I'll come out and say it right off the bat, I hate Comcast so if there was any way I could avoid using their cable TV when I moved back into an area serviced by them, I was going to try it. I was tired of fighting with Comcast over their billing, their service outages and just about everything else you'd find wrong with a cable monopoly from when I had lived in their service area. So when FIOS TV service from Verizon became available in my Town when we moved, I was really excited. Actually we had already gotten the telephone and Internet service so when the TV service was approved by our town and then became available, I called the very next day and had them install it

FIOS Basics

FIOS TV is a television/cable service that allows you to connect directly to Verizon's fiber-optic network to get your television programming. It's run just like your normal cable is, except that your home is connected to the fiber-optic network, which allows for more programming, more high definition programming, a quicker on-demand service and more reliable service.

The installation was simple enough since we had already established a FIOS connection with our Internet and telephone service. For the FIOS TV install, a Verizon tech took only about an hour running the new cable connections in the house, setting up the FIOS TV boxes and finally programming the remotes to work with the boxes and our televisions. You can get a basic box or get an HD box or a box that also includes a DVR so you can record programs and watch them later. We went with the basic box since we don't really watch that much TV, though we are contemplating upgrading to to an HD box.

Experiences

Since that was done, we had all three of the FIOS services, including the television service. In the subsequent years we've found it to be very reliable. In the couple of years that we've had the service, not once has it gone out, which is a lot more than I can say about the Comcast service I used to have before that. We have several hundred channels to choose from that include music channels and a host of On-Demand services. I think the On-Demand services are significantly quicker than Comcast ever was and I think the overall variety of services available on the On-Demand channel is much better too.

The very first thing I noticed when we turned our our TV's with FIOS is how much clearer the standard picture is versus standard cable services. Since then, I really can't find anything to complain about with the service. We've never had an outage and I've never had static on the screen like with Comcast and other cable companies.

That said, Verizon is one of those huge companies with a typical customer service departments. I have found their customer service to be easier to deal with that Comcast, but it isn't perfect. I haven't had problems with my TV, but when I had issues with my Internet connection, there were a few times I had started to get a bit frustrated with the FIOS customer service. We recently had a Verizon FIOS store open up nearby and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get my questions answered. I had wanted to know what would be involved in going from standard FIOS TV to the high definition. They let me know I just had to bring the boxes I wanted to switch in and they could do the rest here. I even got an estimate on the new cost of my monthly bill.

Programming

If you've ever had cable TV, you know what to expect with FIOS TV programming. There are your local channels, public access channels, standard cable channels, premium cable channels and HD channels. FIOS TV also has spanish language channels, music channels and sports channels.

We have the standard package which gives us all the local channels and all the standard cable TV channels, includes the foreign language channels and the music channels. That's pretty much everything except for the premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime and the sports channels.

There are also widget services with FIOS TV. I don't use them very much, but you can quickly pull up things like the local weather and traffic reports with the click of a button on the remote.

Cost

I have the FIOS TV service as part of package deal with the other FIOS services. For the Internet service, phone service and cable TV, the package price is $99 a month. I also have to pay a rental fee on each of the boxes and remotes I have for the service. That works out to $18 for my three boxes . If I upgrade to the HD service, the price will go up by about $10 on the package.

Final Thoughts

While Verizon's customer service for their FIOS isn't perfect, just about everything else with this service is. The FIOS TV service offers all the channels you'll find with a cable company. You'll get a really clear picture and quick On-Demand services.

In our area, I always recommend FIOS TV to anyone who can get it.


Verizon FIOS Internet Service

Comcast Services

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 99