What Verizon plan with Premiere

2018 Views 22 Replies 9 Participants Last post by L David Matheny, Mar 28, 2011

ducker

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2011

I'm looking in to possibly transfering over my lifetime S2 tivo to a Premiere on Verizon's Fios. I totally see that a cable card will be $3.99. That's not a problem, but since I'm currently not getting Fios TV (I'm on direcTV) I'm not sure what my costs will be for monthly HD programming. I see that the base package in my area is Prime HD for $64.99... so I'm guessing the cable card on top of that would bring it up to $68.98

Anyone doing anything different to get a cheaper monthly cost from Verizon? Or is there perhaps some other piece(s) I'm missing?

Thanks!
- a long time tivo lover

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

aaronwt

· #2 · Mar 22, 2011

ducker said:
I'm looking in to possibly transfering over my lifetime S2 tivo to a Premiere on Verizon's Fios. I totally see that a cable card will be $3.99. That's not a problem, but since I'm currently not getting Fios TV (I'm on direcTV) I'm not sure what my costs will be for monthly HD programming. I see that the base package in my area is Prime HD for $64.99... so I'm guessing the cable card on top of that would bring it up to $68.98

Anyone doing anything different to get a cheaper monthly cost from Verizon? Or is there perhaps some other piece(s) I'm missing?

Thanks!
- a long time tivo lover

You get the lowest price by having a bundle. A double, triple, or quadruple play with each one lowering the overall cost for each service.

I have a triple play bundle with cellular service, Ultimate HD, and the 35/35 INTERNET tier.
I get $75 off the normal price. If I took off the cellular I would get around $60 off.

Of course you can also save by getting the lower HD and INTERNET tier. But you will also be missing some channels that you might want.

And if you are a new customer to FIOS you can even save alot more. And you can usually get an extra $5 or $10 off a month by signing up online too.

ducker

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 22, 2011

I have phone/internet... just not TV.. so I need to most likely call them to find out how I can get that bundle... Because if I go this direction, I really don't want to bother with their own HD DVR box. but rather just a card...

ciscokid

· #4 · Mar 23, 2011

ducker said:
I have phone/internet... just not TV.. so I need to most likely call them to find out how I can get that bundle... Because if I go this direction, I really don't want to bother with their own HD DVR box. but rather just a card...

Careful, now. Verizon Fios does a LOT more than a Tivo and they are now coming out with a 75 hour HD DVR. Not to mention viewability on smart phones!

Don't just assume Tivo is better. Tivo is quickly losing ground.

caddyroger

· #5 · Mar 23, 2011

Also you might not be able to transfer your lifetime s2 to a premiere.

ducker

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 23, 2011

ciscokid said:
Careful, now. Verizon Fios does a LOT more than a Tivo and they are now coming out with a 75 hour HD DVR. Not to mention viewability on smart phones!

Don't just assume Tivo is better. Tivo is quickly losing ground.

It's the fact that I can mod the Tivo with out any issues... and put in a huge hard drive.

I'm way to spoiled in storing a ton of stuff on my tivo, or recording a series and waiting months to getting around to watching it.

I'm not in to the smart phone world (as much as I wish I was) ... because honestly, the prices on those phone plans are insane... forget that.

caddyroger said:
Also you might not be able to transfer your lifetime s2 to a premiere.

it doesn't transfer free... as long as you have a current lifetime active, they (tivo) is offering a discounted price on a new lifetime subscription.

ciscokid

· #7 · Mar 23, 2011

ducker said:
It's the fact that I can mod the Tivo with out any issues... and put in a huge hard drive.

I'm way to spoiled in storing a ton of stuff on my tivo, or recording a series and waiting months to getting around to watching it.

I'm not in to the smart phone world (as much as I wish I was) ... because honestly, the prices on those phone plans are insane... forget that.

it doesn't transfer free... as long as you have a current lifetime active, they (tivo) is offering a discounted price on a new lifetime subscription.

If storing and watching 200 hrs of HD television is your cup of tea, then I kinda' feel sorry for you.

You watch WAAAAAAAAAY too much TV. 75 hours will satisfy most people's requirements........and then some.

Smart Phones are essentially free and an unlimited data plan will cost you 40 bucks a month or less. If you really want to ditch your cable internet then you can use your phone as your tether to the internet and offset most if not all of the extra cost.

ducker

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 23, 2011

ciscokid said:
If storing and watching 200 hrs of HD television is your cup of tea, then I kinda' feel sorry for you.

