Review AT&T U-Verse in AT&T U-verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17147349 en Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:58:09 EDT Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:58:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22719370 MyDogHsFleas :
said by kamgol See Profile :

I'd also be interested in any side-by-side comparisons of Cable (particularly TWC) vs. Uverse HD picture quality.
Personally, here in Austin TX, I found TWC to be somewhat better HDPQ than U-verse. U-verse was "OK", TWC was "good". (On this scale, OTA is "very good".)

I have seen others post answers to this question with wildly varying results. I think it depends on (a) your local cable provider and (b) your own preference/impressions/test methodology. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22719370 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:20:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718814 gdm : You should make your own post asking specific questions vs thread that's just reviews and so many pages.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718814 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:39:26 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718565 kamgol :
said by MyDogHsFleas See Profile :

said by kamgol See Profile :

Correct. You can also record or watch two more SD shows at the same time.
Thanks, I appreciate your insight into this. I might just wait to see if 3HD/1SD will be available in my neighborhood (or if I'm really lucky, 3HD/2SD).

I'd also be interested in any side-by-side comparisons of Cable (particularly TWC) vs. Uverse HD picture quality.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718565 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:01:02 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718155 cellmaniac : did you say that they will charge $75 per Cat5 drop? Shouldn't they install it at no charge in order to connect the STB's?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22718155 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:44:47 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22717961 MyDogHsFleas :
said by kamgol See Profile :

If I am recording two HD shows on one HD DVR, the other TVs cannot record or even watch a third HD channel, but I can still watch any recording, correct?
Correct. You can also record or watch two more SD shows at the same time. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22717961 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:08:13 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22717938 kamgol : Thanks guys, I'll check it out. I actually don't have the Uverse service (YET) because of this very issue. I have 3 TVs, two of them HD. So, I wanted to make sure I can record enough content.

I'm still concerned about the 2HD/2SD recording and watching of shows. I was never able to get a straight answer from the rep I spoke to about this. If I am recording two HD shows on one HD DVR, the other TVs cannot record or even watch a third HD channel, but I can still watch any recording, correct? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22717938 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:01:32 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714592 texasguy37 : According to this announcement, the new update has been rolled out to all markets. If you don't have the update, try to reboot your DVR and STB's.

»utalk.att.com/utalk/board/messag···d.id=135]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714592 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:16:05 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714433 gdm : It's being slowly rolled out. If your area doesn't have it it should any day up to a few weeks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714433 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:45:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714364 kamgol :
said by Austinite512 :

U-VERSE is easily the BEST video provider! Yes if you have more than 5 TV's you might want to think it through b/c you only get 4 video streams (Trust me they will fix that). The features and capabilities alone easily make it better than any other TV service. They just made it to where you can record from any room in the house that has a box. Not to mention up to date and user friendly guide and menu. For all you techies, each box can run off of CAT5. It has to be existing CAT5 or the Technician will drop a line (Each CAT5 drop is $75). The system is sensitive. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the technician due the job right when installing U-Verse. If that happens you will love U-Verse and you will never go back to your old service provider.
PS: Obviously something about U-Verse people love b/c there is over 1,300,000 customers and it isn’t slowing. If U-Verse wasn’t limited on how far you are away from the neighborhood phone box all other providers should start packing their bags. It’s only available in about 85 markets in 15 states.
Do you know if this new functionality (record from all STBs) is available everywhere or is it being rolled out to different regions slowly? I'm in San Diego and I have not seen it announced here. That would solve my dilemma of switching from Time Warner to Uverse.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22714364 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:32:50 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22703192 anon : U-VERSE is easily the BEST video provider! Yes if you have more than 5 TV's you might want to think it through b/c you only get 4 video streams (Trust me they will fix that). The features and capabilities alone easily make it better than any other TV service. They just made it to where you can record from any room in the house that has a box. Not to mention up to date and user friendly guide and menu. For all you techies, each box can run off of CAT5. It has to be existing CAT5 or the Technician will drop a line (Each CAT5 drop is $75). The system is sensitive. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the technician due the job right when installing U-Verse. If that happens you will love U-Verse and you will never go back to your old service provider.
PS: Obviously something about U-Verse people love b/c there is over 1,300,000 customers and it isn’t slowing. If U-Verse wasn’t limited on how far you are away from the neighborhood phone box all other providers should start packing their bags. It’s only available in about 85 markets in 15 states.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22703192 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:26:11 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22638938 MyDogHsFleas : My advice to sparks is that if you are happy with your Dish TV service, don't change it.

