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See my updated review on the SBC Yahoo! Review area - I'm now a U-Verse customer, though not of my own choosing - »Review of AT&T Yahoo by BuriedCaesar3 - didn't make sense to post it twice... member for 20 years, 1584 visits, last login: 13.3 years ago lodged 15.2 years ago
I have been an SBC/ Ameritech dsl customer for several years. I decided to give U-verse a try after the door-to-door sales guy told me about the whole-home DVR and the bundled pricing. Technically there is no "discount" for multiple services but the voIP and iptv pricing still were lower than my POTS/direcTV totals. I switched from DirecTV on 12/2/08. My home was already wired for RG-6 and 2-pair of cat-5 to every room. Install went smoothly and took only 2.5 hours due to pre-wiring. With ethernet used for both dsl and video(separate switches). I only use RG-6 for OTA ATSC broadcasts (separate receiver). RG will synch at 63568, but currently limited to 25216 till vdsl2 deployed (2009?). This is adequate to support dsl, voice and 2HD/2SD channels. I signed up for U-verse TV(U-200 pkg), dsl (6.0 meg package) and voice. Total monthly cost is $144 which includes two extra STBs (Cisco/Scientific Atlanta). Breakdown is : dsl-elite6.0-$35, U200-$59, u-voice-$30, HD package-$10, 2 extra STBs-$10. This saves me about $12/month over old SBC and DirecTV combination of same features. dsl is rock-solid with pings of 20 and speed about 15% faster than the same pre-Uverse dsl from SBC/ATT. This is due to almost no errors/improved line quality. I am only 500 ft. from VRAD. Really no negatives so far except that HD quality is not quite as good as DirecTV or OTA(which is still noticeably sharper than any other alternative). member for 18.1 years, 1974 visits, last login: 8.6 years ago updated 15.2 years ago
U-Verse came to Visalia a while back, and I kept checking and checking for eligibility, with no success, up until a few weeks ago. I jumped on it and called AT&T rather than going through the website to make sure everything would work. The CSR was very nice; I explained that I've had mixed stories from AT&T DISH reps over being locked into a contract -- my understanding was that it was three years, and I certainly haven't had it for that long -- so she connected me with DISH, he confirmed that there was no contract, and she said that if there was a termination fee, she'd have it waived. I ordered the U200 package, 6/1 internet, and four extra TVs. I didn't order voice because I wasn't sure of the effect it would have on the alarm system, but she gave me the same unlimited local/long distance package for POTS and kept the billing separate. The total was $115 for the first six months, and $130 thereafter (for the internet and TVs) Jumping forward to the install date -- Dec 5 -- the guy came right on time, was in for about four and a half hours. During that time he went to the VRAD for about thirty or so minutes, installed a new NID (it looks very, very nice compared to the old one that got painted over), replaced the ends of the coax cables in the house, set up the RG and the four boxes, and showed me the basics. He had to come back one time for a huge spool of RG6 cable though, and after that I found some (very nice) RG6 connectors, which he never came back for and I subsequently lost. TiVo took a bit of cajoling to work with the Cisco STB in my room (non-DVR) and I had to put in Fresno's ZIP code, but it works great now. Picture quality is amazing, even with SD content on the HDTV in the living room. I'm on the 2/2 profile. member for 18.1 years, 103 visits, last login: 2.3 years ago updated 15.2 years ago
have had Dish Network, Time Warner, Comcast. i have the u400 and the 6mb DSL. install took less than an hour for a 1 bedroom apartment and 2 set top boxes. Motorola equipment i was surprised with how quick the service came up. Tech did not have to make any calls at all. member for 19.4 years, 29 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago lodged 15.2 years ago
Have had AT&T DSL Extreme 6.0 for >5years, we live close to the switch with great speed. now changed to AT&T UVerse. only real problem is the DVR we have is bad, will not record shows. But was able to get them to see it was bad and replace it quickly without fuss. Am going to be able to save $50-60/month with this change. Have the same capabilities as with Dish.net with UVerseTV. UVerse Internet is as fast and at times faster then AT&T DSL. Order went through 2 weeks before they were able to install. We got service the day Orlando was turned on to UVerse.Because they had to run new cat5 cable install was a 2day experience because of house issues, but they did a good job and cleaned up well after themselves.WE have the CISCO HD DVR and CISCO STB. We do get 4 streams and will be able to record 2 HD shows or 4 SD shows at a time. The residential 2Wiregateway is in or office close to my network. They connected the gateway to my wired network without a fuss.Wish the DVR held more only 120h SD/40h HD but for the price we can't beat it. would I do it again, yes! member for 23.2 years, 11 visits, last login: 15.1 years ago lodged 15.2 years ago
