getting hdtv tonight with verizon fios, anyone have their service? How good is it?

Anyone have HD in general? Is it that much better for your everyday programming? My wife seems to think it is gonna be worthless because she can't believe clarity will be better...someone pls convince me she is wrong!!!

 

I hear FIOS is pretty sweet. And I've also heard that video distribution options with FIOS and original coax is pretty swanky too. I haven't had a chance to work with it yet though...

 

oh, trust me she'll see the difference, anyway... wrong forum

 

HD is great... end of story

 

People with FIOS TV claim the picture is better than cable.

 

Sorry about placement of the thread...vector, is that with the standard coaxl you are referring to? I am new to this so i wasn't sure if there was a special cable like a composite cable or such. So I've heard rave reviews on FIOS so far...I actually ordered it for two shows only but can't wait to see what the other channels look like. Has anyone seen smallville or supernatural in HD? Is there a dramatic difference from standard?

 

I tried Verizon Fios TV for about a month and hated it. The DVR absolutely SUCKS. I kept my DirecTV HD DVR that uses Tivo and theirs just no comparison between the two. You didnt say if you were getting the DVR or not. I would avoid it and just get an HD Tivo when they get cheaper. The interface is clunky with graphics from the 80's. Its quirky, buggy, the search is garbage (Any show that start with "The", you have to put that in the search!!). You have to push about 50 buttons just to setup to record a series. I could go on...

If your just getting the HD tuner, then thats pretty good because Fios has a lot of HD channels and the signal is very good.

And theirs no comparison to standard def to HD. You'll both be blown away...

 

Oh, thats the other thing, their standard def was worse then DTV's...But the HD pic was slightly better.

 

I didn't get DVR, we have a DVD recorder for missed programs...and we love it! We are just getting the HD tuner and the regular HD package (no HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.)

Also I was rading something that said if u watch a standard show on hd with the box on and set up, it looks like crap. did you have the same experience?

 

so my wife is watching the HD programming right now, they just finished, and all local channels are ok but some of the other ones like discovery hd theater and the CW network don't seem to work...the sides of teh screen look kinda "fishbowled"...

 

wtf... How is FIOS available in bumblefuck, PA but not in Queens, NY?!

 

LOL...I'm with u man...it took awhile to get it out here. We just got local DSL about 2 months ago...but in all actuality, King of Prussia and the rest of the main line area has a really large community of people who can afford to pay ridiculous amounts of money for the dumbest things, so naturally we get it out here...=)

 

The kind of TV makes a significant difference. You will see bowing if you are looking at a cathrode ray tube. A big reason SD programming looks poor is compression or bad upconverting of the signal. I don't know if FIOS compresses their signals or not; DirecTV does. Also SD always looks bad after HD. :wink:

 

lol..I'm with you there...I don't see how I can go back...as far as the kind of tv, we have two philips, a 40" LCD with ambilight, and a 32" crt, both have the same clarity, and same picture problems..would that be verizon's problem or a problem on my end?

 

Do I need to get a special cable to fix anything? Is that what the composite cables are for? Or are there separate cables for HD other than the box and cable verizon gave me?

 

Cant use composite. Either HDMI, DVI or Component. They will give you the cable you need. If you have an HDMI port, they will have the cable for it an so on...

 

As far as I know, your DVD recorder won't record HD shows. And once you start watching your favorite shows in HD, you're gonna hate watching the recording in SD.

 

I didn't even think about that...very good point...it would really suck to watch a crappy version when I pay to have it in HD...so do most sets come with the HDVI jack if theyare HD ready? Mine were both HD ready, but I am not anywhere near it to check. I am heading out to circuit city to purchase some kind of coaxl cable the verizon guy said I should have...it's like 75 bucks though...

 

HDMI is several years old, so chances are your sets should have them. Just take a look when you have a chance, it should be clearly labeled.

What cable are they telling you to get? The should have supplied you with all the cables you would need...

 

some dvi cable that they didn't have. Should I call them back and try to get one for free? b/c it seems like the only reason i didn't get it was because the installer didn't have one and he said oh well, just go to circuit city and pick one up. You're gonna need it anyway...makes me think perhaps I should call verizon and have them send me the cable as it was supposed to be included?

 

So if they said you needed the DVI cable, I wonder what they used to hook up the tuner to your TV? Is this for the LCD?

I would call them up. No reason for you to spend any money. Heck, if worse comes to worse I've got a drawer full of DVI cables that came from LCD screens we've purchaced. Should be the same type of DVI, so if you need one, I can send it to you, just pay for shipping.

I can take pics too...

 

monoprice.com currently has a cord that converts HDMI to DVI for only $4.69. It's on their homepage.
You will need seperate audio cables with this, but it will do the trick as well...

 

thanx to all with the help! I did call verizon and they sent someone out with the proper cable today. so my lcd should be all good! I was watching discovery HD theater last night on manta rays...and WOW...that shit was tite!

 

Awesome.