Verizon FIOS vs Time Warner

I switched to FIOS about 4 months ago and it's really like night-and-day. FIOS has way more channels, way more on-demand and a nice DVR with a usable interface. And you can get multi-room DVR functionality, meaning you have one box that plays on multiple screens. To be honest, I'm not even sure what I pay but I think it's something like $100 for "extended basic cable" plus the fastest internet package they have, which I think is 5mb up, 30mb down.

I have their bundle package - triple package wireless (4 total):

The Fios Internet is 35Mbps Down / 20Mbps Up and very fast. The Fios TV is HD standard and EVERYTHING about it is a lot better than TWC. You can pay an additional $13 for "local package" - I think that has NY1 and some other local channels. $13 for NY1 is not worth it.

I'm not a big fan of Verizon but it is a step up from TWC and their horrible cable boxes.

Which is cheaper?

Verizon is cheaper if comparing equal internet bandwidth and tv channels and Verizon also has more options if you want more internet speed and more channels.

NFL Network on Fios only.

FIOS - nothing else compares. Never had to reset my router, no blocky chunks in the picture -- pic quality slightly improved, audio quality MUCH improved vs. TWX (due to compression techniques -- cable has to, FIOS with bandwidth does not).

Never going back to cable again -- I can live without AMC HD and MSG HD for now, at least until the Knicks get back to being respectable!

I am so glad someone posted this - I hate the new Time Warner dvr. Will definitely check out FIOS. Does anyone have any downside to FIOS, besides that it seems a bit more expensive?

Fios is excellent. Also, if you have minimum internet of 25/20 (I think), you get free access to any verizon wireless hotspot, which is pretty cool.

The only think I do not like about FIOS is their remote... The Set top box responds very slowly and/or does not always get the signal (this is not because of positioning, either)...

I wish my building had the option. One negative I heard was that the FIOS DVR memory was smaller and held less than Time Warner. Anyone know?

Ahh...improved quality of life through true competition...I love it. I have TWC, but will have to check out FIOS.

I wouldn't call a field of two "true competition".

My past tech/customer service experiences with Verizon were so traumatic I can't see switching unless there's zero chance that I'll ever need to use tech/customer support.

Better than no competition. Seems people here like having the choice.

kylewest, the dvr HD is a bit small. Not sure of the size, but a few HD programs and you have to start making choices :)

Alan, FIOS is a different beast. From my experience with customer service wrt FIOS, they seem to have their act together. Remember, they are trying to take and retain customers from cable - they will do what they need to do..

anyone able to comment on rcn?

RCN - had it for a year - never again :)

i have RCN and i wouldn't recommend it. i'm too lazy to switch, but the internet is just crappy.

Doesn't RCN just re-sell TW services?

OK, I'm intrigued. Verizon telephone/TW cable and internet customer here.

As far as logistics, can someone tell me how they get the service into your home? Is it via the existing telephone lines? Can they tap into my existing cable lines? Or is some technician going to come busting in and hastily (and sloppily) stapling yet ANOTHER thick ugly cord to my baseboard and crown mouldings throughout my apartment?

NYCMatt,

I got FIOS a couple of months ago. They use the existing co-ax within your apt, so no need to re-wire, and the existing phone as well. What they do need, in contrast to cable, is a grounded (i.e. 3 prong), outlet to power what is about a pizza-box sized piece of equipment, which is in addition to the boxes themselves. In my apt it worked out well b/c the cable and FIOS come in through a coat closet, so I was able to mount the equipment there, and we were able to drill straight through into the cabinet which houses my stereo equip in which there is a 3 prong outlet, so the whole thing is totally unobtrusive. Then it just plugged into the existing wiring we have in the apt from our reno, so the whole thing was pretty quick.
The best part about FIOS, for me, is the on demand. They have so much stuff, particularly a lot of kids programming - i think every disney, nickelodeon and pbskids show is on there, so that goes a long way towards saving space on the HD DVR, which has a ridiculously small hard drive. And even if you were willing to break into the box and put in a larger hard drive, it is hard wired to not recognize it, so totally SOL on that. Not a problem so far, but in the fall when I might record 8 hours of football on a sunday, it will be.
Also integrates really well with the internet - you can get record DVR from mobile device, and pretty easily view pictures, listen to music on the TV. Also have a facebook and twitter apps so that you can check stuff out on the TV, if that interests you.
One really annoying thing, for me, is that on TW when you paused a show it would stay paused for about 1hr on some boxes, 1/2 hr on others. On FIOS it only seems to keep for 15 minutes.

When is Fios going to be widely available in Manhattan? I would go with any other provider to get away from Time Warner. I have not had a worse customer service experience with any other company. They are really just pitiful, and I would love nothing more than to remove my cable TV from them - as I have already moved my phone and internet to Verizon and have not had any problems or customer service issues.

"I have not had a worse customer service experience with any other company. "

Actually, my experiences with TW as a customer of 14 years have always been prompt and pleasant. I'd be considering FIOS solely on the basis of improved quality and features.

I am, however, leery of putting all of my eggs in the same communications basket. The idea of having ONE company in charge of my phone, cable, and internet does give me pause. If there were ever a system failure at the company, you're totally in the dark. And if you ever have a billing dispute, you're just one customer "service" rep's keystroke away from turning off phone, TV, and internet in one fell swoop.

Still, I'm glad to hear they can tap into my existing coaxial. I have the same setup in my hall closet, and luckily have an outlet near the ceiling inside the closet where I can plug this unit in.

I switched from TWC to FiOS and love the improvement. It offers far better picture quality and my Internet connection is even faster than what I get at work.

yozhik, what kind of television set do you have? WIll I see an improved picture on my 1995 25-inch "portable"?

