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Pause live TV on STB....lost cause?

Hi folks,

I know I'm probably fighting a lost cause.....but will Verizon ever add pausing live TV on regular/HD STBs? I didn't realize this when I switched from Uverse last week. I had Uverse for 3 years.....and had this feature from day 1 with only 1 DVR and 3 other STBs (none of which have a hard drive....all "pause" is driven off the main DVR.....it's just software functionality via the network).

Anyway, it must be a major SW architecture issue for Verizon to implement this because this is a massive feature gap with the competition. Either that or there is a patent blocking the implementation (never heard of that though). I'm really surprised. When my wife and kids figure this problem out, I may have to switch to another carrier or back to Uverse. I still have a few more weeks to pull the plug before my 2 year agreement becomes locked.

Anyway, I'm hoping Verizon is working to fix this (or already has). It's just software.....all problems like this can be solved (I work in a similar industry).

Comments

sangs1

Supposedly, a media server system like this is in the field being tested. However, we've been hearing that for awhile now, so who knows. Some of us got tired of waiting and switched to TiVo or in other cases, switched providers. I enjoy my FiOS service, but Verizon has been woefully late to the party in this area.

CRobGauth

Like sangs said, the VMS is supposed to ahve that capability.

It is more than just software. The current STB uses a video stream. It has no memory or storage to allow a video stream to be stopped and started.

I don't know of any cable company that has that capability other than AT&T. And they can do it because they use IP for video to their STB.

gs0b

@miketx wrote:
Anyway, I'm hoping Verizon is working to fix this (or already has). It's just software.....all problems like this can be solved (I work in a similar industry).

It's more than software. Every channel that is being watch requires a tuner and a buffer on the hard disk to store a bit of the program. So, if you have one DVR in the house and three STBs, the DVR needs at least four tuners. The current Verizon STB has two tuners.

A work-around for this is to setup the multi-room DVR to record the program of interest. Then, you can watch the recording in progress on any set-top in the home. Of course, this means the main DVR now has only one tuner available for a user to watch or record another program.

Enjoy!

miketx2

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

So far, everything mentioned is easily solvable with HW and SW.......and should have already been done to keep up with the competition. I'm really surprised.......especially since the vendors of STBs and DVRs are common across ATT and Verizon. I realize the technology approach is different, but come on.....you have to stay competitive.

I forgot about the 2 tuner DVR problem also......ugh, that's going to cause problems. With Uverse I'd have multiple recordings ongoing and multiple live STBs in play.

I wanted FIOS primarily for the internet speed......and I guess that's all I got, but lost most of my old functionality. Should have done my homework.

sangs1

I know a lot of people hate it when it's suggested, but there is the Tivo route if you really want to recapture some DVR functionality. The current Tivo Roamio models have four and six tuners, respectively. The top two models (Plus and Pro) have much larger hard drives than anything FiOS offers. You do lose the ability to use FiOS On Demand programming, however Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu and You Tube are built into the Tivo interface. Just something to consider, or wait until the FiOS media server DVR platform is finally released. (It has to happen someday I think.)

miketx2

Yeah, I looked into the Tivo option last night. I still have an old analog Tivo DVR/DVD burner with a lifetime subscription sitting in my closet gathering dust. I love Tivo.....best DVR ever and still looks to be the best. I'm thinking about it, since I don't care about On Demand, but it's a high upfront cost.

If I switch to Tivo, does Verizon charge an activation fee for the Cablecard? I think the card itself is $4/month.

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