Frontier TV Review

Frontier’s Vantage TV and FiberOptic TV keep you on top of all the adrenaline-filled action with access to NFL RedZone or the latest episode of The Walking Dead. Plus, Frontier offers DISH satellite TV packages that you can bundle with its DSL broadband internet.

But if you’re eyeing Vantage TV or FiberOptic TV over DISH, be prepared to bundle. That’s the only way you’ll get Frontier’s proprietary TV nowadays, and we’re about to find out if the price of bundling is still worth the number of channels you get.

At first glance, Frontier’s FiberOptic and Vantage TV seem to have more similarities than differences. But take another look and you’ll notice a few differences that might influence your decision of which TV bundle to grab.

The Vantage TV bundle prices are similar to what you pay for FiberOptic TV bundles, but that’s where the similarities seem to end.

You see, whether you get Vantage TV or FiberOptic TV depends on where you live. And yeah, it’s kind of maddening that you’re stuck with one or the other based on where you call home—but we should point out that both Vantage and FiberOptic TV come bundled with Frontier’s ultra-fast fiber internet. So it’s not all bad news.

FiberOptic TV nets you a good amount of channels with those G-force fiber speeds—but what’s the deal with the more expensive TV Choice package offering fewer channels?

One difference between FiberOptic TV Custom Essentials and FiberOptic TV Choice is that TV Choice comes with an armful of HD channels. Plus, it’s where you’ll find ESPN and ESPN2, among other sports fan favorites. So, long story short—and depending on your tastes, you’ll get a better selection of, albeit fewer, channels with TV Choice than with Custom Essentials.

But again, whether you can land this steal of a deal depends on where you live. FiberOptic is available only in California, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. So if you call another state home, you might want to check out Vantage TV’s availability instead.

If you are lucky enough to get FiberOptic TV, the bundles are usually a good deal. To compare, a 50 Mbps Verizon FiberOptic plus Preferred TV bundle does come with more channels (295+ to be exact), but it’ll run you almost a whopping $100 a month. That makes the FiberOptic Custom Essentials plusFiberOptic 50/50 bundle with 155+ channels and 50 Mbps look rather enticing, doesn’t it?

Channel counts are cool and all, but will you actually watch all of them? Probably not. We like to try though, right?

Here’s how FiberOptic TV and Vantage TV compare when it comes to which channels you get to watch. Hint: there’s not a huge difference except for where you can get them.

Vantage TV has most of the popular channels—but you may not be able to find some of them in the basic Custom Essentials package you get with some Vantage bundles. And you’ll likely find HD channels in the TV Choice package too.

Here’s how to get your hands on some of the more popular channels, though availability depends on which bundle you choose—and likely where you live.

• The CW: Broadcast on local channels
• ESPN: Vantage TV Choice only
• FOX NEWS: Both Vantage TV Custom Essentials and TV Choice
• HGTV: Vantage TV Choice only
• MSNBC: Both Vantage TV Custom Essentials and TV Choice
• TBS: Vantage TV Choice only

Don’t worry, you can still get your HBO fix with Vantage TV. Premium channel packages can be added onto your TV service. Now all you have to do is pick and choose which ones you want. Hmm. . .

• CINEMAX
• EPIX
• HBO
• SHOWTIME
• STARZ ENCORE

You’ll pretty much have to upgrade to Vantage TV Choice or add the Vantage Sports Package to watch home runs and Hail Marys from your couch. Here’s how each of these stacks up:

• Vantage TV Choice: This gets you several HD channels, including ESPN and ESPN2, as well as Fox Sports. And if you need your fútbol fix, it also comes with Fox Deportes.
• Vantage Sports Package: Need all the sports? This package adds 8 regional Fox College Sports and PAC 12 channels to your bundle, plus NFL RedZone and MLB Strike Zone. Need we say more?

If you want access to most of those guilty pleasure channels like HGTV and ESPN (hey, we’re not judging), you’ll want to grab a FiberOptic TV bundle with TV Choice.

A few channels are broadcasted locally or come with the Custom Essentials package, but you’ll still miss out on quite a bit of viewing pleasure. Especially if you prefer to view in HD, which you’ll really only find in the TV Choice package.

• The CW: Broadcast on local channels
• ESPN: FiberOptic TV Choice only
• FOX NEWS: Both FiberOptic TV Custom Essentials and TV Choice
• HGTV: Both FiberOptic TV Custom Essentials and TV Choice
• MSNBC: Both Vantage TV Custom Essentials and TV Choice
• TBS: FiberOptic TV Choice only
• USA: FiberOptic TV Custom Essentials only

It wouldn’t be TV without premium channels, right? And instead of blindly choosing the channels behind package number three, you get to pick and choose the ones that float your fancy.