In my opinion it's worth it to upgrade your AT&T DSL to U-verse Internet, and your landline phone to U-verse Voice. But it's not a slam dunk. Again if you're happy with what you've got, keep it. There'll always be another offer. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22638938 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:36:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22638874 sparks : Guys I live in LR ar and I am getting flooded with mail and phone calls trying to get me to sign up.
OF COURSE when I push for answers its well uh and you know

Maybe someone here can clear up some stuff.

I have 2 HD tv's and considering a 3rd....Nope, most you might get is 2. MIGHT? well it is according to your address.

Right now I have phone and dsl service. What will I have with U-Verse? Internet phone?
Well we leave your phone service intact, and you won't need your dsl service any more.

I have Dish with the 250 Gold full Everything...722 and a 622 dvr's
WELL YOU NEED THE 450 package. phone, internet and all channels we carry, including premiums.
AND WITH A COUPON you get a free dvr...
1?
yes but you can record from any tv
1? HOW many hrs.....DUH HUH ?

Again is this internet phone service or copper wire?

going from phone, dsl and dish....Would I be giving up anything or would I be gaining something good? I wish that they would have gone fiber like verison...it just looks to me that they are trying to shove an elephant down a garden hose and saying WELL you will probably NOT notice this or that.

Does verison have any channels that dish or comcast don't
and vice versa ?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22638874 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:21:27 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496775 gdm : You can search the forums for speedtest results.

18 meg gets about 17.xx
10 which is now 12 gets 11.5
6 meg gets about 5.8 or 5.9
3 meg gets about 2.8 or 2.9
1.5 meg gets about 1.4

Upload 1 meg gets 970+ and 1.5 gets 1480+]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496775 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:02:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496734 anon : Can anyone post the results of some speed tests?
»speedtest.net - there's a link to post forums links when you're done with the test.

just for funsies, here's what I'm getting from work:
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496734 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:56:37 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496409 gdm : Gary,

That's a limit everywhere for U-Verse currently. If you can get a total sync or 30+ megs you get the 2HD/2SD profile basically 25meg cap. If your below 30 megs you will be put on the 19meg profile which is 1HD/3SD.

They are looking at expanding the 2/2 to 3/2 but no ETA on when that will happen.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496409 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:56:01 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496290 KBevo : tsfrawl, I am considering Uverse and had heard that (in my area at least) they can only provide two HD streams to the house at a time. Is that the case for your service?

Thanks
Gary]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496290 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:30:26 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496021 rambler358 : Had U-verse installed on 6/2/09. Coming from DirecTV sat TV, AT&T phone and AT&T DSL. Our 1984 built home was pre-wired with RG-59 coax, and was afraid that not having CAT5 coax throughout might be an issue, but it appears the existing home coax is working fine.

Since AT&T DSL used Yahoo mail, the transfer over to U-verse was seamless regarding existing email accounts. No changes needed for Outlook either. :)

Coming from DirecTV U-verse TV has a learning curve, but that's to be expected I guess. I do wish there was an option in the Program Guide to only view the channels you get. Instead you either have to create a Favorites by going through each channel and checking if you want to see it. There's also an option to hide channels.

The main reason I switched to U-verse was the internet. I was getting tired of the max 6GB download from DSL, and the problems I was having with it. So it's nice to have the 18GB down/1.5GB up speed available. Though I do wish higher upload speeds were available.

