FIOS

[imref]

We had DirecDVR's in our MBR and our family room.  When we got FiOS we opted for the whole house DVR in the family room.  Once we discovered we couldn't initiate a recording from the bedroom I called Verizon and swapped the bedroom unit for a regular DVR and had them turn off the whole house DVR.  They send out the units and you simply swap them out and ship them back (they cover the shipping).

[PANatsFan]

We had DirecDVR's in our MBR and our family room.  When we got FiOS we opted for the whole house DVR in the family room.  Once we discovered we couldn't initiate a recording from the bedroom I called Verizon and swapped the bedroom unit for a regular DVR and had them turn off the whole house DVR.  They send out the units and you simply swap them out and ship them back (they cover the shipping).

Eh, my Kindle's always on my nightstand, and you can initiate a recording from the mobile web.

[imref]

Eh, my Kindle's always on my nightstand, and you can initiate a recording from the mobile web.

i'm not the only one using the TV (most of the crap we have on the DVR is kids stuff).

[PANatsFan]

i'm not the only one using the TV (most of the crap we have on the DVR is kids stuff).

I'm confused: the kids need to initiate recordings from the box in the MBR? Usually my wife just tells me what she wants taped and I do it anyway.

[imref]

I'm confused: the kids need to initiate recordings from the box in the MBR? Usually my wife just tells me what she wants taped and I do it anyway.

yeah, the kids have a nasty habit of crawling into bed with us in the morning on non-school days around 7:00 AM in the morning.  :-)

Plus my wife was ready to throw FiOS out when I told her she couldn't record from the MBR box.

[PANatsFan]

So the Media Manager lets you supply any link to an internet radio station, and it will stream that station to your tv. Unreal. I'm going to set up a media server machine with a wired connection to the router and a big-ass hard drive.

[Obed_Marsh]

So Ruku does Pandora unlimited, boxee box supposedly opens more up if it lives up to the promise, and for pure HD radio and cable radio radio SHARK HD comes after that going from reality to promise.

If I am missing something; tell me.

[PANatsFan]

So Ruku does Pandora, boxee box supposedly opens more up if it lives up to the promise, and for pure HD radio and cable radio radio SHARK HD comes after that.

Yeah but I didn't have to buy 1 piece of equipment. Pandora sucks IMO - ads, time limits, I pay for Napster for a reason.

[Obed_Marsh]

Roku comes with unlimited Pandora. At least after buying and registering I have not yet encountered a limit. Granted with Napster you may not care but try to find NFL rudgy and MLB.TV feeds in a commodity hardware device released today.

[PANatsFan]

Roku comes with unlimited Pandora. At least after buying and registering I have not yet encountered a limit. Granted with Napster you may not care but try to find NFL rudgy and MLB.TV feeds in a commodity hardware device released today.

The Napster subscription is so cheap that it just doesn't make sense to me to use Pandora when I can micromanage my playlists or just hit automix. Lala gives me unlimited streaming of my personal collection, so I'm set.

I like the FiOS streaming for classical, college radio, etc.

[HalfSmokes]

I have a question for FIOS users- the comcast commercials make a big deal over how much the bill jumps after the contract, is this just another comcast load of crap?

[PANatsFan]

I have a question for FIOS users- the comcast commercials make a big deal over how much the bill jumps after the contract, is this just another comcast load of crap?

My rate is guaranteed for 2 years on a 1 year contract, so I don't really care. I'll re-evaluate in 18 months. There was a bs "activation" fee that wasn't on the sample bill - fighting it right now. Problem is you need a zero balance to qualify for the rebate prepaid debit cards.

[saltydad]

My Dish DVR allows me to record from either of 2 rooms just by highlighting the show in the  Program Guide. I can record 2 different high def shows concurrently, and also a 3rd over the over-the-air antennae. I love it, Plus I can add a separate hard drive for more movie storage. The signal clarity is great, and I only get interruptions about twice a year for bad electrical storms. The amount of HD is awesome, and the sound is Dolby Digital 5.1. My only gripe with Dish is no MASN- HD and no MLB Channel.

[asindc]

I have a question for FIOS users- the comcast commercials make a big deal over how much the bill jumps after the contract, is this just another comcast load of crap?

I switched from DirecTV to Fios about three years ago when it first became available in PG County.  I signed up for the 2-yr. plan Triple Plan (or whatever they call it) and I am now just on month-to-month.  The rates have stayed the same since the 2-yr. expired, but the plan gives you a guaranteed rate, of course.

