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Verizon FiOS HDTV

2M views 19K replies 1K participants last post by  Marcus Carr 
#1 ·
I have heard about the new Verizon FIOS internet and TV services being rolled out across the country. My question is since they are using fiber optics to transmit their signal and with giving them additional bandwidth, will Comcast be ready to compete with them for pure channel capacity?
 
#19,041 ·
When I saw this picture, I had to go and look around to see what this ONT was because I've never seen it before, but it is a Gpon ONT but an old one. Not that it's no good, just that I don't think Verizon is installing many of these any more. You probably got this because they had it in stock. The ONT that they are mostly installing now looks like the one below. The small box on the right is the power supply and the larger box on the left is the ONT. Verizon offers a batter pack consisting of D-cells that you can plug in and turn on in case of a power failure. I decided to get a small standby UPS to power it in case of short power outages. They can install it inside, like I have mine or outside in a box that looks like the old outside ONT. But rest assured, the service will work the same with all these iterations of Gpon ONTs so there is nothing to be concerned about.

BTW, In my case, I had the 612 outdoor ONT, all they did was turn off the 612, used the fiber connector in the case to terminate the fiber from the street. Then they disconnected the fiber jumper that went to the 612 and ran a new fiber jumper to my new ONT. I believe that Verizon is standardizing on these ONTs is because they can use it in a private home or an apartment. A very simple solution.
Thanks for being patience while waiting on the pic, like I said I had use my PC instead of my phone. I'll hardware to my desktop and laptop and see what kind of speeds I get. I'll do a screen capture and post results.
 
#19,042 ·
Thanks for being patience while waiting on the pic, like I said I had use my PC instead of my phone. I'll hardware to my desktop and laptop and see what kind of speeds I get. I'll do a screen capture and post results.
Also tell us what speed you are subscribed to and what state you live in.
 
#19,044 ·

Think I've solved a nagging RF Interference problem.

Had FiOS - TV, Internet and Phone installed 10 months ago in my Manhattan apartment.

Have had an intermittent problem with two channels I watch, Animal Planet and TLC -
plagued with pixilation and freezing.

First Verizon tech support insisted that the problem was with my STB - VMS1100.
I was sent a replacement box that was dented with a bottom that was encrusted
with who knows what. The power cord looked as if it had been wound by a 3-year-
old.

The new box didn't solve the problem.

Next, Verizon replaced the old Time-Warner RG59 internal cabling with RG6.

That didn't help either. But fortunately, I was able to get to a brand new VMS1100
to replace the horror that had been sent to me.

Finally, found out what was causing the pixilation and freezing problems when a tech
check things out in my apartment. He told me that there was RF interfering with those
two channels, which are located in the same digital package, to act up.

With the supposed state-of-the-art FiOS equipment, we tried wrapping the ONT -
model I-211M-L, with aluminum foil and then covering it with an aluminum pie tin.
The tech told me that the ONT was highly susceptible to RF problems.

That didn't do it either!

Yesterday, it was impossible to watch Animal Planet, there was a show I really wanted
to see.

I went into the closet where the ONT and Gateway Router are located and moved the
ONT - situated it almost upright, on a 45 degree angle against a small carton and, so
far, so good. Absolutely no pixilation or freezing with either channel.

Again, it's only been a day, but I hope that I've found the answer to the problems.

Just wanted to pass this along and hope it helps others.

 
#19,046 ·
I’m a FIOS customer and I’m having frequent audio drops (of about a second in length) on one of my televisions. It’s a Sony Z9 connected to a Yamaha receiver (that’s a Yamaha RXA2060). I’ve tried everything—different set-top boxes, changing out HDMI for optical, etc. The only thing I haven’t done is try a new receiver (which I’d prefer not to do for obvious reasons). My A/V guys are stumped and are pointing the finger at FIOS, suggesting that perhaps the signal strength in the house isn’t good enough. So…I’m at my wit’s end here and would appreciate any help. I also tried changing the audio output to L-PCM (and passthrough)…but that hasn’t helped either. So, any help would be appreciated.
 
#19,047 ·
It's not your issue. it's a known issue... and there is more here in this forum.... https://www.dslreports.com/forum/vzfiostv

I have not experienced it at my house but I have at my Mom's and they have a new ONT and a new Quantum setup and it's the DVR directly to a Toshiba LCD.



