when?

having to listen to the penn state game on xm radio because neither fios nor comcast (i have both) have the big ten network.

comcast mentions it on their automated system when you call but they dont seem to have it nor are getting it so i have no idea why they would mention it.

there is only one more penn state game that will only be on the big ten network. so short of next season and beyond its already too late if they do get it now.

i hate how fios has you in a cell phone like contract that you have to pay an etf to get out of.

all i know is that when directv does get 150 hd chans, that is 3x or more as many as the other 2 and will be hard to resist.

GeekGirl

09-16-07, 12:33 PM

NFL-HD has been on FiOS for a while. Here's the URL to the Verizon FiOS lineup for southeast PA: http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetail/NR/rdonlyres/124DE65C-0CA9-43A5-9A56-E6E5BB9602FF/0/PA_SoutheasternPA.pdf
HD Broadcast
810 NBC — WCAU HD
811 CBS — KYW HD
812 PBS — WHYY HD
813 FOX — WTXF HD
814 ABC — WPVI HD
815 PBS — WNJT HD
816 CW — WPSG HD
817 My WPHL HD
HD National
825 TNT HD
826 ESPN HD
827 ESPN 2 HD
828 NFL Network HD
829 Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
833 HD Net
834 HD Net Movies
835 Universal HD
836 Discovery HD
837 Wealth TV HD
838 National Geographic Channel HD
839 MTV HD
840 Food Network HD
841 HGTV HD
845 Lifetime Movie Network HD
HD Premium
851 HBO HD
852 Cinemax HD
853 Showtime HD
854 TMC HD
855 Starz HD
Local Plus (the OTA HD sub-channels, e.g. 6.2, 6.3)
860 NBC Weather Plus
865 ABC — WPVI-D3
866 ABC — WPVI-D2
867 WPHL-DT — The Tube
873 WHYY 2
874 WHYY Arts
876 WNJT2
877 WNJT GOV

There's a dedicated thread for the HD-DVR (QIP6416): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=617635&highlight=4%3A3+override&page=77. Search for "4:3 override", lots of answers to your question.

phillyfisher

09-16-07, 12:54 PM

Verizon came back to look at the router. Seems that the wireless portion of the Actiontec MI1424WR router does not work that well within our house. Very few of the 11 channels would work beyond the room where the router is, and many of those had significant speed loss, even though the signal strength was good throughout the house. Ended up changing some settings in my old Netgear rounter to turn it into a wireless access point and turning off the wireless on the Actiontec router. This created much more uniform wireless coverage and network speed inside the house.

Joe Q

09-16-07, 07:47 PM

The signal is QAM-256. And you'll be able to get channels 1-49 (SD OTA), and the HD OTA channels in the 800+ range. They are all in the clear. Interestingly, the STB enforces some DRM over its firewire port. The HD versions of ABC, CBS, and either PSG or PHL were not in the clear over firewire the last time I checked. Same channels are in the clear over QAM.

Most other channels are encrypted over QAM. I think the music-only channels and the odd shopping or religious channel may be available over QAM.

-Jerry

I have been readoing through your posts in here and you seem to really know what you are talking about so perhaps you can enlighten me on a few questions that I have.

Two points of clarification from your post that I guess is just unique to the Anne Arundel FIOS feed.
NGCHD is NOT 5C protected so I can record this to my PC over Firewire. Do it al; the time for any of the 'keepers'
MTVHD is the same way.
I have not checked them all so there may be a few more.
Also, I am able to record ALL the local stations over firewire.

Back to the subject at hand:

I switched to FIOS about 2 months ago after being with Directv for 10 years and I did so for 1 reason - The GREAT picture quaility both on SD and particulary on HD that is almost identical to these eyes as my HDDVD player.

My TV is a 2007 model year Sharp 52" LCD.

I posted the following message on the dslreports forum so if folks (like JerryR) could read it and give me some insight, I woold really be appreciative.

My motivation was that All I wanted to do was to have the Ravens football game on while using my audio equipment to play some music as I worked on a little project I have been doing.
I have missed most of the game because I have been going around in circles trying to accomplish that.

--------------------edited --dslreports post-----------------------------
I am in Annapolis,MD and Verizon puts the Washington D.C. and the Baltimore locals on the fiber coming into my house.

This post is going to get really confusing so please have patience with me.

I have the Hauppage HVR-1600 with the beta QAM tuning device driver in my Vista PC and am able to tune to all my High Def local stations (plus the analog channels below 50).

BUT, my 2007 Model year Sharp LCD TV which has a QAM tuner in it does not seem to find those High def local channels.

I say seem because I can not figure out the channel numbering scheme that the TV is using so I went channel by channel looking for the local (CBS,NBC,etc) digital/high def stations and I probably missed spotting them.
There are a LOT of digital stations to go through one by one on this TV.

Why I say it is confusing is that unlike good old OTA where it was a simple mapping of station to a UHF channel number, the channel numbering method with cable seems to be whatever the manufacturer felt like doing.

For example:
My HVR-1600 in the Vista PC has ABC from Washington coming in on the Hauppauge WinTV2000 tuning/viewing application as channel 3009. Baltimore's ABC is channel 3026

My Sharp TV has all it's digital stations coming in on channels 63.x through 126.5 and I found the Local Standard Def ABC coming in on 70.3

Never found the CBS broadcast in 1080I of the Ravens Game Except of course if I used the HD DVR.

Does anyone have a clue as to what the channel map for a Sharp TV is?
Ie. Can anyone tell me what stations I could expect to see on what channel number?
Is this channel numbering truly different between manufactueres.

As I had said, I went channel by channel on the TV after having it do it's channel scan and was looking for the digital/High def stations with Zero success.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks

GeekGirl

09-16-07, 08:59 PM

FYI-

JoeQ - Just wanted to point out that AVS forum has a dedicated thread for recording the output of the STB over firewire: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695&page=139. You may be able to get some info over there.

phillyfisher - Broadband reports has a number of threads complaining about the ActionTec's (lack of) wireless coverage. Search this forum: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber. There's also a dedicated thread on using the ActionTec router as a bridge.

Jim Hef

09-17-07, 09:44 AM

because fios seems to mix in some sd chans with the set of HD chans starting at 810 for me.
You do realize that HD channels will have some 4:3 standard def programming at times? The HD Food Network is a dedicated channel, with specific programming for 16:9, but a channel like Turner will have standard def zoomed to fill the screen at times.

mchin247

09-17-07, 01:57 PM

They came and installed FIOS today. I can not wait to watch MNF.

GeekGirl

09-17-07, 07:05 PM

Dont' forget to get Merrill up and running on WYSP 94.1 FM. The only thing that can ruin it is the time delay between the HD broadcast and the audio. I've seen it run about 5 - 7 seconds ahead of the video.

Joe Q

09-17-07, 07:56 PM

FYI-

JoeQ - Just wanted to point out that AVS forum has a dedicated thread for recording the output of the STB over firewire: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695&page=139. You may be able to get some info over there.
.

Your response kind of lost me there. Not sure what your firewire answer has to do with me trying to understand the station numbering that I get on my TV when doing channel searches with it's built in QAM tuner.

In my post above, I stated that I already can record the non 5C enabled stations over fireiwire. For completeness, I should add that I can record everything to my JVC D-VHS becuase it handles the 5C flag and ensuing encryption codes.

Perhaps my mixing of subjects was confusing so let me try this again:

I am trying to setup my QAM capable TV as a standalone TV where I let it tune directly from the cable and have the sound come out of the internal speakers. NO STB's or anyhting.

When I do a channel scan, I can find stations but since there are so many that it is a daunting task to map the oddbal numbers to the proper station.

EG. 63.2 is WMPT

So to re-phrase,

Does anyone have a clue as to what the channel map for a Sharp TV is?
Ie. Can anyone tell me what stations I could expect to see on what channel number? OR
Is this channel numbering truly different between the TV manufactueres?
I would have assumed that it was a standard defined by each of the cable companies.

Thanks alot,
Joe

EricFinn

09-17-07, 08:06 PM

When I do a channel scan, I can find stations but since there are so many that it is a daunting task to map the oddbal numbers to the proper station.

EG. 63.2 is WMPT

So to re-phrase,

Does anyone have a clue as to what the channel map for a Sharp TV is?
Ie. Can anyone tell me what stations I could expect to see on what channel number? OR
Is this channel numbering truly different between the TV manufactueres?
I would have assumed that it was a standard defined by each of the cable companies.

Thanks alot,
Joe
Joe,

Its my understanding that the channel map is determined by the provider you're using, not the tv. All QAM capable tuners will find the same QAM channels (ie. 63.2 is WMPT) on the same station numbers. So what you need to find is the QAM in the clear channels that Verizon broadcasts. Providers can encrypt their QAM channels (usually reserved for the pay channels) so you may not find all of the channels you're expecting to find. I have no idea what channels Verizon FIOS broadcasts in the clear as I'm still stuck on Comcast. Just thought it might help to clarify what it is you're looking for here. Good luck.

HTH,
Eric

GeekGirl

09-17-07, 08:18 PM

JoeQ- I can't help you with the channel mapping, but there's a thread over on BroadBand Reports VerizonFiOS forum that indicates that the OTA channels, including HD, are in the clear. Some posts say that the HD channels are in the 8xx range, but I don't know if a tuner can go that high (don't have one connected at the moment): http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17678289-Why-no-unlocked-QAM~days=10~start=40

JerryR

09-19-07, 02:54 PM

I have been reading through your posts in here and you seem to really know what you are talking about so perhaps you can enlighten me on a few questions that I have.

Well, perhaps I know a bit about a small slice of stuff, but don't let that fool you into thinking I know what I'm talking about. But in any case, I'll try to answer your questions.

Two points of clarification from your post that I guess is just unique to the Anne Arundel FIOS feed.
NGCHD is NOT 5C protected so I can record this to my PC over Firewire. Do it al; the time for any of the 'keepers'
MTVHD is the same way.
I have not checked them all so there may be a few more.
Also, I am able to record ALL the local stations over firewire.

That's good to know. It sounds like Verizon's gotten that straightened out since I last tried to record over firewire (these days I just use it to change channels on the STB). These days I bypass the STB and record the QAM-encoded signal straight from the coax.

Back to the subject at hand:

I switched to FIOS about 2 months ago after being with Directv for 10 years and I did so for 1 reason - The GREAT picture quaility both on SD and particulary on HD that is almost identical to these eyes as my HDDVD player.

My TV is a 2007 model year Sharp 52" LCD.

I posted the following message on the dslreports forum so if folks (like JerryR) could read it and give me some insight, I woold really be appreciative.

My motivation was that All I wanted to do was to have the Ravens football game on while using my audio equipment to play some music as I worked on a little project I have been doing.
I have missed most of the game because I have been going around in circles trying to accomplish that.

--------------------edited --dslreports post-----------------------------
I am in Annapolis,MD and Verizon puts the Washington D.C. and the Baltimore locals on the fiber coming into my house.

This post is going to get really confusing so please have patience with me.

I have the Hauppage HVR-1600 with the beta QAM tuning device driver in my Vista PC and am able to tune to all my High Def local stations (plus the analog channels below 50).

BUT, my 2007 Model year Sharp LCD TV which has a QAM tuner in it does not seem to find those High def local channels.

I say seem because I can not figure out the channel numbering scheme that the TV is using so I went channel by channel looking for the local (CBS,NBC,etc) digital/high def stations and I probably missed spotting them.
There are a LOT of digital stations to go through one by one on this TV.

Why I say it is confusing is that unlike good old OTA where it was a simple mapping of station to a UHF channel number, the channel numbering method with cable seems to be whatever the manufacturer felt like doing.

For example:
My HVR-1600 in the Vista PC has ABC from Washington coming in on the Hauppauge WinTV2000 tuning/viewing application as channel 3009. Baltimore's ABC is channel 3026

My Sharp TV has all it's digital stations coming in on channels 63.x through 126.5 and I found the Local Standard Def ABC coming in on 70.3

Never found the CBS broadcast in 1080I of the Ravens Game Except of course if I used the HD DVR.

Does anyone have a clue as to what the channel map for a Sharp TV is?
Ie. Can anyone tell me what stations I could expect to see on what channel number?
Is this channel numbering truly different between manufactueres.

As I had said, I went channel by channel on the TV after having it do it's channel scan and was looking for the digital/High def stations with Zero success.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks

The "channel numbers" you see on your Sharp are really frequencies and subchannel numbers. So 70.3 means frequency 70, subchannel 3. At any given frequency there may be a number of different subchannels corresponding to totally different "real" channels. Which "real" channels are on which frequency/subchannel totally depends on how the cable/phone company has decided to map them. It has no correlation with the OTA channel numbers or the STB channel numbers. And you never know when the provider may decide to switch a channel from one position to another (although in my experience this happens rarely).

Another thing to note (and perhaps you already know this) is that Vista has built-in DRM that is able to decrypt encrypted channels if you are authorized. So channels you may be able to see through the computer under Vista may be unrecognizable garbage through the TV.

Are there any configuration options on the TV when you do the channel scan? For me, I recall all the SD stations were in the 55-60s range, and the HD stations were in the 70s. I had to find them by doing a channel scan on my computer and then tuning to each station it thought it found and figuring out what station it actually was (if it indeed wasn't a false positive). What you might try is figure out if whatever program you used on your computer stored a configuration file after it did its channel scan that is readable and contains the frequency mappings. Other than that, you'll just have to go to the stations it found one at a time.

HTH,
Jerry

GeekGirl

09-19-07, 08:13 PM

The FiOS Tutorial channel 111 is now showing a graphic "The New FiOS TV is Here". Thread started on broadband reports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19096874-IMG-20-SouthEast-PA-Southern-NJ-DE#19103854

Quatre

09-24-07, 11:25 PM

my fios hd dvr box keeps resetting the 4:3 over ride setting to off which makes all sd chans 4:3 and is very annoying.

fios dvr freezes all the time and has trouble with conflicts and many other shortcomings that comcast either never had or fixed years ago.

fios still has no swap button still and like i said many other problems and shortcomiings that comcats either never had or fixed long time ago.

fios dvr is very behind and deficient. sucks

may have to switch back at some point soon, just have to find a way out of the rediculous etf

Butter

09-26-07, 10:42 PM

If anyone is watching this new NBC show "Life", are you seeing faint horizontal yellowish lines every now and then during the program? It's almost like they're trying to make it look like film with the flickering grain or something.
Other channels are fine. And the prior show "Bionic Woman" (dumb show) looked ok.

Pioneer 1140HD
FiOS home media STB
Component video hookup through Denon 3805

etcarroll

09-27-07, 10:09 AM

Yes - and via HDTV OTA, not Comcast, which leads me to beleive its an 'upstream' issue.

mellomanpr

09-27-07, 12:00 PM

Is anyone else having audio/video sync issues with NBC HD? It's as bad as the TNT HD channel for me. I can see it while watching Heroes, Journeyman, Bionic Woman and pretty much anything on that station. Am I the only one having this problem??? Is this an issued with the feed coming from Philly? If so, who do I contact to get this resolved, Verizon or the local NBC affiliate?

I live in Bensalem,PA (Lower Bucks County). I have a Pioneer 5070 HDTV and it's connected to my FIOS DVR via component cables.

Butter

09-27-07, 08:44 PM

mrjgkelly

09-29-07, 08:16 PM

Does anyone know if this program guide "upgrade" will include adding HD VOD content. I've received the phone calls and brochureware in the mail about the upgrade, but it doesn't mention anything about it, and it's the one thing that Comcast has that FIOS doesn't.

jeepmatt

09-30-07, 06:59 AM

Hey kids-
After all the fiascos i've gone through - finally another screwed up bill on Friday put me over the edge. Comcast is coming out Monday to re-install a line - and i'll be doing a 1 month trial to check out how much better they've gotten in the 2 years since i've last been a customer.

I can only take so much.

GeekGirl

09-30-07, 05:07 PM

At least you can watch the Phillies in HD. Phillies web site is listing TBS for playoff coverage starting October 3. Verizon starts TBS-HD next year (according to the posts on Broadband Reports). Was at the game on Saturday for a "reference" against the PQ on CSN-HD.

