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June 27, 2020 6:47 am  #1


Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

I know many board members have a terrible opinion about Bell, but I'll float this request anyway. I'm considering getting Fibe as my TV provider. I've gleaned a bit of info from Bell's website, but I'd like to hear from people who actually have experience using the service.
I'd love to hear the pros and cons from Fibe users.
Thanks in advance.

P.S.: RA, I realize this is a self serving discussion and if you feel it's out of bounds for Big Yeller feel free to delete this thread.

Cheers.

Last edited by Tq345 (June 27, 2020 6:52 am)

 

June 27, 2020 7:32 am  #2


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Is there a serious problem with your current provider that is making you consider a switch to Bell Fibe? I have been with Rogers for 28 years and have had very few complaints about the service they provide. OTA has never been an option for me. No balconey and my apartment faces north, so no Buffalo reception for me. I currently have digital cable and am somewhat apprehensive about Ignite TV. Some people love it. Others consider it a nightmare. I know digital cable will be replaced as was analog years ago. Hopefully, all the kinks will be smoothed out when I eventually have to make the switch.

 

June 27, 2020 9:15 am  #3


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

I'm a former Bell customer, but never had the "pleasure" of their Fibe TV service...

However, a neighbour across the street was one on the first in our area to subscribe to the service when it became available in our area. She had Bell back 5 or 6 times over the course of a month and after the initial install. She said it never worked reliably (the Fibe service) She also had Bell internet. She ended up going back to cable...

My in laws have had Bell Fibe for the past 5 years... nightmare... they were initially on a 2 yr. term... they have stayed with Bell and their monthly bill is just over $200.00   (phone, internet and Fibe TV)

A friend had it in his takeout sandwich shop.... just tuned to CP24... it would buffer or drop out . On other occasions, the decoder box would just go off-line "due to inactivity" So, being "tuned" to a specific channel for a prolonged period of time is "inactivity" ??? He eventually got rid of it.

Your mileage may vary...





 

Last edited by Glen Warren (June 27, 2020 9:16 am)

 

June 27, 2020 10:29 am  #4


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

I've had fibe for a few years.  generally a decent service and nice to avoid wires everywhere.  there are a few downsides.  i can't schedule a programming block like i could on satellite... ie. set up shows on different channels to automatically tune, when i'm going to bed, for example.  also, the receivers buffer and scramble about twice a month, meaning the need to reset the router.  reaction times can be a little slow too.

overall i guess fibe is fine.  more reliable than the satellite.  my only alternative is videotron and they have a worse reputation than bell, so.... ya.

 

June 27, 2020 10:45 am  #5


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

My mother recently switched from Rogers cable to Bell Fibe and she wants so bad to switch back.
I LOVE Rogers cable and from what I've seen from my mother's Bell Fibe, I am very glad I stayed with Rogers. 
I LOVE the Rogers Next TV 3.0 box. As far as I know, I will never switch to Bell Fibe.

There is a chance that I might give the new Rogers ignite TV a chance, but most likely not...at least until they remove the installation fee and bring prices down.


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

June 27, 2020 10:46 am  #6


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

I have been a Bell Fibe Subscriber for about six years now.  For over 30 years I had been a Maclean Hunter/Rogers subscriber.

Fibe had been in my neighbourhood for about six months and I would get the occasional call or visit from Bell about moving to their service. I had been getting annoyed at Rogers with their internet overage charges, increasing fees and my new Rogers HD box was constantly rebooting, and updating itself almost daily, and seemed down too much. I had two TV's and two Rogers HD boxes.

Bell's plan was a three year agreement, no contract, I could cancel anytime with no penalty, unlimited high speed internet, free PVR, Bell Fibe Good Package for two TV's, and cell for $130 per month.  I had been currently paying average $245 for Rogers with no PVR and limited internet, and no cell.  I checked with a neighbour that I knew had Fibe and he loved it.

Anyway I changed to Fibe and I really liked it. 

The Good- Better HD picture and audio quality than Rogers (Ignite hadn't happened yet)
Much more reliable HD WiFi (Rogers new HD box that I bought a few years before was always rebooting, updating etc. almost daily sometimes for up to 40  minutes at a time.)
Much cheaper than Rogers and a free PVR which I really liked. Two TV outlets and computer on WiFi.
Excellent internet, and quick. No overage charges.

