New HD Channel Line-Up in Howard County Maryland

[Rick5472]

I came home today to get a message from FIOS TV that there has been some new HD channels added as of today however I have a question about it.  Why is it that I can get some of the channels in SD but cannot get the HD equivalent channel for example:  I can get channel 83 the SPEED channel but cannot get the HD SPEED channel 583?  When I change the channel to 583 I get a message that I am not subscribed.  Does this mean I am going to have to pay extra cash to get these HD channels or could this just be temporary until everyone is updated ?

[ericpd]

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@Rick5472 wrote:
I came home today to get a message from FIOS TV that there has been some new HD channels added as of today however I have a question about it.  Why is it that I can get some of the channels in SD but cannot get the HD equivalent channel for example:  I can get channel 83 the SPEED channel but cannot get the HD SPEED channel 583?  When I change the channel to 583 I get a message that I am not subscribed.  Does this mean I am going to have to pay extra cash to get these HD channels or could this just be temporary until everyone is updated ?

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Here in Baltimore County, we got our message yesterday. From what I've been told, this is phase II of a three stage channel upgrade/re-alignment were we should end up with over 150 HD channels.. We went through the re-alignment part last month,... a lot of new channel assignments and a few new HD channels. Now we're getting more HD channels in this phase, but we're also being introduced to a new and more expensive programming package,... HD Extreme. The flag ship package used to be the Premier package. Now it is the HD Extreme package which is priced out at $10 more than the old Premier plan.

Many are getting grandfathered into the new HD Extreme, particularly if they were recent subscribers under the old Premier package. Folks signing up today will be introduced to the newer HD Extreme and come in at $10 more than we did.Call in and tell them you were promised that you would be grandfathered into the HD Extreme at no charge. Most are getting this done with little to no problems, some are being switched from a 2 year contract to a 1 year contract, and still others are getting upgraded for half price,... $5. I hear Triple-Play customers are getting grandfathered easy, especially those who recently signed up. Good luck!

[Rick5472]

Thanks Eric....I finally got through to the FIOS service center.  Turns out that the HD Extreme package is cheaper than the tripple bundle I have with the premium package.  They alsu upgraded my internet speed to 20/5.  I will have to check this out later tonight.  When I called home to see if the channels had been upgraded they had not as of this message.  How long before I should get this service?  It would seem that once the techs get the order it should be pushed right through.  I have seen on these forums where customers ordered a certain package but have not received it for days.  Hopefully this won't be the case.

[ericpd]

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@Rick5472 wrote:
Thanks Eric....I finally got through to the FIOS service center.  Turns out that the HD Extreme package is cheaper than the tripple bundle I have with the premium package.  They alsu upgraded my internet speed to 20/5.  I will have to check this out later tonight.  When I called home to see if the channels had been upgraded they had not as of this message.  How long before I should get this service?  It would seem that once the techs get the order it should be pushed right through.  I have seen on these forums where customers ordered a certain package but have not received it for days.  Hopefully this won't be the case.

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@You're welcome Rick. It shouldn't take long at all for those channels to come in. Mine showed up in less than 15 minutes, but they'll tell you it'll take an hour or two. You may have to reset your STB if they appear to be stubborn. My STB upstairs picked them up almost immediately, but my 7216 in the family room had to be reset.Yeah,... 20/5 is quickly becoming the default speed now,... especially in markets where Comcast is sporting high speeds. They started me out on 20/5 @ $104.99.

[DonO]

Like Rick I was surprised to see the new channels arrive, but confused at the unsubscribed message. Why is it that cable and satellite companies can't seem to let subscribers know about changes in services and costs before they generate frustration? I am very disappointed in Verizon's lack of customer information. At the very least one would expect to find the information about "certain channels" in a message rather than have subscribers find out they're sticking to the customer after rollout.

I will not be paying more for the extra HD, but it doesn't make sense that I already pay extra for sports channels and now I have to pay even more to get ESPNews. Not gonna happen. If they continue to increase the channels and pricesthey will start losing customers. They've got to make a choice. Either more $ for content or more $ for format, not more for both.

One last comment. The HD Extreme and the HD Essentials packages indicate that these are the only choices. I wonder if some morning I'll find that I've lost most of my HD channels because neither one matches my current lineup.