Post back on results. Cost of TV service is the only thing keeping me from switching back. Assuming that they fixed the distribution amps (system way over capacity for bandwidth - needed serious upgrade).

FYI - there's some sort of movie free-view going. Caught it on the scroller for the Weatherscan local (49). Not that they would send a message to the STB about it. Don't really care anyway.

GeekGirl

10-01-07, 08:07 PM

Heads-up: Phillies game is listed on the MLB web site for 3 PM start time. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=phi.

jeepmatt

10-02-07, 07:12 AM

Geek-
Stop on by to watch TBS-HD at my place. Comcast install went great yesterday. PQ is much better than what it was 2 years ago.

Let me know if you want in on the Comcast kool-aid. I can hook you up :D

BTW - TBS HD looked great last night.

sharerware

10-02-07, 09:47 AM

FYI, Verizon FIOS TV service is now available where I live in Lower Frederick Township (Schwenksville), PA. I've been waiting for the TV service for about a year since I signed up for the FIOS internet service. I can now finally be rid of Comcast forever. :p

jhav

10-03-07, 10:35 AM

Just posted this in the Verizon Master Thread --- thought it made sense to post here as well....

Hi all,
I am also in Philadelphia and, as a Verizon subscriber, will be HD-less through the NLCS. There is an article in today's USA TODAY that discusses the MLB move to TBS. Though the primary focus of the article is the move of playoff coverage from OTA to cable, we frustrated fans are presented with an opportunity to take our argument to the press.

On the USA TODAY online front page of the sports section (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/default.htm) there is a link where you can click to write about your unhappiness with the current TBS situation. This presents us all with an opportunity to have our voices heard, and to force MLB, TBS, Verizon, others to answer for this debacle in this press. If you are as PO'd as me, I encourage you to take the time to express your dismay.

I just submitted the following email:

To whom it may concern:

As a Verizon FiOS TV subscriber in suburban Philadelphia, I do not, and have been told that I will not have access to TBS-HD for the MLB playoffs. It is hard to believe that for the one time that my beloved Phillies make the playoffs in 14 years, I'll be reduced to watching them in the same standard definition quality that I saw in 1993. It is utterly ridiculous that in 2007, everybody in the US with an HDTV and a cable/satellite provider that offers HD programming will not have access to watch the 2007 MLB playoffs in glorious HD.

While I applaud DirecTV, Comcast, and others for launching TBS-HD immediately prior to the playoffs (in some instances, the channel was added this AM), other providers (Verizon & Dish Network to name two) were unable, unwilling, or perhaps ignorant to the ramifications of not launching TBS-HD. While these providers are certainly at fault , I cannot understand why MLB/Turner would choose to rush out a brand new HD channel for TBS literally hours/days before the playoffs --- for the sake of simplicity and accommodation, wouldn't it have been just as easy to broadcast the games on TNT-HD as TNT-HD is already universally available through most, if not all, cable & satellite providers.

The Little League World Series in available in HD, but not the MLB playoffs!?!?! MLB and TBS should be ashamed for their poor planning and execution.... Verizon and the other providers that failed to launch TBS-HD in time for the playoffs should be equally criticized for their lack of proactivity on behalf of their customer base. It is an embarrassment to MLB that, in 2007, many fans will be left in the dark when it comes to HD for the playoffs.

If we make enough noise, we may still not get what we want (the playoffs in HD for 2007), but at least MLB, TBS, Verizon, etc. will have to answer for this debacle in the press... Let 'em have it!

GO PHILS!

gerall

10-03-07, 11:06 AM

mellomanpr

10-03-07, 11:06 AM

Yep - I noticed the audio sync problem as well. For me the video was ahead of the audio, so I couldn't use the audio delay in the receiver.

In the past when I've had this, I call the local affiliate (like NBC10).

Hey Butter, what number did you call for the local NBC affiliate? Did they realize that it was a problem? I'm still seeing it and have resorted to recording all my NBC programming in SD...which is like 7 shows!!!

OWENF

10-03-07, 11:36 AM

The real crime is that it is not available ota in Philly
Owenf

GeekGirl

10-03-07, 06:27 PM

gerall - No matter which way you go, you will still need the coax installed. It's a wash from that perspective. Comcast's long-term plan is to eliminate the analog channels (or at least remove a lot of them) to force you to use a Set-Top Box (STB). The difficulty of installing an STB is about 5 minutes work.

The only additional labor is for Verizon to install the Optical Network Terminal, Router, etc. in which they do everything.

To partially answer your question, FiOS carries channels 2 - 49 (SD) as QAM. I'm not sure if the HD channels are in the clear, but Broadband Reports has a thread with a QAM map of the Washington DC area (also a link to Reading PA). HD is there. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19170983-QAM-Channel-Use-Analysis~days=10

If I have time, I'll do a scan this weekend.

GeekGirl

10-03-07, 06:35 PM

Aside from the loss :(, the PQ from TBS was really hazy and I couldn't figure out why. Then they showed the Sharp ad on the green screen backstop. Black was perfect. It's the video mixing with the graphics. It's more apparent when they were showing ads with red in them (Phils are red).

I like the player score boxes. The announcers weren't bad, they seemed OK as impartial. Tuned to WPHT 1210 AM and heard Harry just fine. Couldn't listen to it because it was over 5 S in advance of the video.

I'd like to compare it to the HD version, but my buddy in Wilmington was getting his FiOS install today (from ComCast). Waiting to hear what happened.

jeepmatt

10-03-07, 07:20 PM

Geek-
TBS-HD looked great today on Comcast (yes, aside from the score).

Very sharp - better than ESPN looks.

GeekGirl

10-03-07, 07:49 PM

Thanks. Good info. I got an offer from the guy who set you up. Told him I'd give him a shout at the end of January, when my 1 year service agreement is up.

(moved from broadband reports) So the SD PQ is about the same? What about the rest of the channels? Don't forget to go into the diagnostics menu and compare the SNR and error counts. You might want to see how close you are running on the edge.

Update- answer over on broadband reports, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19187015-Philadelphia-Tiling-on-CN-TBS~days=10~start=20: Ironically, even at the end of a line - all my levels are great. SNR's in 35-36 range - no errors.

Quatre

10-03-07, 08:38 PM

I live in Yardley and am looking for a backup to OTA, HD locals, either fios or comcast. Am interested in both NJT and HYY PBS HDs, and it appears as though fios carries these, but comcast does not. Question: Will my QAM tuner with a direct coax feed receive the HD locals with a limited basic package with fios as it does with comcast? My home is not wired for cable - Geekgirl states that PQ is better with fios, but the install with comcast might be easier for just a basic package. Any thoughts? THanks

no, that is one of the major drawbacks of fios, you cannot get any digital channels through just coax with fios. in fact you only get the local channels like and some ppl like myself dont even really get those, I get like one channel.

This one of the main reasons why I kept comcast for my tvs in side rooms without boxes and I kept one comcast hd dvr box for hd on demand. this obvioulsy doesn't make much sense financially though and i've been deliberating on what to do and for fios to get better, for the digital and ota hd chans through coax or lack there of with fios to not matter, and for fios to get hd on demand which they still dont.

no TBS in HD for the Phils playoffs is the last straw for me to get rid of fios after having it for less then a year.

I couldn't go back to just comcast though so I went with DirecTV which already has more HD chans then the other 2 at 60 now and will have the 150 HD chans by the end of Dec. at which point the price will go up so its good to get locked in now at the current pricing which i'll be grandfathered in with even when the price goes up when they get the 150 hd chans.

if it doesn't work out i can just go back to comcast, but dtv is worth a try and i'll prob still keep comcast for the ond hd dvr box for hd on demand and for all the digi and ota hd chans through coax. If I see I can still get those with dtv (i doubt it though, unless it still just works after i get rid of comcast) and when dtv gets their on demand (supposed to be mid Nov. but might be a little delayed) then I wont need comcast anymore at all.

Fios was and is a dud. they've lost a ton of money on fios tv and they prob wont continue to fund it from other verizon departments for long.

my comcast picture is just as good or better then my fios picture so that was all bs.

The pq for the Phils on TBS (SD chan) not only wasn't HD obviously but it looked downright terrible. The big (and really only selling point of Fios) was that the SD chans would look better (as the HD was supposedly only slightly and not really noticeably better). WEll I have found the opposite fios sd chans look worse then comcast and same with HD.

I"m going to dispute the FIOS etf fee as hard as possible as they've sucked every step of the way and we've not been satisfied with the service even after sticking with it for almost a year which should have been enough time for them to get their act together.

i'm hoping the direct tv tech can transfer the shows from one of our dvrs to the new dtv box but i doubt it.

GeekGirl

10-03-07, 09:15 PM

So if ComCast were to release Sportsnet on DirecTV, I'd have a reason to drop Verizon FiOS. That's the only thing holding me back. And the trees blocking anything west of 110 deg orbital slots.

JerryR

10-04-07, 09:16 AM

no, that is one of the major drawbacks of fios, you cannot get any digital channels through just coax with fios. in fact you only get the local channels like and some ppl like myself dont even really get those, I get like one channel.

That's not quite correct, or at least it doesn't answer gerall's question correctly. If you aren't using a set top box and only have an analog tuner in your tv, yes, you can only receive channels 2-49, and nothing else.

However if your tv has a QAM tuner, you can receive all the 800-level HD channels that are local (i.e. no TNT-HD, FOOD-HD, etc, but you can receive the HD versions of WCAU, WTXF, etc). I myself don't have a QAM tuner in my tv, but I do in my computer, and that's what I use to record all the HD shows I watch.

-Jerry

Quatre

10-04-07, 03:28 PM

Quatre

10-04-07, 03:39 PM

as the person a few posts up said. only chans 2-49 are qam with fios & no hd. with comcast you get more then that without qam & even more including hd with it.

Butter

10-04-07, 05:24 PM

mellomanpr,
Sorry but that was a couple years ago, when ABC (I think) ran an episode of Mighty Joe Young and all the dialogue was coming out of Left Rear or something. Just try the Affiliate general number, request the operator, and ask for engineering to report a technical problem.
Butter

GeekGirl

10-04-07, 08:44 PM

Today's Phillies game on TBS seemed to have a severe amount of compression, like watching an internet stream. Stuttering and audio dropouts. The amount of compression (blurring, blockiness) seemed to change with the camera shot angle. Are they packet shaping? Maybe I'm seeing changes over time. In any case, PQ stunk.

The TBS studio commentators, Cal Ripken and The Big Hurt, had excellent discussions on pitching sequences.

HDNet Hockey is back! PQ is superb.

Quatre

10-08-07, 03:28 AM

phillies suck chocked and got swept but fios tbs sd sucked also. luckily i watched them lose in HD on comcat.

canceling fios tv this week for dtv this week. 60+ hd chans here i come and 150 in dec.

GeekGirl

10-08-07, 09:10 PM

Good luck watching the Flyers, Sixers (if I cared about b-ball), Phillies on dtv. My contract is up in February. We'll see if ComCast upgraded the system in my area by then.

ESPN-HD just showed a Verizon FiOS On-Demand ad that was in SD with a really poor PQ. Unbelievable.

There are 4 ways to watch TV (5 providers): OTA, cable, fiber-optic, Dish (sat), DirecTV (sat). Pick your poison(s). Competition is good.

Quatre

10-09-07, 02:30 AM

what exactly isnt on dtv? no comcast sportsnet? that would suck somewhat as even fios has that. and we dvr the penn state football story on that chan i believe. but we will have the big ten network with dtv. but obviously will miss the philly sports team coverage (flyers, sixers as u mentioned)

i think ive heard now CW philly in hd on dtv? that wouldnt be good because e dvr smallville on tha chan in hd.

also i was wondering about g4 tech tv which i dvr a lot of shows on and is owned by comcast but is on fios s well. if dtv doesnt have G4 that could be a deal breaker. im assuming comast would be the first to make that chan HD (which woul rock) since they own it.

id really like to see a break down of the difference in hd offerings by these 3 especially comcast & fios. ie. no tbs-hd, usa hd, mojo etc on fios & no hdnet & hdnet movies on comcast. just to see which ones they both dont have.

then of course the hd chans on dtv. we know its more but does it have all the other ones the other 2 have & then some or is it missing a few the other 2 have while having many others that noon cares as much. i realize dtv amps up their hd chan offering number with a bunch of fsn & other redundant sports hd chans but there has to be more legit ones then the other 2 (comcast & fios) have. i guess comast sportsnet has an sd & hd chan so if dtv doesnt have that is an hd chan right there it doesnt have & in general a useful chan missing from their lineup & something to take into consideration when considering dtv

again also to take into consideration any other strictly sd chans that may be missing from dtv. does dtv have G4 or not.

either way i figure dtv is worth a try & if it doesnt work out we'll just go back to where we started before fios.....with comcast..

JerryR

10-09-07, 10:39 AM

i think you might be mitaken. i have qam tuner in my tv & couldnt get any channels with fios but can with comcast.

but either way the point is you wont pick up all the channels with a tv that doesnt have the tuner & in a side room with no boxb minimal use you are usually going to have a tv that doesnt have the qam tuner.

I record network SD and HD shows from my fios coax every day, no set top box involved, using a qam tuner, so I'm fairly certain I'm correct. I'm in West Chester, but I don't think that makes any difference. If your tv isn't decoding qam-256, or has some other kind of limitation (which I've read can happen with older tuners), potentially you might not be able to receive all the channels I suppose.

Quatre

10-10-07, 03:57 AM

ok well i know for a fact that you can't get many if any channels on other tvs with no qam tuner with fios. where as with fios you can get all the basic channels through coax on a tv without a box and without qam tuner.

in side rooms that you dont watch much tv and dont have a box you are usually going to have an older tv. even flat screens from a couple years ago dont have qam tuners so that is a bit of a con for fios to not be able to get those channels without qam.

further are you saying you get just as many channels through qam with fios as you do with comcast? Because I thought that wasn't true and not sure if you are just dancing around the question by saying that you do in fact get some chans with fios through coax using qam.

can't seem to get a straight answer but i'm thinking you dont get as many through qam on fios as you do with comcast but if so and they are equal there then that is good for fios.

but fios still seems to be clearly right not as good as comcast or dtv.

to add to the list of hd chans that fios doenst have that even comcast has is A&E HD, let alone all the hd chans that dtv has and is getting that neither of the other 2 has.

JerryR

10-10-07, 12:45 PM

further are you saying you get just as many channels through qam with fios as you do with comcast? Because I thought that wasn't true and not sure if you are just dancing around the question by saying that you do in fact get some chans with fios through coax using qam.

can't seem to get a straight answer but i'm thinking you dont get as many through qam on fios as you do with comcast but if so and they are equal there then that is good for fios.

Ok, here's the straight answer. :)

Through the QAM card in my computer, I get all the channels below 50, The Tube, NBC weather plus, two ABC digital subchannels, ABC-HD, CBS-HD, NBC-HD, FOX-HD, CW-HD, myPhl-HD, WHYY-HD (plus WHYY Arts and another subchannel), and a couple NJTs. So basically 810 through 817 and 860 through 877. The music-only channels also seem to be available this way, but I've never tried to receive them (but they were detected).

I think I used to be able to get pretty much the same set through Comcast, but that was a while ago, and I think at the time I was getting signal through firewire as my primary input, so I'm not positive on this.

Most of these channels are also available through the firewire output of the set top box, with two or three exceptions (as of the beginning of this year - since QAM was working for me I haven't tried firewire again since then). Neither Fios nor Comcast transmits any of the other channels (50 through 799 plus the 800-level channels I haven't mentioned here) through firewire. I believe that since I'm paying for these channels I should be able to record them, but they don't do what I tell them.

Quatre

10-10-07, 02:58 PM

JerryR

10-10-07, 04:44 PM

you cant cpy/transfer or record using firewire from fios box even hough legally they re suppoed to enable that.

comcast complied b you can with them but no with fios.

sorry but you just brought up one more con of fios & reason to not like them.

and for the guy who beat around the bush regardin wha channels u get without stb. you get none with fios unless you have qam capabl tv while with comcast you still get all the basic cable channels including mtv etc.

and even with qam capable tv it sounds like you get more with comcast then ios so nice rying confusing the info to make fios sound better.