• CINEMAX
• EPIX
• HBO
• SHOWTIME
• STARZ ENCORE

If it’s sports you want, it’s the FiberOptic TV Choice bundle for you. Unless you think the Game Show Network qualifies as sports. (We kid, we kid.)

You can also add a pretty robust Global Sports Pack to your TV Custom Essentials bundle too. Here’s what each option gets you:

• FiberOptic TV Choice: Offers several HD sports channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports 1 and 2 plus several Fox Sports Prime Ticket channels. And for those of you who are fútbol obsessed, there’s also Fox Deportes.
• Global Sports Pack: Looking for something a little different? This Sports Pack comes with several MVPs like beIN Sports and beIN Sports Español, plus Univision Deportes, ESPN Deportes, and Fox Deportes.

While DIRECTV’s Genie and DISH’s Hopper DVRs manage to offer more compelling features, the Frontier Whole Home DVR is still not the worst of the bunch. Of course, it doesn’t stand out much, either. . .

While both Vantage and FiberOptic TV get the Whole Home DVR, only FiberOptic TV gets access to the Quantum Premium Service. This gives Frontier’s DVR a pretty sizeable boost by beefing up your live control from one TV set to 10 sets, and simultaneous recording 12 shows versus only two shows.

But hey, what about storage space? Sorry, Charlie. Even with Quantum Premium Service you still get only 500 GB of storage. Better delete some of those old NCIS episodes, otherwise we’ll assume you’re on a Gibbs level of skill when it comes to fitting a boatload of episodes in an itty bitty space.

Frontier used to have a refreshing approach to contracts: it had none. Sadly, those days are gone.

Now your Frontier TV service comes with a two-year contract. Sure, anyone who bundled their Frontier internet with DISH is used to that two-year binding pinky swear, but the rest of us are still mourning the loss of our beloved contract-less service. (Yup, we're full-on ugly crying over here.)

Now that Frontier service comes with a contract, you'll want to watch out for early termination fees (ETFs). Frontier says you'll need to check on your service terms to determine how much you'll owe, so our guess is this is how that contract cancellation story goes:2

Frontier early termination fee: Your monthly price x the number of months you have left on your two-year contract

You should also watch out for other miscellaneous fees, which Frontier is pretty candid about. It even includes a handy image of what your final bill might look like and annotated those miscellaneous charges.

If you grab a DISH package but decide it’s not for you before that two-year contract is up, you’ll also have to pay an ETF. Depending on how much time is left on your contract, that DISH ETF could be up to $480.

If you consult the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Frontier rates near the bottom of the list for customer service.1 That’s pretty shabby—and its score of 57 out of 100 leaves a lot to be desired. (It did, however, improve from last year’s ACSI report.)

Our experience chatting with Frontier customer service about the DVR wasn’t the worst—but it also wasn’t the best. The service rep was responsive but got a few details mixed up and had to re-clarify for us later.

Of course, this would have been less of a problem if it was easier to find features and prices on Frontier’s website. Oh, and if Frontier didn’t require your name, phone number, and email to chat with customer service. (Can you tell that’s a pet peeve of ours?)

That’s the nuts and bolts of Frontier’s FiberOptic TV and Vantage TV, but if you just want the TL;DR, here it is.

• Bundles and pricing: If you want Frontier TV, you’ve gotta bundle up. While we think its fiber internet is great, bundling may not be for everyone. And don’t we all deserve a choice? This also makes it difficult to compare prices with the competition, but we did find it to be right on par or cheaper than other bundles.
• Channels: Any bundle with the TV Custom Essentials package is going to miss out on some serious screen time. We think paying extra for TV Choice is worth it—or grabbing a premium channel or sports addon.
• Whole Home DVR: Sorry Vantage TV users, you’re stuck with the fairly basic Whole Home DVR. It’s not the worst, but it’s not the best. For FiberOptic TV users, you can upgrade to the Quantum Premium Service, which offers some major boosts to live control and simultaneous recordings. (But not storage space. Wha?)
• Contract: RIP the no-contract Frontier we knew and loved. Your Frontier TV now comes with a two-year contract.
• Customer service: Frontier’s customer service doesn’t get great ratings, and our own experience was pretty “meh.” Long story short, get ready to power up your patience.

Have you tried Frontier Vantage or FiberOptic TV? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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