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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 10, 2011 0:33:58 GMT -5
It looks like we are getting closer to the IMG 1.9 roll out. Channel 131, the FiOS help channel, has been updated to use IMG 1.9 images.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 9, 2011 8:43:00 GMT -5
Cool, now we just have to wait for the IMG 1.9 rollout. We should get it in a month or two. VZ has the deployment schedule locked and loaded.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 8, 2011 15:46:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't pay any attention to what customer service is telling you. I am a new subscriber to FiOS TV and I got the 7232. I was told that I would be getting the 7216, which is has a much smaller hard drive.
Now, I did order a multiroom DVR with additional 3 STBs, I don't know how that factors in.
Has anyone had installed a DVR other than the 7232?
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 7, 2011 21:35:25 GMT -5
I'm getting the FIOS Multi-room DVR installed on Saturday (In Guilderland). So far, has everyone gotten the DVR pictured above? I know that that model is relatively new, and I hope that I receive one because the capacity is comparable to the current TWC Samsung DVR I have (I think 500GB). I don't want to get stuck with an older DVR that only has 160GB in storage... That was the one that I received. The 7232. It has been working flawlessly in the 10 days that I have had it. It does have a 500GB drive and has an ESATA port for additional storage. VZ is testing various drives, the WD DVR Expander drives will be probably be the first ones officially suppported. We are currently on Interactive Media Guide (IMG) 1.8, which is the system software on the DVR and STB. IMG 1.9 is the first version to support external drives. It's scheduled to be released "real soon" now and works best on the 7xxx series. Our market will probably be one of the first ones to get 1.9, since we'll have all new hardware.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 7, 2011 0:52:44 GMT -5
The guys over at the AVS Forum have been compiled a master list of which cable and satellite providers are carrying which HD channel. You can view it at on their site. You get a nice grid of the channels, with columns for the usual suspects. I would have posted the list here, but they do not allow it with written permission.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 7, 2011 0:36:16 GMT -5
The FiOS installer should have programmed the FiOS remote to operate your TV set. He couldn't get one mine (a cheap Insignia HD set), so I looked up the TV remote codes on the VZ site. The starting point is the "Need help with your remote control?" page. We get the Verizon P265 remote. The instructions for programming it are here and the codes for the various TV sets are here.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 7, 2011 0:15:18 GMT -5
I found a subdivision behind Hewitt's on Route 20 that I was able to successfully enter on the FiOS website to get pricing details. It seems to be an "older" neighborhood. The younger developments near my house (less than 15 years old) in the western part of the town are not coming up as having FiOS available. Verizon's geocoding database is seriously borked. If I enter in the house numbers for the houses on either side of me, it tells me that FiOS TV is not yet available. I need to tell my neighbor this as he's getting FiOS TV on the 21st
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 7, 2011 0:10:29 GMT -5
Taxes and fees are going to be the same rate or little higher than Time Warner Cable. It's still cable TV, same tax rates apply. TWC has less fees on their phone service since it's classified as a VOIP product. Verizon isn't offering their VOIP product, FiOS Digital Voice, in this area. We get Freedom Essentials, which is classified as POTS, even though it's being sent over the same fiber line as FiOS Digital Voice would. The bundle price that I ended up doesn't match what was posted at the top of this thread, I have a 2 year contract and it's the same price each month for all 24 months. I'm not sure where that ad came from, I don't think it's for this market. We can't get FiOS Digital Voice, it's not available here. Also the prices listed are much lower than what is being offered in this area. The Albany rates for the FiOS Prime, Extreme, and Ultimate bundles for $84.99, $99.99, and $114.99 respectively. That is posted here. Expect different rates and different promotions as they move along. I was offered a $100 prepaid VISA debit card as a signing bonus. Your mileage will vary. My rate for the Extreme bundle is $114.99 a month, which includes the DVR, 3 STB, and the CableCARD for my TiVo. That does not include taxes, fees, and gratuity. I'm guessing that the total bill will be around $140 a month. If you can swing it, I would suggest getting the Tier 2 Extreme bundle over the Tier 1 Prime bundle. It's worth it just to go from the 15/5 Internet to the 25/25 rate. Once TWC gets competitive, the prices should be more or less the same. The difference will be in the technology. TWC can't compete there, they are handicapped with an infrastructure goes back 30+ years in some parts of this area.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 6, 2011 10:04:21 GMT -5
