DVR Chatter

Wow... looks like quite a few compelling reasons to switch for you.

Update: I did call to talk to the day crew.  They verified that only one HD show can be recorded at a time (no matter how many DVRs you have, as it's a limitation of the bandwidth).  This guy seemed knowledgeable.  Now I don't know if I should make a tie breaker call or not.

I'm really at an impasse.  I don't think my viewing habits are compatible with only recording one HD show at a time.

Yuck... that would seal the deal for me to stay away from FiOS if it were even an option for me.

Recording one HD show at a time is really not an option for us.  Other options include mixing and matching services:

DirecTV w/ DVR + Basic Cable = still giving comcast $54 a month, which I am now loathe to do.

Series3 TiVo + Basic cable = still giving Comcast $54 a month and losing non-broadcast HD channels while incurring huge cost for TiVo and losing home media options that are on my Series2.

FiOS+Rooftop antenna+Series3 TiVo = no money to Comcast (yay), no channel loss, channel gain + cheaply having all channels in rest of house via $5 STBs, incurring huge cost for TiVo and losing home media options that are on my Series2.

Is there something I'm missing?

I would probably lean towards your option 3 if the darn Tivo weren't so expensive still.  Does FiOS provide cablecards to use with it or where you thinking of using it for the OTA channels only? 

I see why you picked that as an option seeing as a good majority of the HD content we all watch or record is on the broadcast networks (hence the antenna).

Have you checked your location on antennaweb.org yet?

How was the OTA HD picture in comparison to Comcasts?  I've heard that OTA HD can be phenomenal but never seen it to compare. 

I'd go with the FiOS and Series 3 Tivo in your shoes.  Just get ready to convince DW why it's necessary to spend $600 for another DVR. 

Look at the bright side... between your FiOS DVR, Series 3 and Series 2 you probably won't ever miss a single show! 

salspalden wrote:

Frank...

I'm also in Lower Bucks, no FIOS yet in my neighborhood. I guess I assumed it would have the same recording capabilities as cable.

I have 2 DVR's so I am capable of recording 4 HD shows at once. You're saying that one HD show per household regardless of how many DVR's you might have?

That's what the guy (who sounded like he'd been asked before and knew off the top of his head) said.  The technology can only handle sending one HD show over the wire into your house at a time.  YMMV and, by all means, the more people who call and ask the better.

If that's the case, then the excitement I had reading your initial post when I saw all the additional channels just went away.

I know the feeling.

I simply don't watch live tv anymore. All my viewing is time shifted and there's no way I am going back to watching the clock and clearing my schedule to catch a show.

Looks like I better go out to the lawn and take down the "Comcast Can Kiss My Ass" sign.


Sals

I tattooed it on my forehead! What am I supposed to do?

Still up in the air.  I think it's a foregone conclusion that Verizon will get my Internet business away from Comcast (2.5 times the throughput for $7 a month PLUS hopefully more reliable and I've already had a much more positive CS experience).

I worked out the costs.  Assuming I can get a Series3 TiVo for $600 AND assuming that TiVo will last 3 years AND treating it as if the cost of the TiVo was paid out equally over those three years, my monthly payment over those three years will only be about $6 more than staying exactly the same as now.  That's not figuring in the inevitable rate hikes that will likely be higher for Comcast (the established market leader) than Verizon (the upstart).

Is it worth $6 a month over three years to make a point and take a stand?  To me it is.  To my wife...well she's not sure.  She's right in that we probably spend too much on TV as it is.  But who doesn't? That's where we are. Taking out the $7.05 increased Internet cost, we actually save $.88 a month on television while getting all channels on all TVs (two are currently analog only) and getting an HD TiVo AND the ability to record a third HD show at once (1 FiOS, 2 TiVo), which is a point I forgot to bring up during our discussion. 

It just burns me that some suit sat somewhere and said, "Hey. We can gouge people who want to watch every national football game and charge them $5 a month for one channel and they'll just do it because people are lazy and it's easier than doing anything else. And, even though football games are only on the channel for 3 months out of the year, they'll probably keep the channel all year because - wait for it - they're lazy and it's easier than canceling."  I so badly want that to be a miscalculation on their part.

LowLight21 wrote:

Is there anything that would prevent a current Comcast customer from ordering the sports package for just three months out of the year?  That's where I'm leaning right now, since satellite isn't a viable option for us, and FiOS isn't yet available in my area (and won't for quite some time).

Not that I'm aware of.  I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of "downgrade" fee, though.  They'd never charge you to add, but something tells me they'd wouldn't hesitate in charging you to remove it.

I don't have my printed rate increase anymore.  Can anyone verify if there's this type of account main't charge?

Weird.  Must follow the "people aren't too lazy to ask for something they do want (so lets charge them then), but are too lazy to get rid of something they no longer want" rule.

I so saw that this morning at TiVo Community (doing research for my pending purchase), got involved with other things, and forgot to post it here.  Thanks.