# Verizon FiOS VOD (or maybe not)



## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

While demonstrating the Bolt, Rene from Tivo was answering a question regarding the cable VOD lineup.

".. it connects all of your VOD... it's compatible with Comcast, Cox, and *Verizon* and it compiles all that content in with your other streaming networks."






Grain of salt. I'm not putting a ton of merit into it yet. It could be an honest mix-up or maybe she accidentally forecasted Fios VOD in the pipeline. I'm just throwing it out there as a heads-up. It would be cool if FiOS VOD were to happen.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> While demonstrating the Bolt, Rene from Tivo was answering a question regarding the cable VOD lineup.
> 
> ".. it connects all of your VOD... it's compatible with Comcast, Cox, and Verizon and it compiles all that content in with your other streaming networks."
> 
> ...


Thanks for the heads up, but I too take this with 2 grains of salt, especially because Fios recently introduced there own VMS boxes(similar to a basic Tivo/ mini setup) and have been pushing them very aggressively. I personally would love it as this is really one of the major objections to switching to Tivo on Fios, no VOD.


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## dmurphy (Jan 17, 2002)

fcfc2 said:


> Thanks for the heads up, but I too take this with 2 grains of salt, especially because Fios recently introduced there own VMS boxes(similar to a basic Tivo/ mini setup) and have been pushing them very aggressively. I personally would love it as this is really one of the major objections to switching to Tivo on Fios, no VOD.


While I haven't seen anything official, I see the possibility of FiOS VOD as closer than ever.

With the rollout of the VMS boxes, the backend has moved to a full HTML5/IP-based configuration. All we would need is some API calls into the Verizon backend infrastructure.

I have no reason to believe Verizon would actively prevent it... as Ira had mentioned, it's more about having the engineering resources to make it work than anything.

I'm optimistic.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

FiOS VOD would be very welcome here. The more choices the better.


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## sangs (Jan 1, 2003)

I assume if this ever did come to fruition, it would be in the form of an app?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

sangs said:


> I assume if this ever did come to fruition, it would be in the form of an app?


Yes all VOD implementations on TiVo are basically apps. The Comcast one is a little more complex as it uses a tuner for traditional QAM based VOD, but Cox is pure IP and FiOS would be too.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

This would be huge for Tivo in FiOS areas. The Arris VMS1100 (aka Quantum TV) has struggled with recurring software problems (including a memory leak that requires some users to reboot their DVRs 3 or 4 times a week). Almost every time someone suggests TiVo, the response is that no VOD is a showstopper. Just off the top of my head, I can think of 20 or so VMS users on DSLReports that would switch to TiVo in a heart beat if VOD were available.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

I just turned in my last FIOS DVR yesterday, but (after some hiccups) it looks like I can still access FIOS content with their Android App. Of course it would be terrific if it was integrated in to the TiVo, but having some way to access the content, is better than none.


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## Sixto (Sep 16, 2005)

Diana Collins said:


> This would be huge for Tivo in FiOS areas. The Arris VMS1100 (aka Quantum TV) has struggled with recurring software problems (including a memory leak that requires some users to reboot their DVRs 3 or 4 times a week). Almost every time someone suggests TiVo, the response is that no VOD is a showstopper. Just off the top of my head, I can think of 20 or so VMS users on DSLReports that would switch to TiVo in a heart beat if VOD were available.


Yep, agree. Would be awesome.


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## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

Tivo really needs to implement video on demand on the tivo dvrs on verizon fios !!! they always mention how tivo is compatible with fios ,Even my tivo romaio pro box mentions that tivo works with cable and verizon fios! so i hope this is true! Tivo would convert a few of those fios dvr customers to tivo if they were to do this.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

celtic pride said:


> Tivo really needs to implement video on demand on the tivo dvrs on verizon fios !!! they always mention how tivo is compatible with fios ,Even my tivo romaio pro box mentions that tivo works with cable and verizon fios! so i hope this is true! Tivo would convert a few of those fios dvr customers to tivo if they were to do this.


