[mythtv-users] Comcast vs. FIOS, ease of mythtv integration?

[Jeff Artz]

On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 11:46 AM, Eric Sharkey <eric at lisaneric.org> wrote:

> So, a few years back Verizon made FIOS available in my area and
> they've been marketing it heavily, but I chose to stick with Comcast
> due to the fact that they didn't block ports on the internet connect
> and that there were a wide variety of channels available without a set
> top box which I could get either on analog cable or through clear QAM.
>  Fast forward to today and Comcast has consistently worked to reduce
> the ease of use of their service to the point where I no longer see
> any advantage to sticking with them.
>
> Is Verizon any better?  What's the general feel for people on this
> list?  Is firewire capture from Verizon STB's any more reliable than
> with Comcast?
>
> I really would like a solution that just works with the same
> reliability I once had with my PVR-150 and HDHR to get a recording
> that I can be reasonably confident will actually happen (and record in
> its entirety) when I schedule it and be watchable, including support
> for closed captions, preferably in HD when available.
>
> Eric
>

I've had FiOS Internet for the better part of 5 years now, but just recently
switched from Dish Network SD to FiOS TV HD.  (The TV service
wasn't available when I first got FiOS Internet!)

I do not capture via firewire however as I have two HD-PVRs.  I change
channels via firewire using the 6200ch program on the wiki.

As far as Clear QAM is concerned, I did a scan and found that I got about
1/2 of the locals I can get via ATSC OTA, plus a boatload of 'local'
government/public channels.   Since I could get more 'locals' with my
roof-top antenna, and the 'government' channels didn't interest me, I chose
to use the HDHR for ATSC instead.

As a side note, I think I read that FiOS carries the first 50 channels in
analog as well, but I haven't tried tuning anything to see if there is
anything worthwhile in that range...  (Plus I'm spoiled by HD now!!!  Analog
SD would be a major step down!)

BTW: Typically the cable companies have to re-compress HD channels in order
to be able to fit more channels in the limited bandwidth they have available
on Cable.  FiOS has much more bandwidth, and doesn't re-compress the
original HD signal, so their HD is absolutely stunning!

Oh, and there do not seem to be any blocked ports on my FiOS internet
service now...  Which is a nice bonus.  (as is the 35/35 data rates that
comes with the Extreme HD package I subscribe to!)

J-e-f-f-A
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