I had Uverse installed in mid October and the install went well with the installer being on time. I did do research prior to ordering the Service to make sure the RG could be located where I needed it and it also gave me a heads up for potential problems. Things I noticed: VOIP quality is very good no hissing and very reliable with a ATT battery backup included. The switch from POTS to VOIP took a little longer then planned but was full done inside 6hrs. (Home alarm and Fax still work with no modifacation). TV: Good quality and the ability to stream recorded content to any TV is a big + HD picture is good too. Internet: Good but still a bit buggy everything works fine but the download speed is throttled to demand so single down loads will only use the bottom of your teir. However you can download away and max out your teir with no problem. Overall a good service and value and considered there is no contract not bad at all. Just keep in mind the service is still evolving for the better and a little patients could be helpful. member for 22.1 years, 76 visits, last login: 7.2 years ago updated 15.2 years ago
I have had TWC in multiple residences. Overall I was very satisfied with what Time Warner offered. I had consistent reliability, good speeds and a decent price. That all changed when I took a job that required me to move. I transfered my Time Warner account, but unbeknownst to me the house where I was moving to resided on the an older aquired Adelphia network. Speeds were inconsistent. Picture quality dropped off - realibilty quickly became unacceptable. I gave them a few months and it did turn around. The kicker was on a campain that was expiring. I couldn't renew without signing a contract. So I did a little research and found out U-verse was available. I had multiple problems trying to order the service, all stemming from the previous owner of the house still having equipment on his account. This caused the system to think the account was still active, and thus it did not allow me to place an order online. I called up and got everything fixed after a few calls. The rep even took $10 off a month for all the multiple calls trying to fix this. I signed up for the U300 + HD and Max internet (10/1.5) which came out to ~$80 per month. I received and email a week before the install notifying me of my install date and time, and two postcards in the mail. The installer called that morning as well, and called again when he was 30 minutes out. Overall, I found that the installer had a very good, well versed technical background and was a true professional. I ended up helping him fish wires through my walls to help expedite the process as I choose to have everything wired via Cat5e. I had no qualms providing refreshments, and a light snack as well seeing as he was there for almost 7 hours. I'm ~800ft out from the VRAD and my sync speeds were 70000/60000 (forgive me I don't have access to the exact numbers right now - so I'm rounding down... the actual speeds were a bit higher.) Overall, I'm very happy with how things went, and how it is running thus far. I will have to come back in a month to provide an update once I get to really testing this during the holiday break. I have had no need to contact tech support, thus my reasoning rating them a 3. I don't feel I can accurately rate a service for which I have had no interaction with... member for 20.6 years, 684 visits, last login: 1.8 years ago updated 15.2 years ago
After a little over two years with Charter, my husband and I decided to switch to AT&T U-verse that "made us an offer we couldn't refuse". The problems have started from the day the technicians were supposed to come. They did not come on the day and time they set up for me, and they did not even call!!! I had to call customer service and wait for over half an hour to get someone to apologize and promise to send someone the next day. Once we got the internet and cable, we were quickly disappointed and frustrated. The image kept freezing, and the internet signal would come and go. My phone, with Vonage, was unusable so, I could not call customer service to complain. I had to use my cell phone! After a week, a technician came and did not find anything wrong with the installation. He told me I had to reset the modem, the DVR... The service got better, meaning less freezing and resetting, except for the phone reception. After a month of AT&T U-Verse, nobody in my family has been able to watch a full program! The image keeps freezing, or gets scrambled, the phone does not even ring; calls get forwarded to my cell-phone so, I am losing my minutes, and my patience. From Charter to AT&T U-verse, It has been a change for the worse. What other options do I have? member for 15.2 years, 1 visits, last login: 15 years ago lodged 15.2 years ago