I'm not trying to boost or bash either company. I'm just relating my experiences, having had both. To respond to your latest points:

1. With the HD set top box I got from Verizon (QIP-6200), firewire was enabled for me by default without my having to ask (this was in January, I think). As I said, I haven't used the firewire output lately, so I have no idea what's available through it now, but I do know the port is active because that's how my computer tells the set top box to change channels. Also as of January, there were two or three channels that Verizon was not putting on the firewire unencrypted (which it should have been, according to the FCC). I don't know what the situation is lately.

2. I never beat around around the bush. I'm not sure why you're attacking me. On Verizon, without QAM, without a set top box, you get all channels below 50 in analog. I have two analog tvs connected this way. On Comcast, a bunch more channels are available in analog, as you say. I hadn't commented on this one way or the other before now because we'd been talking about QAM, not analog. I've heard a lot of people predict that this won't last as they get squeezed for bandwidth, that they'll end up switching all the non-broadcast channels to digital as well.

3. What extra channels do you get through QAM on Comcast that you don't get with Verizon? I'm not denying it, I'm just asking because I don't know what the situation is lately.

Quatre

10-10-07, 11:54 PM

well as far as analog, we didn't get any analog chans really except one with bad reception and the fios techs thought that was normal so i changed it back to a comcast line there and got all basic cable chans.

so when you say all analog below 50, maybe its suppsed to get 3, 6,10, 17,29 locals but it doenst even get those.

qam i'm not totally sure but from what i've heard and seen you get more through comcastjust in general total through coax.

timatraw

10-14-07, 08:23 PM

jeepmatt

10-15-07, 06:43 AM

I am thinking about switching from Comcast to FIOS for internet service.
I am reading about problems with the TV service and am concerned that The internet service is also bad. How is FIOS for internet?
Thanks
Tim

Tim-
Internet is fine. And this is coming from the mouth of the person that had the "worst" TV problems. Go for it.

Chazcdc54

10-15-07, 12:40 PM

This is a posting for my neighbor, JerryR over in West Chester and any other interested Chester County, PA folk. I live in the Caln/Thorndale area (between Coatesville & Downingtown). I've been reading most of this thread and found it rather enlightening.

I've had Verizon FIOS since the beginning of this year for phone/internet and I'm quite pleased with it moving up from DSL, which was not that bad. However, the FIOS TV service for some reason is still pending.

I actually spoke with a "Media Specialist/Liason" at the Caln Township Office and he said a franchise agreement was signed over a year ago in Sept of '06. The hold up apparently has to do with the establishment or upgrade of a distribution or some other hardware junction in Downingtown. Projected completion end of this year.

A question for you sir: I hear West Chester and Exton have their FIOS TV and I was wondering if you've heard any scuttlebut about this service in my area? I don't know where to get more detailed information and what might be done to expedite it. Querying Verizon gets me nowwhere and the twshp guy has no further info (that was mid summer by the way).

I bought a lot of new HD home theater equipment this summer and this is the last piece to the puzzle for me. I have had Comcast analog (no STB) for some years now and find the quality of service declining. I particularly despise watching AMC or TCM films with such overcompressed transmissions that most of the movie is filled with jerky motion and occasional pixelation.

I have an exisiting TiVo Series 2 for my DVR needs but plan on a new TiVo HD box prior to installing the TV service when it happens. I also hope to go the Cable Card route. Do you use their STBs or CC's and if the former, any review or comment on their new software interface I recently saw demoed.

Thanks for any feedback. :)

JerryR

10-15-07, 03:34 PM

Quatre - that's weird that you can't get the analog channels (by which I mean the lower-numbered, non-QAM channels that are the over-the-air broadcast channels, like network and local PBS, etc). Is your tv's tuner set for cable frequencies (as opposed to antenna frequencies)? Hm, no, you said when you swapped with the Comcast cable it get them all. No, I have no idea why you couldn't get them, but they all come in as just about as clearly for me straight from the cable as they do through the set top box.

Tim - I'll second jeepmatt's opinion about FIOS internet. No speed problems or lapses in service.

Chaz - Howdy, neighbor. Here's a web site that lists FIOS internet and TV availability in various PA townships, as well as franchise approval status:

http://www.fiberexperts.com/pennsylvania-fios.html

Unfortunately it doesn't report on scuttlebut, and I myself haven't heard anything about that area.

I have the Motorola QIP-6200, which is almost identical to Comcast's HD STB, the Motorola 6200 (no QIP). I haven't received the updated software yet, so I don't really know the answer to that question.

-Jerry

GeekGirl

10-15-07, 10:06 PM

Anybody see Versus drop the entire audio / video carrier this evening for about 5 seconds? Not sure of the exact time, but I think it was early in the 1st period of the Leafs / Sabres game. Swapping around between Versus, TBS, and ESPN-HD tonight.

What happened with no Versus HD this year? Last year it was on HDNet, but can't seem to find Versus HD anywhere, unless I missed it. I'm really gonna be upset if the Flyers game is only on Versus - SD tomorrow night.

Took a look at ComCast pricing, it's almost double what I'm paying for Verizon right now. Not counting the special offers right now, because my contract is up in February.

Chazcdc54

10-16-07, 07:52 AM

Thanks for the Fiberexperts link Jerry! Unfortunately, there is no date stamp anywhere on the page. I mention this as my township is NOT listed as having the Franchise approved in our area when I know this to be true. The township's quarterly newsletter this past summer mentioned the signing in Sept. of 2006 and my conversation with an actual person in the know in their offices verified that.

I seriously believe that website is suspect. One doesn't know how often they update (not that often apparently). Not your fault. Just a word to the wise out there not to take this data at face value. Interestingly, if one clicks on any township listed you are taken to Verizon's FIOS site. This looks like some marketing tool by Verizon.

I guess I can only continue to bug Verizon and maybe I will reach someone with more specific info on my situation soon. Must be nice to have the service. :( I wonder why we can't have it when we have the internet/phone service already. Can anyone answer me that one? :mad:

Jim Hef

10-16-07, 12:30 PM

Chaz, I had the internet/phone service for almost two years before the TV service was available here. And, that was after almost a year since the Township's signing of the agreement with Verizon. Be patient, they are slow to enact after teasing us with signed franchise agreements!

GeekGirl, many channels were dropping out over the weekend for some reason. I noticed it while playing channel roulette for many of the sports programming.

kdos

10-16-07, 02:03 PM

I'm also in Yardley, PA.....Was a satisfied Comcast customer for years (both internet and TV) with only relatively minor issues....About 6 months ago developed a tiling/pixelating issue on both of my HD sets, both with dvr boxes....Comcast has been out countless times, and have replaced internal and external wires, etc, etc,....In their defense, they have tried, but have been unable to completely resolve the issue....Although an intermittant problem, it persists....Finally making the jump to FIOS for all services, with installation next week....Will I regret it??

Chazcdc54

10-16-07, 04:17 PM

Jim, did you ever happen to ask them why the excessive wait in rolling out the TV service when one has the bulk of the install done as an Internet/Phone customer, particularly since they've had the go ahead for some time?

I have an existing network of coax cable put in years ago (90s) by Comcast coming off a splitter in my basement near where my ONT is installed. Since I won't be using VOD or PPV I won't need the connection with my network router. I have just 3 TVs. From what I can see all I need are the STBs (2) setup (cable cards for my primary display) and I'm there.

I may have my existing cable tested. Unless attenuators or replacement cable is needed, I'm practically ready to go other than hooking this stuff up and making sure it all works, but that could be a hassle I guess.

I just wonder what is the issue. What else is needed "elsewhere" away from my house that would hold up the completion of this project? I really think they love jerking us around. They may be losing customers to Comcast or DirectTV as a result as well. Wake up Verizon!

GeekGirl

10-16-07, 07:04 PM

kdos - That's why I went for Verizon. The system is way over-capacity and bits are literally getting pushed off the deep end. Hence the pixelation. They only way they can fix it is to upgrade / rebalance the hardware on the pole. If it hasn't been done by now for the Yardley area, I'm seriously considering to stay the course with Verizon. My agreement is up in February. Comcast is nearly 2x the cost, so there's not much incentive to switch back. Only driver here is if Verizon somehow drops Sportsnet. I'm missing a lot of hockey, but I'm not at the switchover point yet.

The difference from Comcast to Verizon is significant. Much better on FiOS, despite the recent perceived drop in PQ since last year. Comcast Sportsnet in HD looks even better. You'll like HDNet.

JerryR

10-16-07, 09:26 PM

I have an existing network of coax cable put in years ago (90s) by Comcast coming off a splitter in my basement near where my ONT is installed. Since I won't be using VOD or PPV I won't need the connection with my network router. I have just 3 TVs. From what I can see all I need are the STBs (2) setup (cable cards for my primary display) and I'm there.

Chaz, I believe you still need the coax connection to the router, or else you won't get program guide data on your STBs. The router sucks the guide data off the internet and injects it onto the coax.

-Jerry

GeekGirl

10-16-07, 09:47 PM

kdos

10-17-07, 08:35 AM

GeekGirl....Thanks....Install sched. for Sunday....I'll update after a week or so of viewing

kdos

10-17-07, 08:46 AM

GeekGirl and others...Just went to the DSLreports forum that GeekGirl hyperlinked above....Seems like the same tiling issues that plagued me with Comcast are just as prevelant with FiOS....Is it still bad?

Chazcdc54

10-17-07, 01:21 PM

Geekgirl. I used to have a Linksys router but ended up using the supplied ActionTec router from Verizon when I got FIOS internet/phone earlier this year. So, I'm set.

This router appears to be fine. I was initially concerned as to whether I would have a problem with my TiVo wireless adaptor "talking" with this router as I'm not familiar with this brand and their website is of little help.

In any case my worries turned out groundless thankfully. Performance is good.

Jim Hef

10-17-07, 03:39 PM

...Seems like the same tiling issues that plagued me with Comcast are just as prevelant with FiOS....
In my case here in Yardley, it's only an intermittent problem, with some tiling and audio dropouts occasionally. With Comcast, I had it constantly. My area was completely rebuilt by Comcast, stringing new lines, and replacing all the equipment. My neighbors tell me there's still some problems with the service. FiOS is definitely has better picture quality, and I've never had a drop out with my internet service, and have had that for a few years now. Although, it replaced Verizon DSL, so I can't speak to the Comcast internet service.

GeekGirl

10-17-07, 08:12 PM

ditto. Although I'm not sure if Comcast upgraded beyond 750 MHz in my neighborhood (where they were last year).

kdos

10-18-07, 08:58 AM

Thanks.....with a MUCH cheaper monthly, should be "tolerable" at the least...Hopefully the install goes smooth....Thanks again for your insight

jeepmatt

10-19-07, 06:19 AM

Kdos-
I just went through 8 months of complete hell with FIOS TV in North Wilmington. Be prepared for tiling, random channels missing some days, billing issues - I could go on.

I'm back on Comcast now for 2 weeks and haven't had 1 single issue.

Just warning you.

kdos

10-19-07, 09:51 AM

:eek:.....FiOS install sched for Sunday....I figure my Comcast experience has deteriorated so nothing to lose....At least that's what I'm telling myself!!:confused:....I'll post back soon.....30 day "trial" period may come in handy

GeekGirl

10-20-07, 09:58 PM

During tonight's Flyers game, they highlighted the new overhead HD goalie cams. The purpose was for the NHL officials in Toronto to better review replays around the goal net. They said it made a big difference in what they were looking at. No kidding.

After the overtime win :), they showed the view from the overhead HD camera. Amazing PQ, as I could see the NHL logo on the puck as it rolled past the 'Canes goalie into the net.

All NHL arenas must have the HD cams installed by the end of the month (according to Jim Jackson during the game).

GeekGirl

10-20-07, 10:07 PM

The ALCS game PQ on FOX tonight is the best I've seen so far. Are they broadcasting in 1080i? My TV won't tell me the format and that's the only thing I can think of that will give that kind of PQ (1080i native format).

newsman

10-20-07, 11:56 PM

howwen

10-21-07, 11:21 AM

Did anyone else watching CSN-HD on FiOS notice popping and cracking on the audio? It seemed to lessen as the game went on. I also noticed that the audio mix puts the play by play in center channel only, so a pretty cool effect is to lower the center channel and listen to the ambient sound in the other channels.

GeekGirl

10-24-07, 10:19 PM

Kudos to Comcast for covering tonight's Flyers game in true widescreen format. Not HD, but looks like 480 line-doubled like FOX did before they went 720p.

The SD channel was clipped from the HD version to fit 4:3. That's the best PQ in SD I've seen (if I didn't have HD). Nice production.

They probably were trading available bandwidth vs. data rate to fit 16:9. Looks like they got a good compromise. Fills my request for better game coverage. That's first. Next, up the PQ. That's a lot harder (cost).

-> Can they please continue this for the remaining road trip? I'd ask for all the road games, but first things first.

GeekGirl

10-25-07, 10:15 PM

mikelets456

10-26-07, 10:57 AM

Thanks to Comcast for announcing the *widescreen* format for tonight's Flyers game. Don't go back to upscaling SD for the HD channel. I like the 16:9 perspective (2.35:1 for rink dimensions, close to DVD aspect ratio!) and was satisfied with the improvement in PQ. Until I watched tonight's Pens vs. Leafs game on HDNet...

I noticed that as well. I'm watching the Flyers in "HD" on CSN and was thinking this looks like 480P 16:9 then I switched to the game on "HDNET" and my wife was like "wow, that's really clear"!!! We switched back to the Flyers and she actually said "it looks blurry". So my wife who has "no clue" about HD technology noticed a difference immediately.:mad:

Jim Hef

10-29-07, 03:47 PM

...I like the 16:9 perspective (2.35:1 for rink dimensions....
Although 16:9 = 1.78:1! Still, it's a nicer deal, and when it's truly high-def, so much more enjoyable.

zuzu_

11-01-07, 04:38 PM

The signal out of the ONT is about 10 dB stronger than what you get at the home entrance with Comcast. No need to worry about splitters. Verizon supplies all the parts, including the ActionTec router, which is a good firewall router. It uses MoCA (RF) on the input. Give it a shot. If you still want to use your own router, you'll need to setup the ActionTec as a bridge.

In what world is the Actiontec router a "good router"?!?!

You do not need to use the Actiontec router unless want MoCA (which is defacto proprietary) support for Video on Demand (VoD). You can use any router, such as a good DD-WRT supported router such as the Linksys WRT54GL for $60. It will connect on the WAN via PPPoE (which I've been told is now a legacy feature, which does not actually authenticate the login/pass, and really the ONT supplies standard DHCP for your WAN IP address).
The Actiontec router is one that Verizon remotely administers. People should worry that Verizon can spy on all of your LAN activity in this fashion. This could include collecting data for deep packet inspection (DPI) / packet shaping. In other words, it should be considered an untrusted device.
Anecdotally I've heard (though haven't yet reviewed the forums here) that it overheats and freezes under heavy loads.

zuzu_

11-01-07, 05:10 PM

To partially answer your question, FiOS carries channels 2 - 49 (SD) as QAM. I'm not sure if the HD channels are in the clear, but Broadband Reports has a thread with a QAM map of the Washington DC area (also a link to Reading PA). HD is there.
FiOS provides not just SD (480p) versions of the analog signal, but also HDTV (720p/1080i) versions of all the OTA channels, as well as all the subcarrier OTA channels in SD (e.g. WCSN, formerly The Tube on myPHL, ABC News, NBC Weather, etc.) WGN Superstation, Bridges, Telemundo, Univision, WMCN, and the EXPO channel are also provided in SD (480p). The Weather Channel and Weatherscan are provided in SD digital, as is NPTV in the North Wales / Lansdale area. All of the Music Choice and URGE Music "radio" stations are also included in the "Local Plus" digital TV package. These are all delivered in Clear QAM (256).

