# After 12+ years Im Dumping D* for FIOS



## Spoonie G (Jan 7, 2006)

Let me start by saying this; Ive enjoyed DTV for the first 9 years. During the last 3 years D* has been a disaster. I Own a HD-250 (TIVO) and HD-20. The HD DVR is very,very slow (even with the most recent upgrade) and seems to have been designed by Idiots. Who in their right mind would put the TV power button right next to the instant replay button, on the center of the remote no less? I thought that the Power Button should be at the top of the remote. Oh well, I guess Im different. Did I mention that the Fast-Forward button is located next to the TV input button? I could right a book on how horrible the HD-250 D* DVR is. When I do replace the unit, the first thing Im going to do is

1) Check to see if the Hard Drive is an SATA type. If so Ill take it out.
2) Smash the damn thing with a Sledge Hammer 

I really do want to stay with D* (They just installed a 5lnb dish) But D*s current HD-DVRs have less features than the older receivers. This is probably do in part to D* separating themselves from TIVO, but no dual tuners on the D* HD-DVR? Seems backwards to me. 

But the real reason why Im dumping those bastards is because of the HD Channels. I have a 90+ signal strength but my HD channels keep losing its picture (even on sunny days). This has been happening now for about 4 months and Im sick and tired of it. I cant tell you the amount of times I had to watch the SD version of a program because the HD channel just was breaking up too much. I spend 60$ on the HD broadcast of the Mayweather fight. The HD channel was breaking up so bad that I couldnt watch the fight ($60 down the drain). 

The picture Quality also seems to be lacking in HD and especially SD channels. Ill attribute that to the HD-250 since my other receiver seems to have better picture quality in HD and in SD over the HD-250. Too bad D*s HD DVR is lacking in features. 

There isnt anything that D* offers that you cant get somewhere else. 

My question is;
Why should I stay with D*? 

Ill probably get the FIOS. My roof will look so much better without the Gigantic 5 LNB eyesore that is up there now.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

Spoonie G said:


> My question is;
> Why should I stay with D*?
> 
> Ill probably get the FIOS.


If you can get FiOS, I think you already answered your own question.  
My answer - I sure CAN'T think of a reason. 

Unfortunately, I'm in AT&T land & we just NOW got basic (1.5) DSL, so other than local cable (Insight) I don't have a lot of choices.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

If FIOS was available in my neighborhood, my DirecTV account would be canceled quicker than you could blink an eye.

I think the only thing that someone might use as a reason to prefer DirecTV over FIOS if both were available would be if they were interested in some of the exclusive content like NFL Sunday Ticket.


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## Fluffybear (Nov 10, 2000)

Sadly, Digital cable in many areas are offering better channel selection than D* is. The only thing that stopped us from closing our account was the fact D* offers some HD content while our local provider offers None nor has any intentions of offering it anytime soon.

If Fios was available I also would have zero hesitation is closing my account


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

dswallow said:


> If FIOS was available in my neighborhood, my DirecTV account would be canceled quicker than you could blink an eye.


My sentiments exactly.

The main reason we just pulled the trigger on a S3 TiVo is to get ready for when they make the announcement that FIOS TV is available here. We've had FIOS internet for a while, and the TV side of things is just a matter of time.


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## Win Joy Jr (Oct 1, 2001)

Still waiting on FIOS to get lit up here. Once FIOS TV is up and running, then we will take a good long look, and most likely move from DirecTV. 9 year customer this month...


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

I'd jump ship from DTV to FIOS without even thinking about it.


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## shredhead (Oct 15, 2003)

how does the $ work out? 

Fios + Tivo subscription = total

vs. 

D** (whatever package you have) + DVR service = total

Is it roughly the same?


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## Nick44 (Jan 31, 2005)

Sort of a silly question but what is FIOS ? And what's the advantage of FIOS over DTV with Tivo ?


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## doncoolio (Jul 9, 2006)

Nick44 said:


> Sort of a silly question but what is FIOS ? And what's the advantage of FIOS over DTV with Tivo ?


Picture quality that isn't cr*p. Oh, and extremely fast internet service.

