Hey everyone, I'm purchasing a new home and it's already geared up for FiOS. My current digs are DirecTV for television and Comcast XFinity for Internet. I run a pretty wired home (multiple TVs, computers, iPads, etc.).

Verizon makes it next to impossible to shop for their services. They offer "bundles" that include both Internet and TV, but I can't find what channels are offered in the different packages, and I'm not sure of the Internet speed I need. Oh, my main television is also a "smart" tv that allows me to directly dial in to Netflix and Amazon without having to go through DirecTV.

So, I'm thinking either the 100/100 or 150/150 Internet plan, and the ExtremeHD TV plan.

Does anyone have any experience, tips, cautions or advice? When I stack everything up (including premium channels), I'm looking at over $200/mo. That astounds me, but then I calculated what I pay to DirecTV and Comcast, and I would actually save money. Of course, there's the fine print about equipment and wire leasing, taxes, and the "air bubbles" they don't talk about, so I'm looking for feedback from folks who have been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt.

We have the 150/150 plan but went with their basic plus Sports TV package.

Be aware that older devices will not be reaching those 150/150 speeds. We have a couple old tablets and an old home computer that don't benefit from the package. The new iPhones do though and we've been pleased overall.

fp,

I have had FIOs for many years. From a technical standpoint - reliable service, consistency and quality, I could not be happier with FIOs. I love it. I can't remember the last time the service was down. I have 60/60 upload and download speed - and find it serves the needs of 4 just fine - including 4 PCs, 4 smart phones, a couple of tablets, even an exercise bike that is Internet equipped. 150/150 is a massive amount of bandwidth - I don't think the average person needs nearly that amount unless you are doing something special. But if the price is reasonable, go for it.

As for channels, I think we have Showtime and Cinemax, and all the basic channels. This is the problem with FIOS that you have discovered- it is really hard to understand the offerings and pick which one is best for you. Then when you add in the bundled services - Internet, Phone, TV, etc., it's very hard to figure out whether you are getting a good deal or not.

But from a technical point - quality and consistency of service on both Internet and TV, I could not be happier.

Around here, dishnet tv is much better than direct tv. More channels and less cost after direct tvs initial low price to hook you. Not sure how it is in your area though.

My comments echo those of btanchors. From a product side, I have been very happy with FiOS for nearly a decade now. Of course, Verizon's customer service sucks donkey balls, but they are still marginally better on that front than Comcast.

I don't recall having much difficulty figuring things out when I was initially signing up for service, but now that I'm recently looking at upgrading my service and modifying my contract for renewal, I do find the process a bit befuddling.

Still better than any other option I've looked at as an alternative.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
My comments echo those of btanchors. From a product side, I have been very happy with FiOS for nearly a decade now. Of course, Verizon's customer service sucks donkey balls, but they are still marginally better on that front than Comcast.

I don't recall having much difficulty figuring things out when I was initially signing up for service, but now that I'm recently looking at upgrading my service and modifying my contract for renewal, I do find the process a bit befuddling.

Still better than any other option I've looked at as an alternative.

-Rob

What they said.

quote:

Originally posted by Aquabird:
Around here, dishnet tv is much better than direct tv. More channels and less cost after direct tvs initial low price to hook you. Not sure how it is in your area though.

Satellite service is off the table. I currently have DirecTV, but my new home already has FiOS connected to it, and I don't want to put a dish on my roof.

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:

quote:

Originally posted by Aquabird:
Around here, dishnet tv is much better than direct tv. More channels and less cost after direct tvs initial low price to hook you. Not sure how it is in your area though.

Satellite service is off the table. I currently have DirecTV, but my new home already has FiOS connected to it, and I don't want to put a dish on my roof.

You house if should easily be able to be converted to dish service. The various companies just hijack the other company's coax, disconnecting one and connecting the other. Very simple and included in install cost (if any).

As long as the house is semi modern you should have one point where all cable home runs go to. Then a splitter or media box distributes the service to all the jacks. Changing from one provider is as simple as plugging in at that point or on the exterior of the house where one line goes from splitter to service. In this picture you can see the splitter on the exterior and a dish mounted in the yard. This avoids roof penetration, but trades ugly roof for ugly utility area.





NOTE: The picture is just one I googled on the interwebz. It is actually bonded (grounded), incorrectly. They used a copper pipe (hose bib) for a bond/ground which is against code. It must go all the way back to the electrical grounding conductor (usually ground rods).

