# Television At Home



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I have Dish network for the last year, before that I had Cablevision. I had the Verizon Fious fiber optic line run in my house a few months ago. (for the computer and phone) My contract is up with Dish and I am considering switching to Verizon TV. I have liked Dish a lot but lose the signal during any storm a lot more than I thought I would. That is the biggest reason, also Verizon is cheaper per month.

Does anyone have the Verizon television service and how do you like it compared to what you had before?

John


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

Good thread John.

I was on Dish Network until I lost the few local stations I was allowed to get under the satellite.

I'm now on Comcast. It's the only other option I have beyond an antenna which is a problem where I am.

I'm really not happy with them (Comcast) because, beside the cost, the equipment (PVR/DVR) is inferior to what I had with Dish.

I'm hearing rumor that Verizon is coming into our area but I haven't heard any time frame.

The German/pessimist in me figures the price won't be much better than Comcast but I'm hoping their equipment is better.

Consequently, I'd like to ask anyone that replies to your question, if you were on Dish Network and moved to Verizion, can you please note whether you found the Verizon equipment (PVR/DVR) to be worse, same or better than the Dish equipment.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

tdvffjohn said:


> I have liked Dish a lot but lose the signal during any storm a lot more than I thought I would.


It's surprising to me that you are experiencing so much rain fade. We get it maybe once per year, and we are in the rainy Northwest (though we have a more favorable look angle to the bird).

You can get quite a lot of rain fade if your dish is misaligned. It might be worth looking at signal strength before giving up. A clue might be if you are experiencing excessive rain fade on one satellite vs. another.

Ed


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## imabeachbum (Mar 24, 2006)

I used to have Dish Network and it was the worst experience Ive ever had with a cable/satellite TV provider. I recently switched to Direct TV and am MUCH happier with them. We just had over this weekend, a fairly heavy snowstorm come through Minnesota - approx 12-14 inches at my house with 30+ mile an hour winds and I did not ONCE lose my TV signal with Direct TV. I have an HD connection on one set and SD on the other, both with beautiful pictures. I do have the DVR on the SD set and like it pretty well, tho I have heard that TIVO is the benchmark for DVR's. All in all, Im very satisfied with Direct TV and the DVR may not be the best, but it does what I need it to do very well

Regards

Alan


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

I have had Dish network for over a year and have never lost my feed due to weather.

Direct TV doesn't have the local channels here, so if you want them, you have to go with Dish. Pay about what I was paying for Cox Cable.

I've been very pleased.

Mark


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## imabeachbum (Mar 24, 2006)

mswalt said:


> I have had Dish network for over a year and have never lost my feed due to weather.
> 
> Direct TV doesn't have the local channels here, so if you want them, you have to go with Dish. Pay about what I was paying for Cox Cable.
> 
> ...


This is true, Direct TV doesn't have local channels in all areas, they do in mine. Its worth a visit to their website to see if they are offered in yours.

ED also brought up a good point about the dish being pointed correctly and signal strength. That was part of my problem with Dish Network, the install was bad from the start and getting it corrected took an act of Congress. One other thing to check is make sure no trees have grown into the line of sight since you had your system installed as this will cause problems.

Regards

Alan


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Sorry.....we have Direct tv


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

My inlaws have Verizon FIOS and love it. They are right outside of Annapolis and have had no problems and SUPERIOR picture quality.

As soon as they run the fiber here, I will switch. The red paint is down to mark the lines. Just a waiting game.

FWIW,

Tim


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

A Verizon FIOS type system is the wave of the future, and as soon as it's availble here I am switching immediately.

They have massive bandwidth and can/will be able to offer a vast array of features and services superior to anything else you have seen so far.

I'm so happy that there is the possibility of some REAL competition coming into the market to help break the cable monopoly. FIOS is a cable killer and I suspect you will be thrilled with it.


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

That's the problem I'm having, no real competition to Mediacom. I have my TV and internet thru them. Only alternative is DSL at a 1/10th the speed but them I would have to hook back up a land line for phone and would cost about the same. To get the same stations on Dish, I would end up paying about the same as I'm paying now. Will have to just wait to see what the future brings, after all in 8 1/2 years I'll be camping full time.


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

John,

I'm a former Telecomm. Engineer now in sales. Fiber is strictly several orders of magnitude better then copper cable plant. As for Comcast's network specifically ,it is very aged , all the repeaters are shot and they are trying to upgrade to fiber quickly but I really feel they don't have the expertise to deploy it and manage it correctly.

As for Verizon they definetely "bet the Farm" on FiOS and you can read as much in Wall Street publications. I know them well and I do not think they will fail! I'll never be able to get it where I live but I would do it in a heartbeat and you can also have a real phone as opposed to a VoIP phone from Comcast.


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## TLC+3 (Oct 11, 2006)

A friend at work has FIOS and really likes it and tells me it is less than Comcast. FIOS is in my neighborhood, but before the houses here were built Comcast cut a deal with the developer. Cable TV and internet is included in the HOA fees. You can only opt out if you have impaired vision. We do get a price break of about $20 per month. But if you ask me, the best price control is competition. I can't see paying two tv bills a month, so I guess I'm stuck with cable. I do see a few neighbors with the dish, so they haven't been able to completely eliminate the competition. I'll give Comcast this, whoever dreamed up the deal with the HOA is a good businesman. Too bad they don't seem to be able to put as much ingenuity into improving customer service. Enjoy the new service from Verizon if you choose to go that route.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

We have FIOS for Broadband, but no IPTV yet. Can't get here fast enough IMHO.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

We had Comcast, switched to DirecTV 3 years ago, and haven't looked back. I have to watch NYC channels for the locals instead of CT channels, but that is a small inconvenience. If SNET or SBC or AT&T (or whatever else they may call themselves this week ever start to offer fiber optic, I'll give it a look see). I have DSL for the broadband, and have no problems with the speed. To be honest, after using cable internet access at work, the only way I know that I'm slower with the DSL is looking at the signal speed. Otherwise, I can't tell the difference.

Tim


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