My parent's have Fios data/tv. Having seen both I would switch to Fios the day it became available.

11 yr D* customer if your wondering.

FIOS is a fiber optic cable running all the way to your house. In other words, a big fat pipe to transmit voice/data/video.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

shredhead said:


> how does the $ work out?
> 
> Fios + Tivo subscription = total


Get S3 & transfer lifetime for $200 before 1/31/07.. (yeah I know, DirecTivo people likely won't have a S1 or S2 to transfer lifetime from... but still, it's an option.)


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## technomutt (Jun 14, 2004)

Nick44 said:


> Sort of a silly question but what is FIOS ? And what's the advantage of FIOS over DTV with Tivo ?


for data, FIOS means *the internet itself is your greatest bottleneck.* there is NOTHING faster for the same $$$. I'm still waiting for FIOS TV to be rolled out... and will sign up the instant it happens.

check out verizonfios.com


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## Spoonie G (Jan 7, 2006)

Its not looking good for my FIOS TV. The FIOS internet service is available (which I'm having installed next week) but the TV service is not yet available in my area. 

I ended up calling D* anyway to see how much it would cost to cancel. To make a long story short; they ended up replacing my crappy H10-250 with the New D* HD DVR free of charge other than shipping. From what I've read, the new D* HD DVR is just as bad and doesn't have dual memory buffers. Is it me or, does it seem like the electronic manufactures cannot develop a HD DVR with all the necessary features? They always seem to omit something major. 

Oh well, It looks like I'm stuck with D* for at least another year

Thanks >> Tony


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

Spoonie G said:


> Oh well, It looks like I'm stuck with D* for at least another year


Sorry, but your stuck for another TWO years with getting ANY HD &/or DVR upgrades from D*...


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

You're not really stuck at all, there will just be a small penalty of $12.50/month remaining on your commitment to cancel when you want to do so.


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## Les_D (Mar 6, 2002)

I'd be out in the yard with a trencher, waiting for the FiOS installer...

However, I'm stuck with Bellsouth (soon to be AT&T) so there is less than 0.00% chance that I'll ever bask in the shining glory of a fiber optic internet connection.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

This topic is academic for me. I'm not in a Verizon area. FIOS is a long way off.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

Gunnyman said:


> I'd jump ship from DTV to FIOS without even thinking about it.


Fios just became available in my area this past week. However, I can't give up my hacked DTivos for their crappy DVRs. That is the only thing keeping me with Directv. I think FIOS' HD DVR has only a 120gb hard drive in it. That's ridiculous.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

you can use a Tivo S3 with FIOS


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## john-duncan-yoyo (Oct 13, 2004)

NYHeel said:


> Fios just became available in my area this past week. However, I can't give up my hacked DTivos for their crappy DVRs. That is the only thing keeping me with Directv. I think FIOS' HD DVR has only a 120gb hard drive in it. That's ridiculous.


The FIOS elves have been working on my neighborhood since before Thanksgiving. They have dozens of trucks rolling around here. They have been up on the poles of my Cul de sac five or six times that i've noticed. I asked the lineman when we can expect them to light it up and he said February.

No word on video yet but I'd sure like to ditch COX and cable modem.


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

I find this interesting.
I can get FIOS TV, I talked to the reps about their DVRs and came to the conclusion: You might as well get DirecTV with R-15s.
When the R15 came out most people here trashed the idea of going to a non-Tivo.
Yet, now we're ready to jump to a non-Tivo just because it's FIOS?


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

mphare said:


> I find this interesting.
> I can get FIOS TV, I talked to the reps about their DVRs and came to the conclusion: You might as well get DirecTV with R-15s.
> When the R15 came out most people here trashed the idea of going to a non-Tivo.
> Yet, now we're ready to jump to a non-Tivo just because it's FIOS?


FIOS offers CableCard's and the Series 3 is quite functional with them. But beyond that, what FIOS offers is a huge bandwidth pipe into and otu of your home, too. So not only is video in many ways almost limitless in potential, you get significant bandwidth for internet access for a comparatively small rate, too.


