OT - What is Verizon FiOS?
My parents are thinking about getting Verizon FiOS for their house, and we're trying to figure this out. It's quite complicated.
With respect to installation, how does it work? I read on their website that they'll to the "exterior" installation for free, but where does that leave me? How much "interior" installation will I be left with?
Also, how does their cable TV work? They made it sound like it works through a router? So no cable box? Do I need a special outlet installed in each room that I want to put TV in? They say that I need a set up box for each TV that is to receive premium channels, but what about having a few TVs that just receive local channels? What kind of wiring will they need?
Thanks, friends! This FiOS has my head spinning.
I'm also curious what people think about their prices.
Oh, and finally - is there a way to "wirelessly" send TV channels through my house (and don't tell me to buy an antenna, because that reception sucks). The reason I ask is because I'm looking to move some of my parent's TVs around, and not all rooms have co-axial cable outlets.
December 25th, 2009 at 11:42 AM ^
I believe FiOS just uses fiber optic to bring the signal(s) to your house. There's undoubtedly an optical transceiver that would need to be installed, but I don't know if that's something that could be included in the outside the house installation.
Judging by the article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_FiOS, and the article/pictures at http://content.zdnet.com/2346-10532_22-94435-18.html?tag=content;col1, it seems you'd need a FiOS set-top box, and a special wireless router from Verizon, and then you could use another router as a downstream router to boost the signal if you needed to.
Not sure whether you can use the TV without having a FiOS set-top box.
December 25th, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^
is awesome. They will have to tap into the outside line just like any cable company would have to. Inside you have the router/cable box. DVR. etc just like cable as well. I dont know what they charge for. You would need the FiOS box. Just like AT&T you need a box on every TV.
December 25th, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
They install the optical transceiver, an uninterruptible power supply, and the modem for the internet. Depending on how your house is wired, they'll lay cable as well.
My house was pre-wired with coax to a junction in our garage, so all Verizon had to do was install the above equipment and hook the coax in, which wired the whole house.
Two gripes:
1. Unlike AT&T U-Verse, you can't swap DVR recordings between set-top boxes. FiOS requires set-top boxes (STBs) in each room you wish to have TV. Each STB is a separate DVR (if you get the DVR boxes), and each one rents for $16 a month.
AT&T U-Verse has a central server DVR at the point of entry into the house (can record up to 4 programs at once), and you can watch in any room. AT&T's STBs are linked to the central server DVR and cost about $5/month each.
2. Unlike DirecTV, Fox Sports is not available as a separate subscription package. When I had DirecTV, I could get Fox Sports Detroit (even in Los Angeles), and see most of the Wings and Pistons games. Not available on FiOS.
With those two caveats, FiOS is still a huge upgrade over cable and satellite.
December 25th, 2009 at 2:07 PM ^
Living in NYC, my building allows me to get FiOS. I haven't yet pulled the trigger, but I have a couple of friends who have it. I think the general consensus is that it's pretty darn good, but as you allude to in the end, the price just might be questionable. I tried bargaining with the FiOS folks, but they don't even allow Verizon employees to get an employee discount with FiOS.
What do your parents currently have now? In NYC, I think FiOS is comparable to Time Warner, but doesn't make it cheap. They also have promotions of a lowered rate for the first few months on a year contract.
For me, I think of one primary reason to get it...Big Ten Network. The money I've spent at bars would probably help justify the cost.
One final negative, I've heard the installation process can be annoying and a full day.
December 25th, 2009 at 7:24 PM ^
Currently they have internet + phone through Verizon, and use antennas on their TVs. However, after the switch to digital, the antennas have become choppy (previously they worked great, and the house hasn'r even been wired with coax yet). As you may have guessed, given that they survived with antennas until recently, they aren't looking for particularly awesome TV packages (though they probably do want BTN).
Also, the current Verizon plan (DSL I think) is pretty slow, so they want a faster connection.
Perhaps I should also look into the AT&T package, it sounds like another poster likes their service.
December 25th, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
I'm a big fan of Fios. The installation is a bit annoying, but it's worth in my opinion. I've had it for 2 or 3 years now and it hasn't broken down once, and having BTN and NFL network is a real plus. Overall the channel selection, reliability, and DVR options are much better than cable or satellite. Whenever I'm watching tv on a friend's tv without Fios, I feel handicapped. Definitely get it.
December 25th, 2009 at 4:10 PM ^
I've had FIOS for about three years. Once you have FIOS, you become very spoiled. My internet service is 25/5 (MBPS) and is not subject to the number of users on the node, like cable. TV picture quality is also superb due to the high bandwidth achieved on FIOS. I believe the picture quality is as good as I have seen except when you go directly to an antenna on your house.
FIOS is fiber to the premises, so you need to have a solid distribution system within the house to take advantage of all that FIOS offers.
As someone already noted, you need a set top box for all TV's. That can become expensive.
In our area, we have both FIOS and Comcast. There are very few Comcast customers left.
One note - when our system was installed, they told us we had to replace our "copper" wire phone system with FIOS. That was not true. I wanted copper on one line so in the event of a power failure, we still had a working phone line as the battery backup, which someone already noted, won't last very long. After a few phone calls, they agreed to leave one copper line alone.