FIOS or DISH -- Which should I choose?

[HDTVFanAtic]

I'm sorry - I buy HDTV for the picture - not the box. All STBs have their quirks. I'd go with picture over STB any day of the week.

To get HBO HD East and West, CinemaxHD, StarzHD in MPEG2, HDNET and HDNET Movies Full Bandwidth and not down rezed - I could live without the down rezzed Voom.

And no MPEG4 anywhere......

FIOS in a heartbeat.

 

[Hoopnoop]

I'm sorry - I buy HDTV for the picture - not the box. All STBs have their quirks. I'd go with picture over STB any day of the week.

To get HBO HD East and West, CinemaxHD, StarzHD in MPEG2, HDNET and HDNET Movies Full Bandwidth and not down rezed - I could live without the down rezzed Voom.

And no MPEG4 anywhere......


FIOS in a heartbeat.

I know what you are saying. Degredation of picture quality can make a huge difference in viewing interest. For example, the picture quality that I had for HDNET and HDNETMOVIES from Adelphia was not nearly as good as I have with FIOS. Now, I watch these channels a lot more.

 

[Hoopnoop]

Well, I finally got to compare my fios set-up with my neighbor's Dish set-up. The comparison was necessarily imperfect because he has a 37 inch LG LCD and I have a 50 inch Grand Wega III. I compared three HD channels and 3 SD channels and also looked at the Voom channels. Here are my observations:

1. I definitely give the HD edge to Fios. I compared Discovery HD, HDNET and HDNETMOVIES and there was a noticeable improvement in the picture with FIOS -- not huge but noticeable.

2. The difference in SD picture quality definitely went to FIOS -- I felt there was a very noticeable difference for CNN, SciFi and ABC Family. The only exception are the FIOS channels around the 120s which have some issues.

3. The Voom channels were not nearly as bad as I expected. Personally, they seemed to compare pretty well with Dish's other HD channels. But this is based on a brief observation.

So, all of this confirms my suspicions:

FIOS has the edge on HD and SD picture quality
Dish has more HD content and a better DVR.

I have to say that picture quality is the most important thing to me so I think I'm probably going to stay with FIOS. I still have a Dish appointment set up in a week so I'll see if I change my mind in the meantime.

 

[riffjim4069]

I definitely give the HD edge to Fios. I compared Discovery HD, HDNET and HDNETMOVIES and there was a noticeable improvement in the picture with FIOS -- not huge but noticeable.

I complain about DishHD-Lite, but it's still a pretty picture. However, it's the difference between a pretty picture and a picture that pulls you into the set and creates an immersing experience. The difference is like wading in sparking waters, vice jumping in head first. While the former is certainly enjoyable, it is pale in comparison to the later.

FIOS has the edge on HD and SD picture quality
Dish has more HD content and a better DVR.

The 942/622 and 9-day EPG are a delight to use. Besides the sheer number of HD channels on DishHD, my wife and I would certainly miss both features. FiOS should continue to expand the HD Lineup, but we can only hope they improve their HD DVR.

 

[Neutron]

I like FiOS. My folks have it since they live in Verizon territory.

I absolutely cannot stand that POS HD-DVR they use. It's the same crap the cable companies use. Why oh why can't Verizon commission their own?

 

[Tom in TX]

I absolutely cannot stand that POS HD-DVR they use. It's the same crap the cable companies use. Why oh why can't Verizon commission their own?

I tried FiOS for one month, but couldn't deal with the HD-PVR. Dish wins, hands down, in that department. The picture quality was great, but I prefer the Dish 942.

Tom in TX

 

[Kaydigi]

I tried FiOS for one month, but couldn't deal with the HD-PVR. Dish wins, hands down, in that department. The picture quality was great, but I prefer the Dish 942.

Tom in TX

Assuming the Tivo Series 3 is a good box, it may be a good idea to add it to FIOS non DVR STB.

