 Review by ajc 
UPDATED: 102 days ago
member for 9.5 years, 265 visits, last login: 28 days ago
 Mount Kisco,Westchester,NY
 $130 per month (12 month contract)
 about 14 days
 "Fast, reliable Internet, crystal clear TV, knowledgeable techs"
 "DVR has a rather small capacity"
 "If FiOS is available at your home ... get it!"
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Install Co-ordination:
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(ratings match consensus)
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In June 2009 our DirecTV service went out during a rain storm ... and never came back. After replacing cables, connectors, LNB, and checking alignment of the dish, we brought in one of their service techs, who was amazed that we'd ever had any signal at all. The trees behind our property had grown too tall and thick to pass the signal. So it was time for a change, and I figured that if I'm going to order cable or fiber, I might as well ditch the DSL as well, and enjoy the economy of a triple play bundle. We priced out Verizon FiOS and Cablevision iO, and Verizon came out a few pennies cheaper even after all of the taxes and fees.
Our original install date was a little over a week from the order date, but there was a problem putting the order through because my number was being ported back to Verizon from a VoIP service, and a computer automatically kicked back the date.
On the install date, an installer showed up in the morning and was very flexible about putting everything in just the way I wanted it. Prior to the install date I put up a backboard in my basement and ran all of the cables (ethernet, coax, telephone) to that location. The installer was happy to see the site prepped and brought in the indoor model of the Tellabs 612 ONT. Upon my request he took down the copper line -- I wanted the side of the house to be nice and clean, perhaps for the first time ever with just one cable attached to it.
I also asked him to deploy the Internet service via the ONT's ethernet port. They will happily do this for you (but if you do, be sure to run the Ethernet cable ahead of time -- Verizon will charge you for inside wiring if they have to do it). The reason for this is because I wanted to put my own firewall out front instead of theirs, which I successfully did after the installer left.
The installation took about four hours, some of which was consumed by several techs taking a break in my driveway, so it was actually less.
We got the DVR for the main television in the living room, and a DCT-700 digital adapter for the television in our bedroom. They don't advertise the digital adapter on the web site, but it's $2/month cheaper than the standard-def set top box. It doesn't have the on-screen guide ... big deal. To get one if you place your order online, you have to order a standard-def set top box and then telephone them to change it to a digital adapter. You still get the discount for ordering online.
The Internet service is very fast. We consistently get the 25/15 speed we ordered. What they say about cable modems sharing bandwidth among all the subscribers in your neighborhood is true, and it's also true that FiOS doesn't have that problem.
The television service is beautiful, even on standard definition screens. Verizon doesn't recompress the channels like cable and satellite do, and it shows. We just don't see compression artifacts ... ever. The on-demand service is nice, and I think it's kind of cool that it's doing video over IP for on-demand while still using QAM for the broadcast channels.
My only complaint is that the disk on the DVR is kind of puny. Ours is almost 60% full and we've only had the service for about a month. So if you get this service you'll have to be careful about keeping only a few episodes of each program around.
Have I mentioned how cool it is that someone was willing to run fiber optic cable all the way to my house? I never would have dreamed of this even a few years ago.
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