Had FiOS for 8 years. Switched from comcrap the second it was available and have never looked back. They replaced our router overnight when it died and our set-top box, also overnight, when it died. That is the extent of the service calls in that time. Never lost TV or internet, not once. We upgraded to 150/150 at some point last year. Basic HDTV with extra sports, I think.

Comcast, on the other hand, couldn't even deliver us tv we could watch or internet we could connect to. After 12 service calls in 2 months (and days with tv we could watch and internet we could reach that I can count on one hand in those 2 months), we bailed.

Dishes absolutely suck. You want the worst internet in the world? Get satellite internet. Want unreliable tv? Ditto. My BIL is stuck with both because he lives in the boonies and can't get anything else, but he'll drop it for absolutely ANY other tv/internet service the second it's available.

We have Verizon/FIOS as our provider, but our plan is no longer listed on their site. Switched from Comcast. (No Time Warner/Roadrunner here). I just ran these speed tests this week.
(*Keep in mind that the only reliable test as far as your ISP is concerned is the wired/ethernet speed. Wired is their environment, wireless is considered yours). Fios experience is very good after three years of service-

I did these tests using Verizon’s own speedtest page. You can do any one you want as long as you consistently do all testing sequences using the same test.

WIRED Speed: (Alienware Aurora R4 ethernet direct to router, iMac i7 ethernet direct to router test similar)

83.74 MBPS Download
89.41 MBPS Upload

WIRELESS Speed: (2 Band, three year old Apple Airport Extreme “N” Router. Also have repeater) Don’t have AC Protocol.
Wireless tested using Macbook Pro 2.8 GHZ i5 laptop with 16 GB Ram

2.4 GHZ Band

31.35 MBPS Download
54.35 MBPS Upload

5 GHZ Band

45.59 MBPS Download
63.56 MBPS Upload

I like TW- we had Roadrunner from 1997 (when it was first offered there in Wilmington NC) through multiple storms/hurricanes and never lost service when the power went out. Same for living in the icebox of Western NY. Never lost Roadrunner even during blizzards, ice storms and power outages. Worst we experienced was 10 days without power after a hurricane by the waterway in Ogden, Wilmington where multiple trees fell on power lines in our area and it took that long to restore power.

Matter of fact from those experiences I set up a dedicated 1000w UPS on the modem and router so no matter if power goes off you still have wifi/internet and at the power draw rate for those two items, it’s good for about a week.

Your replies have been very helpful. Keep 'em coming!

Just for the record, I do NOT want a satellite dish. I have DirecTV now, and while I have no major complaints with the service, it's a personal choice to not was to put one up.

As for Internet, I spent a horrific amount of time on XFinity's web site trying to get my arms around my own frickin' account! At long last, I found that I have a measly 25/5 plan, which is why I have been routinely frustrated with my connection speed. But that suggests that I don't need to look at the 150/150 offering from Verizon.

Another happy FIOS customer in NoVa here. Hated Comcast and Cox. But FIOS has been pretty good. And they used have the channel guide online for the area your in.

I mentioned that our FIOS plan wasn't on Verizon's site. It was 75 MBPS internet/combo for $99.99. (Preferred TV, land line, FIOS internet). Now I think Verizon lists 50 MBPS as basic and 150 MBPS as higher-tier.

FiOS has been fantastic. Only two outages in a very long time; one was a failure of my terminal box, and they had it replaced the next day. The second was because someone actually cut, pulled up and stole the fiber from the street. Definitely something out of their control and we've never figured out why someone did it. Maybe they thought it was copper.

I switched to Xfinity because they said they'd give me a better deal. The service was so horrid, especially the TV, that I only stayed with them for a few days.

Part of my last job was managing our DirecTV infrastructure including installing dishes. If I never have to see another one it'll be too soon.

Im ready to dump Fios once this contract is up next month for comcast. We have had issues with our main cable box. We are on the 3rd one now. It just gets whacky and will do random things. When going through the guide and selecting a channel it will randomly start recording. My favorite is when the cable box mutes itself, the cable box not the tv. I have no idea how to unmute so I have to turn the box off and back on.

I had a box go a little berserk also. What it did was give random artifacts through the video and it would affect audio as well. Did it across channels. Did it about twice a day at random times.

They ran a signal strength test (OK) and determined that it was the box. I had to return it to that lovely downtown Pittsburgh location.