It's not up to TiVo, it's up to FIOS. There is no open standard for accessing VOD from a CableCARD box, so TiVo has to wait for the individual services to write an app for their platform. So far two services have done that. Comcast and COX. Comcast's app is sort of unique in that it communicates with the VOD server over the internet, rather then the coax, but still uses a tuner and traditional QAM based delivery for the video. COX is a pure IP service, akin to Netflix, where the video actually streams over the internet. FIOS I believe would use something more like COX, since their VOD is already IP based.


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## dmurphy (Jan 17, 2002)

If I were a betting man .... I'd say that a lot of the work that went into the Cox VOD app could be reused for a FiOS one. Pure IP delivery model sounds awfully similar ....

Of course, there is lots afoot that may change things too. Depends on how certain things fall into place.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

There really isn't any work needed on TiVo's end. They have a standard compliant HTML5 apps platform. All it would take is for FIOS to decide to port their existing app to TIVo. 

One unique thing they might need to do is provide the data for the unified search/OnePass, but that's not necessarily required.


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## dmurphy (Jan 17, 2002)

As Quantum stabilizes, and is an HTML5 based platform (as opposed to the legacy Java interfaces) ... This seems like a natural fit. 

By backend work, I primarily meant the AAA mechanisms on the TiVo box and yes, the unified search integration.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

jonw747 said:


> I just turned in my last FIOS DVR yesterday, but (after some hiccups) it looks like I can still access FIOS content with their Android App. Of course it would be terrific if it was integrated in to the TiVo, but having some way to access the content, is better than none.


Is it the same content? On Comcast, the content available via the web is a subset of what is available on XoD.

On the one hand, Verizon has been very anti-TiVo and anti-CableCard, but on the other hand, they compete directly in various markets with Cox, Comcast, and RCN, all of which have VOD on TiVo one way or another (although RCN for some bizarre reason won't flip the switch on retail TiVos for VOD). They are also nearly 100% in competitive markets, while the cable providers have a lot of monopoly markets.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

Bigg said:


> Is it the same content? On Comcast, the content available via the web is a subset of what is available on XoD.
> 
> On the one hand, Verizon has been very anti-TiVo and anti-CableCard, but on the other hand, they compete directly in various markets with Cox, Comcast, and RCN, all of which have VOD on TiVo one way or another (although RCN for some bizarre reason won't flip the switch on retail TiVos for VOD). They are also nearly 100% in competitive markets, while the cable providers have a lot of monopoly markets.


Well, I returned my FIOS DVR, so, there's no way I could compare; but there was a lot of programming available. Not sure what the resolution or bit rate is, but I suspect they designed it to look good on a phone/tablet not a TV. It's certainly not as good as VOD via the DVR.

But if we need to pickup a show that failed to record for some reason, it's going to be better than nothing.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

Dan203 said:


> Yes all VOD implementations on TiVo are basically apps. The Comcast one is a little more complex as it uses a tuner for traditional QAM based VOD, but Cox is pure IP and FiOS would be too.


I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Philly area and their app is really dated but I suppose it's better than nothing!


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## TazExprez (May 31, 2014)

I would love for this to come to FiOS, but the TiVo representative may have mentioned Verizon by mistake. She talked about a 400GB Bolt at the 2:04 mark.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

True. The Bolt technically keeps 20% of the drive to itself for some yet unknown reason. The 500 GB version reports 58 hours, which is equivalent to 400, instead of the normal 75 hours. We're not sure what's up with that either.

But yeah, grain of salt.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Philly area and their app is really dated but I suppose it's better than nothing!