However, as of approximately 6 weeks ago the audio portion of the digital MPEG-2 transport stream (QAM) for the WGN Superstation and The Weather Channel has stopped working. (It had been working before then since the FiOS TV service was first made available here; approximately a year.) I haven't yet performed my own audit of the transport stream to determine if the audio portion is merely corrupted or completely absent. Sound still works on the analog versions thereof. Although, when Verizon runs a FiOS ad on The Weather Channel, sound does work then. Resolving this issue with Verizon has been laborious to say the least because they want coerce all subscribers into renting their set-top cablebox as a loophole to regulations on pricing for the content itself; I've had to argue against countless lies that "you don't get digital, just analog" and "the problem is with your tuner" (although I have confirmed this problem with several different QAM tuners).

Has anyone one else had this problem or managed to resolve it? Any additional information or insight would be appreciated.

p.s. I was told by one Verizon representative in their "fibre solutions" (technical support) that they add a "broadcast flag" into the transport streams. I know that the PMT header in the MPEG-2 TS they send is so padded with information that it spans multiple packets (very unusual for the format). Presumably this is read by their receiver box to perform actions such as delete recorded shows after a certain date or to prevent fast-forwarding in recorded shows, which other users have complained about.

p.p.s. Verizon technical support centers in Texas, Illinois, and Florida use the Slingbox to view channels in your locale. This is why they ask you "what channel?" for a particular broadcaster, even if you're trying to articulate a particular (digital) QAM frequency MPEG-2 transport stream. The multiple conversions from QAM to set-top box to Slingbox appears to mask / obscure the issue I need them to troubleshoot.

zuzu_

11-01-07, 05:43 PM

this thread is for Fios data and tv service in the Phila. area right? So if data is ok to talk about here I wanted to ask about what the one poster 2 up mentioned about 15/2 upgrade to 20/2.

Will that be automatic? or a choice at an additional cost. Wont be worth it if its extra. for what were paying for 15/2 they should upgrade it to 20/2 at no addition considering 15/2 is no longer such a big deal or so fast. ESpecially in europe they have lots of isp's that provide higher then those speeds for less while here 30/2 is very expensive and seems to be mostly only for businesses/offices not residential.

...

The 15/2 is fine but for you pay for it they need to up that to 20/2 at no price increase.
For any of you who read that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut now have 20/20 symmetric connections for $64.99/month:
arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071023-verizon-discovers-symmetry-offers-2020-symmetrical-fios-service.html

I spoke to a Verizon representative last week and was told that Pennsylvania is was supposed to accordingly begin 15/15 symmetric at the beginning of this month (October) but are delaying/procrastinating. Another representative told me that the delay between internal awareness and end-user realization is typically 8 weeks; so perhaps by the end of December this will be available to purchase.

That said, for the $180 Verizon wants to charge for 30/5, you could currently aggregate four $45 accounts of 15/2 using iproute2 with linux (e.g. an OpenWRT compatible wireless router) for a total of 60/8, or find a divisible price point that suits you best.

I was also told that upgrading the speeds was mainly an issue of updating the firmware inside the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) (similar to speed capping in cable modems), and that perhaps debugging of this is what's causing the rollout delay. (FYI, Florida gets 50Mbps speeds, and the PON hardware itself could support up to 900Mbps.)

However, I advise anyone interested to call up the Verizon sales office and ask for symmetric (sometimes they call it "synchronous") bandwidth. A few of the times I've inquired about it this month I was told that "no one wanted that" -- usually by representatives who wanted to lecture me that "bandwidth is not a commodity" (it is) and that only "business applications" would want that. So let your voice be heard! :)

GeekGirl

11-02-07, 09:41 PM

Nice coverage of the Flyers game tonight on Sportsnet for getting those on ice close-ups. Not just as they went past the camera, but isolated shots inside the blue line. You could really see the details of the stick work (especially how Briere got by a few defenders :) ).

GeekGirl

11-02-07, 09:58 PM

In what world is the Actiontec router a "good router"?!?!

You do not need to use the Actiontec router unless want MoCA (which is defacto proprietary) support for Video on Demand (VoD). You can use any router, such as a good DD-WRT supported router such as the Linksys WRT54GL for $60. It will connect on the WAN via PPPoE (which I've been told is now a legacy feature, which does not actually authenticate the login/pass, and really the ONT supplies standard DHCP for your WAN IP address).
The Actiontec router is one that Verizon remotely administers. People should worry that Verizon can spy on all of your LAN activity in this fashion. This could include collecting data for deep packet inspection (DPI) / packet shaping. In other words, it should be considered an untrusted device.
Anecdotally I've heard (though haven't yet reviewed the forums here) that it overheats and freezes under heavy loads.
Good info. Welcome to AVS forum. The AVS forumn is more or less focused about video / audio quality of your home theater system. I think you'll find a lot of friends over on the broadbandreports.com Verizon FiOS TV forum: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv and Fiber Optics forum: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber. There are a number of threads addressing security (lack of) for the ActionTec router. For my purposes, it's a nice firewall and manages the MoCA and guide info just fine. Incidentally, Port 4567 is open (you can find info on how to close it). I don't want to risk losing my STB support, so I'm not going to mess with anything there.

FWIW, Verizon is probably using a different protocol, like ALG to control the STB. Some detail in this thread: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19199610-southwest-Actiontec-Firmware-40161550104~start=40#end . It's a start, there's a LOT of info in that forum. As for freeze-ups and such, there are a few posts on that topic as well.

You'll see a number of AVS forum members over there (I'm in as GeekGirl1).

For AVS forum, check these threads:
The QIP6416 HD-DVR: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=617635&page=84

FiOS programming in general: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=590208&page=163

GeekGirl

11-02-07, 10:23 PM

Someone in the FiOS programming forum is giving a heads-up for IMG 2 rollout around Nov 13th. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12104843#post12104843

blackngold75

11-05-07, 11:37 PM

Looks like the new guide is coming soon, indeed: there were several commercials about the new guide inserted into tonight's Monday Night Football broadcast.

GeekGirl

11-06-07, 09:18 PM

Philly area Verizon installers made the broadbandreports.com news in a bad way. Botched install in Warrington (northern suburb) causes fire and trashes a duplex: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-58000-FiOS-Fire-89165

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11052007-1436001.html

GeekGirl

11-07-07, 08:51 PM

As reported on the Verizon FiOS programming thread, Discovery HD is up and running on 846. No Flyers tonight since they're on CN8. However, the Philly Comcast thread is reporting that the PQ is "horrific".

jimrimback

11-07-07, 09:06 PM

Looks like the new guide is coming soon, indeed: there were several commercials about the new guide inserted into tonight's Monday Night Football broadcast.

I've been seeing those inserted ads since August but they had a heavier rotation in the last 3 weeks.

BTW, 2 Bosses mentioned this morning that the IMG will launch on the 15th for VHO8 (Philly and South Jersey) AND VHO7 (Central and North Jersey)

-Jim

mlieggi

11-10-07, 05:03 PM

mrjgkelly

11-10-07, 06:52 PM

hopdevil

11-11-07, 06:54 PM

Also, I have heard that people that attempt to cancel their Fios and switch back to Comcast, generally pay 100s of dollars to get their cable lines re-run as Verizon cuts the cable lines.....can anyone verify the truth of these statements?

Someone gave you bad info. While Verizon may cut the copper phone lines outside your house (or they simply tuck them away - depending on the installer), they don't cut the cable lines. They simply disconnect the Comcast run and switch the coax to their feed. In some cases, they may even run new cable within your home to ensure the best signal.

Kuranda

11-12-07, 05:13 PM

Anyone using Fios in the South Jersey area? My husband and I have been debating back and forth on whether or not to do the switch from Comcast to Verizon for some time. However, after reading these posts, I am saying no way....I do wonder, however, if the issues are area specific (most of the posts I have read are Philly, Philly Burbs or DE) or if they are across the board......I do not know much about the TV, I do know that we have a plasma and a LCD and my husband likes to try to keep the picture perfect on them. I also know that I am home all day and if our TV loses reception, especially during cold weather months, that my three kids will have a fit....so I am wondering if any input could be provided as to whether the lower monthly payment is worth the switch, for the sake of my sanity....Also, I have heard that people that attempt to cancel their Fios and switch back to Comcast, generally pay 100s of dollars to get their cable lines re-run as Verizon cuts the cable lines.....can anyone verify the truth of these statements?

Sorry that I am not more knowledgable in this area, I generally come on this forum for PS3 game reviews, but I saw this heading and it caught my eye.

I live in Medford in Southern NJ.

I replaced Comcast TV with DirecTv because Comcast service was poor PQ and suffered many outages. I replaced DirecTV with Fios TV in July 2007 because the slow response of the remote control/STB combo was annoying. The DirecTV signal would drop out now and then from weather.

:) I would recommend purchasing FiOS TV service in South Jersey based on my experience.
:) I also recommend FiOS for internet. It is FAST. I have measured download speeds as high as 11 Mbps via wireless 802.11g and 18 Mbps when connected directly to the router via CAT-5.

:) Verizon FiOS TV PQ has been EXCELLENT and reliable.
:) I would also recommend the Home Media DVR. We record shows, start watching them and finish watching them in bed via a 2nd STB.
:) It is a really nice feature to be able to watch recorded movies and shows from any TV. I rarely watch any show in realtime. I prefer to skip the commercials.
:) Or watch two different recordings at the same time from different STB's. With children with different interests, this may be very useful.
:) I have also used the Home Media feature to present picture albums from my wireless PC directly on the TV screen. It is an amazing piece of technology.

Now that I have such a good TV signal, I am shopping for a FULL HD Plasma TV with big screen because now I have great PQ signal that "deserves" a great TV with an HDMI port. I am currently using component cables from the STB-DVR to my TV and the PQ is outstanding. My old Sony WEGA never looked so good, NEVER. The letter box HD PQ on my old SD set is stunning. I am still amazed after several months of viewing movies recorded in HD 16:9 on my old technology. I am looking forward to the day when I can see my TV PQ in FULL HD.

I have watched football games in SD 4:3. Then I found that I could watch the same game in HD 16:9 letterbox on different number channel. I flipped back and forth and now the only way for me to watch football in 16:9 letterbox. Again, further improvement in my viewing experience will come when I finally get the FULL HD big screen plasma.

Since you already have a plasma and an LCD you probably have HD or FULL HD technology and 16:9 widescreen. I would order Verizon FiOS immediately without hesitation. The Verizon STB-DVR outputs a FULL HD signal via HDMI. For those stations that provide FULL HD transmission, you will get the full viewing benefit.

Kuranda

GeekGirl

11-12-07, 10:09 PM

Now that I have such a good TV signal, I am shopping for a FULL HD Plasma TV with big screen because now I have great PQ signal that "deserves" a great TV with an HDMI port... The Verizon STB-DVR outputs a FULL HD signal via HDMI. For those stations that provide FULL HD transmission, you will get the full viewing benefit.Welcome to AVS forum. Be aware that you may not see all that much difference between component and HDMI. HDMI is definitely the way to go, but component is pretty darn good on its own.

Be careful about the definition of FULL HD. There are no broadcast stations that use FULL HD (1080p), only 1080i. It's a marketing technique for the newer displays. Lots of info in this forum, just search. Here's a Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

The video is only one-half of the total experience. Now, how about a really nice sound system to go with that TV? :) Try watching an HDNet movie on a properly setup 5.1 surround sound system. Shame to waste all that investment on a pair of $10 built-in speakers. Take a visit in the audio area of AVS forum.

Before you go full-bore into plasma, checkout this "LCD vs. Plasma" battle thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=767932. Take a look at both sides of the fence to be sure that's the way you want to go.

GeekGirl

11-12-07, 10:24 PM

Another congrats to Comcast Sportsnet for their coverage of tonight's Flyers (vs. Islanders) game at the Wachovia center. Lots more coverage down at ice level to show plays up-close and personal. Good stuff, keep it up.

I also like Bill Clement as the analyst (I've always like him). Although Keith Jones isn't bad, there's nothing like experience. He was analyzing game play in near real-time to a level that I haven't seen in a while. Good interaction with Coatesy down on the ice that combined to give hockey enthusiasts, like me, excellent insight and analysis of the game.

The only downside of tonight is that my Sammy HL-R6768W had yet again another light tunnel failure. 3rd time. Active thread on the subject: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=758625&page=59

mlieggi

11-13-07, 08:59 PM

Kuranda and everyone else who has responded, thank you so much for your helpful input, I think I may be making the switch soon.....

Jim Hef

11-14-07, 11:57 AM

As mentioned above, the Guide and On Demand are the only things that are subpar to Comcast cable, and they will hopefully be resolved soon. You'll be very happy with the decision to switch, and I would recommend getting the "package" with internet and phone.

Quatre

11-14-07, 01:32 PM

WizarDru

11-14-07, 02:11 PM

299: Nickelodeon (NIK1HD)
325: Spike HD
327: Country Music Television (CMTHD)
331: MTV HD
335: VH1 HD
Altitude HD

Nick HD? Does Nick even have any shows that are in HD? What's Altitude...is that another 'theme' channel?

EricFinn

11-14-07, 03:57 PM

News for November 14, 2007:

DIRECTV launched 23 more HD Channels today:

including

Full Time National Channels:

299: Nickelodeon (NIK1HD)
325: Spike HD
327: Country Music Television (CMTHD)
331: MTV HD
335: VH1 HD
Altitude HD

and others bringing the # of HD chans to 4x what FIOS or Comcast offer and ever closer to the 100-150 total to be completed next month

Ok, but how does their quality compare? Don't they use reduced quality signals which adversely affects PQ? So which is better 4X the HD channels in lower quality or 1/4 the HD channels in true HD quality? I guess it depends if you want those channels they are offering, does it not? Besides, no ComcastSportsNet, no sale here.

Eric

CeeZeeCZ

11-14-07, 04:42 PM

Besides the comparative picture quality, there's also the issue of how much of the content is really in HD and not just stretched. Plus it also has to be a channel you'd actually watch :).

Quatre

11-15-07, 12:12 AM

Ok, but how does their quality compare? Don't they use reduced quality signals which adversely affects PQ? So which is better 4X the HD channels in lower quality or 1/4 the HD channels in true HD quality? I guess it depends if you want those channels they are offering, does it not? Besides, no ComcastSportsNet, no sale here.

Eric

The Quality is as good or better with HD chans. what you are thinking of is the old DirecTV mpeg2 hd chans which weren't quite as good and there are still a few left but only a few that you can count on one hand and those will be changed over to mpeg4 soon.

this is the perfect example of one of the many misconceptions ppl have about dtv.

1/4 the hd chans in true hd quality? hah, 1080i and 720p is not true hd, thas usually reserved for 1080p but anyway once again the fios and comcat ppl always say quality over quantity and want to refer to the old dtv mpeg 2 hd chans which there is only a few of now and hose will be changed over soon, so its not longer a good arguement against dtv.

no comcast sportsnet where? in philly no and i understand how ppl in that area couldn't do dtv for that reason, but to me it was worth all the hd chans. and i dont miss sportsnet really as every game is on another channel in hd on dtv.

plus i do have comcast as a secondary carrier with one hd dvr box but mostly keep it for some tvs without boxes in side rooms.

but every other area has their rsn on dtv.

Quatre

11-15-07, 12:14 AM

Besides the comparative picture quality, there's also the issue of how much of the content is really in HD and not just stretched. Plus it also has to be a channel you'd actually watch :).

but thast the channels programming. has nothing to do with the tv provider.

thats like saying you dont want more hd chans cus some of those chans might not broadcast hd shows all the time. come on.

bottom line is, everyone wants more HD and dtv is offering every channel that is done in HD. its going to take Comcast and fios 1-2 years at least to even catch up.

i just find the defenses or arguements against dtv funny. first the old quantity over quality arguement which has been disproved and then resorting to blaming the lack of hd programming on those hd chans as if thats dtv's fault.

