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Thread: AT&T Uverse

  1. #1
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Anybody using this new service or have a friend or someone using it? Thoughts?

    So here's the story. I'm so sick of Comcast. My rates just went up again for the same crap service. I keep having problems with my boxes and why does it take so long for the stupid channels to change

    So I decided to do one of those package deals where you get phone,internet and TV for one price. I currently use AT&T for phone/internet service so I called to see what they had to offer. After a 20min phone conversation, I decicded to give there new Uverse service a try.

    What I like:
    No Contract
    1 DVR & 2 HD boxes at no additional cost (Comcast was killing me with additional charges)
    A savings of $60 per month over what I'm currently using for phone/internet/TV, plus gaining more HD/SD movie channels & phone features.
    1 months free service, free HD for one year & a $50 visa gift card.
    Free installation (I called Comcast and was gonna get charged $50 install for similar service)

    What I don't like:
    New service(I may run into problems but since there's no contract.....)
    Only 1 HD stream (This is a big one. Only one person can watch HD, unless they both view the same channel. I have 3 HDTV's so this may cause some trouble. I was told this would be fixed by summer.)
    Only 1 DVR per home (I use 2 with Comcast. One for my kids up front and one for me on my main system. Not really a big deal and I hope their VOD service will be useful for my kids up front. My 2 year old loves dinosaurs and we record shows for him to watch.)

    Can't think of anything else, but I figure I could give it a try and go from there.
    Last edited by L.J.; 02-08-2008 at 10:58 AM.

  2. #2
    JSE
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    Hey L.J.

    I've had Uverse for about 5 or 6 months now and really like it.

    I have the U400 (?) package for cable and the Elite level internet service. If you have a cable modem with Comcast, go with the Elite. I think they offer Basic, Pro and Elite or something like that.

    With these packages I get pretty much every channel there is. I get all the normal channels, a sports package, all the movies channels, plus about 35 to 40 HD channels. The internet is just as fast or faster than my last Roadrunner/Comcast service. For all this, I pay about $120/month compared to about $130 with Comcast which did not include HD, movies or a sports package. So I am getting way more for less.

    Install was a breeze and it took about 6 hours. I don't have cat5 run in my house so the feed comes into my outside phone box and then runs inside to the modem/hub box. From this box, a coax line plugs into a wall coax outlet and then backfeeds all the tv's in my house via the existing coax lines Comcast/Time Warner installed a few years ago. Oh, and you also get free wireless from the modem/hub. My PC is hardwired to the internet and my wife's laptop is wireless. Very little to no reduction in speed on wireless.

    What you Like: I agree on all of these. It's a great deal and no contract. I have no regrets at all because like you I understood Uverse's current limitations which you addressed in,

    What you don't like: Yes, Uverse is limited in bandwidth right now and you do only have 1 HD stream and it's works just as you mentioned. However, ATT states they will being expanding this soon to allow 2 to 3 streams. I knew this going in so I am not disappointed assuming they "WILL" upgrade sometime soon. I am not sure about the 1 DVR limit. I thought I remembered having the option to get 2 but I could be wrong about this.

    Picture quality - excellent for HD and decent for non hd. HD quality seems to be on par with my neighbors Comcast and Sat. They have a limited channel lineup compared to Sat but they are adding channels all the time. They have added probably 10 or so since I got Uverse. Non HD channels are 100% digital unlike Comcast's 0-99 channels. I actually think the slight reduction in non HD picture quality is due to my LCD TV because my old CRT TV in our bedroom has an incredible picture.

    DVR: easy to use but not's as easy as the Comcast DVR. It takes a little more effort to set a recording but you do have more custom settings for each recording.

    Overall - very impressed and I think Uverse will upgrade it's bandwidth soon. It's a big issue amount Uverse users and I think ATT is hearing them and moving toward upgrade as fast as they can.