So far, so good. But I've had the service less than a week now, and haven't explored all the options available yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22496021 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:42:44 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22482072 anon : Here's something you all might find interesting:

I signed up for Uverse last week (southeast Michigan). I have 6 televisions in my house (nevermore than 3 on at a time). As most know each television has it's on box - on June 15 AT & T will enable DVR functionality on EVERY box providing me with over 700 hours of recording space in SD or 200+ HD. Each DVR will be accessible from any TV. If in fact both people were telling the truth AT&T just trumped every service out there.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22482072 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:39:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22477571 anon : We have fiber optic to the neighborhood, copper from the mini-co to house. Great bandwidth, mostly great firewall and router but has glitches when you try to configure multiple static IPs on a single nic card and want them visible to the outside world. Seems 2WIRE never considered that in the firmware.

You can do multiple nics provided you turn off netbios over tcp/ip. Otherwise only one gets input from the outside.

The 2wire 3800 has a lot of microsoft code in it for the TV, and I assume other areas. We actually get a better picture and sound than we did with DISH network but the static ip side of the firewall needs some work in the firmware area.

Bottom line is I get more bandwidth, plus TV for 100 bucks less a month when I had AT&T DSL, Telephone and AT&T's OEM of the DISH Network product. Its not a bad deal, but if you run servers beware of the limitation of one static IP per NIC (unless I have overlooked some hidden setting, but so far I think I know as much or more than the AT&T tech guys do (who have been very helpful to me BTW) about static IPs on this box.

I wouldn't want this product if I didn't have fiber to the neighborhood, you need a good data pipe nearby.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22477571 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:39:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22434571 Mojito : »ATT Uverse report - North Richland Hills, TX

Avoid if you live in NRH Tx, 76180.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22434571 Sat, 23 May 2009 20:03:09 EDT Re: U-verse FREEZES and they tell me it's my TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22314859 gdm : More people are happy with U-Verse then not. I would register with the site (it's free) and post in the U-Verse forum. ATT has techs on here that can look at the stats and try to figure out what's going on.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22314859 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:52:37 EDT U-verse FREEZES and they tell me it's my TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22314826 anon : We all put in to buy a nice new 32" Magnavox HD TV/DVD for Christmas for our disabled Mother this past year.

Basic Comcast cable was installed before, but my brothers decided to go with ATT U-verse a couple months ago. There were no issues with the Comcast Cable, but with U-verse, the TV freezes. For long periods of time - at least 20 minutes, maybe more.

ATT came out twice, replaced the box, but the problem continues. It is only on one TV that there are issues, but my mom is disabled and in bed most of the day - so it is a big deal when its her new TV.

ATT tells us that the problem is our TV - the freezing of a program that they are providing is because of our TV.

Seeing all the other complaints, I don't believe them, but don't know how to address it. She now watches a fat old TV that has no issues...yet.



]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22314826 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:45:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22258045 anon : Tv is OK but not better than free antenna to my digital TV. I live 16 miles West of Chicago. So for me it is not worth paying for. They just never turned off the introductory price. I ordered a step up in DSL speed but I did not notice any differece, so I will go back to the standard. ATT Uverse online does give you good control of your landline phone.

I was able to block a recorded message from Sally Mae that was programmed to call me every day. FCC would not do anything because they were not telemarketing. They just had my number erroneously as one of their customers. Repeat attempts to call them did not work.

The Uverse takes forever to log into giving information to many different websites before you get in. It also logs you out randomly.

If you need to talk to some one at ATT you can eventually get around all the talk to a machine requests. After you have wasted about 10 minutes of your time a rep will talk to you and stay on until you get an answer if it is aon their placards.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22258045 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:40:28 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22237505 SoCalPaul : I saw an installer outside my neighbors installing Uverse so I quizzed him on all the problems I heard about the service (freezing up, poor video, etc…) he told me that we would not have to worry about it since there is a fiber optic line just across the street but he has had these problems when the line is much farther away. I decided to try it out as I wanted at the extra features and I couldn’t be happier. I used the installer’s advise and went to »uversereferral.att.com used code PA1414428 then use promotional code “EXTRAGIFT” on checkout which gave an additional $25.00 cash back ($200 already by signing up online) then before finishing online order went to “Chat” at top of page and told them my neighbor got an additional $100.00 cash back for ordering the same day which they added at end of order so I got a total of $325.00 Cash Back for ordering online. Way better than the deals at AT&T stores or the kids coming to the door (no cash back).