CeeZeeCZ

11-15-07, 10:20 AM

but thast the channels programming. has nothing to do with the tv provider.

thats like saying you dont want more hd chans cus some of those chans might not broadcast hd shows all the time. come on.

bottom line is, everyone wants more HD and dtv is offering every channel that is done in HD. its going to take Comcast and fios 1-2 years at least to even catch up.

i just find the defenses or arguements against dtv funny. first the old quantity over quality arguement which has been disproved and then resorting to blaming the lack of hd programming on those hd chans as if thats dtv's fault.Didn't say it was the tv providers fault.

I have nothing at all against DTV. I was a DTV customer for over 11 years and if I hadn't been losing the line of sight because of tree growth, I probably wouldn't have even looked at switching to Fios and would still be a DTV customer.

I am saying that I really don't care that I'm missing a HD channel if it doesn't have anything on it that I'd like to watch – either because it's not really HD or the shows don't appeal to me. Personally, I'd rather watch a show in 4:3 SD instead of stretch-o-vision on a HD channel. Would I like tons of HD to choose from – sure – but I don't care if I'm missing a channel I'd never watch (like the ones on that list of 6 channels you mentioned earlier).

WizarDru

11-15-07, 10:52 AM

i just find the defenses or arguements against dtv funny. first the old quantity over quality arguement which has been disproved and then resorting to blaming the lack of hd programming on those hd chans as if thats dtv's fault.

I wasn't saying ANYTHING against DTV...I was questioning the point of a NickHD on ANY provider. I consider it a hollow victory, at best, to trumpet having an HD channel that doesn't actually have any HD content. I don't care if it's Verizon, Comcast or DTV that does it. That's a strike against Nickelodeon, not DTV. I realize a lot of channels can't suddenly create HD content out of thin air...but I'd prefer they wait until they have something more than 480p to offer before claiming they've made the jump to HD.

Kuranda

11-15-07, 08:38 PM

[QUOTE=GeekGirl;12199481] ...

Be careful about the definition of FULL HD. There are no broadcast stations that use FULL HD (1080p), only 1080i. It's a marketing technique for the newer displays.

.... QUOTE]

GeekGirl: Thank you for the welcome.

I thought that 1080 res gave you 1080 lines. "i" gave you interlace delivery and "p" gave you progressive delivery. I thought that the TV would present 1080 res one way or anther by converting I to P, if need be, with no loss of information, just a re-sequencing of the presentation of the lines on the screen without any picture degradation ???

I could be way off base. I have a lot to learn about HDTV. The more I learn and read the more I realize I don't know.

Kuranda

GeekGirl

11-15-07, 10:02 PM

Your TV takes care of how it displays that information internally. Don't worry about "how". The point is that you can't get any better than the source material (what you watch).

A 1080p display won't show any more than what the DVD can do, which is "only" 480 lines in one scan (progressive). However, it looks really nice.

There's still a huge difference in quality between the standard definition broadcast and high definition broadcast. As long as you are in the 720p / 1080i domain, treat yourself to whatever you can afford. And don't forget about the audio :).

GeekGirl

11-15-07, 10:06 PM

Besides, no ComcastSportsNet, no sale here.Comcast SportsNet and Sportsnet HD are alive and well on Verizon FiOS. Better PQ than Comcast.

Flyers game coverage was superb (lost in OT shootout). Love those ice-level shots. The HD overhead goal cam looks better than the other cameras. Wonder if that's because it's hard-mounted to an overhead support and there's no vibration?

GeekGirl

11-15-07, 10:20 PM

DSL reports has a thread stating that Middletown Township just approved FiOS: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19441282-FIOS-in-Middletown-Township-PA (Bucks County)

Chazcdc54

11-16-07, 07:51 AM

I spoke with a woman at my local township's offices (Caln Twp - Chester County PA) earlier this week and was told that certain areas of the township towards the west as of beginning of November are eligible for Verizon TV now. Luckily for me in this instance I live in that area so FINALLY I can complete the install from early in the year where I got phone & internet with FIOS TV now! :):):)

Anyone else living in my area spread the word - you may be ready to get Verizon TV.

EricFinn

11-16-07, 10:26 AM

Comcast SportsNet and Sportsnet HD are alive and well on Verizon FiOS. Better PQ than Comcast.

Flyers game coverage was superb (lost in OT shootout). Love those ice-level shots. The HD overhead goal cam looks better than the other cameras. Wonder if that's because it's hard-mounted to an overhead support and there's no vibration?

I'm aware of that. I was referring to DTV. If DTV doesn't have CSN and CSNHD I'm not going to satellite even if they have every other HD channel offered?

Eric

Chazcdc54

11-16-07, 11:18 AM

A question, I've just signed up for the Verizon TV for install next month moving over from Comcast. I have a TiVo Series 2 but I'm planning on purchasing the TiVO HD box as I've upgraded to HD this summer and just read a review of it on cnet.

There is one thing that is VERY disturbing and I hope that it doesn't apply with Verizon FIOS but they mention that some Broadband providers are using "SDV technology" to maximize their available bandwith but that at present for those channels that use this they are incompatible with any TiVo.

The assumption of a TiVo work around to come is too hopefull and a little dangerous and I wondered if Verizon if using this tactic NOW and if so on how many channels and better yet which ones.

This could be a deal breaker for me in buying the new TiVo and I'm royally pissed if this is transpiring. :mad: I would think Verizon FIOS has ample bandwith to spare. Please let me know if this is a legit issue for me.

The HD stbs Verizon now have are I'm told improved but as a long time TiVo user, I swear by its versatility and reliability. :(

jeepmatt

11-16-07, 01:00 PM

Chaz,
You don't have to worry about SDV with Verizon FIOS TV. If anything, you'd need to worry if they move to IPTV (all channels over the data / internet side) in the future - which has been talked about, but no firm dates released.

Kuranda

11-17-07, 07:49 AM

As long as you are in the 720p / 1080i domain, treat yourself to whatever you can afford. And don't forget about the audio :).

VIDEO
=====
Geekgirl: Request for opinion -- I am thinking that I should buy a 1080p TV because I want it to last for 10 years+. At this point in the technology timeline is it foolish to spend the premium for 1080p (60 inch plasma)?

Thanks, in advance, for your opinion.

AUDIO
=====
I will keep that sound concern in mind.

I do have a 5.1 Sony STR-K840P (2 years old) that I think is AWESOME :). I use the optical-SPDF(?)-vxFiOS-out to connect to Optical-in on the Sony-surround. (Football sound is AWESOME ... sounds like I am in the stadium.)

It was a gift from my sons. It has small shelf speakers and sub-woofer. I would like to keep it for sentimental reasons :) as well as the great sound.

However, I am open to suggestions for improvement. Keep in mind I am still saving for my dream plasma. I will probably purchase the plasma at an after Christmas sale when I see a good price. I am thinking that the current technology, which is excellent, will decline in price over the next 3 months and that is my target timing for a better price point. :)

I apologize to all those upset by my taking the thread OFF-TOPIC.

Kuranda

Chazcdc54

11-17-07, 03:44 PM

Jeepmatt, thanks for the heads up on SDV with Verizon. I presume you're implying they don't use it. Fine.

Never heard of IPTV. Sounds like some sort of approach towards linking the transmission of TV shows/data further with one's computer and internet connection. That worries me. In such an istance TiVo owners may be out of luck.

Comcast at least tried to offer the familiar TiVo interface, though stripped down and nowhere near as versatile I hear. With Verizon it would force a move to use their STBs. I'm told they were not that good in the past but a major service/op sys update this fall has improved things quite a bit.

Maybe, there are advantages to this "IPTV." If you can point me to a thread on AVS that discusses this or provide further info yourself that would be appreciated. Lord! I'm really out of the loop in this area. :confused:

GeekGirl

11-18-07, 05:30 PM

Kuranda - There are a LOT of threads on the 1080p topic over in the display forum. I picked one at random that discusses going to 120 Hz or not (that's the latest technology). Your 10+ year question is answered in there. But, you should read it for what applies to you. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=938341. This just happens to be in the LCD forum. Note: Look near the top of each thread and you'll see what forum it's in. Then, go up a level and take a look at the rest of the forum (plasmas are in a different sub-forum).

GeekGirl

11-18-07, 05:33 PM

OMG, today's Eagles game had WYSP's sound almost in sync with the action! Was this WYSP's doing, or another factor - like being a home game?

newsman

11-18-07, 08:42 PM

Never heard of IPTV. Sounds like some sort of approach towards linking the transmission of TV shows/data further with one's computer and internet connection. That worries me. In such an istance TiVo owners may be out of luck.Do a search on AT&T U-verse. AT&T has gotten into delivering TV to the home. They use IPTV as their platform for competition to cable providers. Check out - http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=5838 for more information.

Quatre

11-19-07, 04:23 AM

I wasn't saying ANYTHING against DTV...I was questioning the point of a NickHD on ANY provider. I consider it a hollow victory, at best, to trumpet having an HD channel that doesn't actually have any HD content. I don't care if it's Verizon, Comcast or DTV that does it. That's a strike against Nickelodeon, not DTV. I realize a lot of channels can't suddenly create HD content out of thin air...but I'd prefer they wait until they have something more than 480p to offer before claiming they've made the jump to HD.

adding an HD chans a hollow victory? you can't knock the provider for adding HD chans because teh chan deosnt' broadcast a lot of hd or that you simply just dont like the chan.

your knocking a particular chan as hollow when the point is they already h ave all the other more popular hd chans, now they are adding all the less demanded ones.

i'm not going to tell them not to or no i dotn want cus its not as good as other hd chans. Again, they already hae all those so adding new hd chans whatever they are is no a hollow victory. They already had more hd chans then the competition, now they are just adding more because they can. They have the bandwidth.

I surf through strictly the hd chans, with comast and fios that is a small # of chans with sometimes nothing on in hd on those.

With DTV if you surf through strictly the hd chans, there is a ton. period.

Kuranda

11-23-07, 07:25 AM

verizon.net/nflnetwork = request for experiences

I got a mailing indicating that the COLTS/FALCONS game was covered with interaction available to select from 5 different camera angles while watching. I was not home to try it out last night. Anyone try this out?

The mailing says the next game coverage will be the Packers/Cowboys (Farve/Romo duel) on 29 Nov. This has my interest.

Thanks, in advance, for sharing your experience.

Kuranda

Kuranda

11-23-07, 07:46 AM

Just opened more mail from Verizon regarding a data service.

Verizon FiOS 20/20 with 1GB for offsite backup

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071023-verizon-discovers-symmetry-offers-2020-symmetrical-fios-service.html

Anyone try this service?

Please point me to the proper location to discuss VzFios internet for our area. Since I have 4 services from Vz (wireless, land, internet, and TV) and my question is local, I am looking for a new forum as all the services in HDTV merge and interact.

Kuranda

GeekGirl

11-24-07, 09:43 AM

Broadbandreports might not have a dedicated thread for our area, but they are up to speed on all this stuff. Consider that it might be OT for the purposes of home theater. The 20/20 service is being constantly discussed in this forum: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber You'll find lots of posts from people in the Philly area. You'll also find a number of AVS'ers over there as well.

The FiOS TV forum is here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv (includes a few threads specific to Philly area problems).

Kuranda

11-24-07, 12:47 PM

GeekGirl ... thanks!

Kuranda

Electrico

11-25-07, 01:54 AM

TMC Hd is on Channel 854
854 is bluesville, so what are you talking about?:confused:
Thnx

Kuranda

11-25-07, 09:26 AM

854 is bluesville, so what are you talking about?:confused:
Thnx

854 on my "GUIDE" says = TMC HD (Southern NJ):)

What geography is covered by one single GUIDE in our viewing area?:confused:

I am thinking in SoNJ I am in Philly-guide, I think some have called it VHO-8 or something like that.

Kuranda

rtoledo

11-25-07, 02:07 PM

Quatre

11-25-07, 11:15 PM

does phila. areas fios data have the 20/5 or 15/15 yet?

im still stuck on 15/2 and mostly need a faster up but wouldn't mind faster down.

everytime I checked the only choice up from 15/2 was 30 I believe over 5 but it was more then double the price & more for busineses. not worth it.

they better have the fee 20/5 upgrade and/or the 15/15 in the phila areas now at this point considering everywhere was supposed to have since nov. 19 supposedly.

jeepmatt

11-26-07, 06:25 AM

Quatre-
15/15 is now available in our area since last Monday (11/26) - give them a call, you'll have it in 20 minutes or so.

Sam Samuelian

11-26-07, 12:42 PM

I just purchased an Element 19 inch HD TV from Circuit City. All the standard over the air local channels come in fine, but I cannot get the digital HD channels. How do I go about getting them? Thanks in advance.

WizarDru

11-26-07, 02:09 PM

adding an HD chans a hollow victory? you can't knock the provider for adding HD chans because teh chan deosnt' broadcast a lot of hd or that you simply just dont like the chan.

your knocking a particular chan as hollow when the point is they already h ave all the other more popular hd chans, now they are adding all the less demanded ones.

I consider it hollow victory to add a channel in HD that has NO HD content when there are plenty of channels that DO have HD content that have NOT been added. Nick having an HD channel with (afaik) no HD programming is an intellectual exercise. It's like bragging about delivering a color picture when you only have black and white images to broadcast. Getting such a channel prior to Bravo HD, SciFi Channel HD, Speed HD, The Weather Channel HD, fx HD or any of a number of other channels that have established HD content is what I'm talking about.

This is hardly a problem unique to Verizon. Direct TV's claims of 800 HD channels, for example, certainly is underwhelming. If it's not really HD, it just seems like a placeholder for something that may not arrive for quite a while.

Kuranda

11-26-07, 03:45 PM

Well, I just ordered 20/20 and the service rep says I will have it by 6 PM tonight and an email will be sent telling me how to access my 1 GB of offsite VZ-backup storage that is included.

BTW: Separate discussion item regarding Home Media Center. It has a severe HDTV limitation that I did not know about since I have an SD household at the moment.

CAUTION: According the rep: "At this time, only SD recordings may be viewed at secondary STB's using the Home Media Center."

HD recordings may ONLY be viewed using the STB-DVR unit that recorded them. No remote HD support yet from Verizon. I was very surprised that even upgrading remote STB's to HD will not permit to play DVR'd HD content.

I am sure this will get fixed in time. In fact, maybe someone here will tell us that this rep did not know what he was talking about. He sounded believable and said that he has recieved the question from other Home Media customers.

GeekGirl

11-26-07, 05:13 PM

/snip/
GeekGirl I'm not up-to-date on the ATSC specs in fact it's been 5 to 7 years since I was reading up on them, so please excuse me for asking(not debating) :D but I do not recall 1080p ever mentioned or intended for OTA broadcasts, but since you were working in designs maybe you can clear me up on that? am I wrong ? here in Los Angeles ABC and PBS-KCET are the only ones doing 720p OTA most others are in 1080i
Do you think anyone would do 1080p considering the full bandwidth required basically eating up the whole channel?
humn I have not been in this forum posting for over 5 years and I look like a new user to the software I had to cut your URL in the quote above as I'm not allowed LOL actually tried 3 times and finally it let me after cutting your whole quote
GeekGirl nevermind I mis-understood you (not had my 3rd cup of expresso yet ;) ) BTW my name on dslreports is different have had too many trollers and problems there so made it a acronym of my name but we comunicate there from time to time too.

You are correct, there's no way that 1080p can fit within the ATSC bandwidth, so no 1080p for OTA. It's also limited by the broadcast side. I found a really good web site that explains it better than I can: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/reality.html

BTW, there's a LOT of tutorial info there: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/

My screen name on dslreports was purposely kept as close as possible. I have a different tactic - I just point to other forums to mix it up a bit. There's nothing like a little competition to keep things interesting.

jimrimback

11-26-07, 09:31 PM

CAUTION: According the rep: "At this time, only SD recordings may be viewed at secondary STB's using the Home Media Center."

HD recordings may ONLY be viewed using the STB-DVR unit that recorded them. No remote HD support yet from Verizon. I was very surprised that even upgrading remote STB's to HD will not permit to play DVR'd HD content.