After a small term with Comcast, I felt it was a good time for change. at&t left some stuff around the neighborhood stating their U-verse service was now available. I jumped! I convinced the family this would be good since Total Home DVR would soon come (it wasn't out when I ordered). Ordered U-verse voice, U-200 (6 STBs + DVR), and Elite internet (6mbit). I chose to do a morning install, which meant I had to wait about 3 weeks for the installation to occur. No biggie. Date of installation comes. Tech comes in, really cool guy. I help him out with tracing and replacing wiring (I'm a gadget nut--I'm glad to have helped!) that needed replacing, and in no time we had all 7 set-top boxes running. Voice was a small issue (apparently their order system is a bit antiquated and the phone number reserved for us was actually in use--so we got a different number instead). This phone issue caused the install to go into a 2nd day, which I didn't mind--I was home that day. The 2nd day of installation was mostly tracing down how horrible the phone lines were around the house. Too many splits from the previous owner/installers for at&t. Awesome. 45 minutes later, the phone is up and working. People are grumpy because 4 streams is kinda tough with 7 boxes (timing wise, it worked out except during the early day), and at the time THDVR wasn't operational. Within a few weeks, THDVR was up and that 4 stream limit is suddenly not so much of an issue. Still, I'd like to see more than 4 streams--my line is capable of something like 44mbits--a 25mbit artificial limit is laughable at times... maybe this will be fixed when pair-bonding booms. There were a few issues with the upstairs TV that was revealed to be an issue with the coax in the wall before hand, and due to the placement in the wall, the tech couldn't replace it and said it might have to be piggy-backed from a STB in an opposing room. Declining this, he trimmed the wires shorter, replaced the ends yet again, and the issue (for the most part) has disappeared. Tech support has been really awesome for me. Got a deal for free month of TV + $200 cash back. The cash back came within 2 weeks of filling it out... insanely fast. The free month of TV was weird... it somehow only got credited as 3 days of free TV, however, a quick call to customer service fixed that in a jiffy. Overall, I'd say I'm highly satisfied with most aspects of this service. While the technology behind it might seem old at times (4 stream limit PUH-LEASE), solutions should be coming out that at least remedy the problem some. For those who do not know, the following are not available: - Local on the 8s (WeatherChannel, requires an IntelliStar unit) - WeatherScan (again, uses an IntelliStar) - Digital sub-channels (from Over-the-Air stations, such as NBC WeatherPlus) - Music Choice (at&t carries Urge, which is pretty sub-par in comparison to Music Choice, honestly, but I don't listen to the radio on U-verse/Comcast so this isn't a deal-breaker) So long as at&t has Total Home DVR + 4 stream recording, Comcast will have a _very_ hard time playing catch-up. Good luck, Comcast! I'm enjoying this service pretty well. member for 20.6 years, 737 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago lodged 15.3 years ago
I ordered the U200 package with HD channels and 6Mbps Internet bundle. This comes out to $99/mo plus fees and taxes. ($74 for the base U200 package with 3 STBs, one includes a DVR; $10 for HD channels; $15 for Internet speed upgrade) My previous cable and Internet expenses were around $144/mo for only one STB from Bright House, HBO, same downstream speed (AT&T Yahoo! Expert+), and a $9.99/mo ReplayTV DVR subscription. I ordered the package online that seemed to go very smoothly. I received updates about when the installers would arrive and all seemed fine. Installation: I've given a lot of thought about how to describe the installation, but I'll TRY to keep this brief! My appointment was set to start between 8AM-10AM. Two U-Verse techs arrived at 11AM. One tech did the work while the other was still in training and spent most of the time just watching. The lead tech was very young and wasn’t too experienced from what I saw over the course of the day. The tech told me that the U-Verse system was messing up a lot of orders and my order appeared in the system as needing three DVR units. (impossible) My house needed a NID and a new line to the telephone pole which a lineman came out and completed with no problems. I had pre-wired CAT 5e cable running to two rooms and only needed cable to the third room. The tech ignored all my wiring and installed new CAT 5e cables even after I told him about the existing wiring. The techs left around 5:45PM after getting the Internet connection working, but not without my help. Out of three STBs, only the main DVR STB was functioning, however, the DVR options were not enabled. It wasn't until several hours later (almost midnight), all three units began working correctly. I have read reviews about the techs tutoring customers how to use the DVR, etc. Didn't happen here. Most of the STB software is intuitive when it works, so learning on my own wasn't much of a problem. Before the techs left, I was told someone would check back with us. Its been two weeks and I haven't heard anything yet. Anyhow, the techs were in an