Hmmm....FIOS vs DirecTV

[Deeko]

I have a dilemma. I've been stuck with Comcast as my only option since 2003. I'm moving next month, and will actually have the option of Verizon FIOS or DirecTV. I'd always assumed I'd get DirecTV if I could, I was not expecting the FIOS option.

My reason for wanting DirecTV is simple - NFL Sunday Ticket. I'm a Cowboys fan that lives in Seattle - let me tell you how tired I am of going to the bar at 10am to watch football games, since they're never on TV. However, I've heard that FIOS is a better HD picture, because DirecTV is so compressed (not as much as Comcast though), and it has some cool features - such as all cable boxes in the house being able to access DVR'd material from one DVR box.

So I guess the question is, has anyone had both and can actually attest to the difference in quality? I'm getting FIOS 25/15 internet no question, I'm just conflicted on the TV....

 

[dmw16]

FIOS TV is awesome. That is all.

 

[Muadib]

I was in the same boat, and I kept Directv. For a football fan, there is no other choice. As far as compression goes, the network themselves have added 3-4 channels to the original HDTV bandwidth in this area, and Directv has gone MPEG-4. I now can't tell the difference between OTA or Directv. I figgure FIOS can't get any better than OTA, so until they can get the ticket, I stay with DTV.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Not available in my area, but friends who have FIOS love it....when it works. Has lots of outages, they say.

 

[zerocool84]

I'm actually getting FiOS installed on Wednesday. Going from Dish Network. Hope it's as good as everyone says it is.

 

[Deeko]

Hrmph. I think my plan is to start with FIOS. They offer 6 month contract deals. That will take me to August, just before football season, when I can make a decision then on whether to switch for Sunday Ticket or keep FIOS. Plus, DirecTV usually offers pretty good deals when you sign up for new service with Sunday Ticket, so I think this could work out for the best.

 

[Xorp]

Fios still has the best PQ. They pass the feeds untouched. DirecTV reencodes those streams to H264, even if it's a better codec than mpeg2, it's still reencoding.

 

[zerocool84]

Fios still has the best PQ. They pass the feeds untouched. DirecTV reencodes those streams to H264, even if it's a better codec than mpeg2, it's still reencoding.

I just got my FiOS installed today and it definitely has better quality video than the previous Dish Network that I had. Much better picture.

 

[kalrith]

I can say anything about FIOS, but I definitely noticed the difference when I switched from DirecTV to OTA. The OTA is markedly better, but DirecTV still has a good picture.

 

[Muadib]

I can say anything about FIOS, but I definitely noticed the difference when I switched from DirecTV to OTA. The OTA is markedly better, but DirecTV still has a good picture.

Do your locals split their signal?