Verizon Communications said it has completed the rollout of its new FiOS Quantum TV in New York and New Jersey, along with Greewich, Conn., moves that expand the reach of a new video platform that is highlighted by a whole-home DVR set-up that can pack 12 tuners and record as many as 10 shows at once.
The latest deployment follows the recent debut of FiOS Quantum TV in Southern California, and earlier rollouts in Dallas; Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, Pa.; Delaware; Tampa, Fla.; and Maryland. Verizon said today's debut in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut completes the telco's national rollout in FiOS wireline service areas, which consists of 12 states and Washington, D.C.
The centerpiece of Verizon’s FiOS Quantum TV tiers is the Arris-made Verizon Media Server, a whole-home DVR with six tuners and 1 terabyte of DVR storage that can be paired up with client devices on the home network. The Premium version of FiOS Quantum TV ties together the functions of two VMSs, giving customers access to 12 tuners and enough storage to record 200 hours of HD video. The Premium-level set-up allows customers to watch or record up to ten shows at once. The Enhanced FiOS Quantum TV tier uses just one VMS.
According to current pricing, the Premium tier runs an extra $32 per month, while Enhanced goes for $22 per month. Monthly lease fees vary based on the number of TVs supported in the subscriber’s home.
The capabilities of the new FiOS tier has set off an arms race of sorts when it comes to DVR recording capabilities. Soon after Verizon introduced FiOS Quantum TV, cable rival Cablevision Systems Corp. pushed ahead with an upgrade that enables its network-based DVR to record up to 15 shows at the same time.
Among other pay-TV providers, Dish Network’s Hopper HD-DVR with the Super Joey can record up to eight shows at once, while DirecTV’s Genie whole-home DVR and Comcast’s X1 platform each can currently record up to five shows at the same time.
Verizon added 57,000 FiOS Video connections in the first quarter of 2014, versus 169,000 in the year-ago period, extending its total in the category to 5.3 million subs.