Around early November every year Bell would call, ask me if everything was OK, and for being a Bell Fibe customer they would offer me free Crave with HBO and Starz along with Movie Suite until the end of January. No charge but naturally they were hoping I would add these services after January, which I never did. 

Everything was great, had Fibe for three years with no increases, the service almost never went down, great internet service, a free thank you of movie services every year and I was a happy customer....

The Bad- After the three year deal, my bill increased to almost $300.  I called and told them I would not be paying this, and what did they think they were doing.  After much wrangling I got the bill down to about $230, which was still too much, although this now includes Crave. 

You will likely miss Rogers local channel. Bell doesn't really have a local cable channel other than TV 1 which deals mostly about Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal etc. Rogers was always very local and well done with local Jr. A Hockey and good local talk shows.
The channel lineup is totally different than Rogers although they group the channels together better (sports, news, childrens, HD channels all grouped together). 
The four digit channels take a little getting used to- eg CTV Kitchener is 1201. Some people don't like the TV remote with Fibe.

I was surprised that I didn't hear from Rogers for about 9 months after I cancelled with them. They called wondering why I had left, I told them lousy service, too expensive and no incentive for me to stay with them. I was told they would be in touch with a great package for me...never heard back! I get the odd flyer from them about every second month.

Over the past year, I have been considering going back to Rogers since they finally seem to want me back again. They have called a few times, but are still lousy with getting back to me.  Bell is better in this regard.   I will take another run at Bell to get my bill down a bit or I may drop some channels that I never watch, but I may go back to Rogers. However a friend of mine who has Rogers full package with Ignite has been having problems with down time over the past three months. 

So all I can say, if Bell is offering you a three year no conditions deal, and you are not happy with Rogers I would really consider it since for me it worked out well.  But after three years, I was not so impressed, still think i am paying a little much for my service but overall Fibe has been reliable and picture and sound quality is excellent.  So good luck Tq345! 

 

 

June 27, 2020 12:17 pm  #7


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

paterson1 wrote:

You will likely miss Rogers local channel. 
 

Depends on area. MOST local Rogers community channels have been shut down for 3 years now.


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

June 27, 2020 1:08 pm  #8


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Radiowiz wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

You will likely miss Rogers local channel. 
 

Depends on area. MOST local Rogers community channels have been shut down for 3 years now.

Yes, I heard something about that a while ago. Here in Kitchener/Waterloo the Rogers Community channel runs all day with local programming. Not sure if they repeat everything all night, they used to.  The channel always had some "network" shows with Rogers in Guelph/Brantford and Stratford, but most still looks to be from K/W judging by the schedule.  Anyway it used to be a good channel, with some fun local programming. The host of Swap Shop should have been a stand up comedian, he was funny.
 
People loved the coverage of the Rangers, Guelph Storm and London Knights hockey, and local baseball.  They also had commercials during these broadcasts and all of the games were sponsored.  I guess they can sell limited commercials or sponsorships?  Looks like they still have some local talk shows and news coverage with 570/News too. I haven't seen the local Rogers station for about 5 years but all of their local programming was in HD long before CTV Kitchener and London's local newscasts and in stereo. They usually came across pretty smooth and professional in my opinion.

 

June 27, 2020 10:17 pm  #9


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Tq345 wrote:

RA, I realize this is a self serving discussion and if you feel it's out of bounds for Big Yeller feel free to delete this thread.

Not at all. I love the fact we can discuss this kind of stuff here. And I see others were more than happy to fill in some blanks. I hope you got your answer.

 

June 28, 2020 8:05 am  #10


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Thanks for the detailed responses folks. I really appreciate it. It certainly seems like Fibe TV has its pros and cons.
I'll try to respond to a few of your comments.
I'm really only considering changing to save some money. I was speaking to a Bell rep on another matter and when that was resolved they of course went into sales mode. And the bundling offer she suggested did seem appealing. Currently I have three different providers for TV, internet and cell phone. Service wise I'm very satisfied by all three. I have Bell for home phone and internet, I have Shaw Direct satellite for TV and Rogers for cell phone.
I had never considered it before, but I'm paying a HUGE monthly amount for all three.
I've always been very satisfied with Bell's home phone and internet service. For the few times I needed service I'm able to get through to a human on the phone quite quickly (no mean feat these days) and they've always resolved the issue on the phone or arranged a home service call within a day or so.
Shaw Direct offers excellent picture quality and a great PVR (admittedly I've been with them for over 20 years, so I've never used any other provider's PVR) it's expensive, but I do get all the channels they offer, except the international channels and the porn. It's tough to get them on the phone though.
And Rogers has treated me well over my 25 years with them. I've never had to pay for a new phone and I don't think I've ever had a service interruption.