Service is awesome, picture is great and don’t forget to watch mail for the cash back cards as they look like junkmail and I’m sure many people have thrown them in the trash without opening them. I love being able to go online from work and schedule shows to record (I never miss a football game now because I’m running late or forget to record it).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22237505 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:11:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22203990 Daleon : Had my install yesterday. u200 package with 18meg net. 1 DVR and 3 receivers.

They used existing phone line from pole to house then wired into the coax splitters in my roof. Installer said we were 2000ft from node. No real problems with tv reception. Net speeds are very good. Getting sustained d/l's of 2-2.2 megs a sec.

HMDI to 37" Westinghouse I use as my monitor/tv. The std channels look really good. But I am use to the full screen I would get with cable and now get the boxed picture with bars no matter what aspect ratio I try. I also can't get any of the advertised HD channels even though my service is supposed to have it so have to call them and check on that.

The DVR is ok, will defintely hate giving up my tivo though.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22203990 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:37:22 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22199453 Boricua65 : Lo mejor posible es llamar a ellos. El numero de telefono es 1-800-288-2020. Buena suerte.
--
Yo te digo, el mundo esta jodido]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22199453 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:31:30 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22197845 SinNombre : Also living in Charlotte in the SE side, and I've been told one or two larger neighborhoods are getting it soon. anyone have additional information on the Charlotte market and UVerse?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22197845 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:06:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22155537 Boricua65 : The initial install date was March 20th, but there was problem so it was postponed. I finally had mine installed March 28th. This time, the install went smoothly. The tech I got on the 28th seemed more knowledgable than the previous one. I also had the Pro when I had dry-loop DSL and retained the same Pro.

Flipping through channels has been a breeze with very minimal lag time. I was able to record a couple of programs when I had to step out. Viewing the programs later was a cinch.

The package I got is the U300 plus the Paquete Espanol. I got three STBs with one DVR. My roommate told me it took him two hours, but he manage to go through all the channels to see what is available, plus set up his box to be in Spanish.

So far, I've been rather happy with it. It got me to start watching more and more TV :D. I have scheduled a couple more programs to be recorded in case I'm not home.

I will provide a follow up in about two to three weeks to see how it all holds up.
--
Yo te digo, el mundo esta jodido]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22155537 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:00:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22134162 jeslevine7 : Had UVERSE installed on March21. U300, 4 TVs, and 6 meg internet. Located in San Jose California area, and so far am very happy.

Everything works as advertised. The SD streams are terrific, and the HD streams are comparable to Dish, though Dish might be slightly better, in my view it is not significant

We will see how it holds up

Only features I wish they had were 3 simultaneous HD streams, and start a recording from a non DVR, though you can start a recording from the internet which is nice]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22134162 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:38:33 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22122614 anon : I'm in San Jose, CA. Just got 10Mbps (too bad they don't have 18Mbps in my area!) Internet + U200 TV. I'm pretty happy with my service so far. Internet speed is as advertised. I'm downloading at 1.2MB/s and uploading at 185KB/s which is what I expected. Installation from the tech took about 4-5 hours due to the crazy routing they had to do. Pretty satisfied so far. Hopefully the service does not go bad on me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22122614 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:54:53 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22094289 TheDuck : Uverse was installed Tuesday and the install went great. With 20 years as a network specialist I pre-wired the four sets with CAT5e and also rewired my phone lines so the technician only had to install the hardware. The tech noticed they had sent a DVR with the small hard drive so he took it back to the office and changed it with one with the large hard drive. The Technician was very knowledgeable and pleasant and everything went smoothly.
As for the service I find the HD a serious drop in quality from the cable and OTA. It looks like a lot of fine detail is missing and the video is too far in the black level.
My wife complained that the phone takes too long to connect but otherwise the VOIP has worked fine so far. I am waiting to see how the bill shakes out as she makes a few calls to the UK every month and has been going over the limit on US long distance calls.
I haven't noticed any difference in the DSL so far.