In what areas of Guilderland can you get FiOS internet and TV? I've punched in my address and those of several surround subdivisions on the Verizon website, only to reveal that it is not available. Are there any parts of Guilderland that already have access to FiOS Internet? That's who will get wired first. At the Bethlehem meeting, Verizon discussed a 60 month schedule for the roll out, but we already had 65% coverage for FiOS. Unfortunately, you will not get a specific answer from VZ about the roll out dates and locations. If they publish that information, TWC would blanket those areas and try to lock in the customers with 1 to 2 year contracts. The VZ spokesperson actually said that at the Bethlehem meeting. If you see a VZ truck installing anything in Guilderland, stop and talk the technician. If anyone would know the schedule, it's going to be that guy. I had a VZ guy come out any check a break in phone line a few weeks ago. He was the one that told me that they would be taking FiOS TV orders around March 25th. He was close, I placed my order on the 24th. Also, when you start get calls from TWC to upgrade or lock in your service, you'll know that fiber optic cable is heading closer to you. I have a friend in Schenectady who has TWC and FiOS Internet and he's noticed that he's getting more calls from TWC.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 6, 2011 7:05:11 GMT -5
The installer that I had was very professional and has performed a lot of FiOS TV installs. He gave me his permission to give out his cell number if anyone wanted to request to have him do the install.
If anyone orders FiOS service (TV and/or Internet), once you have the order number for the installation you can call him. He'll then try to get that order added to his list of installs. No guarantee that he would be available, but there's no harm in asking.
For his own sanity, I'm not going to post his number in a public forum. Just send me a PM and I'll send his name and number.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 6, 2011 6:56:34 GMT -5
We get Universal HD on most of the local providers Provider | Channel | DirecTV | 564 | DISH | 366 | FiOS | 567 | Time Warner | 1860 |
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 4, 2011 22:11:22 GMT -5
Last August, Verizon demoed an app for the iPad that allowed you to view live TV over your FiOS WiFi network. My guess that the engineering is done and VZ is still hammering out agreements with the content providers.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 3, 2011 21:00:54 GMT -5
The installer that I had spent about 20 minutes going over the remote. Though he did miss the "skip 30 second" buttons, he wasn't aware of that functionality. The skill level of the installers will vary.
If the installer doesn't have the right hardware on the truck, he can request to have someone run out the correct hardware while he is doing the install. My cablecard was listed on my install request order, a manager actually drove out with one. He then hung out a bit because he hadn't see one being installed before.
As a long time TiVo bigot, I was pleasantly surprised with the functionality of the DVR. The biggest drawback is that you can only set which show to record from the DVR itself, it would be nice if the STB could control the DVR to that degree. However having the iPad app does make adding shows to record a piece of cake.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 1, 2011 20:35:49 GMT -5
I'm noticing a bit of a lag switching between the STB and my TiVo HD with my Sony . I think the Sony is negotiating resolutions, it's not terribly with that. The TiVo is set to push everything out at 1080i, upscaling SD to 1080. Can the FiOS STB and DVR be locked to 1080i and upscale SD programming?
It's enough of a lag to be noticeable, not long enough to make it unusable. We don't go back and forth a lot between the STB and the TiVo, so it's not a huge issue.
I'll second the comment on the picture quality, you can really tell the difference between a HD channel on TWC and the same channel on FiOS. I got sucked into watching the The Terminator the other night on the HD Net Movies channel, it looked pretty good for a movie from the early 80s.
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Post by Chris Miller on Apr 1, 2011 20:23:10 GMT -5
I have been very impressed. The install went very smoothly. I was able to hook my router the Verizon supplied router and networking is pretty much the way I want it. The MR DVR and STBs came online fairly quickly. Installing the Cablecard into my TiVo was a piece of cake. I have the FiOS Mobile app for the iPad, it is an easy way to program shows on DVR. It's much faster to remotely program the FiOS DVR than it is for my TiVo. The TiVo still beats the FiOS DVR for usability, but I'm impressed with the FiOS DVR.
There were a few glitches, but they were resolved very quickly. The installer was in and out in about 3 hours.
The biggest downsides are the loss of the local sports from the Time Warner stations and BBC America is only available as standard def, no BBC HD. It would be nice to program the DVR from a STB, but it's easier to do it from the iPad.
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