After hearing all your good opinions I'm still not completely sold on Fibe. But I admit I'm leaning towards getting it if the price is right. I love the idea that the set top boxes are wireless and all the boxes can access the main box and its recordings.

To Paterson1 specifically, as a user maybe can answer the following questions:

I'm still concerned about reliability and whether we'll have enough bandwidth/speed to handle everything.  There are three people in the house and I can imagine a scenario with 2 or even three TVs operating plus three devices surfing the internet all at the same time. Can the system handle that?
Also, from what I'm led to believe, the PVR can record 4 shows at once. True?
Plus, is it possible to add extra time to recordings to allow for live programs/events that may run well past their slotted time.

Any further answers/comments/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, and thanks again for all your responses.

     Thread Starter
 

June 28, 2020 8:52 am  #11


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

It's a good point that Rogers only offers one complimentary Nextbox 3.0 for free, then they charge for the other two boxes if you need them for 3 TV's. 
Outside of that minor little hiccup, I am very happy with Rogers (I have only two TV's. The first Box is free in my current cable package and the second does not record-It was a rent to own where I bought the box for a dollar at the end of the rental term) 

Because I have all 4 services (landline, cable, internet and smart phone) bundled into one bill with Rogers I am saving a lot of money.  

I don't really recommend giving up a Bell landline though unless Rogers goes deep into savings mode.
They lied about the 6 hours of battery life on the modem when the power goes out.
It seems no matter who at Rogers tries to fix what, when the power goes out the line automatically goes straight to voice mail. (no phone ring)
That's not my phone either because I have both the cordless and the regular landline in my home and they work fine. 
Rogers landline gets an F from me in times when there is a power failure, but an A+ any other time.  
(Bell Landline ALWAYS worked fine in a power outage when I used to have their service)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

June 28, 2020 11:09 am  #12


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Good luck Tq345 whatever you decide to do. 
I have never had any problems with their internet service but my scenario is not the same as yours. I have had internet problems with Microsoft but never Fibe.  You will likely need to get a package with more bandwidth then what I am using, sounds like you have a busy household!  Explain your situation to the sales rep and they will advise you which would be best.

The PVR I have can handle four shows at one time for recording. I am not sure if it will keep recording a live show that runs overtime but to be safe I would just schedule the next show on grid to make sure it keeps recording if you think a program or live event may run overtime. It will record to the end of a live event if you are recording live, but something scheduled I am not sure.   Or just experiment with a live event you don't care about saving and if it goes overtime see if it still recorded to the end.

Hope this helps and you end up saving money, and get a good three year deal from them. Don't be afraid to ask for something extra, all they can say is no., But remember they want your business and often if they sense you are almost ready to take a package they will throw in something extra (Crave or Movie Channels) to get a new customer!

Again the big negatives that I have heard regarding Fibe would be their four digit channels, the physical line up of channels and where to find them will be different than what you are used to but they do bundle similar stations together (sports, kids, OTA networks etc.) Some people don't like Fibe's channel remote which is different than most others, I don't mind it but I have heard others that find it awkward.

 

June 28, 2020 1:01 pm  #13


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

After some initial hiccups its has  worked well. Like using the app which enables me to watch any channel on my iPad anywhere in the house or backyard.  Still don't think it's worth the cost.  Wish I could just pay for the 6-8 channels I actually watch. 
 

 

June 28, 2020 7:11 pm  #14


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

paterson1 wrote:

Good luck Tq345 whatever you decide to do. 
I have never had any problems with their internet service but my scenario is not the same as yours. I have had internet problems with Microsoft but never Fibe.  You will likely need to get a package with more bandwidth then what I am using, sounds like you have a busy household!  Explain your situation to the sales rep and they will advise you which would be best.