    Check this site our for a ton of info on Uverse. It's an independent Forum Board specific to Uverse. I have learned a ton of info on this board.

    http://www.uverseusers.com/component..._smf/Itemid,2/

    Sorry for the long post. Feel free to ask my any questions.

    JSE

  3. #3
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    JSE thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad a fellow member is happy with the service since you probably are concerned with quality as much as I am.

    I can't believe what Comcast is charging me now. $125 and that's just for cable with no premium channels

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    Cable blows man!

    Did I already say that?

  5. #5
    JSE
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    Cable blows man!

    Did I already say that?
    Careful there Mr. Rich. Your bodering on a red chicklet. Almost......

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    Gimmie! Gimmie gimmie gimmie!

  7. #7
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    So AT&T came out on Monday and hooked the service up. I was happy they didn't send a kid and the guy actually did a clean install. He even hooked me up with a needed HDMI cable.

    Ok so after a couple days of service I have some good and bad news when comparing this to Comcat. I guess I'll start with the good.

    The Good:
    Standard def looks fantastic! I'm still shocked at how good it looks on both my 56" & 60".
    The Interface and VOD service is easy to navigate and a very smooth reponse.
    More channels in HD & SD for less money

    The Bad:
    HD isn't as good. Quality is all over the place and I can barely tell the diff between HD & SD. It's a combination of the SD being very good and the HD being very bad.
    Audio sync issues. And man it's bad. I was trying to watch the news this morning and couldn't do it.
    A faint pause in sound about every 30 seconds on certain channels.

    The Ugly:
    I was unable to use the free HDMI cable because the picture looked like crap. It looked a little better when I went with Component.
    The music stations(urge) do not sound as good. In fact it sounds like crap.

    I guess I'll give it a few more weeks. I know this is a new service and has some kinks to work out but the bad HD & sound issues are pushing me away. I may end up going back to Comcast and trying this service again in a year.

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    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    So AT&T came out on Monday and hooked the service up. I was happy they didn't send a kid and the guy actually did a clean install. He even hooked me up with a needed HDMI cable.

    Ok so after a couple days of service I have some good and bad news when comparing this to Comcat. I guess I'll start with the good.
    There is no bad... See below.

    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    The Good:
    Standard def looks fantastic! I'm still shocked at how good it looks on both my 56" & 60".
    The Interface and VOD service is easy to navigate and a very smooth reponse.
    More channels in HD & SD for less money
    My FIOS VOD service is very easy to navigate as well. And yup, a lot of HD & SD channels.

    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    The Bad:
    HD isn't as good. Quality is all over the place and I can barely tell the diff between HD & SD. It's a combination of the SD being very good and the HD being very bad.
    Audio sync issues. And man it's bad. I was trying to watch the news this morning and couldn't do it.
    A faint pause in sound about every 30 seconds on certain channels.
    Then something's wrong. Fiber-optic is LESS compressed than cable (junk), so try a different HDMI cable. The picture on my TV is astonishing. Like I said, when I did an HD side-by-side with OTA, I saw no difference in PQ.

    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    The Ugly:
    I was unable to use the free HDMI cable because the picture looked like crap. It looked a little better when I went with Component.
    The music stations(urge) do not sound as good. In fact it sounds like crap.
    I didn't see where you said you tried a different HDMI Cable, but U-verse and FIOS are the same FTTH technology, so again, something's wrong.

    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    I guess I'll give it a few more weeks. I know this is a new service and has some kinks to work out but the bad HD & sound issues are pushing me away. I may end up going back to Comcast and trying this service again in a year.
    Don't give up! This time next year Comcast will probably have their "advanced fiber network" rolled out and you'll be paying out the butt for it. Get on the phone with U-verse CS and dogg 'em 'til they get it right!

    All this... IMHO.

  9. #9
    JSE
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    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    So AT&T came out on Monday and hooked the service up. I was happy they didn't send a kid and the guy actually did a clean install. He even hooked me up with a needed HDMI cable.

    Ok so after a couple days of service I have some good and bad news when comparing this to Comcat. I guess I'll start with the good.