Message Edited by DonO on 11-01-2008 05:29 AM

[danzee]

Rick,

That's good info.  Im in AA county (Annapolis) and just got the message.  What exactly are you now getting for $105?

I currently have the "triple play" with Premier+HBO/Cineman+MOvie for $106.

TIA, DanZ

[TheSanchez]

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@danzee wrote:

Rick,

That's good info.  Im in AA county (Annapolis) and just got the message.  What exactly are you now getting for $105?

I currently have the "triple play" with Premier+HBO/Cineman+MOvie for $106.

TIA, DanZ

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Hello danzee.  With the FiOS Extreme TV bundle you will recieve all of the new HD channels and any HD channels you have with your premium subscriptions.  Some areas have two SD channels in the package, RFD TV and Current TV.  Your internet speed is also boosted up to 20/5 if not already higher.  You can refer to www.verizon.com/fiostv to check out the HD channel lineup.  Just click on channels and input your zipcode. 

[CR]

>Many are getting grandfathered into the new HD Extreme, particularly if they were recent subscribers under the

>old Premier package. Folks signing up today will be introduced to the newer HD Extreme and come in at $10 more

>than we did.Call in and tell them you were promised that you would be grandfathered into the HD Extreme at no charge.

>Most are getting this done with little to no problems, some are being switched from a 2 year contract to a 1 year contract,

>and still others are getting upgraded for half price,... $5. I hear Triple-Play customers are getting grandfathered easy,

>especially those who recently signed up. Good luck!

Not so in my case.  I signed up for triple-play 3 weeks ago and was confused by the new HD

additions so I called.  Basically my choices are: do nothing and keep premier for

the next 11 months (and hope they can keep track of which HD channels I am

and am not allowed since Premier falls in between Essential and Extreme).  The

other choices are to "renegociate" my contract and move "up" to Extreme (with increased

price) or "down" to essentials (which would still be higher because I got some

good sign-up discounts).   Dealing with Verizon Fios is becoming a full time job.

[ericpd]

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@CR wrote:

>Many are getting grandfathered into the new HD Extreme, particularly if they were recent subscribers under the

>old Premier package. Folks signing up today will be introduced to the newer HD Extreme and come in at $10 more

>than we did.Call in and tell them you were promised that you would be grandfathered into the HD Extreme at no charge.

>Most are getting this done with little to no problems, some are being switched from a 2 year contract to a 1 year contract,

>and still others are getting upgraded for half price,... $5. I hear Triple-Play customers are getting grandfathered easy,

>especially those who recently signed up. Good luck!

Not so in my case.  I signed up for triple-play 3 weeks ago and was confused by the new HD

additions so I called.  Basically my choices are: do nothing and keep premier for

the next 11 months (and hope they can keep track of which HD channels I am

and am not allowed since Premier falls in between Essential and Extreme).  The

other choices are to "renegociate" my contract and move "up" to Extreme (with increased

price) or "down" to essentials (which would still be higher because I got some

good sign-up discounts).   Dealing with Verizon Fios is becoming a full time job.

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You need to try again CR. Trust me,... it's well known now that Verizon has issued a national directive (more or less) to upgrade any Premier subscribre to the Extreme package. Sounds like you got a rep who took seriously the direction to 'challenge' the customer. Be more forceful. People who recently bought the Premiere package thinking they were getting 'EVERY' HD channel offered, only to learn that they are not, are getting grandfathered into Extreme without charge. I guess it depends on how determined you are as a customer, how recently you order the service, and how successful you are in conveying yourself as a no non-sense customer. And in your case, the luck of the draw to not get a rep whose mission in life is to challenge your request 'by the book'.

[TheSanchez]

It is my understanding that if you have the sports package you can basically upgrade to the extreme HD free of charge.  The sports package lineup comes in with the Extreme HD lineup so they just remove sports and add the new package. 

[ericpd]

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@TheSanchez wrote:
It is my understanding that if you have the sports package you can basically upgrade to the extreme HD free of charge.  The sports package lineup comes in with the Extreme HD lineup so they just remove sports and add the new package. 