No, it won't. From what you have been saying, I don't think fios internet/tv is for you. If you're happy with TWC, then more power to you. You might even enjoy cheaper costs and/or more services from TWC due to all the people jumping ship from TWC and heading towards fios internet/tv. To be fair, fios is pretty poorly implemented in NYC and especially Manhattan. Verizon has to negotiate with every building to install and most already have a contract with TWC. New devs are where the most penetration is right now. The City might be the last place in the US to be fully fios deployed (sarcasm/kinda-of).

Ironic, because it's where cable tv began.

I have FIOS internet and the TV service and it is way better than TWC! We don't watch much TV but use the FIOS internet for work and it is 100x better than TWC internet! Very fast - UP and DN. My husband loves it!

One the influencing options for choosing our current place was that it was wired for FIOS.

Switched TV, Internet, and Phone to FiOS in May, and I am paying significantly less now. Besides that, here are my impressions:

A. The Internet: FiOS > TimeWarner in reliability and speed. My TimeWarner Internet connection intermittently went down & it was a mess to rest the router, but that hasn't happened w/ FiOS. Also, it is indeed faster, especially uploading-wise.

B. Phone: Since I have Verizon wireless, I get all calls between my home phone and wireless free.

C. TV: FiOS > TimeWarner. More channels, and their DVR/cable box fees are MUCH lower than TimeWarner.

nyc212, did you get the certificate for the free compact netbook?

http://www22.verizon.com/

"*Compaq Mini netbook (or product of comparable value) available with $299.99 promotional certificate redeemable online at HP Home & Home Office while supplies last. Valid credit card required. Must have service for 60 days with no past due balance. Promotional certificate sent within 90 days of install date & requires redemption within 60 days of receipt. Offer for residential customers new to Verizon Freedom, HSI, FiOS TV and Internet. Offer valid through 9/19/09."

admin: No, I don't think they had that promotion back when I got it...but will check!

Not sure if this forum is geeky enough for this but has anyone had the pink picture issue with Verizon FIOS? When using an HDMI connection sometimes the picture turns pink. Really tedious but still worth it!

I just went back to Time Warner after having FIOS for a year (because we moved buildings). SOOO not happy. I want my FIOS back!

I just did a Time Warner speed test and got download times of 21486,19424,17129,22306 kbps respectively..... What are real rates using FIOS?

would just like to add my 2 cents about RCN having the worst possible customer service i have ever experienced.

I'm not at home, so I can't run speed tests. However, I know it's around ~20 Mbps offhand. More importantly, it's just not the speed of the networks that matter. Latency, or the delay it takes for a packet to travel from its source to destination, is another key measure (especially for VoIP and online gaming). Latency problems mostly arise from network congestion or inefficient routing of packets. On FiOS, I encounter latency problems very rarely. With TWC it was more common. Of course, this is my own experience and others may differ, but it's something to keep in mind.

my 2 cents on RCN is that its terrible as well...way too expensive and poor equipment and service, with the exception that ive had good luck with internet...

I was getting the advertised 20Mb dn/20Mb up before and now I'm getting the advertised 35Mb dn/20Mb up. The higher speeds requires a more powerful comp and I'm getting the same for 35Mb dn/20Mb up. You have to tweek your comp and adjust your MTU settings for maximum performance.

I had TWC internet and it was great 5 years ago but it's different now. Fios offers more down speed and especially up speed for a better price. Agree with the latency issues with TWC and Fios being much better.

TWC offered speed for NYC according to their website:
15Mb dn/768Kb up (Very tiny up speed)
10Mb dn/512Kb up (Very tiny up speed)

Ok, Verizon, I want my sales commission for this thread.

the main challenge with FIOS is that it is not available in most locations in Manhattan. Else sounds fab

It's frustrating to watch all the FIOS ads on TV. It'll be years before FIOS will be available in my UWS building.

"Not sure if this forum is geeky enough for this but has anyone had the pink picture issue with Verizon FIOS? When using an HDMI connection sometimes the picture turns pink. Really tedious but still worth it!"

loose wire?

Looking forward to FIOS whenever it arrives for me. TWC's upload is too slow for me and their recent changes to the cable box software is just painful. When I do have a choice, I will choose Verzion FIOS.

HDMI wire - Which version is your hdmi cable? Perhaps you're using an old hdmi version or a damaged one or your hdmi port either in your tv or tv box is damaged?

HDMI version 1.0 - 1.2a: 165MHz Max / 3.96Gbit/s video Max
HDMI version 1.3 - 1.4: 340MHz Max / 8.16Gbit/s video Max

I was happy with TW until....

1) I looked at my last bill. I'm at $150 without any premium channels!
2) They switched to that HORRIBLE new interface.
3) something else changed in a random area that benefitted me that will mean nothing else to anyone.

I always had GREAT bandwidth (lucky not a lot of folks on my ring, I guess) and outages were never too bad.

But, the new stuff is killing me. I tell you, if not for NY1, I think I'd be done already.

nyc
Verizon and Time Warner are both crooks. They constantly try to trick you to pay higher payments. I was paying for two tv's internet and HBO. i called them up and said if i add phone will I save money? They said, "YES".
I had them remove HBO and add phone service...Event should have been neutral....My bill went up 50%. It took quite a bit of effort to get it back down.
I'll spare you the details of how...

nyc
Verizon and Time Warner are both crooks. They constantly try to trick you to pay higher payments. I was paying for two tv's internet and HBO. i called them up and said if i add phone will I save money? They said, "YES".
I had them remove HBO and add phone service...Event should have been neutral....My bill went up 50%. It took quite a bit of effort to get it back down.
I'll spare you the details of how... EXPERIENCE WAS WITH TWC..