Having owned Comcast, DirecTV, and now Fios, I rank them as follows:

Picture quality: 1) Fios, 2) DirecTV, 3) Comcast.
Features: 1) D, 2) F, 3) C.
Service: 1) D..................2) F............................3) C.

Comcast could not beg me enough to go back to them.  Fios leave a great deal to be desired in the service category as well, but it is a bit better than Comcast (who isn't?).  I miss DirecTV, but alas, it dropped Tivo when Murdoch took over and now it is rumored to get it back.  I'll wait until they actually do.

[CALSGR8]

I know when I saw ads for fios, you had to sign a 2 yr contract.  The first yr was 89.99/month.   The second year it jumped to 119.99/ month.  SO Comcast is right.  HOWEVER, they have been guilty of the same thing; so for them to throw that out there is totally stupid!   

[Nathan]

I know when I saw ads for fios, you had to sign a 2 yr contract.  The first yr was 89.99/month.   The second year it jumped to 119.99/ month.  SO Comcast is right.  HOWEVER, they have been guilty of the same thing; so for them to throw that out there is totally stupid!   

I know, it's laughable!

[PANatsFan]

There's 6 or 7 FioS deals all the time. So Comcast could say most anything and it would be right

[CALSGR8]

Well I actually. Sent. FIOS an email.   Didn't do any good though.

[imref]

There's 6 or 7 FioS deals all the time. So Comcast could say most anything and it would be right

i'm paying about $250 after all the deals expired, it gives me:
- unlimited local/LD voice plus all voice features (caller id, call waiting, voicemail, etc.)
- 25/15 Internet with WiFi router
- two HD DVRs
- one SD non-DVR
- HD Extreme package
- HBO/Cinemax
- one cell phone with 450 minutes a month

I've found that if you call every 3 months and threaten to drop HBO/Cinemax, they'll extend it for free.

Overall, I'm still saving about $30 a month compared to my previous DirecTV, Comacast Internet, Verizon voice plans, and I get more HD, a better picture, more local channels, and much faster Internet service.

[PANatsFan]

Yeah I want the movie channels but I don't want to pay. Frankly the free on demand on Fios is insulting compared to comcast.

Also, you cant pause on-demand, only stop, which is dumb.

I'm gonna see what I can do, there's a free month of movie channels right now I think.

[HalfSmokes]

Just got Fios installed, I've now had comcast, Direct TV, and FIOS is the space of ~3 years. I can say without reservation that fios is by far the best picture quality, menu response time (how comcast can have a coax connection, but load text menus like a 14.4 modem was beyond me), and free video library. Direct TV was solid, and comcast was worst on every front.

[blue911]

Just got Fios installed, I've now had comcast, Direct TV, and FIOS is the space of ~3 years. I can say without reservation that fios is by far the best picture quality, menu response time (how comcast can have a coax connection, but load text menus like a 14.4 modem was beyond me), and free video library. Direct TV was solid, and comcast was worst on every front.

Screw FIOS, have you got your Big Green Egg yet?

[PANatsFan]

Just got Fios installed, I've now had comcast, Direct TV, and FIOS is the space of ~3 years. I can say without reservation that fios is by far the best picture quality, menu response time (how comcast can have a coax connection, but load text menus like a 14.4 modem was beyond me), and free video library. Direct TV was solid, and comcast was worst on every front.

Read my post below about the on demand. If you sign in to verizon central and go to services they offer 3 months free of HBO and Cinemax. Try the widgets, they are pretty cool.

The other great thing is that Comcast changed their firmware once in all the time I had DVR service with them. FiOS sends updates all the time. They are constantly experimenting and trying new things. You can even sign up to beta test new features.

HBO GO (online movies from HBO) is really impressive, as well as downloading files at 2 MB per second, not 2 Mb.

Customer service is pretty terrible, but Comcast's is worse.

[HalfSmokes]

Screw FIOS, have you got your Big Green Egg yet?

I ended up going with a Traegger (i.e. wife refused to let me get a BGE when the traegger was sitting next to it with a 0 clean up, impossible to burn anything down pitch). I'm more than pleased with it; waking up at 5, putting on a brisket, and comming back at 6 to turn off the grill is the definition of easy cooking and the food tastes amazing.

[blue911]

I ended up going with a Traegger (i.e. wife refused to let me get a BGE when the traegger was sitting next to it with a 0 clean up, impossible to burn anything down pitch). I'm more than pleased with it; waking up at 5, putting on a brisket, and comming back at 6 to turn off the grill is the definition of easy cooking and the food tastes amazing.

I hope you got the Lil Pig