Yeah it's the oldest of the bunch. It might even still use the old HME technology where the app actually ran on a remote server and not the local box.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

I played with running the FIOS VOD App directly on my FireTV and the video quality was very good. Of course this requires side loading the App and using a mouse device to navigate it.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

jonw747 said:


> Well, I returned my FIOS DVR, so, there's no way I could compare; but there was a lot of programming available. Not sure what the resolution or bit rate is, but I suspect they designed it to look good on a phone/tablet not a TV. It's certainly not as good as VOD via the DVR.
> 
> But if we need to pickup a show that failed to record for some reason, it's going to be better than nothing.


Yeah, I have a feeling it may not be the full set of content, but I might be wrong on that. I don't know how Verizon's VOD compared to XoD.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

Bigg said:


> Yeah, I have a feeling it may not be the full set of content, but I might be wrong on that. I don't know how Verizon's VOD compared to XoD.


If there's something you'd like me to check, I can check.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

jonw747 said:


> If there's something you'd like me to check, I can check.


I don't really need to know unless you're curious now. Someone out there must know. The DSLReports forum would probably know.


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## Bytez (Sep 11, 2004)

What incentive does Verizon have for them to make this available?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Bytez said:


> What incentive does Verizon have for them to make this available?


More income from people purchasing/renting VOD titles.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> More income from people purchasing/renting VOD titles.


That and I do subscribe to the service and still pay them quite a bit of money, I just no longer rent a DVR from them.

To not offer live streaming and On Demand access via their mobile Apps would simply be a punitive measure.

I suppose you could say not offering On Demand to TiVo boxes is a punitive measure, but I suspect it's the difference between having to go out of their way to accommodate TiVo customers .vs. having to go out of their way to take something away from them.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Bytez said:


> What incentive does Verizon have for them to make this available?


The only possible advantage I can think of is in areas where they compete with other ISP's that allow Tivo to use VOD, that would be Comcast and Cox ASFAIK. In all other non-competitive areas, there is a fairly substantial financial dis-incentive. A Tivo and 2 minis vs a VMS box and 2 clients, reduces Verizon's monthly income by about $40+.
Having said that, the entire Tivo footprint, is relatively tiny, so the actual impact vs the advantage of being more competitive in some areas is hard to gauge.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

Bytez said:


> What incentive does Verizon have for them to make this available?


99% of Verizon's customers can switch to another provider. It would put them on par with Comcast and Cox in terms of TiVo VOD access, and ahead of TWC. It would also allow them to compete better with RCN's own TiVos.

The question is whether that market, which is small, is big enough to justify doing anything about the lack of VOD, or if they fear losing revenue from people getting rid of the craptastic Verizon DVRs.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

Bigg said:


> 99% of Verizon's customers can switch to another provider. It would put them on par with Comcast and Cox in terms of TiVo VOD access, and ahead of TWC. It would also allow them to compete better with RCN's own TiVos.
> 
> The question is whether that market, which is small, is big enough to justify doing anything about the lack of VOD, or if they fear losing revenue from people getting rid of the craptastic Verizon DVRs.


Part of why FIOS customers pay a premium for their service is because they don't act like a cable company.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

jonw747 said:


> Part of why FIOS customers pay a premium for their service is because they don't act like a cable company.


Verizon is just as bad, if not worse than, a cable company, although it depends on which one you're comparing them to. In RI, a lot of people have Verizon because they NOT Cox, not because they actually ARE Verizon. In MA, it's more of a mixed bag, as Comcast is decent.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

Bigg said:


> Verizon is just as bad, if not worse than, a cable company, although it depends on which one you're comparing them to. In RI, a lot of people have Verizon because they NOT Cox, not because they actually ARE Verizon. In MA, it's more of a mixed bag, as Comcast is decent.


Comcast has bandwidth caps, no? I guess that's what happens when a cable company manages to tune their network well enough that it can actually go fast.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jonw747 said:


> I played with running the FIOS VOD App directly on my FireTV and the video quality was very good. Of course this requires side loading the App and using a mouse device to navigate it.


Has anyone actually attempted to side load apps onto a tivo? I know the old Plex app that was made to work on it via Opera before the official one was sort of like side loading it, but now especially with the Bolt going to complete HTML5, does that open up the possibility now?

