My FIOS TV vs. DISH Compare

[BobMurdoch]

Back to the original title of the thread.....

What are the pros and cons of the two services? What do we gain by going to Fios (price? better PQ?) and what do we lose by leaving E* (channels? PVR features?)

 

[Tom in TX]

Back to the original title of the thread.....

What are the pros and cons of the two services? What do we gain by going to Fios (price? better PQ?) and what do we lose by leaving E* (channels? PVR features?)

I tried Fios last July. They had a 30 money-back guarantee. I put Dish on "vacation" for the 30 days.
I cancelled Fios, and stuck with Dish.
Fios was a little cheaper, and had moderately better picture quality.
I did not, however, like their dvr box at all! It was very sluggish compared to my (then) 942. And it had no 30 second skip ahead button, and the guide was inferior to Dish's (IMHO).
I am happy with Dish, and have upgraded one of my 942's to a 622.

Tom in TX

 

[Sean Mota]

Well, after being a DISH customer since March of 06' - FIOS TV just rolled out in my area, and I was installed on Thursday with an HD-DVR and an HD box - just as I had with DISH (622 & 211).............................!

I did not want to quote the whole thing but I have a few questions for you.

1- What is the Size of your HDTV?
2- HDTV Model?
3- What type of connection are you using and were using with Dish?
4- Were you able to have both services for a period of time and did a comparison side by side or by switching STBs?

I'm quite surprised that Verizon still does not have FOOD & HGTV HD.

 

[psumattDE]

I did not want to quote the whole thing but I have a few questions for you.

1- What is the Size of your HDTV?
2- HDTV Model?
3- What type of connection are you using and were using with Dish?
4- Were you able to have both services for a period of time and did a comparison side by side or by switching STBs?

I'm quite surprised that Verizon still does not have FOOD & HGTV HD.

Sean-
50" Phillips Plasma - using HDMI (with both Verizon and formerly with DISH)

Picture comparisons were done 1 day after the other. Believe me, I could tell the difference.

To reply to other ?'s:

It is a dual-tuner DVR - not sure about the OTA antenna. Price is better - pic quality is better - like I stated, at the current time, the guide is not as nice as DISH's. However the screen shots I saw today of the new FIOS programming guide were really impressive.
Apparently VZ will be adding Food HD and HGTV HD this quarter - along with a few others.

And with the announcement yesterday of their revamped user interface by this summer - i'm even happier.

 

[wied]

Does any of y'all have the Home Media DVR?

 

[adamhochman]

Sean-
50" Phillips Plasma - using HDMI (with both Verizon and formerly with DISH)

Picture comparisons were done 1 day after the other. Believe me, I could tell the difference.

To reply to other ?'s:

It is a dual-tuner DVR - not sure about the OTA antenna. Price is better - pic quality is better - like I stated, at the current time, the guide is not as nice as DISH's. However the screen shots I saw today of the new FIOS programming guide were really impressive.
Apparently VZ will be adding Food HD and HGTV HD this quarter - along with a few others.

And with the announcement yesterday of their revamped user interface by this summer - i'm even happier.

Can you post those screen shots (of the programming guide)? When are they rolling it out (this summer?)I went to the Verizon experience store over the weekend to check out the DVR. Not that impressed, but if they're rolling out something soon in the way of upgraded DVR, I'm very interested.
Thanks
Adam

 

[riffjim4069]

Ditto screen-shots of link to the new IPG...

 

[psumattDE]

Here ya go!

http://newsfeed.verizon.com/Photos?kw=FiOStv

The first 3 are screen shots of the new guide to be rolled out to all available states by summer. The other shots are the current IPG.
If you go the video section of their site there is also a new 2007 FiOS TV video.

They show actual shots of the guide there - it's almost like they mixed some I-Guide with MOXI - plus their own little twists.

 

[AllieVi]

Back to the original title of the thread.....

What are the pros and cons of the two services? What do we gain by going to Fios (price? better PQ?) and what do we lose by leaving E* (channels? PVR features?)

FIOS should have a picture quality advantage. The fiber's enormous bandwidth means that VZ doesn't have to compress the signal to transport it the way satellite companies do. I would expect less chance of pixelation during the most demanding scenes.

According to other posters, FIOS cost is on a par with or a bit lower than satellite for the same services.

Others have mentioned the inferior VZ user interface. I'd miss the RF remote my DISH receivers use.

 

[Stargazer]

FIOS should be able to kick satellite but even if they merge all that bandwidth.

 

[dishcomm]

Well,
I officially broke up with DISH this morning. Man, are the cancellation reps difficult to deal with!

They'll be sending me the boxes to send back the receivers - but she also said I have to send back the LNB's!

There's no way in hell i'm getting on the roof of my 2 story house to remove these things. What's a boy to do?

Dish wil remove them, but the tech has to be compensated. Most likely, they will charge you or if you use a local contractor, they will definitely charge you.

 

[adamhochman]

Here ya go!

http://newsfeed.verizon.com/Photos?kw=FiOStv

The first 3 are screen shots of the new guide to be rolled out to all available states by summer. The other shots are the current IPG.
If you go the video section of their site there is also a new 2007 FiOS TV video.

They show actual shots of the guide there - it's almost like they mixed some I-Guide with MOXI - plus their own little twists.