I am sure this will get fixed in time. In fact, maybe someone here will tell us that this rep did not know what he was talking about. He sounded believable and said that he has recieved the question from other Home Media customers.

He's not feeding you a line of bull. Programing can only be sent to the QIP 2500's and only to two STB's simultaneously.

There has been talk of adding the HD boxes into the HMDVR mix.

-Jim

Quatre

11-27-07, 09:29 AM

I consider it hollow victory to add a channel in HD that has NO HD content when there are plenty of channels that DO have HD content that have NOT been added. Nick having an HD channel with (afaik) no HD programming is an intellectual exercise. It's like bragging about delivering a color picture when you only have black and white images to broadcast. Getting such a channel prior to Bravo HD, SciFi Channel HD, Speed HD, The Weather Channel HD, fx HD or any of a number of other channels that have established HD content is what I'm talking about.

This is hardly a problem unique to Verizon. Direct TV's claims of 800 HD channels, for example, certainly is underwhelming. If it's not really HD, it just seems like a placeholder for something that may not arrive for quite a while.

this is an old discussion at this point but all those channels you mentioned are already on DTV in HD. that was the point, you were bashing them for getting an hd channel that doesnt' have much hd content and the point was, that they already have all the god HD channels with lots of HD content so its not hollow victory for them to add other hd channels which maybe dont have as much content.

your talking about Verizon that doestn' have scifi HD etc. DTV does so its not a hollow victory for them to add other hd chans which aren't as good. they already have all the best hd chans first as priority. Now they are just adding insult to injury.

But then when its mentioned that dtv just got this hd chan and that one, defenders of other tv providers say "well that isnt' that good of a chan anyway so its a hollow victory" ignoring the fact or not realzing that dtv does already have all the hd chans that said person does want, these are just new bonus additions.

everyone wants more hd, saying you dont care about certain bonus hd chans cus they aren't that great is like saying you only want $100 bills but wont accept any free $10 or $5 bills in addition as bonus after you've already received the $100 HD chans.

i could see if fios had all the good HD chans and were just late and delayed on the less important less good HD chans but fact is they dont and have less HD then any other tv provider in the Phila area, as Comcast currently has more hd chans then fios.

Jim Hef

11-29-07, 03:20 PM

Has anyone found any information on when the "new" Guide will be available to us? This is the only thing that I find to be ridiculous within the system, and look forward to one that is workable, and more intuitive. Searching right now is worthless!

WizarDru

11-29-07, 03:41 PM

this is an old discussion at this point but all those channels you mentioned are already on DTV in HD. that was the point, you were bashing them for getting an hd channel that doesnt' have much hd content and the point was, that they already have all the god HD channels with lots of HD content so its not hollow victory for them to add other hd channels which maybe dont have as much content.

I'm not sure you actually read what I wrote, there. :confused:

Chazcdc54

12-07-07, 10:55 AM

Last post for Philadelphia - Verizon was 11/29. I hope that indicates that this service is pretty decent and reliable.

I previously had Comcast for many years and completed a triple play bundle deal for the FIOS TV. Install was this past Tuesday (my birthday - natch). I have 4 sets in the house with two getting little digital adaptor boxes, one the standard Verizon stb and for my home theater two Cable Cards for a TiVo HD box. The Verizon hardware went fast and fine on setup, the Cable Cards was another matter.

It took the tech installer, a very nice guy, working with a dispatcher/tech guru at a Verizon Control Office over three hours to get them activated. I'm the first person in my township to go the cable card route, which is news to me. I was told by the dispatcher they have had significant problems with each Cable Card install in the past.

I live in Coatesville in Chester County in the suburbs of Philly and he cited prior installs in West Chester. From experience it is software systems issues most of the time but he has always been successfull in the end. He was about out of solutions when a last idea of his finally paid off. I was having problems getting one of the tuner/cards to display the HD channels. However, we got 'em all at last!

I must say there is over all a real improvement in comparison with Comcast's signal and the HD material is super. However, the paltry 30 odd channels in HiDef must be upped in the year or so to come in my view.

So far so good. Three days and counting...

A couple of questions if I might here:

1. I have my TiVo set with "panel" for Aspect Correction, which gives me the original broadcast ratio and also "Native" for Video Format, bringing in the signal at the originating broadcast resolution (1080i, 720p, etc.) . Can anyone tell me why the channel change and lock-on takes so long with the digital HD channels and also briefly displays (a second or two) visual pyrotechnics (lines, distorted images, etc.) during this "delay" before putting out a solid picture?

I'm presuming that the cards/Tivo are having to adjust the picture for my monitor (a 16:9 Sony KDL 32XBR4) before before displaying it.

2. Also, why is it that certain HD channels will display an image during a broadcast show in 16:9 and then switch to 4:3 during the commercials? There are other instances even within a show where certain segments of the show will go to 4:3 and then later back to 16:9. All the while incidentally the resolution on the TiVo or my Sony will stay the same (ex. 1080i).

I don't want to go to Zoom or Full (stretch) but wish to know why the networks do this. It's really disconcerting. It seems inconsistent. I guess I should be prepared for the fact that not everything on a "HD Channel" is broadcast in HD.

These are minor caveats but some clarification would be appreciated. Now, where will I find time to watch all these new channels? :eek::)

WizarDru

12-07-07, 12:01 PM

I was told by the dispatcher they have had significant problems with each Cable Card install in the past.

I live over in Malvern and had FIOS set up two TiVo HDs with two cable-cards each. Both installs went effortlessly and it was the installer's first time doing a CC install for FIOS. He specifically cited that, as a former Comcast installer, FIOS had far fewer problems with them. The only hiccup was that he didn't find out until several minutes in that an ID number the provisioning software wanted was a duplicate of another number he did have...which the provisioning tech at Verizon explained to him.

anyone tell me why the channel change and lock-on takes so long with the digital HD channels and also briefly displays (a second or two) visual pyrotechnics (lines, distorted images, etc.) during this "delay" before putting out a solid picture?

What version of the Tivo software does your box have? It sounds like it may not have updated, yet. You shouldn't really see more than a very brief delay when changing the channel, HD or otherwise. I'm watching on a Pioneer Elite 43" 16:9 plasma.

2.I guess I should be prepared for the fact that not everything on a "HD Channel" is broadcast in HD.

Regretfully, this can be the case for some channels. I used to see this on Comcast with ABC, CBS and NBC. It was particularly irritating when ABC's local affiliate would change the feed for 'Lost' from HD to SD in the last two minutes of the show, because they were switching to the then-SD local news broadcast. It was very jarring and irritating.

Chazcdc54

12-07-07, 02:07 PM

WizarDru, the HD box was a recent purchase. I've had a Series 2 for years and was able to transfer over my Lifetime Service to the new box, on which I initially ran Guided Set-up on Sunday, 12/2 a few days prior to the install. As a matter of fact it stated I had gotten the new Fall Service Update for the HD box. My connection is via broadband/wireless adapter.

The delay can be up to 4 or 5 seconds. I don't notice the delay on the analog and other non-hd digital channels. The installer left me his cell # in case of any further issues primarily because of the difficulties we encountered with the Cable Cards. Do you think it worth a call? Maybe, further "tweaking" can be done here by Verizon. I'm at work now (quiet, don't let my manager know! ;)) but will check my software version when I get home.

You're lucky your install went so well. You bucked the trend from what they were telling me.

The switches in aspect ratio/resolution were on a few network affliates (CBS or ABC I think). My previous service with Comcast was analog and having bought the Sony LCD this summer it has been taking a little getting used to dealing with digital channels.

Perhaps in the future when we've all updated to HD and most or if not all channels are broadcast as such this issue will go away. Just have to be patient I guess. Darn!

Kuranda

12-08-07, 10:44 AM

I live over in Malvern and had FIOS set up two TiVo HDs with two cable-cards each. ...

I don't know anything about about TiVo except that some people use it as a verb, meaning "to record".

Are there advantages to TiVo (HD or not) over the Vz Home Media DVR?

Since you have two (2) units, this has made me VERY curious about why two (2) and why TiVo. Since this is off topic, perhaps you could be so kind as to point me to right place for comparison. Makes me think I should look into TiVo to see what I might be missing.

Thanks. Kuranda

Closer to the topic .... Having had Comcast (previously Garden State Cable) for about 20 years, I have been very pleased with the higher PQ and higher reliability of FiOS TV services. We have had so few glitches in service, it is not worth mentioning ... it has been a very positive experience.

Chazcdc54

12-08-07, 06:09 PM

I've had to time to work with the new TiVo since my last post and looked at some forum posts over at Tivo.com. It appears the Verizon cable cards are not at issue here but the Tivo box.

There is a setting for "Video Format" that adjusts the signal resolution of the incoming signal (480i, 720p, 1080i, etc.) that you can select. By choosing "Native" the Tivo sends the signal thru unscaled to allow your TV to deal with it. Unfortunately, this is what I had set previously and is giving me these problems.

There are "Hybrid" and "Fixed" modes that to varying degrees allow the Tivo box to handle the up/downscaling. I found the right selection. This cuts down a little on delay time and eliminates the video "flicker." The scaling quality is on par with my Sony TV thankfully. Problem solved.

To answer your other question there are probably a few advantages to the Tivo over the Verizon stb. On the other hand, I like the Verizon "widgets" feature that I use on my other set. Tivo has a comparable feature but takes longer to access. I haven't had sufficient time to check out the STB on the other set so I'm sorry I can't give you a proper comparison.

I will say I appreciate the Verizon FIOS quality over the Comcast and feel I made the right choice.

Kuranda

12-09-07, 07:15 AM

... To answer your other question there are probably a few advantages to the Tivo over the Verizon stb. On the other hand, I like the Verizon "widgets" feature that I use on my other set. Tivo has a comparable feature but takes longer to access. ...

Thanks for your comments.

Since I am content with VzDVR_home_media service, I should leave well enough alone until there is compelling reason to think about TiVo. Every new box is a project, a learning curve, and a new expense. And then there is the support challenge when a problem arises.

Good luck with resolving your TiVo challenges. I have heard a lot of positive talk about TiVo (so much that it is verb:)) so I am sure someone will help you get the answers.

Kuranda

GeekGirl

12-11-07, 07:18 PM

Lots of pixellation and audio dropouts tonight on WHYY-HD (821) when I watched from 6:30 to 7 PM. Didn't notice anything on WPVI-HD when I switched over for a minute or so. Tracking on dslreports: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19187015-Philadelphia-Tiling-on-CN-TBS~start=180

Continuing to monitor on Versus-SD (75). No Versus-HD on Verizon :mad:. FWIW, Comcast's widescreen format is much better than Versus-SD. On par with Comcast-SD, however. Flyers vs. Penguins.

JerzBoy

12-13-07, 10:06 AM

Jim Hef

12-14-07, 09:30 AM

You should contact your township office and see if they have an agreement in place for Verizon to be a cable franchisee. Each town needs to act on this since most are "one horse" shows prior to the last couple of years.

jimrimback

12-14-07, 02:16 PM

jimrimback

12-14-07, 02:23 PM

Does anyone know if Verizon is planning to make FIOS internet or TV available in Mount Laurel, NJ? I know many of the surrounding communities (Cherry Hill, Marlton, Medford) all have it.

Any information would be appreciated.

I think the focus in BurlCo will be Mt Holly because of the statewide franchise agreement. I don't believe Mt Laurel is on the radar right now. Unfortunately Vz has been keeping plans pretty close to the vest lately.

BTW, Moorestown (your serving central office) was supposed to be done 2 years ago but from what I heard, a legislator in Haddonfield got upset that Moorestown was before his town. And apparently the town fathers in Moorestown were making some outrageous demands in order to obtain permission to hang the plant.

JerzBoy

12-15-07, 05:53 PM

JerryR

12-17-07, 10:52 AM

Was anyone else experiencing periodic audio dropouts during Survivor last night (especially the second half), lasting maybe a second or so each?

jimrimback

12-17-07, 12:25 PM

Was anyone else experiencing periodic audio dropouts during Survivor last night (especially the second half), lasting maybe a second or so each?

Fine in Medford!

jimrimback

12-17-07, 12:35 PM

Thanks Jim,

What exactly is a Central Office? and how would one know which central office their town is part of?

I can't believe Moorestown is being so hard to work with. My development is very close to marlton/evesham border........I would have thought it would be easy to extend the network from there.

The central office is where all the telephone switching equipment and FiOS equipment is located for your particular geographical area. Usually you can tell by the exchange you are assigned by Verizon. (send me a private message with your telephone # prefix and I can tell you for sure which CO you are served by.)

As for Moorestown, I don't have first hand experience dealing with them, but I'm sure they're like most towns with their demands. Unfortunatley, telcos generally won't cross CO boundries even though it may be "very close".-Jim

howwen

12-17-07, 03:14 PM

Was anyone else experiencing periodic audio dropouts during Survivor last night (especially the second half), lasting maybe a second or so each?

Yes, I am in Marlton

TheShambles

12-18-07, 02:25 AM

Well, I have 2 things about FiOS in Philly, one is a discovery, one is a question.

Discovery:

If you live in Springfield (Delco), PA You may be getting FiOS VERY soon. Across from the main Wawa in Springfield there is a HUGE bundle of wire on a spool that is attached to the phone/power lines going down Powell Ave. Anyone wanna take a guess what that is :). Finally, we will be rid of Comcast and their horrid Internet/TV service/tech support once and for all (I'm on a BUSINESS line here and we get service akin to beating a dead dog for all of our issues. I've had to school Comcast tech's on Internet issues before, and I'm a Biology Major!).

Question:

I'm transferring to the University of the Sciences in University City downtown within the next year and getting an apartment w/ my woman. Anyone know if FiOS is available down there yet? I would assume that it would be since its right where UPenn, Drexel and USP are, which is where big money is, but I wasn't sure. Also, is FiOS finally available in bundled packages? I wouldn't mind bundling phone/tv/and a 15/15 or a 20/20 package while I'm at USP.

JerryR

12-18-07, 10:04 AM

Yes, I am in Marlton

Thanks. I was worried maybe it was my DVR.

newsman

12-18-07, 11:21 PM

I'm transferring to the University of the Sciences in University City downtown within the next year and getting an apartment w/ my woman. Anyone know if FiOS is available down there yet?No Fios in the city... yet. When is it coming? Who knows?

Jim Hef

12-19-07, 10:02 AM

...is FiOS finally available in bundled packages?....
Yes, when it is available, you will be able to bundle everything and get a package pricing.

Kuranda

12-20-07, 06:57 AM

Yes, when it is available, you will be able to bundle everything and get a package pricing.

I have four (4) services from Verizon on one bill soon.

FiOS bundle includes
1. phone-unlimited long distance plus discount on one Euro country,
2. TV-movie package-DVR-home-media record and view SD on any TV, and
3. 20/20 mbps internet w/ 802.11g wireless home (four (4) computers on line)
... all on one bill with some bundles.

I have accepted so many offers that I don't even know what the bundles are called any more.

4. My Vz wireless bill, the 4th service, will be integrated into the single Vz-FiOS bill (I am promised) on the next billing cycle.

Ten years ago this was four (4) different billing statements each month and four checks to write and 4 envelopes to stamp. Ten years before that I think long distance was a separate service and bill. Next month I will be down to one electronic payment from my ING account via a few keystrokes. That is progress.

We have made tremendous progress in the the era of "information-petro-man" economy. What will the world be like in 100 years? Instant information always-on and NO OIL ANYWHERE ANYTIME?

Kuranda

talguy

12-20-07, 05:15 PM

I live in bucks county and was blessed today with the fios tv experience (I had the fios internet for a year now). Does anyone know when the new fios tv interface is going to come to this area. that is the interactive media uide.

