Hampton Roads Area
jakehale
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hello all.

I just jumped ship from Cox after almost 15 years of use.  Verizon had more for less money which really appealed to me.  I am set to have the install on the 27th.  Seeing how I know of no one in my area (personally) who has the Fios, i have really been following the threads here in this forum.  which leaves me some questions.

1) for anyone in Hampton Roads, are you having the problems that I read about everyday here??? (Scary)

2) do you like your service better than cox?  I am going to assume you switch from cox because they seem to be the only one here

i guess that is about it.  I tell you, some of the complaints you read here are real "nit-picky" and can be chalked up to conic complainers, but most are valid service problems.  after reading this forum for the past week, i dont recall seeing a single post from anyone in the Hampton Roads area so I am hoping someone will see this and give me some free back.

thanks and looking forward to some good news (I HOPE)

Jake

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
jakehale
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thank you very much for the help and information.  You have eased my mind about the upcoming install and have me looking forward to the new set up again.

Jake

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1

I live in Virginia Beach and I am very happy with the service.  I just understand that Verizon is still just getting into this game of TV, so yes there are kinks along the way but nothing that I can't deal with.  Honestly, most of the complaints here are simply that -- complaints.  Trust me, if out of millions of customers, if the problems were that severe this board would be littered with people being edited by Mods hehe.

But no, I'm extremely happy with the service.  The guide responds MUCH faster than the Cox guide and there is no real delay with the VOD menu either.  You also get more channels if, say, you subscribe to HBO -- and the latest update fixed a lot of the issues people were complaining about (which most were legitimate).  Just growing pains really, trying to add features that beat out the competition or make Verizon more appealing.  Internet is rock solid and I think it has only gone out once, at least that I'm aware of, and that was something in the central office which was fixed in a few hours during the evening -- and it is a steady connection 24/7 in terms of speed.  What you pay for is what you get, unlike Cox.

Telephone...well...I am not sure about that since my wife and I only use our cell phones.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns -- be happy to let ya know.

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
jakehale
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thank you very much for the response. 

To be honest i was getting a little scared there for awhile.  I like(d) cox, but i am just so sick of them raising thier rates every 6 months!  I know verizion will do the same, but the guy had me sold when he showed me everything i got for ALLOT less money than i am spending at cox right now.  but i guess it really wouldnt be worth it if i could only watch TV half the time.  I am at the Beach also, so i hope i have the luck your having.... I can deal with a hick-up or two, but not total "non-viewable", cox had(s) hick ups also.

Nice that the guide is faster, i didnt have anything to compare Cox to as far as that, but you have ... so that will be a nice thing.  Have you noticed anything else that is better than Cox? 

 ,

Good to hear it is good to go...

thanks again

Jake

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1

@jakehale wrote:

Thank you very much for the response. 

To be honest i was getting a little scared there for awhile.  I like(d) cox, but i am just so sick of them raising thier rates every 6 months!  I know verizion will do the same, but the guy had me sold when he showed me everything i got for ALLOT less money than i am spending at cox right now.  but i guess it really wouldnt be worth it if i could only watch TV half the time.  I am at the Beach also, so i hope i have the luck your having.... I can deal with a hick-up or two, but not total "non-viewable", cox had(s) hick ups also.

Nice that the guide is faster, i didnt have anything to compare Cox to as far as that, but you have ... so that will be a nice thing.  Have you noticed anything else that is better than Cox? 

 ,

Good to hear it is good to go...

thanks again

Jake


It is actually far superior.  On demand selection blows Cox's away here, picture quality is night and day different (especially if you have HD) and they have plenty of extra features on the tv service that Cox doesn't at all (widgets, favorites etc).  The only gripe I have about it is the guide provider that is used -- company called FYI.  So you'll see some incorrect guide displays sometimes, or shows are not encoded right (so if you setup a series recording you'll get duplicate).  That is the only issue I have but I am thinking that whenever the contract is up with them they will go to another provider.  We'll see though -- but yes, I wouldn't go back to Cox.

Spend a lot less money for a much much much better service. 

The only thing to keep in mind, which I had a few issues with, is the majority of complaints/issues people have tend to be after install (unless it is software related for the tv - but most of those problems have already been addressed).  Reason being, a lot of people have old cabling in their home and shotty splitters for their coax.  Because the TV signal not compressed in anyway, unlike say Cox's, it uses up more bandwidth within the Coax.  This gives a lot of newcomers the impression that the service is faulty when it is really just trying to figure out what is causing the issue in the home.

