Review by weenah 
UPDATED: 2 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 84 visits, last login: 1.4 years ago
 Glen Allen,Henrico,VA
 $160 per month (month by month)
 about 8 days
 "Amazing and consistent up/dload speeds. Excellent SD picture. Very good vaule with the triple play package."
 "IMG 2.0 is god awful. CSRs and techs are very good, but usually provided with inaccurate info from the Verizon higher ups."
 "I'm willing to sacrifice the awful DVR/IMG 2.0 for the outstanding picture quality and value...for now."
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(ratings match consensus)
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I ordered the FiOS internet and TV service back in mid-March of '07. My original order consisted of the 15/2 internet package and TV service with none of the bells and whistles (HBO, sports package, et al). After a few months I upgraded to the 30/5 internet package. Just last week I yet again (!) flipped over to the triple play package (TV, Phone and Internet). Apparently I've got commitment issues.
I used the website to order the services because I find doing so is much easier than dealing with a potentially clueless sales person. The website in March '07 provided a lot less info than it does today (11-19-07) but I was able to figure it out. While it's certainly better than it was before, it could still use a bit more work. Oh, and it's awfully slow. No biggie though. How much more will I be using it from here on out?
The tech that installed the service was a rock star. He did everything I asked of him and even installed a coax plate/jack in a wall and didn't charge me for it. All in all the install took about five hours.
I suppose it would make more sense to review each service individually.
Internet: I will say the 30/5 speed package is probably a bit of overkill in the download department. I really didn't see any difference in the speed websites came up vs. the 15mbps package. Given that I almost always using my computer remotely (remote desktop connection), the 5mbps upload speed was great but the 2mbps upload is acceptable.
My upload and download speeds were always consistent. I currently average around 15.5mbps download and 1.92 upload speeds.
I have to give FiOS internet two very enthusiastic thumbs up and a 10/10 in the awesome scale. Seriously, I have zero complaints outside the monolithic Actiontec router they give you. If you only have the internet package you can sidestep the Actiontec (don't recall the model number) with a router of your choice.
Television: I'd rather not bore you with the details of the premier package since it can be found on the V* site. Regardless, standard definition broadcasts are absolutely astounding on my 50" plasma. Comcast and DirecTV don't even come close to the PQ of the FiOS SD picture. It's like night and day.
HD picture quality on FiOS is equally great, but the difference between what Comcast offers vs FiOS isn't nearly a great deal as it is with SD. DirecTV's original HD channels before the huge HD expansion they pushed recently were terrible. In fact, I thought the FiOS SD channels were only slightly less appealing than DTV's original HD offerings.
As far as picture quality with FiOS, I once again give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up and a 10/10 on the awesome scale.
Now on to the bad...
On demand selections aren't particularly great at this time but Richmond is in a test market for HD on demand and the amount of available titles just doubled over night to around ~35 or so. Sure, it's not a lot but that will be addressed soon enough.
First off, I was one of the first kids on my block with a TiVo back in the day. It is the gold standard of DVRs. This cannot be argued. TiVo is the single greatest invention...even surpassing the wheel.
I was hesitant to give up my TiVo for the FiOS DVR back in March. I knew I could use a TiVo with the FiOS service but I wanted to check it out for myself. The IMG (interactive media guide) FiOS offered back in March wasn't aesthetically pleasing and wasn't in the same league as a TiVo (hell, it wasn't even in the same sport) but it worked. If you're previously had TiVo you'll absolutely hate the V* DVR. If you've never had TiVo before than you won't think the solution V* offers is as bad, but you'll still know it's not great.
In late August V* rolled out the IMG 2.0 and it's been a fluster cuck since then. The only positive thing I can say is that it's at least prettier than IMG 1.0. Missed recordings, dropped "season passes" and numerous other issues have plagued the IMG. The FiOS forum on dslreports.com can tell you even more about the problems with the box. Also, a 160GB hard drive gives you about ~23 hours or so of recording space. That's just not enough. I'd be more than happy buying an external eSATA drive to increase the size but that's not an option because it's locked down.
I've called numerous times to the FiOS support lines and have always been greeted with incredibly helpful people who are eager to address the problems. Unfortunately they are unable to fix the DVR. It's the buggy software that's the issue and it's not something that can be fixed by a first or second level tech.
Also, while the techs have been very friendly, they aren't very knowledgeable. I don't blame stupidity for this; I blame the higher ups at V*. I could make six calls to support today asking when the bug fixes will be pushed out and could get six different answers. Apparently information is not trickled down to the front lines very well. I don't blame the techs for this and it's not their fault.
The word on the street is that V* is to have "fixes" for the problems around the first or second week of December. If at that time they are unable to address the issues I may find myself with a brand spanking new TiVo come Christmas time. I'm not confident V* will fix the DVR/IMG 2.0 issues which leads me to believe that if I want a quality product that's reliable I'm going to have to pay for it.
Bottom line is I love my FiOS service. Prior to DirecTV coming out with ~75 HD channels (most of which is just upconverted SD), FiOS was one of the leaders in HD content. FiOS is expected to ~double their HD content sometime next year and have ~150 HD channels by the end of 2008.
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