awful hurry to leave -- They left behind an extra DVR unit which wouldn't sync, a nice Netgear 8-port gigabit switch box, and at least four CAT 5e cables. Internet: After two weeks of service, Internet reliability has been very good. (At least as good as my previous package.) Even though my speed is capped at 6Mbps, speedtest.net test results show about a 10% downstream speed increase. DSLR line tests show no drops. STB software: The STB menus are pretty, but I hate how the software works. The GUI will sometime lag behind button presses. It isn’t horrible, but is sometimes annoying, especially when the delay is over two seconds. On a positive note, the lag doesn’t appear to increase while all three STBs are in use. I’ll continue to monitor this to find out if this changes. At one point, I did something on the DVR STB and noticed another STB within view lost its image for a split second. Is the hardware underpowered for the task or is it the STB software? In my opinion, the STB doesn’t cache enough future programming data. (I talk about this more in the next section.) Sometimes I find myself waiting up to 10 seconds for a description to load. U-Verse is currently configured for up to 4 SD streams. HD streams use two SD streams of bandwidth. This isn’t a problem for just my wife and me. We rarely have more than one TV on at a time. The only problem we have ran into in this case is when a HD show is recording and we want to watch another HD channel. Supposedly it will be possible to have two HD streams at once in the near future. //Update: Currently have 2 HD streams + 2 SD streams! DVR software: Up until U-verse, I have used a ReplayTV 5040 (upgraded to 120GB) for about four years. I love my ReplayTV unit! On the U-Verse STB, I found no way to schedule a recording for a program that is more than 3 or 4 days in the future. I wanted to schedule a show that airs next week, but it didn’t appear in the search tool’s results. I believe the ReplayTV caches programming up to two weeks ahead. Browsing through the recorded show list is bad after accumulating several shows. I already miss my ReplayTV’s category feature. (No need to scroll through all shows on the unit.) This is currently not possible with the U-Verse DVR. The U-Verse DVR also does not allow me to wrap around the screen when selecting letters in the search tool. This is a minor annoyance. Another DVR feature on the ReplayTV that the U-Verse DVR is missing is within the scheduling options. While its nice to have the option to keep all shows until the unit is out of room, what happens when one show airs twice daily and fills up the DVR while another show airs only once a week? Will I lose my once a week shows to the more frequent shows? ReplayTV solved this with a “keep # shows” option. If I know I will not watch a weekly show for a few weeks due to vacation or whatever, I can tell the ReplayTV to keep 3 or 4 shows before deleting old episodes for new episodes. It seems that the U-Verse DVR is going to make room for new shows unless I later go in and change a program’s options so it will not be deleted. What a hassle! If this isn’t the case, then it isn’t intuitive at all. We have trained ourselves to delete a show after we watch it just to avoid this scenario. I look forward to future updates to the STB software. I can only hope they fix these “issues.” The ReplayTV software and its commercial advance feature really spoiled me. What else can I say? TV Quality: I have a Samsung 50” DLP HDTV in the living room (currently set for 720p component input from the STB), a 15” SD flat panel TV in the bedroom, and a 19” SD TV in the computer room. First off, SD quality is outstanding, even on the 50” TV. HD quality is good, but not great. It doesn’t look as bad as some reviewers have described it, but then I’m not a HD video-phile. I estimate it is close to DVD quality. I haven’t tried 1024i mode yet. Only twice has the picture blipped out for a second, but this also happened when I had Bright House digital cable, so I can’t complain. Final thoughts: • Video stream limits. I don’t recommend U-Verse in its current form for anyone wanting to use it with more than three SD TVs turned on at one time. • Follow the tech(s) during the installation like a shadow if you have any “special requirements” such as reusing existing cables or drilling holes in specific locations. • Picture quality is good enough for most people. Not recommended for video-philes who want “the best.” • The STB software needs work! ReplayTV owners will most likely be disappointed. • The price is right! • If you currently have a shoddy DSL connection, you may have similar experiences with U-Verse unless the problem is correctable. (bad wiring; distance to CO verses distance to VRAD.) Over-all, I am happy with U-Verse. I'll be much happier if/when the STB software is improved! //Update: Controlling the DVR from any STB is a nice addition. However, the scheduling options still suck after a year. member for 22.7 years, 1568 visits, last login: 11 days ago updated 15.3 years ago
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