So with installing the fiber to your home, connecting up brand new equipment that uses older equipment (your inside wiring) -- there might be some initial problems.  Thats okay though, there is a warranty that comes with the install so if you really have issues call in and get them handled.  It might be a nuisance at the time but the pay off is well worth it.

Re: Hampton Roads Area
jakehale
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thank you very much for the help and information.  You have eased my mind about the upcoming install and have me looking forward to the new set up again.

Jake

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
CSimpson
Contributor - Level 1

Jake,

I live in Va Beach (Kempsville area).  I'm going to be brutally honest with you, don't expect FiOS to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.  IMO, all cable/satellite provides suck in one way or another.  FiOS is good, but still has many flaws.... so don't have your hopes up and you should be fine.

I did not come from Cox previously, but was a DirecTV subscriber for a few years before switching to FiOS.  I *hate* DTV... but won't get into that here. My parents (in Va Beach as well) currently have Cox, so I know all about their shady ways as well.

The best news I could give you is that the 1.6.2 firmware upgrade has been applied in our area, so some of the serious bugs were taken care of.

HD picture quality is great for most *true HD* broadcasts.  SD picture quality is really dependent upon what TV you are displaying on.  For instance, I have a 55" Sony Grand Wega RP-LCD HDTV and SD PQ is mediocre.  But on my 30" Phillips tube HDTV, SD PQ almost looks as good as HD.  Keep in mind that Cox uses similar Motorola STB's as FiOS, so some of the lag and other quirkiness will still be apparent.  Even with 1.6.2, the STBs can still get hung up for a few seconds before processing your commands, especially the DVR.  Sometimes my DVR will not register the "Stop" command and the only way to break out of a previously recorded show is to hit the "LiveTV" button.  VOD is *meh*.  HD VOD is not so bad, but SD VOD is still very poor in PQ.  IMO, content is still lacking if you don't subscribe to the premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc).  VOD FF/REW is painfully slow as well.

Anyways... hope you enjoy it.  The lower price and faster internet are huge pluses in my book.  Let us know your impressions after a week or two with Fios.

-Chuck

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
jakehale
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the input.  I understand cable is not "perfect".  and like you said the price is what really got me also.  If Fios will allow me watch TV, and record some show's with out having to call a tech every single time i turn the TV on, then i will be happy.  I basically started this thread because of almost 9000 post about how people "hate verizion", "wish they never left comcast", "worst cable company ever", etc... but i didnt notice any posts from the Hampton Roads area.  I basically just wanted to make sure i could watch TV after Fios is installed on Monday. haha.  you know, get some "local" input.  And to get a comparative to what i am leaving (COX).

Trust me, I am not thinking that this will go flawless, i expect some hick-ups.  I have been with COX for 15 years and "basically" know the quirks of that "lets raise our rates again" company and have come to accept them.  I just hope that verizion is not WAY worse.....

thanks again

Jake

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
CSimpson
Contributor - Level 1
So you probably have read how atrocious Verizon Customer Service is.  Well, maybe there is something different about Hampton Roads, but I'll just mention that Customer Service has been great for me the few times I have called for an upgrade or an issue.  Billing has never been an issue either.  I have had great experiences with Verizon's CS department so far (knocks on wood).  🙂
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Re: Hampton Roads Area
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1

You have to remember to that a lot of times the people that do have bad experiences like making huge deals out of it so of course they will be extremely vocal.  It really doesn't matter what provider you are with.

A few years ago Sprint was failing in customer service reports but I thought they were a great cell phone company to be with where I lived at the time and if my situation changed and I left Verizon I would be happy to go back....then again my friend hates Sprint with a passion and makes sure everyone knows about it Smiley Very Happy

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Re: Hampton Roads Area
VAFiosTech
Enthusiast - Level 2
I think you will be pleasantly surprised, this forum is meant for problems, and for all of us to try and help each other. I have had Verizon service (in Newport News) for the past 3 years, since video has been available, and I have loved every minute of it, I have only had to call tech support maybe twice and it was for something I had done. Enjoy your new and better service. FYI, your rate is locked in for the term you set, 1 or 2 years. Then of course, your rates may go up depending on pricing and package changes. So far I have had only 1 rate change and it is because I am an HD addict, it was worth it, because not only did they make sure I was getting over 100 HD channels, I also got an internet upgade that was 4 times fast than the speed I had!
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