It would be amazing if the TWC-TV app could be side loaded over!


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## Anotherpyr (May 6, 2015)

Bigg said:


> Verizon is just as bad, if not worse than, a cable company, although it depends on which one you're comparing them to. In RI, a lot of people have Verizon because they NOT Cox, not because they actually ARE Verizon. In MA, it's more of a mixed bag, as Comcast is decent.


For me it would be the product. Better picture and more HD than Comcast. And I'm actually paying Verizon less per month than Comcast's best customer retention offer. The bundled phone service is also better. Comcast might win on Internet but not by much if they do.

As far as companies go both have their issues.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

jonw747 said:


> Comcast has bandwidth caps, no? I guess that's what happens when a cable company manages to tune their network well enough that it can actually go fast.


Not for the majority of users (we don't have any here). As far as I know they are still "testing" in a few markets.

Scott


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

HarperVision said:


> Has anyone actually attempted to side load apps onto a tivo? I know the old Plex app that was made to work on it via Opera before the official one was sort of like side loading it, but now especially with the Bolt going to complete HTML5, does that open up the possibility now?
> 
> It would be amazing if the TWC-TV app could be side loaded over!


Interesting thought, there may be some way to trick Opera in to loading a web page of your choosing, or perhaps just get your favorite site added to Opera as an App. I suspect that's the problem, nobody really cares to figure out what Opera's TV App platform is really about and how to expand it, leverage it, or just develop for it.

I know I don't when I can keep using my various streaming boxes.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

Bigg said:


> Verizon is just as bad, if not worse than, a cable company, although it depends on which one you're comparing them to. In RI, a lot of people have Verizon because they NOT Cox, not because they actually ARE Verizon. In MA, it's more of a mixed bag, as Comcast is decent.


TWC Internet can't hold a candle to Verizon's. My parents JUST switched back to TWC and are already regretting it. The TWC techs have tried changing the cable modem, they checked the cables (but it's a 2-year-old house), my Dad changed the router, I tried hard-coding the DNS servers to Google's and still the Internet simply disappears for a second or two once every five minutes. Not to mention the slow down from 8 PM to 10 PM. Other TWC customers in the neighborhood think this is normal.

Verizon's problem is billing. They'll forget to put you in the bundle you were promised, or they'll charge the wrong amount for the bundle, or they'll forget to apply a discount. Technically the product itself is great, although they still have issues with the Quantum/VMS boxes.

The lack of VOD is one of the two things keeping me from switching to Tivo. I hope these rumors become true.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

jonw747 said:


> Comcast has bandwidth caps, no? I guess that's what happens when a cable company manages to tune their network well enough that it can actually go fast.


They do not in FIOS markets. They aren't that stupid.



Anotherpyr said:


> For me it would be the product. Better picture and more HD than Comcast. And I'm actually paying Verizon less per month than Comcast's best customer retention offer. The bundled phone service is also better. Comcast might win on Internet but not by much if they do.
> 
> As far as companies go both have their issues.


Right. There's no question FIOS technically has a better product, but Comcast is decent enough to remain competitive.



BobCamp1 said:


> TWC Internet can't hold a candle to Verizon's.


Yet there are other people who have the Maxx packages and are getting way more speed than Verizon offers for the money, at least on the downstream. There was on guy on here getting phone and internet from TWC and TV from Verizon. How ironic to get phone from the cable company and TV from the phone company!


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## JayMan747 (Nov 10, 2008)

Dan203 said:


> Yes all VOD implementations on TiVo are basically apps. The Comcast one is a little more complex as it uses a tuner for traditional QAM based VOD, but Cox is pure IP and FiOS would be too.


So where are the apps for HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Epic, etc?

I just switched to Quantum, and have had issues since day 1. They just increased fees to the STBs (that I'm having issues with) and have been researching Tivo for the last week.

If it had the above apps, I would have Tivo this weekend.


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