You watch WAAAAAAAAAY too much TV. 75 hours will satisfy most people's requirements........and then some.

Smart Phones are essentially free and an unlimited data plan will cost you 40 bucks a month or less. If you really want to ditch your cable internet then you can use your phone as your tether to the internet and offset most if not all of the extra cost.

lol... its not that we watch that much TV, it's that there's often stuff we just never get to!!!

Right.. $40 a month for an unlimited data plan on top of voice - so you're paying $100 for a cell phone. na. if I want to watch programming I'd rather do it on a 40+ inch TV from the comfort of my couch, rather then say an iphone on a train. I'll use my cell phone for talking.

Anyways, people were commenting on how Tivo was losing ground years ago, and they are still here, and from what I've been seeing they still have quite the strong following.

Thanks for the input ciscokid.

aaronwt

· #9 · Mar 23, 2011

ciscokid said:
Careful, now. Verizon Fios does a LOT more than a Tivo and they are now coming out with a 75 hour HD DVR. Not to mention viewability on smart phones!

Don't just assume Tivo is better. Tivo is quickly losing ground.

It is still better from what I've seen. Especially since it's still more reliable at recording the programming. Which is the most important thing.

And as far as 75 hours being enough. I don't know any family where 75 hours is even close to enough. Of course it's better than the previous offerings, but the people i knwo with family snever have enough space from any of teh Comcast or FiOS offerings.

With TiVo and FiOS, even if you get the lower one with only a 320GB hard drive. You at least have the option to offload the content to a PC to free up spacce on the TiVo. You don't have that option using the FiOS DVR. And that is also assuming it's actually recorded your show, which doesn't happen on a regular basis.

I hear to many complaints from people, but ultimately they don't like the upfront cost of the TiVo so they stick with the $17+ DVR charge each month.
But for most people who have never used TiVo and who come to the Cable Company DVR from a VCR or DVD burner, it is the best thing since sliced bread. And it is when compared to a VCR/DVD burner.

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ducker

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 23, 2011

well that pretty much settles it. time to contact verizon and see what kinda package I can get. looks like I can upgrade from 2 services to 3; and get a free hd dvr (theirs) and then on top of that I'll get a card to go with the premiere box... once the free hd dvr expires, I'll just drop it.

That being said, will the tivo wireless USB that I have for my S2 Tivo box work with a Premiere box? I haven't checked to see how many USB ports are on the Premiere box, I don't want to limit my options in terms of hard drive expansion; although I'll most likely swap out the hard drive that's in the box with a new giant one, and set the original one aside.

Capmeister

· #11 · Mar 23, 2011

I have FiOS internet/TV bundle with their Ultimate HD. I have a TivoHD-XL and a PremiereXL, each with their own cable card. Working great for me, and on my 35/35 internet plan, netflixing works well too. Just waiting for HuluPlus on my Premiere.

Quake97

· #12 · Mar 23, 2011

Only comment I'm going to make about FiOS is their billing system is a complete mess. It shouldn't stop you from going to them, but if you ever have to return something, make sure to document the heck out of it. I'm still being billed for a cable card I returned last summer.

Joe

ducker

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 24, 2011

Thanks all.. it looks like that's gonna be the way to go.
Meanwhile I'm trying to get up to speed with what can/can't be done with a premiere box. It looks like upgrading to a 2TB drive is definitely doable now. via a similar process of upgrading a S2 box, or a DirecTivo box.

wesbc

· #14 · Mar 24, 2011

You should also check out FIOs current offer. They have DVR free for life, and with their DVR you can view you show in any other room that has a standard box... or was it one of their HD box. Check out slick deals . net there are some people able to get the triple play for about $75, but that's only if you already have their equipment install. Some mention a workaround is cancel within 30days and re-sign up on a different name to get the offer.

Good Luck.

ducker

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 24, 2011

Yea I saw their dvr - at it doesn't look bad, but I'd still be limited with they have in there for space... from what I just reviewed on their website that's: "Record up to 80 hrs. of standard definition content and up to 20 hrs. of HD content"

That's way to constricting for me and how my family uses a DVR - keeping a lot of old recordings for child shows, as well as hording shows until we get around to watching them. (My current SD unit can hold over 120 hours.. so I couldn't see dropping that far down)

wesbc

· #16 · Mar 26, 2011

ducker said:
Yea I saw their dvr - at it doesn't look bad, but I'd still be limited with they have in there for space... from what I just reviewed on their website that's: "Record up to 80 hrs. of standard definition content and up to 20 hrs. of HD content"