The PVR I have can handle four shows at one time for recording. I am not sure if it will keep recording a live show that runs overtime but to be safe I would just schedule the next show on grid to make sure it keeps recording if you think a program or live event may run overtime. It will record to the end of a live event if you are recording live, but something scheduled I am not sure.   Or just experiment with a live event you don't care about saving and if it goes overtime see if it still recorded to the end.

Hope this helps and you end up saving money, and get a good three year deal from them. Don't be afraid to ask for something extra, all they can say is no., But remember they want your business and often if they sense you are almost ready to take a package they will throw in something extra (Crave or Movie Channels) to get a new customer!

Again the big negatives that I have heard regarding Fibe would be their four digit channels, the physical line up of channels and where to find them will be different than what you are used to but they do bundle similar stations together (sports, kids, OTA networks etc.) Some people don't like Fibe's channel remote which is different than most others, I don't mind it but I have heard others that find it awkward.

 
Thanks Paterson1. I quess we'll take our chances on the bandwidth/speed question. The ability to record 4 shows at once is a big selling point. And recording the program following a live event seems like a decent compromise.  I've been spoiled as Shaw Direct allows you to add up to 90 minutes to any scheduled recordings. It made it nice to be able to record west coast hockey and baseball games and not have to stay up until the wee hours.
As an aside, why do they slot hockey games for 2 and a half hours when they are very rarely done in that time. I think they sked baseball for 3 hours but that's rarely sufficient time considering the current glacial pace of play.

Thanks for your answers. It makes my decision easier.
Cheers!

     Thread Starter
 

June 29, 2020 10:20 am  #15


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Radiowiz wrote:

There is a chance that I might give the new Rogers ignite TV a chance, but most likely not...at least until they remove the installation fee and bring prices down.

The installation fee has been made optional with self-install.    

 

June 29, 2020 10:22 am  #16


Re: Requesting opinions on Bell's Fibe TV

Tq345 wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

Good luck Tq345 whatever you decide to do. 
I have never had any problems with their internet service but my scenario is not the same as yours. I have had internet problems with Microsoft but never Fibe.  You will likely need to get a package with more bandwidth then what I am using, sounds like you have a busy household!  Explain your situation to the sales rep and they will advise you which would be best.

The PVR I have can handle four shows at one time for recording. I am not sure if it will keep recording a live show that runs overtime but to be safe I would just schedule the next show on grid to make sure it keeps recording if you think a program or live event may run overtime. It will record to the end of a live event if you are recording live, but something scheduled I am not sure.   Or just experiment with a live event you don't care about saving and if it goes overtime see if it still recorded to the end.

Hope this helps and you end up saving money, and get a good three year deal from them. Don't be afraid to ask for something extra, all they can say is no., But remember they want your business and often if they sense you are almost ready to take a package they will throw in something extra (Crave or Movie Channels) to get a new customer!

Again the big negatives that I have heard regarding Fibe would be their four digit channels, the physical line up of channels and where to find them will be different than what you are used to but they do bundle similar stations together (sports, kids, OTA networks etc.) Some people don't like Fibe's channel remote which is different than most others, I don't mind it but I have heard others that find it awkward.

 
Thanks Paterson1. I quess we'll take our chances on the bandwidth/speed question. The ability to record 4 shows at once is a big selling point. And recording the program following a live event seems like a decent compromise. I've been spoiled as Shaw Direct allows you to add up to 90 minutes to any scheduled recordings. It made it nice to be able to record west coast hockey and baseball games and not have to stay up until the wee hours.
As an aside, why do they slot hockey games for 2 and a half hours when they are very rarely done in that time. I think they sked baseball for 3 hours but that's rarely sufficient time considering the current glacial pace of play.

Thanks for your answers. It makes my decision easier.
Cheers!

If Bell is offering TRUE fibre to the home....   like any FTTH product, it will be much more reliable typically.   IF they are offering copper phone wire, it will depend on how good the wire is feeding your home.   If it's old, too far from the fibre fed box, and other conditions, I would stick with cable.   You will have nothing but issues.    Some sales guys don't know or tell untruth regarding how your house is fed, so best to ask different agents.   Copper phone wire is not the same as fibre to the home...   Coax is copper (how cable companies do it) but it's much more robus and typically has less issues. 
 

Last edited by radiokid (June 29, 2020 10:29 am)