I am 2700 feet from the VRAM and have a very clean line since the underground drops have been replaced a couple years ago.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22094289 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:17:19 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22036332 Marlee1029 : Just thought I'd chime in. Waited until now to post, as I think 3 months is a fair trial period.
11/08
Installer was 45 minutes late, looked around and informed me that the install might not be possible with the locations of my TVs and computers. After I showed him where the cable junction box was and agreed to the placement of the Gateway in the master closet, everything went fine. Installer was very professional and kept me informed as to what he was doing. He could not run Cat-5 to my computers (one in garage, one in bedroom) and attached "2-Wire" USB wireless adapters.
One 32" LCD in bedroom w/DVR, One 42" LCD in living-room w/d-stb, and on 32" TV in 2nd bedroom w/d-stb. VOIP unlimited and 10Mb "Elite" internet.
Everything worked great, can record 2 HD programs while watching a 3rd, VOIP is clear and steady, hardly any impact on bandwidth during overseas call that lasted 90 minutes.
Internet connectivity close enough to stated speeds to make it well worth the extra cost. Then it started. Intermittent loss of internet connection on both desktops.
I narrowed it down to the USB adapters, tested and re-tested until I was 100% positive that the crap "2-Wire" adapters where the cause. Called AT&T U-Verse Support and got the standard run around. Thirty minutes later I got a really stupid operator in the Philippines that informed me I would have to contact "2-Wire" directly as AT&T does not support the equipment they install. Afer requesting that i be transferred to tier-2 service, a tech in the U.S. gave me a $50. credit on the adapters so I could replace them with something better. Got permission from the management company to drill two small holes in the closet walls and ran Cat-5e to each computer and now all is well again.
So far so good. Cheaper then TWC too! Really like that I can manage everything from my Desktop or laptop including DVR and voicemail.
By the way this all takes place in San Antonio, Texas. We moved and I forgot to update my dslreports profile.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22036332 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:54:48 EDT UPDATE http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22007089 anon : Ok, so to update my status, everything is working perfectly. The tech came out on Sunday and replaced the DVR. It took a while to get the service working with the new box, but that was just sitting there waiting for AT&T to call.

The tech that came out had been to my complex before, and he showed me where the coax splitter is (in the hall closet). To be fair, the tech told me he only knew that because he had done an install a year ago in my complex and he had to crawl through the attic to find where the cables led. I showed him the hand-made cables I replaced and he laughed at how crappy they were.

