I have phoned I have written this company... it is insulated against any and all attempts to have meaningful contacts to resolve any issues. If you have Time Warner Cable or Cablevision or DirectTV or Dish Network... KEEP IT you are better off... I have tried all but Dish Network but a friend is very satisfied with the price and quality of the image... I can live with any of the other services (especially cable) but not FIOS. firstly the picture quality was not visibly better... same as cable. The FIOS internet ...VS. and the Verizon DSL is

just as fast for web browsing (I have both Macs...always fast and the best and PCs... always a good bit slower whether FIOS or DSL) Yes FIOS is somewhat faster on downloads but unless unless you are an iTunes junkie... who downloads all the time... mostly you surf and Blog and e-Mail (and $17.99 for DSL vs. about $50 (or more) for FIOS is a waste of money. Now the Verizon Freedom Phone service through the large FIOS box now permanently screwed to the outside of my garage wall (I thank you and my religious wooden shingles thank you ... well now they are holy holy holy.... thanks a lot!!) .. my old phone service with Verizon was fine... this new FIOS BOX phone service has all sorts of crackle and pops in the line and an annoying low rhythmic rumble....(proximity to electrical service??) If you look at the bright side this is a plus... this way you will only make very important calls... you know like my house is on fire.... All of that disaster is nearly meaningless... YOU CAN'T BELIEVE HOW BAD THE FIOS TV IS they take 4 hours to drill holes in your garage and attach several electrical devices and backs ups... which you have to bear the energy cost on....for what... for nothing beneficial. the man and his drill works right next to the main breaker and LIPA electrical service to your entire home... if they miss with the drill you are without electricity.. no big deal right??

the young salesman who went door to door told me my ACTIVATION COSTS (ABOUT $50) and would be reimbursed either through a $200 gift certificate at Best Buy or they would give me a Sharp HD TV... my choice of bonus... that will be 5 months ago in March 2008 ... and they just about don't acknowledge I even exist as a customer when it comes to a bonus... THEY DO however ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM TO PAY FOR FIOS SERVICE MONTHLY. Originally, the the young door to door salesman (who has nothing except a name tag...a sales ledger and a laminated photocopy of the basic channel lineup... which you can't keep... there is no proof or paperwork provided about the sign up bonus ... just his big mouth.. be smart .... slam the door in his face!). He told me that my cost for 2 years would be $94 a month. Plus $10 for the 2 extras boxes I ordered. My bills have been out of sight for the past several months about $162 for February.... $270 for January .... and $140 for December (APPARENTLY before they really got the "SIR CHARGE" BALL FULLY ROLLING)... unlike Vonage Phone service or Cable phone service... you have about $35 dollars in extra FCC line charge etc. etc... taxes minimum each month. Now as to the FIOS picture... because it is optics as opposed to good old copper cable... there are momentary lapses... in picture and sound delivery because of the either tinny Motorola cable box can't keep up with the optic cable or the optic cable has small imperfections along the route.. which cause sound to break up (words to be lost) and pictures to glitch out (as if you had a defect or scratch on a DVD

you were watching.) This almost never happens with cable.

NOW I HAVE SAVED THE BEST TO THE LAST... AND BELIEVE ME... YOU BETTER BE READING THIS FAR!!!!. Effective April 2008 FIOS TV WILL BE ELIMINATING ALL THE BASIC BROADCAST CHANNELS AND EVERY OTHER CHANNEL FROM THEIR TV SYSTEM UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOX.. that's RIGHT THE 40 CHANNELS I GET ON ALL MY TVS DVD RECORDERS VCR HDTV DIGITAL SETS...AS WELL AS THE OLDER ANALOGUE TV SETS .... GET WILL ALL BE ELIMINATED ...3 months AFTER I signed up and THEY PROMISED ME I WOULD HAVE THEM...THIS SEEMS TO VIOLATE THE VERY CONTRACTS WE FIOS SUBSCRIBERS SIGNED... I WOULD HOPE IT OPENS UP A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THEM. Every set whether new HDTV or not will not work without a stinking little energy wasting hot to the touch Motorola box... they won't even display what channel you are one... and gets hot as hell to fry an egg on... I currently have to turn my Motorola 2500 box and the 6200 box off at night because they get so hot during the day of usage...(and it is WINTER IN NY STATE !!!!) ... you can't even keep your hand on top of the 6200... (I can only imagine what a hazard they will present in July!!!). If you are unlucky enough to have a Motorola 6416 HD/DVR unit that box is so hot it can almost replace your Ronco Chicken Fryer.... the 80 gig hard drive is constantly grinding away and the fan always on to dissipate the heat but it is nearly useless.. except for the motor noises it makes. Unlucky friend of mine has one and his rental rate has gone up from $12.99 a month to over $15.99 now a month... just since Nov 2007 to February 2008 !!!! How do you spell RIP OFF... oh yeah V-E-R-I-Z-O-N and the hard drive FREQUENTLY JAMS OR DOES NOT RECORD when it is more than half full. Yes Sir. Now Every TV set will need a frying energy sucking hot cable box so that will be ....6 boxes for 6 sets in my home and each box is drawing energy. Friends three of my TV sets are less than a year old.... two are less than 3 months old ... yet they are incompatible with Verizon starting in April 2008. A new 32 inch HDTV Sony Bravia ... no good... a new 27 inch Samsung HDTV no good...a 12 month old 37 inch Sylvania HDTV no good... according to the new rules laid down by Verizon.,,, all will need boxes in order to get even a local channel. KNOW THAT BEFORE YOU ARE AN IDIOT LIKE ME AND SIGN UP.