GeekGirl

12-20-07, 07:26 PM

talguy. Long subject of debate with no definitive answers. You'll probably get a better answer in the Philly Verizon area thread (which you've also posted).

jwhitesel

12-21-07, 11:47 AM

I'm set up for Fios TV install on Monday 12/24. Merry Xmas to Me! After 10 years I'm finally leaving D*. Earlier this month I had three different equipment upgrade installation appointments with D* to get their new HD equipment. The first time the installer was supposed to be there between 8-12 am. Showed up at 2pm. I had to be somewhere at 3pm so we rescheduled. Came back 6 days later started the install and said you don't have good line of sight I can't install. Mind you I've had service for 5 years in this house and never had a problem with signal. He said I'll setup for a second opinion and install if they can do it. 7 days later a different installer comes out and said you have line of sight. Then says he isn't setup to do the install today and will have to setup another appointment. 3 days of my time and no upgrade! I said 3 strikes your out and cancelled my upgrade with Directv.

I'm going to save about $50/month, will not have to pay the $225 equipment upgrade fee, and will get a free 19" LCD tv from Fios. I will miss the NFL package, the only reason I'm still with D*, but hell if I save $50/month I might just reconnect all my D* equipment during the season and pay for the NFL package. $50/month is $600/year which will easily pay for the NFL ticket!

From Verizon i'm getting the HD home media DVR, 2 stand STBs, and 1 HD box. I'm probably going to buy a Tivo HD as well, because my D* DVRs are all Tivos and we love them.

Hopefully my Fios install goes well and I get equipment with the newer and better IMG.

jimrimback

12-21-07, 12:16 PM

Hopefully my Fios install goes well and I get equipment with the newer and better IMG.

Don't hold your breath, You'll get the current Microsoft IPG.

BTW, please be kind to your installer. It is Christmas Eve after all. :)

jwhitesel

12-21-07, 02:44 PM

Well this is a bad start! Verizon called today and needs to reschedule my install. I ordered service on 12/15 and had the appoint set for 12/24. Now they told me the earliest they can do it is 1/8/08! Thats 25 days from when I ordered it. Not good!

jwhitesel

12-21-07, 03:22 PM

Well this isn't a good start! Got a call today and Verizon just changed my install date from 12/24 to 1/8/08. Thats 25 days from when I ordered it on 12/15. Is this typical?

GeekGirl

12-21-07, 08:06 PM

Welcome to AVS forum. I wouldn't say it's typical, but you can find complaints on both ComCast and Verizon. DSL Reports also has a Verizon FiOS forum and you can find more complaints over there: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

Remember that you are in the holiday season, so things may be backed up. Just don't cancel anything until you get FiOS up and running. It's worth the wait.

GeekGirl

12-21-07, 08:18 PM

Finally took some time to do a QAM tuner scan of the FiOS channels (getting a new TV ready for Santa delivery run). The Music Choice and Urge channels are there as previously posted- first time I've seen subchannels to 3 digits. Also Weather Channel and WGN. VOD on 87's subchannels. 88 seems to be a VOD feed as well, but I couldn't figure it out from content (letterboxed movie, 480i).

There are 2 unexpected surprises 1) private channel on 90-800 and 2) 90-801 that appeared to be a web cam view from a business / restaurant looking out to a driveway.

These channels appear to belong to the "Peninsula Resort" in Millsboro DE. The crawler on 90-800 said to change to '889' for the security channel. I'm betting that's 90-801. Can't confirm since the STB locks this channel range out.

Interesting that this stuff is in the clear, as one would think that it's not intended for the general public.

TheShambles

12-22-07, 02:54 AM

No Fios in the city... yet. When is it coming? Who knows?

Better be there by Summer/Fall 2008...or I'm going to cry.

jeepmatt

12-22-07, 07:01 AM

Jwhit-
It's not uncommon at least here in the PA / DE area. :-)

jimrimback

12-22-07, 07:24 AM

Well this isn't a good start! Got a call today and Verizon just changed my install date from 12/24 to 1/8/08. Thats 25 days from when I ordered it on 12/15. Is this typical?

Typical?.....from the order date to install date, that seems to be about average now.......install date moved from the day before a major holiday, they overbooked themselves!

Kuranda

12-22-07, 08:02 AM

Typical?.....from the order date to install date, that seems to be about average now.......install date moved from the day before a major holiday, they overbooked themselves!

That's about what I experienced as well for installation lead time. I will say that Verizon never stood me up like the experience you had with D*. My reaction would have been the same as yours.

When Verizon said they would come, they were there. The positive aspect is that Vz gave you a courtesy call to inform you of the change to minimize the inconvenience to you.

It is still disappointing to have delays. Most projects experience delays for some reason. (Including EVERY home project I have ever done!) It is how the delays are handled that matters more than the delays. The unforeseen is almost a certainty on every project.

I wish you well in finding the patience to wait. It is worth it, in my opinion. I have had Comcast, D* and now Verizon FiOS. FiOS is the best of the three (3) that I have experienced. It is not perfect, but it is at the top of my customer-satisfaction list based on my experience.

Kuranda

jwhitesel

12-22-07, 09:46 AM

Kuranda,

Yeah, true about the call from Verizon 3 days before the install as opposed to the call from D* at 11:30am saying they won't be there until 2pm when they were scheduled from 8a-12. At least I won't waste my day before xmas waiting for them. I have lots of things I can do!

Although, the delay is dissappointing, I guess I'll just have to wait it out. Hopefully the delay will coorespond with them updating the IMG in this area as well.

caesar1

12-22-07, 11:24 AM

Just find out via my neighbor that Verizon is doing "stealth" installs in our neighborhood. In other words, my neighbor knew a Verizon employee who had it down the street, so my neighbor got it.

Apparently it is available where I live (Marple Township, DELCO), but for some weird reason they aren't marketing it yet or otherwise making it generally known.

Questions:

1. What exactly are all the HD channels available?

2. What exactly is the HD box used by Verizon now? Model number; HDMI?

3. Is there a charge per "additional outlet" with Verizon, if so, what is the charge (we currently have 3 Comcast DVRs and one plain digital box)?

4. Is the "media center" thing available -- where you have one DVR and can distribute it to other TVs (so I dont' have to get 3 DVRs)?

5. I have a kitchen TV mounted on the wall (no place to put a cable box). It receives all the Comcast analog channels and all the broadcast HD channels over the coax cable plugged directly into it -- as this TV has a QAM tuner. Will I still be able to get anything on this TV with just the Verizon service plugged into the back of this TV (no cable box)? If so, what channels will I get?

talguy

12-22-07, 11:35 AM

casesar1,

for the HD channels I have abc, nbc, cbs, fox, pbs, hd theater, tnt, hd net, hd net movies, discovery, i forget the rest but there are like 40 hd channels now and it depends on if you get any movie channels or not.

All the set top boxes are Motorolas and the HD boxes have hdmi output and about every other output you can think of.

there is a charge per additional outlets to be installed I think it is somewhere around $50 - $60.

It is called a multizone DVR i believe. My folks didn't get it but it is available.

for you kitchen tv i'm not sure what you can do. you maybe be able to use the verizon's digital adapter it think it is small enough to hide behind the tv. I'm not sure if this will work or not but check it out

Evan

caesar1

12-22-07, 11:49 AM

EricFinn

12-22-07, 01:17 PM

Better be there by Summer/Fall 2008...or I'm going to cry. I might get out the tissues then. Philadelphia isn't exactly known as a progressive quick moving city. :-) First you'll have to see if the city has an agreement with Verizon. I know there is a link to the list of municipalities who've approved the FIOS install somewhere. Secondly, I'm not sure how fast the city is likely to move on that given the amount of money they just threw at Comcast to help them build their new downtown headquarters. But that's just my typical jaded suburban view of Philly having lived in the area all my life. Last, even if the city does have an agreement with Verizon it doesn't mean you'll get service. My township reached an agreement with Verizon a couple of years ago and they only just finished running fiber to my street last month. I hope for your sake it works out, but having been in the area all my life I won't say I'd be all that hopeful.

Eric
(who's never lived in the city, but has never been more than 20 minutes from its borders either)

caesar1

12-22-07, 01:58 PM

He's not feeding you a line of bull. Programing can only be sent to the QIP 2500's and only to two STB's simultaneously.

There has been talk of adding the HD boxes into the HMDVR mix.

-Jim

So if you get the media center thing, it only works with SD recordings on your other TVs?

What's the point of that? I pretty much ONLY record HD programming.

talguy

12-22-07, 04:29 PM

My question on additional outlets is for MONTHLY charge. Not a one time install charge.

Comcast charges us monthly for each additional outlet. Like $12.00 per outlet.

o you meant additional set top boxes we have four verizon will give you 3 with the fourth being an additional monthly charge of $5 for SD and $10 HD boxes

Kuranda

12-23-07, 01:33 PM

GeekGirl

12-23-07, 07:44 PM

It's not you. I also caught a few SD (low-res) coverage shots, like down by the goal line. More annoying was that CBS was covering the AFC 1 PM game in SD until the 2nd quarter (was watching it during commercials).

I still like to listen to WYSP 94.1 for Eagles coverage. Nothing like listening to Merrell give his opinion of NO's decision to go for it on 4th and goal. :)

whotony

12-23-07, 07:48 PM

Does FOX HD mix camera types in coverage of the games?

There seems to some low-res coverage mixed in or am I seeing things. One of the replays looked really bad.

Any thoughts on what I think I am seeing or is it me just thinking I am seeing things?

Kuranda

i see this nearly every week during eagle broadcasts.

what i see, and i've posted this before, is it looks like fox 29 keeps switching the hd signal off and on during the game.

you can see a noticable difference in pq.
it seems as if a frame skips then the pq goes from hd to to "Fox Widescreen"
and back agian.

jimrimback

12-23-07, 08:55 PM

So if you get the media center thing, it only works with SD recordings on your other TVs?

That is correct, only SD recordings can be "transferred" to the Moto QIP2500 standard STB.

Kuranda

12-24-07, 08:04 AM

i see this nearly every week during eagle broadcasts.

what i see, and i've posted this before, is it looks like fox 29 keeps switching the hd signal off and on during the game.

you can see a noticable difference in pq.
it seems as if a frame skips then the pq goes from hd to to "Fox Widescreen"
and back agian.

whotone/geekgirl:

Would you consider posting a link so I (we) can complain to the appropriate party about the FOX NFL Eagles sports PQ from NO yesterday?

I don't know NFL sports broadcasting business and signal delivery supply chain well enough to know where to complain to the appropriate responsible party. I have to assume there are many technically responsible/controlling entities in the signal delivery chain from the football field cameraman on the turf in NO to the my FiOS-HD-STB.:confused:

The suppliers surely would know we would notice. Even my old eyes caught this one (minor diminished vision in one eye) and for some reason it is the first time I noticed it. (FYI: I do not have an HD set yet (PDP-HDTV in savings plan). I noticed this watching the HD broadcast on my 28 inch effective HD-letterbox (WEGA 30+ inch SD) viewing from 10+ feet connected via component cables. I prefer HD-letterbox on my old WEGA than SD - wider view of the field and especially when my surround sound speakers come alive and I hear the "crunch and crowd."):(

I gotta believe they would like to fix this if the right people knew about it. It would be nice if they get this technology squared away for the playoffs or at least get it done by August 2008 for us NFL-HDTV viewers.

Kuranda

mystic04

12-24-07, 08:46 PM

Better be there by Summer/Fall 2008...or I'm going to cry.

Hey shambles guess who buddy !!:)

GeekGirl

12-27-07, 04:27 PM

Kuranda - Sorry, I don't have any insight on how to complain to Fox. I'd just hit the web sites for viewer feedback.

Kuranda

12-28-07, 08:35 AM

Kuranda - Sorry, I don't have any insight on how to complain to Fox. I'd just hit the web sites for viewer feedback.

GeekGirl: Thanks. Will do.

Jim Hef

12-31-07, 09:44 AM

Kuranda

01-01-08, 12:09 PM

Did anyone else have a very shaky feed during the Patriots game on Saturday night? I was flipping back and forth from the Penn State game to the Pats game, and on all three channels it was shown on, there were video pauses that really made watching the game annoying. With it happening on all three, I figured it was the original feed, but not sure who was the originator...didn't read anywhere who was the responsible party.

I Vz-FiOS-DVR'd the HD-game on HD-NFL-TV (?). I did not record the major network versions of the game so this is not a good comparison. The replay from my DVR was flawless. :)

What a great game, perhaps we have seen the best games of the season already.

However, we recorded a Suze Orman re-run last night at 9 PM on SD-CNBC. The replay from DVR had a lot of audio drop outs and few video dropouts. :confused:

Any ideas where these flaws/artifacts come from? How could they be eliminated?

jwhitesel

01-02-08, 04:06 PM

So I'm getting closer to my install date of 1/8 is there anything I should do to get ready? Will the HD boxes come with HDMI cables or should I buy some? Any pre-install advice would be appreciated.

GeekGirl

01-02-08, 07:40 PM

First advice: If you have cable or satellite, don't even think about cancelling anything until Verizon is up and running. Allow for some possibility that there will be a problem due to any number of reasons and the install has to get rescheduled. Verizon should provide the HDMI cables. If not, get them at http://www.monoprice.com. No need to pay $$$ Monster Cable prices.

Read up on FiOS here: http://fiosfaq.com/content.php?contentid=3 (the whole web site, this just points to the install process)

Lots more reading on dslreports.com. There's an entire forum just for Verizon FiOS (and internet): http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiber

Jim Hef

01-03-08, 08:49 AM

I'll second the advice to head to Monoprice for your cable needs. High quality at very low prices, saving you quite a bit. The prices seem so low that you will think they are substandard, but they are everything the Monster cables are at 1/10 the price! I don't remember Verizon supplying the HDMI cable, but it depends upon your hookup and equipment. If you only have one HDMI input on your set, I'd use that for an upconverting DVD player, and hook the cable box up with component cables...you won't see the difference. If you have a receiver that does HDMI switching, then by all means, run all sources to it with the HDMI cables. If not, you'll also want a Toslink optical cable to run from the cable box to your receiver to transmit the 5.1 audio.

harrihuss

01-03-08, 09:17 PM

Horrible Feed Problems?

I Live in Newtown and after several months of excellent service have begun experiencing increasingly frequent and prolonged loss of signal on all three of my tv's.
It strangely seems to effect about 90% of channels and is exactly the same on all tvs.
Phone and internet are unaffected.

Anyone else with similar problems?

GeekGirl

01-03-08, 10:26 PM

Welcome to AVS forum. Sounds like you have something that's common to all 3 TV's. First gut reaction is screaming that there's a loose connection somewhere between the ONT and where it splits to the TVs. The signal level has decreased to the point where the STBs ran out of room and can't correct for errors any more. If you don't have any STBs, the result is the same - noise and dropouts.

Go to your ONT (the big box where the fiber goes in and the coax / internet / phone come out) and check the coax cables. Check each connection to the point where it splits into the 3 TVs. That includes the splitter. Also check the ActionTec router coax (wouldn't hurt).

Checking the connection means 2 things: 1) tightening the connector and 2) Moving each coax back and forth to check for a broken coax shield. Most people just check for loose connectors. However, if someone were to accidentally pull on the coax and break the shield, you'll never find the problem since it still looks intact. Watch the TV to see if anything changes while you work on it.

If you can't find anything wrong with the coax, call for service. Might be a problem with the ONT itself.

mystic04

01-04-08, 08:40 AM

I am listed to get fios installed on jan 9th. Ialready have the fios internet so the box outside and backup supply is already installed. What else is needed for the Tv install?.
My comcast cable splitter is not far from the ont box on the outside wall. Will thye just connect another cable from the ont to the splitter and then install the box's on the tv. do i need to run another cat 5 cable from my router to where the ont box is at. Hope this is all clear enough to understand.

Jim Hef

01-04-08, 10:10 AM

You'll need a coax run to your computer setup, or an ethernet cable from the computer to where you'll position the router. Verizon will use the existing coax cables to your TV locations, but they will probably install a new splitter to the various runs. The router I have is an Actiontec M1424WR if you want to search for it to see what is required.

GeekGirl

01-04-08, 05:54 PM

mystic04 - to answer your other question, there's no need to run an additional cat 5 cable to your box for FiOS. The program guide comes over the coax, which is taken care of by your internet connection. Here's a wiring diagram: http://fiosfaq.com/content.php?contentid=41

They use an ActionTec router with a coax input to snag the program guide data from the internet side and feed it back to the ONT. Then, it goes over your coax to the TV. The installers will either use what you have or install the ActionTec. In either case, they do all the work.