Thanks for posting the link? Any chance you or anyone can post the pictures or provide a password? When I try to download the pics (need to see a larger view), I can't do so as, even when I try to log in (I tried to register to no avail). If anyone can post the pics and help with accessing the video, that would be a great help (I'm deciding between Dish and Fios and the only thing holding me back is the Fios DVR quality-if that were improved, that would be great). Thanks in advance.
Adam

 

[psumattDE]

Adam-
I can just click on the pic and it comes up larger in a new window.

 

[KwestJones]

42.99 for FiOS TV
15.99/month for PremierMovies & Sports which includes
(300- Fox College Sports -- Atlantic
301- Fox College Sports -- Central
302- Fox College Sports -- Pacific
303- Tennis Channel
305- The Golf Channel
307- Outdoor Channel
308- The Sportsman Channel
311- Fox Sports en Español
312- Fox Soccer Channel
313- GolTV
315- TVG (Horse Racing)
316- Horse Racing TV
318- Mav TV
319- Blackbelt TV
320- G4



Movie Package
340- Starz
341- Starz West
342- Starz Edge
343- Starz Edge West
344- Starz in Black
345- Starz Kids and Family
346- Starz Cinema
347- Starz Comedy
348- Encore
349- Encore West
350- Encore Love
351- Encore Love West
352- Encore Westerns
353- Encore Westerns West
354- Encore Mystery
355- Encore Mystery West
356- Encore Drama
357- Encore Drama West
358- Encore Action
359- Encore Action West
360- Encore WAM!
361- Showtime
362- Showtime West
363- Showtime Showcase
364- Showtime Showcase West
365- Showtime Too
366- Showtime Too West
367- Showtime Beyond
368- Showtime Beyond West
369- Showtime Extreme
370- Showtime Extreme West
371- Showtime Women
372- Showtime Women West
373- Showtime Next
374- Showtime Next West
375- Showtime Family Zone
376- Showtime Family Zone West
377- The Movie Channel
378- The Movie Channel West
379- The Movie Channel Xtra
380- The Movie Channel Xtra West
381- Flix
382- Flix West
384- Sundance
385- Independent Film Channel)
$9.99/month for High Definition (HD) Box
$19.99/month for Multi-Room DVR

So that comes to 88.96 and is equivalent or better than my Platinum with locals package. Are there any (hidden) fees that I need to know about? What do you know about the multi room DVR vs the regular DVR? Is there a separate HD DVR that is Multi Room?

 

[adamhochman]

Adam-
I can just click on the pic and it comes up larger in a new window.

I was actually able to see the pics-looks pretty cool. But would love to see the video. Anyone have a way to get around the login requirement (not sure why it's happening to me)?

 

[psumattDE]

42.99 for FiOS TV
15.99/month for PremierMovies & Sports
$9.99/month for High Definition (HD) Box
$19.99/month for Multi-Room DVR

So that comes to 88.96 and is equivalent or better than my Platinum with locals package. Are there any (hidden) fees that I need to know about? What do you know about the multi room DVR vs the regular DVR? Is there a separate HD DVR that is Multi Room?

Kwest-
Don't forget to also add the $26/mo for HBO and Cinemax - which you would have been getting with Platinum.

The HD-DVR's are the same - they just download a different firmware/software to the receiver.

No other fees.

 

[riffjim4069]

Kwest-
Don't forget to also add the $26/mo for HBO and Cinemax - which you would have been getting with Platinum.

The HD-DVR's are the same - they just download a different firmware/software to the receiver.

No other fees.

It's hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison, but overall the FiOS TV package is a little less expensive that Dish, but generally 15% less expensive than cable. What kill many people with two or more DVRs is having to pay multiple Dish DVR Fees. In my case, it's an extra $17.97 ($5.99 x 3) vice no additional charges with FiOS TV. While Platinum may be a very good value, it forces many people into purchasing programming they do not want in order to save $20 in DVR fees. Also, there are additional discounts for FiOS customers also having broadband and voice services and, as you know, it's hard to put a pricetag on the Picture Quality.

The FiOS Movie & Sports package is a great deal, but not for someone also wanting HBO/MAX - E* may be a better deal.

 

[KwestJones]

Kwest-
Don't forget to also add the $26/mo for HBO and Cinemax - which you would have been getting with Platinum.

The HD-DVR's are the same - they just download a different firmware/software to the receiver.

No other fees.

Like Riff said...I get the Platinum just to avoid the DVR Fees...I Don't really need HBO and Showtime. That's why I left them out...

I am definitely interested in the Internet as well so...I was looking for the packages if you got them together but I didn't see that....

I want to add up all my costs (TV Voice and Internet) and see how it works out....

 

[psumattDE]

Here ya go!

http://newsfeed.verizon.com/Photos?kw=FiOStv

The first 3 are screen shots of the new guide to be rolled out to all available states by summer. The other shots are the current IPG.
If you go the video section of their site there is also a new 2007 FiOS TV video.

They show actual shots of the guide there - it's almost like they mixed some I-Guide with MOXI - plus their own little twists.

Turns out some folks in New Jersey already have the new version of the guide on their standard STB's...so the testing is already underway.

 

[Weezknight]

This may be a dumb question, but I couldn't find it anywhere else. Do you automatically get the Fios internet connection with the TV package, or are do you pay extra (how much?) for internet as well?