Fibe, Questions..

I currently have no services with Bell.
I am moving to a new house in June and subscribed to all 3 services, phone, Fibe Internet (5/1) and Five TV.
I have two TVs, one in the basement and one on the main floor. I will receive a PVR and a wireless HD receiver.

How is the setup done? Hardware, etc? I understand they will install a modem and that modem is wifi enabled.

- What goes from the wall to the cable? A cat6 cable or a coax one?
- I presume there is a cable that goes from the modem to the PVR?
- We are in a single family house (so no neighbors). Would it be OK to have the modem in the basement? Will I get a good signal or is the modem/router known not to be optimal on multiple floors?
- Anything else I need to know? I am thinking of where my TV, computer, etc will go now so I really would like to understand the Fibe setup to find the right spots for my hardward

Thanks!

Hi Norman,
When you say that the PVR/STB would be fed by cable or cat5/6 to the modem, how would they do that? If the modem is in the basement and the PVR is upstairs, there's an actual wire that will go all the way up? I presume they use the actual installation of cables so it would be something like:
Modem --> wall downstairs --> wall upstairs --> pvr

Right? This would mean I need the modem to be close to the entrance in the wall and my PVR to upstairs?

I will receive a wireless HD but I thought the PVR had to stay on the main TV. So I could put the PVR on the TV in the basement which will be clos(ish) to the modem and put the wireless HD on the main TV upstairs? The main TV will be the one used 95% of the time so will I be able to fully control the PVR that is downstairs from the TV/HD receiver upstairs? Without missing any function at all?

Finally, for the router, I also have my own separate router. Can you explain what you mean by better coverage? Do you mean use my router as a wifi bridge? Like Bell's modem/router would cover basement and my router will connect on theirs and bridge the wifi to the main floor + second floor?

My hardware is:
- 2 TVs
- My own router
- 2 powerlines adapters (internet through the electricity plugs)
- PVR + HD wireless receiver
- Bell's router

What would the optimal setup be knowing we have 2 TVS, one in the basement, one in the main floor and that the TV on the main floor will be used most of the times

Exeon:
1. PVR Location - tlb has it right, but must be hard-wired (coax or Cat 5/6); full functions should (?) be available on all STB's (for which you will need one per TV, presumably one of which is the PVR)
2. Wireless STB transmitter - presumably close to modem (check with Bell - this is new stuff), which will be in the basement
3. Cabling - I suspect it would be advantageous if you had some Cat 5/6 cabling running from basement to main floor and higher; it would give you more options for locatiion of your second router and wireless STB transmitter for better coverage. Can only tell on installation! Bell may freak out with powerline adapters.
4. Second router - I use my Bell modem to "pass through" by Cat 5 to my own router which does the DCHP, wireless transmission etc. Lots of references elsewhere to how to run both as wireless hubs. Your idea of both certainly makes sense, presumably connected by your powerline adapters, in which case Bell modem will be doing the DCHP and your router will merely be a bridge. Depends on how much wireless use in upper levels of house.

In summary:
a) Bell modem in basement, along with wireless STB transmitter, and TV2
b) Wireless STB in living room with TV 1
c) Your router on an upper level, connected to Bell modem/router by Powerline, and DCHP switched off. Use it as a switch only, plus wireless transmission (Bell won't likely help you with this part - only with a and b).
You will have to sort out whether to use identical SSID's and channels or keep them separate - easier with identical, but you might get into conflicts - time will tell! If all else fails, shut off the Bell wireless, and use only your router wireless, if reception good enough.
Good luck!

Bell Sat to Bell Fibe

Is it worth it? Probably depends on what your current set up is and viewing habits. I had 3 PVRs on Sat. and because we didn't know which TV we would be watching a recorded show on, I had to set up the recordings on all three. Now with Bell Fibe I only have to do it once. There is the limitation of only being able to watch and or record 3 HD channels at once. This hasn't been a problem for me. I record everything we watch or at least 99 %. I don't have the Western feeds but if you subscribed to these it should cover off any conflicts. On Sat, when I had conflicts, it was very time consuming trying to organized what shows to record. Bell Fibe makes it very easy to resolve any conflicts. Some people have said that the guide isn't very good. I haven't found that to be a problem. It is just as good and I think better than Sat. I don't think there is any difference in the actual picture quality between the two. I very seldom lost the picture on Sat. because of storms (rain or snow). The main thing I miss from Sat. is Call Display isn't available on Fibe,