    The Good:
    Standard def looks fantastic! I'm still shocked at how good it looks on both my 56" & 60".
    The Interface and VOD service is easy to navigate and a very smooth reponse.
    More channels in HD & SD for less money

    The Bad:
    HD isn't as good. Quality is all over the place and I can barely tell the diff between HD & SD. It's a combination of the SD being very good and the HD being very bad.
    Audio sync issues. And man it's bad. I was trying to watch the news this morning and couldn't do it.
    A faint pause in sound about every 30 seconds on certain channels.

    The Ugly:
    I was unable to use the free HDMI cable because the picture looked like crap. It looked a little better when I went with Component.
    The music stations(urge) do not sound as good. In fact it sounds like crap.

    I guess I'll give it a few more weeks. I know this is a new service and has some kinks to work out but the bad HD & sound issues are pushing me away. I may end up going back to Comcast and trying this service again in a year.
    That sucks man! Like Rich said though, it sounds like something is not right. I have a few sound synch problems every now and then on some HD channels but they are very minor and resolve after about 30 seconds.

    A couple of suggestions,

    Try a better HDMI cable. I bought a couple 15ft Oppo cables and they work great. HD qaulity is great with my ATT. However I will agree HD qaulity varies from channel to channel. Even the worst is still very good though.

    Check out the site I linked in my previous post. There are some great info and problem solving ideas. One thing I have heard is that the ATT and Verison systems either work great or not at all.

    How far are is your main Box/Hub from your telephone box outside. I heard somewhere that qaulity will decrease once the run of wire is over 700 or so feet.

    And reboot your DVR box and other boxes. I had some quality issues right at first. This solved them. Press the power button for about 3 to 5 seconds and the box will reboot.

    Also, on the remote, hit Menu and scroll over the Options. Hit System Settings and then Apsect Ration. Make sure you are set to 1080i/p. I missed this at first and it makes big difference.

    Hope some of this helps.

    JSE

  10. #10
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    DANG IT!!!!!!

    I typed out this huge post then lost it***Waves fists in the air***

    I'm not typing all that again. Basically, after reading from the site that JSE linked to, I see that I'm not the only one having these issues. My box was firmware updated the other day and the sync issues seem to have improved. Still getting pauses in sound and after reading I see this has something to do with the optical output to my AVR.

    Also many reported HDMI problems and had to resort to using component. I may try to swap a different HDMI cable but I doubt this will add any improvement. I'm thinking of getting a OTA antenna for my local channels since I view these the most.

    SD is excellent though (I watch alot of Comedy Central) so this is pissing me off. I have 3 HDTV's and HDTV looks like crap on all of them. What I mean by that is...there's no WOW factor. I was always impressed with Comcast's HD, but the Uverse HD just doesn't have the same sharpness & clarity. Looks good but no WOW.

    I could have them switch boxes but the boxes he installed were new. I watched him open the boxes they came in.

    Man, I wish all this would have just worked out. Such a great deal too
    Last edited by L.J.; 02-15-2008 at 09:23 AM.

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    Like everything else these days L.J., product is released to the market before it's ready. How long now has U-verse been available in your area?

  12. #12
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    Like everything else these days L.J., product is released to the market before it's ready. How long now has U-verse been available in your area?
    I'm thinking it's pretty new. Last time I checked, a few months ago, they offered Dish Network as part of the Uverse service, so their TV service must've just become available. I checked Verizon but that's not available yet. Alot of people seem to think very highly of the Verizon service.

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    I know I do. The FIOS IMG (interactive media guide) has some kinks to be worked out, but I haven't yet had to put in a service call because of STB problems and such.