Oh yes, all the Motorola boxes (every make and model) work on the same remote control signal... so if your are watching something on ABC and want to DVD record something on CBS at the same time you are screwed.... the same remote controls all 6 boxes... it will shut every box off and change every channel... god help you if you push one of the 38 incorrect buttons in the dark or by accident. it is over... recording screwed. Don't think for one second you can switch over during a commercial on ABC to see how your show on CBS is recording... YOU JUST CHANGED THE CHANNEL ON BOTH BOXES... OR SHUT BOTH BOXES OFF ...and you screwed up the DVD of the show you were recording... nice... really smart folks at Verizon. Remember these stupid little Motorola VT 700 boxes don't even have a CLOCK or LED channel display to know where you are actually on.

P.S. It should go without saying I NEVER order Pay-Per-View ...or any Verizon On Demand services ...I have only the basic channels USA TNT Turner Classic Movies etc.... no HBO or even Encore or Starz. Oh yes.. more good news... starting in April 2008 ... I am going to have to re-cable most of my house when I switch back to Cablevision Basic TV services for under $15 bucks a month... so I can provide non-box service to 4 older TVs and 3 DVD recorders and 3 VCR... and also basic TV to my 3 New HDTV sets for PBS Local News and Network broadcasts.. at times when I don't need Cable stations (USA whatever) and want to cool down my 3 boxes...

As for the other 3 VT 700 Motorola cable boxes ...which arrived yesterday (and which won't activate... wait till you see the set of instructions Verizon sends you to self-activate these new April Fools Day 2008 boxes by yourself.. good-luck.) ... Verizon can place these somewhere conveniently to their robust anatomy. So that will push my monthly cable up to about $160.

Oh, I forgot to mention how bad their FIOS on screen guide is... it is bad... and very jittery...it can skip 10 channels ahead and you won't be able to go back very easy... my wife CAN'T GO BACK at all ..she gave up... it is possible... but you have to me a maestro of the remote and also have a bit of luck... your fall back position is to get the guide on each channel one channel at a time... when "Sir Jitters" Guide is in use !!! NICE !!! By the time you have done that the show you wanted to see is already on 10 minutes!

We have to keep our Internet TV guides listing set to Cablevision set up because none of the regular TV listings

AOL, MSN, YAHOO you name it... NONE OF THE REGULAR WEB TV LISTINGS BOTHER TO GIVE YOU THE FIOS CABLE LINE UP... CHECK IT OUT.. perhaps that was THEIR hint not to go with Verizon FIOS? Don't be part of a small minority that is getting screwed with FIOS. Just because I was stupid don't means you have to be as well. Yes, I am locked into a 2 year contract with tremendous penalties if I try to discontinue FIOS service...(my local cable does not do that)... the story never ends.. but my letter does.... good-bye. And here for all these years I thought Cablevision stank... it may have a slightly moldy smell....but wait till you smell the (Metaphorical) rot called FIOS TV.

PPS: My wife just walked in from work... she told me the house was cold... sure enough it is..

I had turned off my 6200 cable box and Sylvania HDTV late last night when I went to bed...and by God I forgot to turn them on (I have these units on outlet switches... so I don't have to unplug them) . Going to power them up now to watch Judge Judy .. have a hot cup of tea ....and enjoy my Verizon FIOS TV Fireplace.