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Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

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  • Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

    I just bought a new (to me) house and am renovating to put a home theatre in the basement. I have a 47" flatscreen and am putting in ceiling speakers for surround sound... a colleague told me to look into the new Bell Fibe option instead of cable.

    Honestly, all this stuff is gobbledygook to me... can someone explain to me the difference between Bell's fiber optics system vs. cable - all I can figure out is it will be less expensive and I get a free DVR...

    Thanks guys!

    Ella

  • #2
    Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

    My home theater runs off a HTPC running XBMC with a little network storage device. I download all my tv, movies and use netflix. If you have a main computer with lots of storage i would use it as a network storage device and share out the files to your HTPC to watch. The only real drawback is watching live sports.

    This ultimately will save you loads of money as both Rogers and Bell gouge us all on internet, tv and mobile. Tech Savvy is a great internet provider which now offers cable internet services. Their plans are amazing same price of Rogers but your bandwidth is 300gb instead of 60gb.

    If your looking for an pre built device that you can buy there is the Apple TV 2, Boxee Box or any computer (mac or windows) using software like XBMC or Plex.

    If you have any questions about how you want to do this shoot me a PM and I can explain a bit further with you.

    J

    Originally posted by Ella View Post
    I just bought a new (to me) house and am renovating to put a home theatre in the basement. I have a 47" flatscreen and am putting in ceiling speakers for surround sound... a colleague told me to look into the new Bell Fibe option instead of cable.

    Honestly, all this stuff is gobbledygook to me... can someone explain to me the difference between Bell's fiber optics system vs. cable - all I can figure out is it will be less expensive and I get a free DVR...

    Thanks guys!

    Ella
    -------------------------------
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    • #3
      Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

      If you are going to choose between Bell Fibe and Rogers for TV, get Rogers. I hate Robbers but their HD feed is way better than Bell Fibe. The condo that I am in had fiber optic cables built in and we were one of the first to be offered Bell Entertainment.
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      • #4
        Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

        Personally, I would second Teksavvy on principle, though it's not the fastest service out there. To answer the original question, the Bell Fibe is not really a fibre optic service to your home; it's really just the same old ADSL on steriods. That said, it does still offer many advantages over the Rogers service, provided that a) the service is available in your area and b) your home wiring is in good shape.

        For the best HDTV feeds for your new TV, you should seriously look into an over the air solution for the major networks (think old school TV antenna from the days before cable). This will yield the very best, uncompressed signal possible, and in the Toronto area can often be done with a relatively modest antenna. You will still need to get cable, satellite or IPTV for all of the other stuff if that is important to you, but it's certainly worth a look.
        -- Michael R. (a.k.a. SimonG)

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        • #5
          Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

          All my friends that are on Tech Savvy's cable internet service says they are just as fast as Rogers and meet their advertised speeds. Their DSL serivce is slow only because Bell does that to all DSL customers. Remember what DSL stands for Dam Slow Line. I also agree with the Over the Air antenna (ATSC) depending on where you live you should be able to capture the Big 3 US broadcasters if full uncompressed HD. My cousin that lives out in Markham has Antenna and he gets around 15 channels maybe more i can't remember. He gets all the major US broadcasters and the local Canadian ones as well, such as NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, CTV, CBC and CanWest.

          Antennas are very cheap to buy but a pain to setup, but a friend told me that if you have a 3GS or higher someone has written and app that will help aim your antenna for maximum reception.



          Originally posted by SimonG View Post
          Personally, I would second Teksavvy on principle, though it's not the fastest service out there. To answer the original question, the Bell Fibe is not really a fibre optic service to your home; it's really just the same old ADSL on steriods. That said, it does still offer many advantages over the Rogers service, provided that a) the service is available in your area and b) your home wiring is in good shape.

          For the best HDTV feeds for your new TV, you should seriously look into an over the air solution for the major networks (think old school TV antenna from the days before cable). This will yield the very best, uncompressed signal possible, and in the Toronto area can often be done with a relatively modest antenna. You will still need to get cable, satellite or IPTV for all of the other stuff if that is important to you, but it's certainly worth a look.
          Last edited by nobdyhere; Mar 25, 2011, 07:59 AM.
          -------------------------------
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          In the Bag Fitted by Modern Golf:
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          Adams Idea Pro w/ Speeder 757 X-flex

          TM Rocketbladez Tour 4-PW w/ PX 7.0
          Ping Tour W 52,56,60 w/ PX 6.5
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          • #6
            Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

            Originally posted by Ella View Post
            I just bought a new (to me) house and am renovating to put a home theatre in the basement. I have a 47" flatscreen and am putting in ceiling speakers for surround sound... a colleague told me to look into the new Bell Fibe option instead of cable.

