How much for FIOS TV + TIVO HD?

[gracea]

Hey guys. I'm not sure if other people have asked this question, but how much is it costing you guys per month for FIOS TV & TIVO HD?

I'm thinking about getting the basic $42 plan + cable cards for the Tivo. Do they charge extra if I want the HD included, or is that already part of the $42? How much are they charging you for your cable cards?

I'm just trying to get an idea of what the costs look like. I know it HAS to be better than Comcast.

Thanks!

[aaronwt]

They currently charge $2.99 per cable card and that is going up to $3.99 next month for new subscribers. I currently have 8 but they are only charging me for 4 cards since they haven't billed me properly for my 8 cards. I've told them once about the mistake and beyond that it will be up to them to properly bill me.
The $42 plan is also going up to $48 in January. It does include the HD channels. Non premium channles of course(not HBO, SHowtime etc those are extra)

[Marc]

If you do get the premium channels, you'll get those HD channels as well, although there are only five of them (one each for HBO, Showtime, Starz!, TMC, and Cinemax).

Their "Movies" package is way cheaper than the alternatives you might see from other providers. We had turned off all of our premium channels with DirecTV to save money, but we did decide to go with their $12.99 (soon to be $14.99) "Movies" package which includes 45 channels of Starz!, Encore, Showtime, and TMC.

Given that Verizon isn't currently offering multistream CableCARDs, you'll need to get two CableCARDs for each TiVo HD, and you'll pay the rental fee for each CableCARD.

In addition, you have to factor in the service fee to TiVo.

We found that when we added in all the various charges to Verizon and TiVo, the cost wasn't as much cheaper than what we were paying to DirecTV. However, given the additional content we'd be getting for the same amount (including all of the HD programming which doesn't carry an extra charge) as well as programming that wasn't even available on DirecTV (like TV 5, a French channel), it was worth it for us to switch.

[gracea]

Prices are going up! Damn it! Verizon should be kicking butt with the amount of new customers they are getting! Is your internet price going up too?

[Marc]

I haven't heard anything about my Internet service going up, but I'm currently under a two-year contract for my business-class service.

Also, I've locked in my current FiOS TV service pricing by signing up for their "Double Play" service, combining my phone and TV service. I'd combine the Internet service as well, but because it's considered a "business", they can't combine it with my residential services. In addition to locking in the current rates through the end of 2009, I also get a $14.99/month discount.

[aaronwt]

INTERNET prices went up also, but most people are locked into a 1 or two year contract so they won't be affected until the end of the contract term. I'm on the 30/5 internet tier for $55. They have eliminated that tier and made a 30/15 tier for around $90 or a 20/5 tier for around $65. 1 and two year contracts decrease the price some. So I don't know what I will do when my 1 year contract runs out in September. I've become used to the 30mbs download speeds but have no desire to pay $90 for it. Hopefully the speed choices will change again sometime next year as Comcast starts to offer faster speeds so FIOS will be compelled to compete.

[mr.unnatural]

Your cost will mostly depend on what kind of sevice agreement you get with the Tivo. If you feel you'll be with Verizon for the loing haul then it would make the most sense to go with a 3-year prepaid plan for the cheapest rates. At the current cablecard rate of $2.99 a Tivo HD with a 3-year prepaid plan actually works out to less than the monthly rate for the Verizon HD DVR. Initially, this wasn't the case but the FIOS HD DVR rates were supposed to increase to around $15.99 a while back, IIRC. You might also want to consider getting the lifetime service plan for your Tivo HD since that will transfer with the box if you ever decide to sell the Tivo HD.