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@TheSanchez wrote:
It is my understanding that if you have the sports package you can basically upgrade to the extreme HD free of charge.  The sports package lineup comes in with the Extreme HD lineup so they just remove sports and add the new package. 

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Yeah,...that's another bridge they're recognizing for free upgrades. Basically, like before, they only have two packages,... one with and one without HD programming (excepting locals). I read in a thread on DSL Reports that they are required to carry local HD channels,... local SD and HD can't be separated by law. That's why essentials has them. For subscribers to the old Premier pack, most say they won't loose the HD's they had, they just won't get anymore, but a few in some markets are saying that they have lost some of their 'Premier' HD channels when Extreme went online in their areas.Here in Baltimore, I didn't notice any lost HD channels in that brief time before I got grandfathered into HD Extreme. Like I said before, I would recommend every Premier subscribers to call in and ask to be grandfathered in. Looks like they laying an easy upgrade path to Extreme for Premier and Sports subscribers. And the answer is yes,... the new Extreme is basically the old Premier and Sports packages combined with a $10 increase in price.

[fiosrat]

Well, glad I found this thread.  I'm in Baltimore County and have had FTV for a little under a year now with the Premier package.  I too got the message last week about a bunch of new channels but they just show up blank when I switch to them and so I just thought maybe they weren't actually turned on yet, so to speak.

I guess I'll call Verizon tomorrow and find out about getting bumped up to Extreme.  One thing we could do is send a letter to the president of Fox News and let him know that we can get CNN HD just fine but not FNC HD! 🙂

[fiosrat]

Oh, and kind of a side question, if we can't get channel X, then why does Verizon even make it available?  IOW, let's say Verizon has 2 packages, Package #1 has 10 channels and Package #2 has 20 channels.  Well, if I have Package #1, why do I even get the ability to even change to channels 11-20?  Is this purely a marketing tool whereby they hope if I see "You are not subscribed to this channel...." I'll call and upgrade?  I can understand that, if it is, but I'd prefer the prior method and if trying to change to a channel outside the package range it just give me an overlay with that message and not change the channel.

[fiosrat]

So I called and spoke with a Verizon rep today.  I told her I have the triple freedom package; FIOS Premier TV, 15/15 internet, and phone.  I then told her that since the channel lineup change, I noticed some channels were blank and that I learned about the package changes.  I also asked her if it was true that those of us with Premier would be grandfathered in to the HD Extreme package.

She didn't seem to understand a lot of what I was saying but said she could upgrade me to the HDExtreme package which would upgrade my internet speed to 20/5.  I told her I didn't want to change my internet from the 15/15 and that all I was looking for was to get the additional channels in FIOS TV.  She said she couldn't do that and that I would have to talk with someone in the cancellations department to renegotiate my packages.  It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but since she didn't seem to knowledgable, I told her to go ahead and transfer me.

Fortunately, the woman I spoke with in cancellations was much more knowledgable, at least in terms of how to work their systems.  She wasn't too familiar with the whole grandfather thing, but she was very helpful in trying to accomodate me.  Once she understood that all I was trying to do was get the additional 10 or so channels that are part of the Extreme package versus the old Premier package, she was like a pit bull trying to get the system to do just that, without changing my internet speed.  Unfortunately, she couldn't get it to accept that.  But then she worked with me and explained everything she was doing or was going to do fully.  Since the Verzon system wouldn't let her change my triple freedom bundle to the extreme package without affecting my internet speed, she said she would have to break the bundle and price everything separately.  Unfortunately she said, that would result in an increas of about $40/month.  I told her it wasn't worth it for just the 10 channels and I would just do without.  Then she had an idea to just break out the internet and do some sort of double bundle on the TV & phone.  Doing it this way she said it worked out to about an extra $12/month.  Then she said she noticed I was paying for call forwarding on my line at $5/month that I didn't need since its part of the phone package, so she knocked that out.  I then asked her about why I was paying a rental fee on two cablecards when they are both plugged into a single tivo and couldn't I just pay for one since I'm only really "using" one at a time, so to speak.  She said she couldn't get rid of that charge as Verizon charges for any equipment a customer has, but she did give me credit on one of the cable boxes I have for 12 months.  But, before she did the 'Double bundle' idea, she wanted to check with her manager to see if there wasn't a way to triple bundle everything while maintaining my internet speed and will call me tomorrow.