 

[Hoopnoop]

Well, I finally decided to cancel FIOS and go with Dish. The ultimate decision was not due to Dish having more HD channels or a better HD DVR -- what finally tipped the balance for me was customer service, or lack thereof. I have called FIOS a total of 4 times now and each call took more than a half hour. First, you have to navigate a maze of automated operators and then you get a live one and they bounce you to another live one and so forth and so on. I had an appointment today to get a cablecard put in -- or so I thought. After taking the day off and waiting ... and waiting .. and waiting some more, I finally called. After 45 minutes on the phone I found out that the appointment somehow wasn't in the system. And the kicker is that the next available appointment isn't until after Labor Day! And for all FIOS appointments you basically have to take the day off because there's nothing on the weekend and the time range is 10 to 6. It's sad to say but my customer service experience with FIOS was worse than I had with Adelphia! And that's a hard to act to beat!

Yes, I understand that Verizon is new to the cable business. But I fear that the same bad customer service I experienced with Verizon local phone and cell phone service has carried over to FIOS. Sad to say that the company that is perhaps most dedicated to providing HD is also one that seems so lacking at customer service.

I may give it a try at some point in the future, but in the meantime I'm ready to start Vooming again!

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

Well, I finally decided to cancel FIOS and go with Dish. The ultimate decision was not due to Dish having more HD channels or a better HD DVR -- what finally tipped the balance for me was customer service, or lack thereof. I have called FIOS a total of 4 times now and each call took more than a half hour. First, you have to navigate a maze of automated operators and then you get a live one and they bounce you to another live one and so forth and so on.

Have you got a treat coming. I've stayed on E* Queue for hours. And it helps to speak and understand Hindi or Hindustani.

 

[JH1949]

Well, I finally decided to cancel FIOS and go with Dish.......what finally tipped the balance for me was customer service, or lack thereof.

.........for all FIOS appointments you basically have to take the day off because there's nothing on the weekend and the time range is 10 to 6......

Since "service" is your highest concern, I would suggest you shop around for a local installer/retailer who also does weekend installs. Spend the time to find one you are comfortable with and who's service is recommended by your neighbors.

Good Luck.

 

[riffjim4069]

My experiences with Verizon, and Verizon Wireless, customer service have been very pleasant - better than the average hellish experience with Adelphia, E*, etc. The one thing I enjoyed about my Verizon (GTE) phone service is the damn thing always works. I've had exactly two service outages in 20 years: once they fixed a fiber problem without my knowing it, and even left a voice mail advising me of the outage. The other time when phone service went out, they dispatched a crew and buried a new line into my home within 48 hours...at no change, even though the problem was caused by Adelphia.

On the flip-side, I place all my calls into E*'s Technical Support (they speak english) and I rarely have a problem. Plus, my service outages with E* are short (typically only 5-10 minutes when a bad thunderstorm rolls into town, and very infrequent.

 

[Hoopnoop]

I have to say that my service expectations aren't that high. But I've had a lot of bad experiences with Verizon. Have you ever gone to get a phone repair at a Verizon wireless location? Not fun.

And I certainly don't expect the Dish reps to know a lot but it would be nice to talk to someone within 10 minutes of calling.

 

[vinnyv07]

I'm sorry - I buy HDTV for the picture - not the box. All STBs have their quirks. I'd go with picture over STB any day of the week.

To get HBO HD East and West, CinemaxHD, StarzHD in MPEG2, HDNET and HDNET Movies Full Bandwidth and not down rezed - I could live without the down rezzed Voom.

And no MPEG4 anywhere......

FIOS in a heartbeat.

My opinion exactly. I have had Dish HD pack alone for about 7 months now and I am really tired of the VOOM ch's. I can honestly say I haven't watched any VOOM ch except for MonstersHD for about three mths. I want to see HD that blows my socks off.....with the highest PQ. WHen Fios comes to my area I am going to give it serious consideration. Especially since I could package my internet into the price. PQ rules....WOW factor is important. WHo the heck wants to see soft HD?