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

Ahhh... didn't know that.
That changes everything.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Spoonie G said:


> Who in their right mind would put the TV power button right next to the instant replay button, on the center of the remote no less? I thought that the Power Button should be at the top of the remote. Oh well, I guess Im different. Did I mention that the Fast-Forward button is located next to the TV input button?


The poor placement of the TV power on my DirecTV remote also irked me to the point where I just disabled the button by setting the remote to control a brand of TV I didn't own. It's actually moot now since I use an Infocus projector now and there aren't any remote codes anyhow.

I actually mentioned it to Bill Newbie (sp?), TiVo industrial design guy at an after MacWorld Expo dinner/TiVo meet about a year ago who TiVoPony brought w/him. He basically mentioned it was a battle he lost w/DirecTV. He didn't like it there either.


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## deezel629 (May 30, 2006)

FIOS TV is available in my area, but I'm skeptical about one thing. I checked all over the web site and found nothing about an HD DVR. Do they offer one or will I have to buy an S3 on my own? I guess I could always sell my HR10-250 and make up some of the difference, but it would be nice if they provided some sort of HD DVR. I've been with D* since 1998 and I'm so ready to bolt.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

deezel629 said:


> FIOS TV is available in my area, but I'm skeptical about one thing. I checked all over the web site and found nothing about an HD DVR. Do they offer one or will I have to buy an S3 on my own? I guess I could always sell my HR10-250 and make up some of the difference, but it would be nice if they provided some sort of HD DVR. I've been with D* since 1998 and I'm so ready to bolt.


It's a very lame "review" but it does make it clear the FiOS DVR is HD.

http://kevinrossen.com/2006/01/28/goodbye-directv-hello-fios-tv/


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## deezel629 (May 30, 2006)

dswallow said:


> It's a very lame "review" but it does make it clear the FiOS DVR is HD.
> 
> http://kevinrossen.com/2006/01/28/goodbye-directv-hello-fios-tv/


Thanks!


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## scottt (Sep 6, 2002)

john-duncan-yoyo said:


> The FIOS elves have been working on my neighborhood since before Thanksgiving. They have dozens of trucks rolling around here. They have been up on the poles of my Cul de sac five or six times that i've noticed. I asked the lineman when we can expect them to light it up and he said February.
> 
> No word on video yet but I'd sure like to ditch COX and cable modem.


I'm in NoVA and ditched Cox about 18 months ago. I loved that they were charging $53.86 a month for just internet access, but when FIOS moved in they cut their price to $19.95 a month for 12 months.

I haven't gone to FIOS for TV because I priced it out and I pay about $50 for DTV and it would be almost $70 for FIOS


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

technomutt said:


> for data, FIOS means *the internet itself is your greatest bottleneck.*


FIOS internet is only as fast as the bandwidth they have connecting themselves to the Internet.

Hopefully they'll do a better job of managing that then Cox cable has done in my area, but there is a potential choke-point on the FIOS side of the equation.


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## hongcho (Nov 26, 2003)

I would also switch over to FiOS if it was available here. But I live in the AT&T territory and I don't think U-Verse is much limited compared to FiOS (no two HD streams, for example)...

Hong.


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## walkerjs (Sep 22, 2005)

A guy on another website who got FIOS TV indicated that the DVR they gave him apparently honors that 'broadcast flag' thing that content providers are pusing everywhere. This was preventing him from recording certain stuff. They are getting FIOS in my area and I wouldn't be averse to switching except for the possiblity that some DRM crap would be enforced. Anyone know if this is the case?

Otherwise I'd get a Tivo to go with it, once they light it up. Even then I might wait until that tree grows too much for me to get a signal. Someone said you can use a standalone Tivo with FIOS. Does Tivo have any dual tuner units? I've gotten real used to the dual tuner on my R10 (and I don't have HD.)


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## vikingguy (Aug 12, 2005)

Lucky people were I live 1.5/896 dsl went live in may of 2006. Before that the only broadband was satallite. I think hell will freeze over before cable or FIOS get any were near my house.


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## mphare (Jul 16, 2004)

While the S3 does do dual CableCard, compatible with FIOS, it's not doing MRV or TiVoToGo at the moment.
This is a drawback for me.


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