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Verizon pricing for Phone and FiOS TV packages

Discussion in 'Southern Walk Announcements' started by SWHOA Admin, Oct 30, 2018.

  1. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Consider an option like DirectTVnow streaming for the gap... supports 2 or 3 concurrent TVs.. and you can use cheap devices like FireStick, Roku, etc if your TV doesn't have it natively.
     
  2. Weasel

    Weasel Member

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    We ditched OpenBand’s tv service for Directv Now over a year ago. We stream on the TVs using Amazon Fire sticks. It works great! Never going back to traditional cable/satellite tv.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2019
  3. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    How does the functionality of the DVR work with a DirecTV Now subscription? Can you still record and playback shows the same way and stream them on the go through an App?
     
  4. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    They have a cloud DVR option and then were looking to roll out an enhanced option with more capacity.. not sure exactly how it works, but AFAIK it mimics a regular DVR style in the playback app. Also for some channels, you can watch anything played in the last 72 hrs without DVR needed.
     
  5. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    from quick research I see the cloud DVR offers up to 100 hours of recording. Also, the number of channels appear to be a lot fewer than the standard installation...
     
  6. Weasel

    Weasel Member

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    The DVR is adequate... its still in Beta as it was just recently rolled out to all customers. It seemed pretty buggy at first, but the last few months it has always worked when I needed it. Its a cloud based DVR, with 20 hours of storage. No real issues with the DVR, except that its pretty basic - no options to extend recording times and i think you can only keep things for 30 days. I really don't use it too much though, because almost everything that I would normally DVR is available On-Demand (either directly via DirectvNow or via other network's apps using the DirectvNow credential). I have the "Go Big" package, which we got locked in at $40 a month as an early adopter (great deal for what you get), looking at the rates for new customers now, its not nearly as attractive at $65. The only channel I miss is MASN, so I have to resort to other workarounds to watch Nats games. Overall though, the service is great and I love the flexibility of using a web-browser, phone/tablet, or Fire Stick to stream without having to pay rental fees on a cable box for each TV.
     
  7. SWHOA Admin

    SWHOA Admin Southern Walk HOA

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    There are no changes to pricing in 2019. The prices attached to the original post still apply.
     
  8. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    Ordered the Verizon Service today. Financially, its a terrible deal.

    For a middle of the road package, the total cost of TV service came to $133/month including taxes and $90 for the Internet thru HOA bulk billing. Total for 2 TV is $223/month.

    HOA seems to have negotiated the prices of TV service packages, but Verizon is too smart for our HOA. They are making a killing on equipment rentals. They are charging $24 for each TV DVR service. I thought DishNetwork DVR service is expensive, but this is ridiculous. Dish charges me $15/month for multiroom DVR and $7 for each additional receiver. For two rooms, I was paying $22/month, but same service goes up to $48/month.

    Plus, Verizon eliminated free Netflix for a year and cell phone service discounts. That's Power of Negotiation for Verizon.

    I might be wrong, but I haven't heard of any serious negotiations by our HOA with either Comcast or Openband which gave Verizon the power to walk away from the deal and that reflected in the pricing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2019
    PDILLM likes this.
  9. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    Yea, thats why I am staying with Dish. I guess I have to pay for the internet but the TV prices are way over my current prices.
     
  10. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    If you are an individual, media/cable companies entice you with deals. If you belong to a HOA with 1100 homes, these companies take advantage. Defies logic.
     
  11. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    Since I already have Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and an Indian streaming service, I will ditch cable TV completely and go with live TV service like DirectTV Live.
     
  12. BelindaTH

    BelindaTH New Member

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    Which is better DirectTV or Dish?
     
  13. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    Personally, I don't know if there is a better. DirecTV is better if you like sports. Dish was cheaper for the equipment and channels we watch.
     
  14. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    When I switched from DirecTV to DishNetwork, it was a big improvement in video quality. Not sure if it is still true.
    Dish has good selection of foreign language packages, DirectTV has good selection of sports packages.
     
  15. Excelsior

    Excelsior Broadlands emeritus

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    The HOA said they negotiated cable out of the bulk billing package so those are standard prices from Verizon. Any negotiation on those woukd have required they be in the bulk billing package.

    There is also the massive cost of building out. That cost is likely $2-3 million. So they other variable the HOA negotiated was time on the bulk billing to match the by-laws. Over time however, having the most important digital data service, broadband, available, reliable, maintainable, with very high throughput is probably a better overall value for the SW than bundling video and broadband together and forcing everyone to pay for a service that would not be as widely used. For comparison, the deal Brambleton had to renegotiate is posted on their HOA site. Check it out...Also, it is good that people are realizing streaming services are potentially a better value. This is the true competitor to video services.
     
  16. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I am surprised Cogs that you waited that long to compare Video packages. I have DirecTV and can say that the prices are similar. There are differences with specific line items but the total price is very similar. And remember, to be fair, the Internet price is $69 for gigabit. Streaming is likely to be the cheapest but with fewer channel options.
     
    Bandit1 likes this.
  17. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    Guys. you are missing the point.

    Companies like Verizon, Comcast etc, go to lengths to every single customer they can. Even in new communities with less than 100 homes, they compete. When it comes to 1100 home community, they do not compete? It doesn't make business sense.

    As per 2-3mil $$ cost of wiring the community, that is called "investment". Thats how they business model works, they are not doing us any favor.

    Argument that new Verizon bulk billing pricing is similar to individual DirectTV customer is invalid. Verizon is offering 1GB Internet + 250Channel TV + Phone + 1 year Netflix for $95 with two year price guarantee for two years. Same package for me without Phone an Netflix is costing me $223 because I am part of HOA. Remove the HOA obligation and I save $125/month for two years.
     
  18. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Cogs, your statements are so full of holes... my head hurts. But hopefully people will do their own due diligence and look around. Verizon did not advertise bulk billing pricing during our meetings with them. Internet was the only negotiated service with bulk billing pricing. Hard for you to call this invalid when you weren't in any of the meetings with Verizon that I saw... I have not gone through installation yet but I certainly plan on trying to get the best price I can at the time, and if I can do better elsewhere for TV and phone, I will. Sunstoner seems to be saying the same thing too.
     
  19. cogs

    cogs Well-Known Member

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    Zeratul, we are talking two different issues. You are focused on what HOA did or didn't do. I am only saying, as part of SWHOA, Verizon is charging me $223/month. Verizon would charge me $95/month + all the goodies for two years if I am not tied up with SWHOA. That's a huge penalty for HOA membership.

    Since all the companies are giving special incentives for new subscribers, you have to compare new membership prices between the companies. If you are with DirectTV for more than a year, you cannot compare the price you are paying with new subscriber prices for DishNetwork for example.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2019
  20. Excelsior

    Excelsior Broadlands emeritus

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    I would be more focused on what my choices are, given the information available. For example, if the video package would cost 59.99 + 24 for two set top boxes, could i do better with the dish, or with streaming, with a comparable set of channels. The broadband is what it is, and over time, the cost baked in to run the HOA could come down. Remember it was stated this year a few extra bucks are being collected to replenish the reserve and stock up the operating accounts to start this all up. There are also some costs to communicate with the association. If you could, try and do some research for everyone, and look for an HOA that gets offered FiOS, or XFinity for that matter in terms that dont require a bulk bill.
     

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