Verizon FiOS Forum - >>IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT FIOS TV INSTALLATION<<

I just had Fios TV installed on Thursday, Jan 12th. Generally I am very pleased with the picture quality and channel selection. The installation techs were from Florida on special dispatch from Verizon and were very courteous, however highly specialized in their realm of knowledge and couldn't provide any other information other than what they were doing. I had lots of questions.

I had a couple very serious let downs that put a wet blanket on my enthusiasm for my new service. The Verizon "receptionist" that took my order for Fios TV over the phone kept referring to the HD reciever I was getting as a "Tivo" unit. Tivo - tivo- tivo - tivo -tivo, everytime it was brought up. I was very excited because a "Tivo" HD PVR is very top of the line and can network with home computer files and much more. The HD PVR's I got were NOT Tivo at all, just the generic Motorola units that are mentioned in other postings in this forum. They do not have ANY of the bells and whistles of a Tivo. That was big let down number one. ( Beware- in Texas, we refer to all carbonated beverages as "Cokes", too. )

Let down number 2 was due to lack of access of information before I had service installed. I thought I'd get these space-age set top boxes with a direct fiber optic connection. What you get is the same set top boxes you would get from your cable company. They use your existing copper coax cable that your old cable co or satellite service used, they just hook it up at your fiber box on the side of your house. Thats where the fiber stops - at your verizon box outside your house.

Irritation number 3, it took 7 hours to hook my TV's up and program the set top boxes! These guys were not screwing around either, I followed them around all afternoon and I was exhausted! Dinner time came and went and they were still fiddling with the settings. Good God - this is an all day event! Be prepared.

Irritation number 4, the remotes they provide are the cheapest little run of the mill units you ever saw. I use a repeater in my family room for our plasma TV because all the equipment is hidden in another room. The Fios remotes didn't have a strong enough signal to even get through the repeater to the Fios box. I had to go out and buy a high power universal remote and program it to the Fios settings. Another 2 hour operation.

Irritation number 5, no individual favorite channel setups for each user like Dish Network had. I mean, how hard is that to program? So the interface on screen menu is very plain Jane. Hey installation man, are we gonna get that upgrade anytime soon? "Uh, I don't know..." Hey installation man, are we gonna get real Tivo-like capabilities, home networking? "Uh, I don't know..." Hey installation man, are we gonna get programmable remotes like Dish Network? "Uh, I don't know..."

Hope all this helps with some of your decision making, because nobody told me any of this before I got it installed. This service has unlimited potential , but so does my teenager sitting on his ass upstairs... The jury is still out. I'll keep you posted.