[zipbags]

I hope this is the right forum...


I have had Directv for a few years now and I am happy with it. But, my phone and internet (DSL) is with Verizon. So a few years ago I bundled them together for a discount.


Tonight I got a visit from a Verizon rep. He said they are upgrading dsl customers with fiber optic lines for no charge and with the double play deal it would save me around $30 a month. As we were going through everything. He asked about my tv service. I said I have Directv and was happy. When Fios came to my neighborhood last year. I looked at the packages. But, with the amount of sets I had (6..Incld 2 HD dvrs & 1 SD dvr) it was more money than Directv. I also have all the premium channels.

Out of curiosity I asked how much it was for Fios with all of the channels (6 sets..2 HD dvrs..I figured I can widdle down to two). It worked out to be almost $50 cheaper with their triple play.


So here is my question. I have looked into the Fios vs Directv comparisons. But, it seems like most of the discussions are 2yrs old. Has anyone switched recently and what do you think? I heard Direct has a better dvr. But, heard something about Fios' new DVR coming soon that has a large hard drive. I also heard that the dvr is a little better on Direct.


Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[JohnMc]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zipbags /forum/post/19520148


I hope this is the right forum...


I have had Directv for a few years now and I am happy with it. But, my phone and internet (DSL) is with Verizon. So a few years ago I bundled them together for a discount.


Tonight I got a visit from a Verizon rep. He said they are upgrading dsl customers with fiber optic lines for no charge and with the double play deal it would save me around $30 a month. As we were going through everything. He asked about my tv service. I said I have Directv and was happy. When Fios came to my neighborhood last year. I looked at the packages. But, with the amount of sets I had (6..Incld 2 HD dvrs & 1 SD dvr) it was more money than Directv. I also have all the premium channels.

Out of curiosity I asked how much it was for Fios with all of the channels (6 sets..2 HD dvrs..I figured I can widdle down to two). It worked out to be almost $50 cheaper with their triple play.


So here is my question. I have looked into the Fios vs Directv comparisons. But, it seems like most of the discussions are 2yrs old. Has anyone switched recently and what do you think? I heard Direct has a better dvr. But, heard something about Fios' new DVR coming soon that has a large hard drive. I also heard that the dvr is a little better on Direct.


Any help would be appreciated!!

I switched a few years back and have been very happy with FIOS. I hated the FIOD DVR, having gone from a D* TiVo. I now have two HD TiVo boxes with cable cards and I'm happy as a clam. I upgraded the drives to 1T and get 157 hours of HD.

 

[zipbags]

Thanks John. I see we both live in Monmouth Cty. One question maybe you can answer. I heard Fios is releasing a new DVR that holds a lot more info. Any word on this yet?


Thanks!

 

[Gary Quiring]

I switched a few months ago, zero regrets. I was with DirecTV 15 years. Once I upgraded D* to that larger oval HD dish I had nothing but signal issues. Eventually I had a friend realign the dish but I was still not happy with the snow and rain issues. Then the 5.1 audio dropouts finally made me look at FIOS.


The FIOS service is rock solid. Their DVR is not bad, it's lightning fast but has a very small hard drive. And since they record in MPEG2 it takes up more space on the drive. But with the VOD service you just need to 'relearn' how to use the services. The VOD is great stuff and gets around the small hard drive. Also v1.9 (coming soon) will enable the eSATA port to allow an external drive for larger storage.


The picture quality on FIOS is superior to D*. Their fiber internet is blazing fast. I had CableVision which experienced the daily evening slowdown syndrome which does not exist on FIOS. I have the 35/35 service and I get 42 down 24/7!!


The other nice perk is FIOS does not require a converter box for locals. So if you have a TV in the kitchen or basement for some local channel viewing you can receive your locals without a box. D* can't offer that. Another nice perk is you don't need dual runs to each DVR. One cable will work with their dual tuner DVR.


I saved about $55 month with my FIOS package and get a lot more stations. I no longer fear the weather and 100% love their internet speeds.

 

[zipbags]

Thanks.


I just read on the Verizon forum that the new DVR's have 500gb they are Motorola QIP7232 and are now being rolled out to new customers and lucky older customers. The rep told me to call before they set up install for the modem & phone if I wanted to add Fios. I am going to tell them I want the 7232's or I won't switch. Hopefully, I will get lucky.



Also, besides Chnl.101. Are their any HD/SD channels that Fios doesn't have that Directv does?? Includ.premium channels (ie-HBO, Stars,etc)

 

[JohnMc]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zipbags /forum/post/19521096


Thanks John. I see we both live in Monmouth Cty. One question maybe you can answer. I heard Fios is releasing a new DVR that holds a lot more info. Any word on this yet?


Thanks!

No Clue. Once you get hooked on TiVo, it's hard to go antwhere else.

One set top box gives you Cable (or telco), OTA, and WEB all in one. Show me any cable box that lets you go anywhere outside of the cable itself.

 

[sangs]

Made the switch in June. Only regret was the FIOS DVR was much smaller. However, that has changed with the new 500 GB DVRs. I was lucky enough to get a couple during a repair last week and now, no regrets at all.


I was sick and tired of losing my Directv signal so frequently, especially the HD channels. I give them all the credit in the world for trying to correct the problem - and they did try everything they could - but it never improved dramatically. Haven't had a single dropout with FIOS. Also, the internet speed just blows away my old Comcast connection. People complain about the customer service and billing issues here and in other forums, but I haven't run into those problems yet.


Oh, another thing you should consider though - are you a big sports fan? If so, then you're likely to be a bit disappointed. Whereas Directv offers HD for nearly all their subscription sports services, FIOS does not. Case in point, during the baseball season, only two games were available in HD per day on the FIOS MLB Extra Innings package. Directv offered HD broadcasts of BOTH team feeds. Also, no NFL Sunday Ticket. However FIOS does offer the NFL Red Zone which is a fraction of the Sunday Ticket cost and does the job for me just fine.


Good luck.

 

[zipbags]

Thanks sangs. Luckly, I don't need many sports channels...living in nj I get my Yankees & giants. Are there any other channels that direct has that fios does not? I heard that fios doesn't have cartoon network hd.


Thanks!!

 

[sangs]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zipbags /forum/post/19522724


Thanks sangs. Luckly, I don't need many sports channels...living in nj I get my Yankees & giants. Are there any other channels that direct has that fios does not? I heard that fios doesn't have cartoon network hd.


Thanks!!

Don't watch Cartoon Network much, but yeah, I don't think FIOS has it in HD. What they DO have in HD though is AMC. I don't know if you're a Mad Men, Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead fan, but if you are, they've never looked better than on FIOS. There may be channels FIOS doesn't carry that D* does, but it carries all the ones I watch. I'll let somebody else handle the list. I know there is a comparison chart on one of these threads in this forum. Maybe it's in the stickies at the top of the main page. Take a look.


Yeah, here you go: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1058081


I hear you about the sports. I'm a Giants, Mets & Islanders fan, so I'm taken care of on that front being in NJ. But my other favorite pro teams are the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons. Luckily, there are many other ways available to watch them though.