So, I guess since I have an oddball internet speed (I asked if 20/20 was available in my area yet and the answer was no) it messes up the Verizon billing program and doesn't know how to make that bundle.  The one thing I didn't think to ask at the time was what got me here.  IOW, when I first signed up for FIOS, I got the Premier package, phone and 15/2 internet as a bundle package.  Then about 3 - 4 months or so ago, I got a FIOS flyer in the mail saying I could upgrade my internet to 20/20.  That was when I called Verizon and said OK, I'll take it.  But the guy I spoke with at the time said 20/20 wasn't available in my area yet but I could do 15/15.  I said OK and he upgraded my speed without breaking the bundle.  So I didn't think to ask why that couldn't be the case here, but in reverse in the sense that I'm 'upgrading' my TV but keeping all the rest the same.

All in all though, I have to say I was pleased with the experience, at least once I started talking with the second woman. 

More to follow tomorrow, I hope! 🙂

[fiosrat]

Grrrrrrr...I apparently spoke too soon. I despise upselling. So, today is Monday the 10th and I hadn't heard back from the CSR I spoke with last week who said they were going to call me back.  So I called again today trying to get back in touch with her. Unfortunately I couldn't, or rather the woman I spoke with insisted on trying to help me. I'm all for trying to be helpful, but it gets old having to re-explain things over and over. Anyway, it appears, at least right now anyway, that I'm just SOL when it comes to getting these new channels, being grandfathered, and maintaining my existing internet speeds.

I spoke with a third CSR today, as I mentioned, and ran through the whole story again with her since she wouldn't or couldn't transfer me. Basically what she said was if I wanted to get the HDExtreme as part of the triple bundle then I had to change my Internet speed to 20/5. I told her what the other rep was trying to do by splitting out the internet from the TV and phone and she said she could do that, but then I would have to increase my internet speed to 20/20 (for additional money of course) because 15/15 is no longer an option. I again explained that I am happy with 15/15 for my internet and do not want to change it at all, I'm only interested in the additional HD channels that come as part of the Extreme package. She said she understood but that there wasn't any way for to make that happen as the system won't let her. Then she started wheeling and dealing offering me a $10 discount per month for 12 months and a $35/month discount for 6 months, assuming I would go with the 20/20. I said discounts and whatnot are all well and good, but that wasn't what I was calling for, all I want is the additional frickin television channels, leave the dang internet alone, is that so hard? Oh, and in regards to the whole being grandfathered in thing, I gave that up. None of the CSRs I spoke with had any idea about that.

So, unless someone from Verizon monitors these posts and understands and can help, I guess I'll go back to the old fashioned route of writing a letter to the president, which more times than not actually works, even if it does take a longer time.

[juice421]

Can I ask you why your so oppossed with keeping your internet speed at 15/15?  They will actually upgrade you the Extreme HD package AND give you 20/5 internet for the same bundle price as you currently have.  Why do you feel you need so much upload speed?  I doubt you do.  20/5 will be plenty.  I suggest you go this route and drop your oppossession with 15/15. 

[fiosrat]

Sure you can, cause I need it for work.  Do you work for Verizon, cause you sound just like the reps I was speaking with! 🙂  Also, it's beside the point.  I'm trying to change television service, leave the internet alone than you very much.

[Gumba101]

I am running into the same issue that it seems that alot of customers are.  I just recently had my channels ":upgraded" so I had to call in and ask why I had some of my HD channels blocked out when I had the full HD package.  I was than told I have an old channel package and I would have to pay another 10 dollars a month to get the added HD channels.

I than argued that when I signed up for service that I was told I would have access to all the HD channels, now they are saying well you can have access to the old HD channels but I will have to pay more if I want to see the added channels.  The rep said as they "add": channels they will also begin to add more "packages".  So basically she was saying the now top end package "extreme" may be replaced with another higher costing package later on if they again add more channels.

The whole situation is upsetting to say the least.  I bought an HD tv and was told I would have access to all the HD channels.  I am now being told I will have to pay more each time they add channels which I feel is a bait and switch.