That's way to constricting for me and how my family uses a DVR - keeping a lot of old recordings for child shows, as well as hording shows until we get around to watching them. (My current SD unit can hold over 120 hours.. so I couldn't see dropping that far down)

O, most definitely you'll want a Tivo DVR or equivalent. But if fios if giving you a free DVR for life, why not take it. If nothing else use it as an extra cable box which would cost your $5.99 min. Also this way you have access to their on demand stuff as well since that feature won't be available via Tivo. From the new ad, I thought I see they have a new DVR with bigger capacity. I don't seem to see it on their web though.

aaronwt

· #17 · Mar 27, 2011

wesbc said:
O, most definitely you'll want a Tivo DVR or equivalent. But if fios if giving you a free DVR for life, why not take it. If nothing else use it as an extra cable box which would cost your $5.99 min. Also this way you have access to their on demand stuff as well since that feature won't be available via Tivo. From the new ad, I thought I see they have a new DVR with bigger capacity. I don't seem to see it on their web though.

That is a good point. If the DVR is truly free, then you can use it to access the FIOS VOD content. I initially had a FiOS HD STB for VOD but I rarely used it. So I turned it it to save the $10 a month(Plus is used more power than the S3 boxes).
But if I got one of their DVRs for free each month, I would take it so I could have another option for VOD content. But only if it was free.

ducker said:
.............................That being said, will the tivo wireless USB that I have for my S2 Tivo box work with a Premiere box? I haven't checked to see how many USB ports are on the Premiere box, I don't want to limit my options in terms of hard drive expansion; although I'll most likely swap out the hard drive that's in the box with a new giant one, and set the original one aside.

The TiVo wireless G USB adapter will work fine with the Premiere. But of course you won't get the fast transfer rates that the Premiere is capable of. If you do buy anything the best choice is a wireless N bridge since you will be able to use it with other devices.
But for accessing online content the TiVo USB wireles G adapter works great. I use one with a Premiere when I take it to my girlfriends.

ducker

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 28, 2011

aaronwt said:
That is a good point. If the DVR is truly free, then you can use it to access the FIOS VOD content. I initially had a FiOS HD STB for VOD but I rarely used it. So I turned it it to save the $10 a month(Plus is used more power than the S3 boxes).
But if I got one of their DVRs for free each month, I would take it so I could have another option for VOD content. But only if it was free.

The TiVo wireless G USB adapter will work fine with the Premiere. But of course you won't get the fast transfer rates that the Premiere is capable of. If you do buy anything the best choice is a wireless N bridge since you will be able to use it with other devices.
But for accessing online content the TiVo USB wireles G adapter works great. I use one with a Premiere when I take it to my girlfriends.

Yea I think their HD STB is free for a year. I don't have a ton of use for it, as we only really do TV watching in one room. But I'd set it up in my office until they wanted to start charging me for it.

Great news on the adapter. I don't expect to use much internet access on the Premiere, as we currently don't subscriber to Netflix, but who knows for the future.

how do you have the majority of your boxes connected Aaron? from what I was reading a lot of people have seen random issues, yet you aren't seeing any. which is what I'd like to have on my premiere.

Finally, I'm guessing I should get the premiere box, set it up maybe to record stuff OTA for a few days minimally before having Verizon actually come by to do the install...

(and then let that run for a couple of months before doing a drive upgrade)

Thanks!

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wesbc

· #19 · Mar 28, 2011

The free DVR for life is for new customer only. For existing customer, you'd have to terminate your service and sign up with a different name (wife) or wait 6 months. You can do a few google to find this. I'm not sure if this is offered everywhere. There's a pretty long thread on slickdeals about this.

DonaldBurns65144

· #20 · Mar 28, 2011

I had a FIOS DVR, the old 20 hr HD POS, on our 52" family room LCD and replaced it with the Tivo. It caused the TV to display all green screen every once and a while. Plus the HDD was so small and no expansion to larger HDD possible. The video (when it was working) was not sharp and so even if 1080 it sucked, IMHO. There's also limits on what you can watch in other rooms - only two programs total at any one time. So if channel surfing (say between car race and chick flick) and someone wanted to see a 3rd stored show from the DVR - not going to happen. Some things were nice - the video on demand for missed programs was nice, if your show was one of the available shows. The overall operation was clunky compared to the Tivo and we moved that DVR to our bedroom to replace the FIOS STB on our 32" LCD. OBTW, it causes that TV to go all green sometimes too.

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