I’m a FIOS customer and I’m having frequent audio drops (of about a second in length) on one of my televisions. It’s a Sony Z9 connected to a Yamaha receiver (that’s a Yamaha RXA2060). I’ve tried everything—different set-top boxes, changing out HDMI for optical, etc. The only thing I haven’t done is try a new receiver (which I’d prefer not to do for obvious reasons). My A/V guys are stumped and are pointing the finger at FIOS, suggesting that perhaps the signal strength in the house isn’t good enough. So…I’m at my wit’s end here and would appreciate any help. I also tried changing the audio output to L-PCM (and passthrough)…but that hasn’t helped either. So, any help would be appreciated.
 
#19,048 ·
I know this was discussed before but i'm not sure if there was a final word on it. For the VMS 1100 set top box, is it better to put the sharpness control in the user settings to maximum of 5 or just leave it at 3 and let the TV take care of it? I'm thinking that a late model Sony might do a better job but because the picture blacks out when it switches, it's really hard to see the difference.

Thanks in advance!
 
#19,049 · (Edited)
I know this was discussed before but i'm not sure if there was a final word on it. For the VMS 1100 set top box, is it better to put the sharpness control in the user settings to maximum of 5 or just leave it at 3 and let the TV take care of it? I'm thinking that a late model Sony might do a better job but because the picture blacks out when it switches, it's really hard to see the difference.

Thanks in advance!
Suggest feeding a 1080 test-pattern signal in the same input normally used for the 1100. Adjust the higher-resolution lines using your display to the highest sharpness possible that doen't cause ringing (horizontal resolution 'ghosting'). If 1100s have a sharpness control (my older DVR dosen't AFAIK), tinker with settings that don't create ringing. -- John
 
#19,051 ·
Need help with an annoying issue. I have two channels that won't work on two of the four tvs I have connected. Spike HD 554 and Comedy Central HD 690. Already replaced splitters, about to replace cable. Want other tips before calling a tech to fix.
Make sure that all the coax connectors are good meaning that the connector is on the cable tightly and not loose, try pulling on the cable and check to see that all the connections are tight. Usually in a case like this, the signal is low or marginal. It may be that the optical connectors from the hub to your ONT need to be cleaned or maybe that the ONT is defective.
 
#19,052 ·
As I'm preparing for my install next weekend, I'm trying to figure out how to get everything set up. I pre-wired my apartment with coax running from my front closet (where the ONT will be located) behind the walls to each room. Unfortunately I was not aware of the 100Mb limit over coax. So I've been thinking I would have to choose between losing the extra speed or running an ethernet cable from the closet along the base molding through my front hall to the living room where I plan to keep the router. That won't give me the clean look I was going for...but for the significantly faster speeds could be worth it. But then I came across this Actiontec Ethernet Adapter and was wondering if this would solve my problem. Can I take the coax connection in my living room, plug it into this adapter, and then go coax out to the set top box and ethernet out to the quantum gateway to get my full speed? I'd be happy to spend $80 to have a one cable solution.

Edit: After looking at the tech specs for the Quantum Router, it indicates:

Support for multiple networking standards, including:
WAN - Gigabit Ethernet and MoCA 2.0 interfaces
LAN - 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Gigabit Ethernet and MoCA 2.0 interfaces

Integrated wired networking with 4-port Ethernet switch and MoCA
Ethernet supports speeds up to 1000 Mbps
MoCA 2.0 and 1.1 enabled to support speeds up to 700 Mbps over coaxial cable


Based on this am I even limited to 100Mb if I run coax from the ONT to the Quantum router?
 
#19,053 · (Edited)
They only use coax and MoCA for 100/100 and below. Above that and they use Ethernet to the ONT.

MoCA can easily exceed 100Mb/s speeds. But FiOS uses Ethernet for ONT connections above that. I guess if they still use MoCA then they wouldn't guarantee any higher speeds?
 
#19,054 ·
They only use coax and MoCA for 100/100 and below. Above that and they use Ethernet to the ONT.

MoCA can easily exceed 100Mb/s speeds. But FiOS uses Ethernet for ONT connections above that. I guess if they still use MoCA then they wouldn't guarantee any higher speeds?
Thanks. So it sounds like I won't be able to go coax directly to the quantum gateway (unless I want to be limited to ~100Mb.) Any idea if the Actiontec Ethernet Adaptor would solve my problem?
 
#19,055 ·
As I'm preparing for my install next weekend, I'm trying to figure out how to get everything set up. I pre-wired my apartment with coax running from my front closet (where the ONT will be located) behind the walls to each room. Unfortunately I was not aware of the 100Mb limit over coax. So I've been thinking I would have to choose between losing the extra speed or running an ethernet cable from the closet along the base molding through my front hall to the living room where I plan to keep the router. That won't give me the clean look I was going for...but for the significantly faster speeds could be worth it. But then I came across this Actiontec Ethernet Adapter and was wondering if this would solve my problem. Can I take the coax connection in my living room, plug it into this adapter, and then go coax out to the set top box and ethernet out to the quantum gateway to get my full speed? I'd be happy to spend $80 to have a one cable solution.