            Honestly, all this stuff is gobbledygook to me... can someone explain to me the difference between Bell's fiber optics system vs. cable - all I can figure out is it will be less expensive and I get a free DVR...

            Thanks guys!

            Ella

            my parents just got the bell fibre TV system and are very happy with it. it was a tough choice choosing between Rogers and Bell. Theoretically, the BellTV is better going forward as bandwidth for adding new 3D and more HD channels is there vs cable.

            doesn't mean you will care. a bit of compression artifacts from rogers only bug the videophile. As long as the video is stable for the most part you'll be happy with either system. Price and the package you get is key at the time of signing as TV is not cheap. you're looking at 65-85 for a decent package of TV on either company and add in $35-45 for the internet.

            of course with a bit of haggling, you'll get discounts in the first year or two, some free rental boxes but you'll need to budget to buy them as the rentals are pretty hefty once promotions are over. Or you can do what many here do...call retention services after your contract term and negotiate terms again for freebies.

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            • #7
              Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

              I just got back here today to read what you guys would have to say... and I have to say, I don't understand much of what you have taken the time to write, even though I thank you for doing so.

              I have never downloaded a movie (unless you call Rogers on Demand downloading) and I don't see myself doing so in the near future - unless I meet a guy who is into all that! I just want to PVR my shows, watch golf and football on the weekend and the other HDTV channels that I current get.

              I usually use a company to install everything so I am just going to let the electrician and the tech installation guys confer and work out what I need in terms of wiring, etc. I guess I will stick with Rogers for now as all this other stuff is stuff I will probably never use.

              Thanks again, guys!

              Ella

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              • #8
                Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

                Ella,

                Fibe TV has just become available in my neighborhood and I did some research:

                - Bell technology is more advanced but for watching sports, regular tv and movies, you would not notice the difference.
                - Bell sells bundles like Rogers. Depending on what you watch, you may save money. I like all sports and my wife likes TMN & HBOn so we're into the premium packages.
                - Bell's technology only needs one HD PVR box, the other boxes connect to the central PVR.

                The reason I'm telling you all of this is that with my 2 HD PVR box needs and premium program package, Rogers ended up being significantly more than Bell.

                I called up Rogers, explained the pricing disparity and through some creative financing they matched Bell's total cost per month for one year. After one year the Rogers rep told me they will match whatever Bell has to offer at the time.

                Bottom line: know exactly what you want/what it will cost by Bell and Rogers. You may have emotional reasons to choose Bell or Rogers over the other.

                But you can use this info to negotiate your best deal, and remember "it's just business". Rogers will have your phone number and will know whether Fibe TV is available. They don't want to lose you as a customer and they don't have to offer everyone the same package they're offering you because most of their customers don't have Fibe TV as an option.

                Competition can be a good thing for consumers.
                Last edited by LOFT; Mar 29, 2011, 09:58 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

                  bell aliant over NB is hot, 4.5mb/sec d/l speed of megaupload is unbeatable. torrent depends on the seeds but can reach 4mb/sec d/l as well, its just hot. had it installed at the first month it came out last year and never look back.

                  i heard their TV+ internet deal for FiberOp is hot too
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                  • #10
                    Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

                    Thank you very much for that info, Loft. I didn't know you could negotiate with them! Good to know... I love a good haggle.

                    Kg4ever, I have no idea what you just said... LOL but thanks!

                    Ella

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                    • #11
                      Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

                      I think we can all agree...

                      "The More I practice, the luckier I get" - Gary Player

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                      • #12
                        Re: Bell Fibe vs. Cable - It's a Guy Thing I Think...

                        Here's what I use:

                        • Rogers Cable Internet, standard version ($46 a month list, I negotiated them down 20% by simply committing to one year). For residential use, cable IMO is the most reliable - TekSavvy would be a good alternative in my books.

                        • Starchoice satellite. $44ish a month, had to buy the HD PVR ($300 - $75 programming credit), and HD Receiver ($150-$75 credit), but get basically everything except the movie channels. This is not published anywhere, and is only sold by door to door sales reps. If anyone needs a name/number for one, message me and I can PM it to you.
                        • Vontastic (similar to Vonage) VoIP service. $30 a month all in gets unlimited calling in North America, as well as landlines in Europe/China and also some cool features like using the voip rates with my cellphone.

                        All in all approx $130 a month, get pretty much everything I want. Robbers and Bell want around double more that to get even close.

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