  14. #14
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Well I woke up this morning and my STB up front wouldn't turn on. It's just dead. I called tech and they're gonna send someone out to replace the box tomorrow. I haven't even had the service for 2 weeks yet and nothing but problems

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    I can't really defend U-verse, but again, PQ is outstanding with FTTH technology with the least amount of compression, tuning a channel is much faster (very close to instantaneous) than when I was using my TV's built-in TV Guide service, the convenience of a Triple Play package is great, and overall the cost is lower than cable's attempt at a Triple Play service. IMO and truth is, I have a built-in hatred of cable TV due to the nightmare I had to endure when I bought my house and signed up for cable, so take this FWIW my friend.

  16. #16
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Well after 2 months of free service (first month free plus $100 check) I'm going back to Comcast. I can't take it anymore. I was hoping things would improve over that 2 month stretch but nope. HD still looks like crap....well crap for HD anyways....and that stupid slight pause every 30 seconds thing keeps happening. What really gets me is the one HD stream per household. My wife records American Idol and once that kicks in, we can't watch HD on any TV in the house. I'm kicking back watching HD in my bedroom and a freakin' message pops up saying I have to be interupted to allow the recording from another TV.

    Comcast has some sweet promos going right now & they added more HD channels. I've been checking Verizon but it's not available in my area yet. I should probably look more into DirectTV but I don't like contracts and I live a few blocks from the Comcast site. One problem and a quick 2 minute car ride takes care of it.

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    Too bad it didn't work out for ya.
    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    ....and that stupid slight pause every 30 seconds thing keeps happening...
    Same thing happens to me on both my DVR and standard STB. Interesting.
    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    What really gets me is the one HD stream per household. My wife records American Idol and once that kicks in, we can't watch HD on any TV in the house.
    Ditto. Verizon has an option to prevent that, but it's an extra cost.

    Well, despite the similar issues, I still stand behind FIOS. I'm talking to my neighbor here at work; his friend has U-verse and he tells me the friend is ecstatic about his PQ. Must be a regional thing.

    And the only thing I miss about D*TV is the XM radio stations. FIOS gives you Music Choice and Urge, neither of which thrill me in the slightest.

  18. #18
    JSE
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    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    Well after 2 months of free service (first month free plus $100 check) I'm going back to Comcast. I can't take it anymore. I was hoping things would improve over that 2 month stretch but nope. HD still looks like crap....well crap for HD anyways....and that stupid slight pause every 30 seconds thing keeps happening. What really gets me is the one HD stream per household. My wife records American Idol and once that kicks in, we can't watch HD on any TV in the house. I'm kicking back watching HD in my bedroom and a freakin' message pops up saying I have to be interupted to allow the recording from another TV.

    Comcast has some sweet promos going right now & they added more HD channels. I've been checking Verizon but it's not available in my area yet. I should probably look more into DirectTV but I don't like contracts and I live a few blocks from the Comcast site. One problem and a quick 2 minute car ride takes care of it.

    That sucks!

    I have been very happy with my Uverse so far. Still only one HD stream at a time but it's really not an issue in our home. My high def. PQ is amazing and have not had any pauses in a few months now. Like Rich said, I think quality varies from region to region right now.

  19. #19
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    You know, some of the HD don't look half bad....but like I said before, there's no WOW factor. It's just OK, and I tried to live with that but it's hard when you know it should look alot better.

    I just off the phone with Comcast. Pretty much got the same deal for the same price. The Comcast price is good for a year so I'll see what happens within that time.

    Rich, I hate the Urge stations. Sounds like crap and a very bad selection for my tastes. I liked Music Choice alot better.

    Geez, now I gotta these dudes in here touching on my gear. I hope they don't send out a kid!

  20. #20
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    Too bad it didn't work out for ya.

    Same thing happens to me on both my DVR and standard STB. Interesting.
    Rich, does this happen with every channel? I found that it only happens on some channels. FoxHD seems to be one of the main ones. Kinda annoying though....I'm like, am I actually paying money for this

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    I can't say with 100% conviction that this pause happens with every channel L.J., because I mostly watch only the HD channels in the living room. It does happen with all of the HD network channels, I know that much. My standard STB is in the bedroom connected to a CRT TV, and I mostly only watch a couple of analog network stations. On that TV, what I notice is like a verticle skip.

