In many states served by Verizon communications, homeowners are having to consider another option when it comes to their cable TV. Rather than just looking at either satellite TV or the local cable company, there is a third option. This comes in the form of Verizon Fios TV, which offers not only voice and internet service, but also crystal clear TV content through their new fiber optic network. So what should you look at if you’re are comparing Verizon Fios vs satellite TV?
One of the first things to remember is that Verizon Fios service is the latest technological advancement. While satellite TV had an advantage over old cable networks when it was first deployed, Fios enjoys a similar advantage over satellite TV today in that the signal is delivered over a 100% fiber optic network.
Now that is not to say that Verizon Fios picture quality is automatically better than the HD channels offered by both DIRECTV and Dish Network. Most reviews comparing Fios HD against satellite TV rate the picture quality about the same. On the other hand, Verizon Fios has deployed more HD channel content then satellite, even though Dish and DIRECTV are always bragging in their commercials about the number of HD channels they have. In reality, Fios has over 115 total HD channels not counting pay per view HD, while satellite TV companies top out around 100 real HD channels.
The big problem for most is the availability of Verizon Fios. While it was technically introduced about five years ago, getting the service is wholly dependent on if the Telco has upgraded your particular area. On the other hand, satellite TV is available to virtually anyone who can see the southern sky. Only those in high rise apartments are usually locked out from satellite TV service.
Bundled packages is another factor if you are shopping Fios vs satellite TV service. Verizon of course wants you to subscribe to the whole package if you are getting Fios, with high speed internet and voice service rounding out your home communications package. This can get expensive, but it is nice if you want all of these services to only deal with one company. Satellite TV is usually sold on a stand alone basis, and the prices are very low, especially during your first year with Dish Network and DIRECTV deals. If Fios isn’t available in your area yet, you may be able to bundle other Verizon services with DIRECTV satellite as they companies have a reseller agreement.
A final factor to consider when comparing satellite TV vs Verizon Fios is the possibility of being locked into a contract. Both satellite companies require a 24 month commitment in order to hook you up. Fios TV has also has contract commitments, and fees to terminate those contracts were increased in 2010. Be sure you understand your end of the bargain with either Fios or satellite TV service.
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Got to give props to Fios over any satellite or cable TV company. Competent installers, great quality as far as TV and internet goes. they just need to fix their customer service when you call in, but I can live with that as I dont have to call them very often
I have had the opportunity to watch Directv. Over the Air, and Verizon FIOS TV side by side. FIOS is significantly better than Directv. FIOS has brigher colors and is much sharper. Directv get a lot of block noise in dark scenes. Over the air digital broadcast are the best, but only slightly better than FIOS. FIOS has a lot more bandwith per channel than Directv. Directv’s new DVRs have been gettng slower and FIOS has been getting faster.
Think twice before changing to Fios! First, the guide didn’t come up before the installer left. They said it would be there by the next morning. It wasn’t. Waited forever online to have them try several things remotely, but it didn’t help. They had me re-boot the box, but that didn’t help either. Finally, they said the router they installer for the internet was probably bad, so they mailed another one to me to install myself, with instructions for me to mail the old one back to them. But it didn’t make any difference. Finally, they had another installer come out to replace the controller box because that was the problem.
At least that took care of the first problem. It didn’t take long to notice that the picture was out of sync with the sound. More waiting on the phone. The tech-guy sent a signal to the box, and it was okay again. Until the next day. Then it was back to out of sync again.
Yes, the HD picture was beautiful. But their controller is a nightmare. Most of the time instead of going to channel 7 or 5, it will jump to 77 or 55. The pause button works fine when viewing a recorded show, but was terrible when pausing a live show; when trying to re-start a paused live show, nothing would happen! I ended-up needing to change the channel or other similar actions to get back to what I was watching. Plus, as long as I didn’t change the channel, with Direct TV, I could reverse live television for an hour or more. Not with Fios. It will back up a few minutes, but if you missed the beginning of a show . . . too bad for you, because it won’t go backwards very far. The backwards “jump” button makes more sense with Direct TV too; Suppose you missed what someone said, the button will “jump” back a few seconds. Perfect. I didn’t measure how long the Fios button takes you backwards, but it jumps back way too far and you end up re-watching quite a bit. Also, fast-forwarding with Direct TV is much easier. Whith them, when you see where you want to start watching again, pressing play jumps you backward a second so you see the beginning for the scene. Again, not with Fios. With them, when you hit play, you miss a few seconds of the beginning of the scene. As you already know, the jump button takes you back too far, but the reverse button doesn’t help much either because it doesn’t respond well when you press play, and usually keeps going backwards.
The guide doesn’t have good contrast, and is confusing. The search button frequently didn’t come up with what I was looking for, even though it was in the guide.
All-in-all, I suggest you don’t switch to Fios unless you are awfully unhappy with what you’ve got! After only two weeks, we called Direct TV and said “Hook us up again!”