I have finally chosen the lesser of two evils by signing up for Verizon FiOS and subsequently canceling my Cablevision. This is a full conversion, Triple Play for Triple Freedom. Don’t get me wrong, there are still benefits for being on Cablevision, but the scales finally tipped in favor of FiOS. Here are my pros and cons for each.
Cablevision Pros:
1. Better phone service - It seems silly to be writing that, but I haven’t seen anything to suggest otherwise. Optimum Voice is an award winning voip telephony service from Cablevision. I enjoy the benefits of managing voicemail and calling features online and getting paged with latest messages.
2. MSG HD - Cablevisions unholy relationship with the Garden and the Rangers means I won’t be watching too many Rangers games in HD. I’m upset about this, but I won’t let them hold this over me while prices continue to rise.
3. Fast Internet - I have personally seen 30+ MB speeds downstream. It has gotten slower lately, but still borders on “Crazy Fast” which is what Verizon claims they can offer.
Cablevision Cons:
1. SDV - Switched Digital Video is killing Cable subscribers that don’t use their set top boxes. Because of the migration to SDV, I’ve already lost access to all Voom content and more channels are on their way down the SDV path. TiVo has a kludge called a “tuning adapter” but I’m not interested in adding more boxes and cables to my current setup. Their is no specific date or price point set for these adapters at this time.
2. “Not-quite-HD” - HD is usually measured in 720p, 1080i, etc. But, did you know that your 1080i might not look as good as your neighbors 1080i? This has nothing to do with your TV. Fact is that Cablevision, in order to conserve bandwidth, regularly “scales down” the bandwidth on less popular channels (See this thread in the Optimum Yahoo Group). Because of this, the NHL Stanley Cup finals actually looked better in SD than HD. The HD experienced excessive macroblocking on Versus while the FiOS signal was reportedly crystal clear.
3. Price - As my “promotions” run out, my monthly costs are increasing. I’ve spoken to their retention department on several occasions over the past few months. It seems they are more interested in bad-mouthing FiOS and telling me all about Verizons “hidden fees” and extraordinary taxes. If they just renewed any of my promotional rates or at least discussed potential ways to save money and come to a common ground I might have stayed. Instead they have a holier than thou attitude and basically pushed me more towards Verizon.
Verizon Pros
1. True HD with no SDV - Verizon’s fiber lines carry enough bandwidth for all our HD needs for the foreseeable future. The channels run at maximum recommended bandwidth and the picture is, from what I hear, stunning. This is my primary reason for switching.
2. Cablecard Support - Not a true “pro” as Cablevision also supports cablecards, but this makes my TiVo transfer very easy.
3. Price - Even without a promotion, Verizon is coming in $20-$25 less per month than Cablevision. The current promotion however puts an extra $180 in my pocket in the form of a $30 discount for the first six months.
Verizon Cons
Without actually having Verizon, I can only tell you what my “concerns” are, and hopefully they will all work out.
1. Is 20/5 Internet faster than cable? We’ll have to see what speedtest.com says…
2. Where will all that equipment go? How flexible will the installers be?
3. Phone service limited on features compared to Optimum Voice.
So, my install date is set for 7/16 and I’ve taken the day off. I think we’ll need it. I had the sales rep note the account with a “TiVo Installation” so I can hopefully get someone qualified to handle that. I’ll be getting one Digital SD Tuner and 4 Cablecards. I will not be using ANY of Verizon’s STB’s so that means no interactive features, no guides, no VOD. Thats what I pay TiVo for and I’m quite happy with that!
Check back here to see how the install went!