    I have to ask... when you say the picture "pauses" does that mean like a frame freezes momentarily, or more like a frame doesn't appear? What I described above is what I see. The picture *skips* in a left-to-right motion on my HDTV, meaning it looks like some frames are dropped, but on my CRT it skips in an up & down motion, if that makes any sense. I had spent some time on AVS trying to find anyone there with a similar problem, but like I've said in the past... too many posts and too much info.
    Quote Originally Posted by L.J.
    Rich, I hate the Urge stations. Sounds like crap and a very bad selection for my tastes. I liked Music Choice alot better.
    I'm with you on that one. I'm using Internet Radio more than either of them right now, but I do miss my XM stations.

  22. #22
    Rep points are my LIFE!! Groundbeef's Avatar
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    Pardon my asking, but have you considered DirecTV? I've got it, and I like it a lot. Tons of HD channels, and more on the way.

    The biggies are there Discovery, NatGe, Food, and a # more that I don't watch as freqently.

    My neighbor is constantly *****in about Comcast, and the expense. She got her bill, and was telling my wife cable, internet and showtime/HBO was $179!!! for the month.

    I have cable internet, DirecTV (and the HD package), NO pay channels, and I only pay about $135 for the whole bunch.
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    Do you have a DVR anywhere in the mix groundbeef? The rental in my FIOS HD DVR is $13.00/mo. My total cost for phone, internet and TV with DVR is costing me about $165 and at the time I dropped DirecTV with TIVO (non-HD), those three services were costing me about $180. I have unlimited long distance, 15Mbps internet (which I'll probably throttle back 'cause the VOD benefit of that speed isn't justified against it's PQ or HQ title offerings), and more HD channels than I watch anyway. The FIOS media guide ain't the greatest, but I haven't yet found one that isn't without some quirks.

  24. #24
    Rep points are my LIFE!! Groundbeef's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    Do you have a DVR anywhere in the mix groundbeef? The rental in my FIOS HD DVR is $13.00/mo. My total cost for phone, internet and TV with DVR is costing me about $165 and at the time I dropped DirecTV with TIVO (non-HD), those three services were costing me about $180. I have unlimited long distance, 15Mbps internet (which I'll probably throttle back 'cause the VOD benefit of that speed isn't justified against it's PQ or HQ title offerings), and more HD channels than I watch anyway. The FIOS media guide ain't the greatest, but I haven't yet found one that isn't without some quirks.
    I am old school, and use a TIVO unit. I like the interface, and ease of use. Since I have 2 units, I pay $18.00/month for them.

    Its a bit of a pain for the HD stuff, but I have gotten some workarounds that do quite nicely for recording HD on my non-HD Tivo. Granted the resolution isn't as good as it could be, but it's better than non-hd.

    As for phone, I just have a landline for $29/month. Cell phone for the rest.
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  25. #25
    Da Dragonball Kid L.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    I can't say with 100% conviction that this pause happens with every channel L.J., because I mostly watch only the HD channels in the living room. It does happen with all of the HD network channels, I know that much. My standard STB is in the bedroom connected to a CRT TV, and I mostly only watch a couple of analog network stations. On that TV, what I notice is like a verticle skip.

    I have to ask... when you say the picture "pauses" does that mean like a frame freezes momentarily, or more like a frame doesn't appear? What I described above is what I see. The picture *skips* in a left-to-right motion on my HDTV, meaning it looks like some frames are dropped, but on my CRT it skips in an up & down motion, if that makes any sense. I had spent some time on AVS trying to find anyone there with a similar problem, but like I've said in the past... too many posts and too much info.

    I'm with you on that one. I'm using Internet Radio more than either of them right now, but I do miss my XM stations.
    No problems with a the picture....I'm refering to slight pause in the sound. I was reading at the Uverse forums and it seems to happen to alot of people that use AVR for sound.

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