Edit: After looking at the tech specs for the Quantum Router, it indicates:

Support for multiple networking standards, including:
WAN - Gigabit Ethernet and MoCA 2.0 interfaces
LAN - 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Gigabit Ethernet and MoCA 2.0 interfaces

Integrated wired networking with 4-port Ethernet switch and MoCA
Ethernet supports speeds up to 1000 Mbps
MoCA 2.0 and 1.1 enabled to support speeds up to 700 Mbps over coaxial cable


Based on this am I even limited to 100Mb if I run coax from the ONT to the Quantum router?
You can ask the fios tech to run fiber all the way to where your router is. They have a desktop ont which has a fiber input then the output can go cat5 to the router, etc... You can connect the coax to the rest of the rooms from that point if they are all not terminated in the closet. If they are, best to just run a cat5E so eventually you can get 1Gb speed.
 
#19,056 ·
You can ask the fios tech to run fiber all the way to where your router is. They have a desktop ont which has a fiber input then the output can go cat5 to the router, etc... You can connect the coax to the rest of the rooms from that point if they are all not terminated in the closet. If they are, best to just run a cat5E so eventually you can get 1Gb speed.
Yes, they are all terminated in the closet. That said, the fiber is slighly thinner than Cat 5 so it's a more attractive option. I could then split the coax out from the desktop ONT and send one cable directly to the set top box and the other through the walls and back to the closet where I could split it again to the other two coax cables in the closet to pass the signal to the other rooms.

But I'm still trying to figure out if the Actiontec Ethernet Adaptor I linked to above would allow me to take the coax in the living room and turn that into close to 1Gb speeds? If I could even get 500Mb that way I'd be content for at least a few years. And I'd get the cleaner look with all my cables out of sight.

Also, I just got my FiOS installation package this afternoon. It contains the set top boxes, remotes, cables and quantum gateway...but no ONT. Does the installer bring that?
 
#19,057 ·
Yes, they are all terminated in the closet. That said, the fiber is slighly thinner than Cat 5 so it's a more attractive option. I could then split the coax out from the desktop ONT and send one cable directly to the set top box and the other through the walls and back to the closet where I could split it again to the other two coax cables in the closet to pass the signal to the other rooms.

But I'm still trying to figure out if the Actiontec Ethernet Adaptor I linked to above would allow me to take the coax in the living room and turn that into close to 1Gb speeds? If I could even get 500Mb that way I'd be content for at least a few years. And I'd get the cleaner look with all my cables out of sight.

Also, I just got my FiOS installation package this afternoon. It contains the set top boxes, remotes, cables and quantum gateway...but no ONT. Does the installer bring that?
Yes, but when the installer gets there, explain, calmly, what you are trying to do and see what alternatives he can offer. He probably won't know about the adaptor. My suggestion, if you plan to stay there a while, get the fiber run to the TV so you always have the fastest link as upgrades occur.
 
#19,058 ·
Yes, but when the installer gets there, explain, calmly, what you are trying to do and see what alternatives he can offer. He probably won't know about the adaptor. My suggestion, if you plan to stay there a while, get the fiber run to the TV so you always have the fastest link as upgrades occur.
Thanks. I'll give the Actiontec Adapter a shot. I may also have him run fiber into the living room as you suggest.
 
#19,059 ·
So I went ahead and ordered the Actiontec. But I'm still confused as to how this thing works and where it should be installed. All the diagrams show the Actiontec being placed after the router/gateway...but I was thinking I would install it to the coax from the wall in the living room, and then connect it to the router. Hopefully the installer has a clue. lol
 
#19,060 ·
Got my install on Saturday. The range of their Quantum gateway is pretty average, but it is sufficient to reach everywhere in my apartment. The speed I'm getting on my various devices does differ by quite a bit (25Mb to 400Mb)...but that could likely be due to the quality of the wireless cards/antennas in each. I did buy the Actiontec MOCA adapter and have that running off coax in the living room and then ethernet out to a switch so that all the home theater devices in my AV rack are hard wired. I'm getting about 500Mb that way. So in my case I'm not seeing GB speeds (as was expected), but considering I was previously on a 75Mb plan, getting 5x that for less $ is a win in my book and should be more than sufficient for a few years.
 
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