Don't cancel your ComCast service until Verizon is up and running. Lots of reasons for installations to get rescheduled.

mystic04

01-04-08, 08:43 PM

I already have a router from verizon for my internet or are they going to change it out for a different one now. I have a d-link the first one i had crashed after one day so they gave me this one. I just checked and thsi router dosen't have a coax connector , so i guess i'll get a new one .

GeekGirl

01-05-08, 01:57 PM

Yep, they should give you a new ActionTec M1424WR router like Jim Hef mentioned. It's wireless, but you can disable that part if you don't need it. Checkout the dslreports.com forums in Post #703 of this thread. Lots to read. Enjoy.

Jim Hef

01-05-08, 03:49 PM

...Here's a wiring diagram: http://fiosfaq.com/content.php?contentid=41
Wasn't aware that the fiber originated in a puffy cloud!!! :p

harrihuss

01-05-08, 04:36 PM

GeekGirl

01-05-08, 04:56 PM

harrihuss - The fact that it was repeatable problem is a big help to the tech. An outside ONT? I'll bet all that rain we had a few weeks ago got into that old coax, which is probably when you started having problems. Then, the cold snap froze everything solid and finally killed your signal. The new coax should be just fine.

Suggestion: Modify your profile to show where you are. Helpful when you post problems so members can tell where you are.

mystic04

01-08-08, 07:14 AM

Anybody hear when the new guild is comming to the phila area.??

CeeZeeCZ

01-08-08, 11:04 AM

Anybody hear when the new guild is comming to the phila area.??
The long running rumor is that it will be the 1/15.

This morning the new IMG tutorials are showing on channel 111. That's supposed to be a strong consideration for a rollout the following week. My guess is that if they run into a lot of problems with the NY rollout that's now going on (high call volume) they'll delay it, otherwise it'll be a go.

Jim Hef

01-08-08, 01:34 PM

That would be very nice since the Guide is the worst feature of the system. Although, there was stuff running in August that trumpeted the arrival, and we still don't have it yet.

Anyone read the announcement by Comcast of 100Mbps internet coming this year to facilitate distribution of high def movies with a download of only 4 minutes? Would certainly make our present services seem downright slow!

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0744267520080108

WizarDru

01-08-08, 02:08 PM

Anyone read the announcement by Comcast of 100Mbps internet coming this year to facilitate distribution of high def movies with a download of only 4 minutes? Would certainly make our present services seem downright slow!

Meh. Color me skeptical. While I'm sure Comcast could probably deliver it to select markets, a lack of details makes it as nebulous as the TiVo on Comcast announcement. And since I never used their pay-per-view or OnDemand services, it was kind of a wash, anyhow. I've used Amazon Unbox more than I have OnDemand (which is to say, not much).

mystic04

01-09-08, 03:08 PM

Ok well today my fios tv was connected all went pretty well no majors problemes except for the router not wanting to get a ip address but a quick phone call and reset took care of that. Tech was a great guy, very nice and was happy that i was able to help him out a bit on some cable runs which i had done the night before to try and make things as easy as possible for them.I guess the whole install took about 2 hours would have been less except for the router problme at first. He put all new cable ends on all cables tested with his meter for levels , tested each cable run for sound levels, setup the remots . Very happy with the install at least.

Jim Hef

01-10-08, 04:30 PM

Nice, now give us your impressions of the picture quality you're receiving vs. your previous provider...who was that, Comcast? Your installation went very quickly. For those of us using Macs, tell Verizon ahead of time that is your system so they send a tech who may be familiar with a different operating system. My guys used their own laptops to get into the system, and then spent a good deal of time on the phone to be walked through the setup pages they needed.

jwhitesel

01-11-08, 09:45 AM

I just got my Fios TV installed this past Tuesday. So far I like it a lot. I'm coming from Directv so I thought I would give you my thoughts on the picture quality. First the SD content from Fios on my SD TV looks as good if not better than D*. The SD content on my HDTV looks a little bit worse than D*. However, the HD content from FIOS on my HDTV looks better than what i was getting with D*.

I had Tivos from D* and its going to take a little bit getting use to the Fios guide, but at $50 less per month, I'll be able to buy an HD Tivo for my fios in no time!

I like the VOD, now if they could just get HD VOD going that would be great!

kdos

01-11-08, 10:55 AM

Had Fios install (triple play) in October after years of Comcast for TV and internet....Had a tiling problem for about 6 months that Comcast couldn't fix after MANY "housecalls"....So far, knocking on the proverbial wood, Fios has been problem free....Pic quality on 2 HD sets is outstanding, but only slightly better than Comcast, but substantially improved on 2 std def TV's....The "occasional" tiling blip comes up, but few and far between, only lasting split second or 2 when it happens, nothing to ruin viewing experience....Still like the DVR/On Demand/Guide functions of Comcast, but that is probably more a function of what I was used to as opposed to how Fios works...New guide, if and when it appears should sway me there, but I didn't order the service for the guide, etc.....Fios internet, 15/5, flawless and fast....Thanks to those on this forum for their insight and help....

Bosox2004

01-12-08, 11:10 PM

Anyone else having picture and audio drop outs tonight?

CeeZeeCZ

01-13-08, 11:41 AM

Anyone else having picture and audio drop outs tonight?
The local CBS3-HD transmission seems to be the problem. Folks on Comcast, Fios, OTA have all reported on dslreports that there is a problem. If you are seeing dropouts on other stations, then that's different problem.

Jim Hef

01-14-08, 11:23 AM

...Had a tiling problem for about 6 months that Comcast couldn't fix after MANY "housecalls"...Still like the DVR/On Demand/Guide functions of Comcast....
I had that problem with Comcast for about a year and a half while waiting for the FiOS TV to be implemented in our area. Even "rebuilding" the neighborhood cabling system, my neighbors still complain about the Comcast tiling. As for the Guide, we can only hope that the "new" Guide on FiOS will be as good as Comcast's, and that we will soon get HD OnDemand. Silly to be paying all this money for HD programming, and can only enjoy it if you DVR it for later viewing.

jwhitesel

01-16-08, 09:36 AM

Got the new guide this morning. I suppose everyone else did too. Haven't had much time to play with it, but liked what I saw. I was checking out the dual tuner buffers and it was definately working, but my "last" button didn't seem to work. I was able to switch between two channels and they both maintained their recorded buffer, but I couldn't go to the one channel and then hit "last" to go back to the other? Some things were a little slow responding, like the guide, the VOD, etc. but it might just be because its still very new. I like the new guide, you can set it to be transparent, or small or half guide on the side, and also using the "channel" button you can page up and page down, which is nice.

Archangel621

01-16-08, 11:07 AM

I just switched from Comcast about 2 weeks ago so getting the new guide relatively quickly was nice.

I like what I see so far as well. I've seen nothing but complaints from people in other markets about a variety of things with the new IMG. I have yet to experience any problems but I also haven't played around much. I love paging down...that's so handy and is something I missed after switching.

DVR response time seems faster as well. I'm going to try out the VOD when I get home from work. Like jwhitesel said, the guide is slow to come up. Not ideal but it could be worse.

Jim Hef

01-16-08, 11:26 AM

I played a bit today, but am still not satisfied with the procedures. Comcast's Guide seemed simpler to navigate, and gave a level of choices before needing to page through the selections. With Sports, it gave a choice of the various sports, such as football, and then gave the programs. Here, if you select Sports, it will display a total listing of sporting titles, including movies, and then you page through. If you type into the search, such as NFL or NHL, it will then give you what you are looking for rather quickly, but the typing part seems an unnecessary step. Also, the On Demand did not function for me, telling me to "wait" for it, although it didn't show anything within the first minute, and it froze the box on that window, not allowing me to "exit" or hit "last" to get out of it. We'll see how friendly it is once we get more accustomed to its interface.

GeekGirl

01-16-08, 07:35 PM

A few complaints:

The IMG exits with the front panel displaying the channel number. Takes about a minute to change back to time display. FYI - This is a documented "feature" in the Verizon IMG FAQ.
No way to reduce the menu turn-off time (change channels, IMG shows, then disappears).
IMG doesn't take advantage of 16:9 format.

Initial startup had NBC news 810 had audio way out of sync with the video. At least you can change the video output resolution via the IMG.

It's OK, I guess. Just a matter of getting used to it.

Update: There's a FAQ posted over at DSL Reports in this thread: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19785395-FAQ-about-about-the-new-IMG

talguy

01-16-08, 08:03 PM

just got home from work and noticed that the new IMG was on my boxes. Ow and it is so nice. There are some problems like slow response when bringing up the guide, and some others but overall i like it some much nicer then the old one

Evan

JerryL356

01-16-08, 09:34 PM

It seems that the new software has bricked one of my HD boxes. The other 3 boxes are fine, but the one box keeps rebooting and displaying dashes, ones, and eights. I called Verizon but hung up after 20 minutes on hold. I guess a lot of other people are having problems.

GeekGirl

01-16-08, 10:06 PM

One positive note: It retained my DVR settings. Mythbusters is OK! Smash Lab in process. :) (Discovery HD)

Anyone notice that tonight's Flyers game looked a bit softer than usual? Thought I also saw some jerkiness in the motion (stuttering?). Home game, should be top notch PQ.

CeeZeeCZ

01-17-08, 09:37 AM

Anyone notice that tonight's Flyers game looked a bit softer than usual? Thought I also saw some jerkiness in the motion (stuttering?). Home game, should be top notch PQ.I (we – husband and I) thought just the opposite! The PQ of the Flyers game was outstanding, much sharper and crisper than before, when we thought it was very soft. I actually thought it was as sharp and clear as HDNet hockey games are. Also didn't see any jerkiness (stuttering).

JerryL356

01-17-08, 10:37 AM

I also think the picture quality on the HD channels is better and it is much faster with the new IMG.

blackngold75

01-17-08, 11:41 AM

Overall, I'm liking the new IMG, although I think the guide has kind of a "cluttered" look to it. I thought I also saw better picture-quality last night, but then thought I was just imagining things. :confused:

GeekGirl

01-17-08, 07:34 PM

I (we – husband and I) thought just the opposite! The PQ of the Flyers game was outstanding, much sharper and crisper than before, when we thought it was very soft. I actually thought it was as sharp and clear as HDNet hockey games are. Also didn't see any jerkiness (stuttering).Thanks! There's an on-going STB stuttering problem with the IMG upgrade. I think my STB is one of them. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12850593&posted=1#post12850593 Tonight's HDNet game looks a bit softer than what I normally see and the sound is out of sync on most channels. Not much, but it's noticeable. May have Verizon replace it.

mrjgkelly

01-17-08, 09:51 PM

IMO the new IMG looks more advanced and has definately caught up with the Comcast IMG in that respect, but thus far it doesn't appear to really provide much more functionality than the old IMG did. For starters, you still can't customize it and I would at least like to be able to set it to 16x9, so that I can take advantage of all of my screen's real estate... which might help make it look somewhat less cluttered and cramped. It also looks like "Repeat" TV shows aren't being identified (again), and there is still no HD VOD content, which Comcast has been delivering for years.

I switched from Comcast to FIOS TV and Verizon's fiber infrastructure with the expectation that Verizon would far surpass Comcast in the delivery of HD content, but thus far they continue to lag behind.

Wake up Verizon and for once try taking a leadership position in delivering a service, rather than only stepping up when your competion forces you into it. Preciate it.

mmisbin

01-18-08, 09:38 AM

torno

01-18-08, 10:14 AM

mmisbin

01-18-08, 10:56 AM

press the OK button then Menu.
That seems to work, thanks for the quick response!!!
Where did you find out how to do this? When I called Verizon tech support, no one there seemed to know how to get into the service menu.
This (the service menu option) is probably going to be important to anyone who is using an hdmi switching receiver.

GeekGirl

01-18-08, 05:16 PM

I'm having a problem with the IMG update. I can not access the service menu to set 4:3 override. My 16:9 TV displays high definition normally but 4:3 programming is stretched.
The new video settings menu does not have a setting for 4:3 override. My current setup is STB > hdmi switching receiver (onkyo tx-sr 805) > Samsung HLN567.
Previously, you could enter the service menu on the motorola hd/dvr 6416 by pressing menu with the power off. Now, that function does not seem to work.It's a "feature" of the new IMG. Resetting the video output resolution changes the 4:3 setting on the STB to a default setting. Found in the broadbandreports.com FiOS TV forum. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv. Since Philly is among the last in the country to get the new IMG, there's plenty of help available from those who got it first.

There's a thread for the FiOS QIP6416 DVR: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12790304#post12790304

The new setup menu sequence: off, select, menu

GeekGirl

01-18-08, 10:23 PM

After a rather lengthy session involving multiple calls to Verizon tech support. I think my STB's stuttering and audio sync problem may have been solved by a total reload of the STB's firmware. Details on the QIP64616 HD-DVR thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12863198#post12863198.

Update to clarify that this is above and beyond what can be done by remote resetting alone. It's a total brain-wipe and needs Verizon to re-authenticate after the upload.

Kuranda

01-19-08, 05:41 AM

:confused:My DVR-HD-STB and the remote SD-STB both needed to be powered off and restarted in order to work after the upgrade. Is this normal?

:confused:CON: I agree that the new image looks cluttered. I think I will get used to it eventually.

:mad:CON: Now, if I am watching something "tape-delayed" while it is recording, I don't get the minutes played vs. minutes remaining to display. It only shows the start time and the end time and milestone graphic time line. When the recording session ends, then I get the minutes played and minutes remaining to show. To me, this is one feature that was REMOVED with the the new IMG. This is my biggest complaint so far. However, if I get a more responsive FF/REW/Play (see PRO), maybe I don't need to rely on the minutes as much as I used to skip commercials.

:confused:CON: Minor, but I also noticed the DISPLAY-DELAY when the display is returning from channel number to TOD. I think I can get used to it. Not a big deal.

:)PRO: On the DVR-HD-STB my FF and return to PLAY are MUCH MORE RESPONSIVE than before. That I like VERY much. I can zip through commercials much more efficiently than before, IMO.

:)PRO: I have not noticed any change in PQ on my old WEGA with component input. PQ is still OUTSTANDING!

GeekGirl

01-19-08, 11:36 AM

:confused:My DVR-HD-STB and the remote SD-STB both needed to be powered off and restarted in order to work after the upgrade. Is this normal?The only power-down needed should be hitting the OFF button and not disconnecting the AC. You should see a "Welcome to Verizon FiOS" message for a while, then all is OK. Anything else after the first time is not normal.

Did that a lot yesterday while debugging my STB with Verizon.

Jim Hef

01-19-08, 01:02 PM

Are you recommending to do this procedure to cure the audio sync? I'm getting the same thing on some channels, and it's very annoying. I don't have the stuttering though, so did Verizon suggest anything else to try first for just the sync?

GeekGirl

01-19-08, 04:48 PM

So far, yes. It was not a case of "what do you suggest". They went through a script and nothing I could say could deviate them to what I wanted. They forced me through disconnecting and reconnecting cables, changing channels, etc. All I asked for was a replacement STB. However, I'm glad the firmware reload worked (so far).

Did you try resetting your STB from your Verizon login account? The one you access from here: https://www22.verizon.com/myaccount/. The FiOS TV section has a status area that you can do an STB reset and health check. Works fine. BTW: Do this from Internet Explorer or you won't see the little menu popup showing the status.

If the audio sync isn't fixed (I suspect it won't be), then you need the full upload. I call that a total brain-wipe for the non-tech crowd :). IOW, erase the flash memory and restart from the bootloader.

You need to convince them that the box reset didn't work and you want to try the full reset - the one that puts the STB back to it's factory settings. Should take about 20 minutes. You will have to call them back after 20 minutes to re-authenticate the STB on their side. Be sure the agent puts in all the notes of the call so when you call back they have the info. When you do that, say "tech support" to get to the right person.