My internet connection seems to have slowed down to between 4-7 consistantly now, so maybe AT&T is keeping a better eye on my line now that everything is set up properly. My max speed for the system is 52 Mbps, so I hope they can bump up my speed and give me 3 HD streams soon.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22007089 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:44:53 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22006840 ttugrad95 : I just had Uverse installed yesterday at my new house. They just upgraded the neighborhood and have been going door to door signing people up, although I had already ordered.
First of all I was not overly impressed with the install process. They guy said he would have to run wire around the outside of the house and go into the rooms through the exterior walls. I have a coax outlet in every room, including kitchen and couldn't understand why this was necessary. He first said he would do it in cat 5 which I was somewhat cool with because I thought could use it for a wired home network as well but he didn't have enough with him so he used coax. I now have coax literally running around the entire roofline of my house and up to one of upstairs bedrooms I use as an office. I also now have 2 coax outlets in each room where there is uverse, in the master bedroom they are side by side. I'm pretty particular about things and would expect better of myself and definitely a professional.
I have had Dish Network for the last few years and am not that impressed with the TV service overall. I have a 65" Mitsubishi DLP and was a little disjointedness that the uverse is not 1080p. Granted nothing from them led me to believe it was, I just assumed this "cutting edge" technology would be. The picture is dark forcing me to crank up the bright levels on my TV to be able to view it with somewhat bright room conditions. I also have the HD package and don't really find the HD picture any better than Dish's normal channels and its not even close to the picture quality I was getting with the set top antenna I was using in the interim time between moving in and the install. Yes I did change the settings to 1080i and am using an HDMI cable. In my bedroom where I just have a standard def tv the picture is decent, at least as good as that TV is capable of but the volume level is low. This morning I had the volume on the receiver all the way up and the volume on the tv almost all the way up to be able to hear it. I had it set to record some shows last night while I was out and when I got home I tried to watch them and the DVR kept locking up. The picture would freeze, then eventually the box would reboot sometimes taking 5-10 minutes. At first I thought it was due to me hitting the fast forward button too much but I found that it would do it if I didn't touch anything. I also noticed it seemed to do it more on standard def recordings than HD ones. I also noticed that some of the shows had multiple recordings so it looks like the box reset itself a few times when doing the recordings and I missed getting all of some of my shows (and a 2 hour 24 was last night!). I'm going to see how it acts tonight when I get home but currently the DVR service is almost unusable.
Now in all fairness, the good. Picture changing is very fast, almost as fast as the days of basic cable connected directly to the tv without a STB. Selection of HD channels is good. I have the elite DSL which I also had at my last address (non uverse) and it seems much faster than it was there. While the speedtest results are the same my previous DSL seemed to have issues when doing things like loading multiple web pages at once. I was able to hook up my PS3 using a power wire adapter (HPNA?) which works much faster than the wireless connection I had been using. The only bad I found is I had to unplug the modem a few times while arranging things and it took about 10 minutes to re-sync.
I'll give AT&T every opportunity to get it working properly but at some point I may have to choose reliability over technology.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,22006840 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:32 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21998715 GrnFld : My install was 02/25/2009 .. U-400, 6mb Internet, Unlimited phone ... install was set for Noon .. installer called about 15 min. before that he was on his way ... arrived right on time ... was extremely professional and courtious.

'Always' kept me informed of what he was doing, explaining everything in clear, non-geek-speak (even though I 'am' a geek ;))

Always cleaned up after himself as he moved from place to place.

All the U-Verse estimates I've seen on installs state "4-6 hours" ... however he was done in just 1 1/2 (!) :) ... said it was one of the easiest he's ever done (single SD TV, phone, 1 desktop PC, one wireless laptop).

Have been 'up and running' for 4 days now ... and have 'just scratched' the surface of what I have. :o :D

TV, phone and internet have all performed flawlessly ... picture is 'fabulous' (much / noticibly better than what I got with Comcast Digital).... phone is great ... as is internet (both desktop and laptop use the same 'wireless adapter' to communicate with the main 2wire box.

Overall (at this point) ... definitely high marks. :)

'Now' ... just have to wait for that 'first bill' to come .. and hope it's in the range that I was told it would be in. ;) :)

~ Satisfied customer, Greenfield, Indiana]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21998715 Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:43:43 EDT U-Verse Install http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21991675 anon : Ordered U-Verse after the apartment complex decided to stop paying for basic cable through Time Warner (+$17 per month). I already despised Time Warner, so I figured it was time.

Guy came out at noon yesterday to hook everything up. He went out to the box and came to my place around 1:30-2pm. Install went fine at first, got the gateway hooked up and then the TV in the same room. He tried to patch into the coax lines in the house to run the signal downstairs, but apparently there is no splitter anywhere in the walls. From what we could tell they must have put the splitter at the cable box just outside my place and all the cables run from there.

So we wasted an hour doing that, then he decided to use the cat5 to go downstairs. Hit another snag when it turned out that the wiring was not hooked up properly throughout the apartment, so he had to find the source of the problem and reconnect all the phone lines. He couldn't find where the bad connection was for a while, and we discussed drilling possibilities (turns out there were no feasible options). That wasted another 1.5 hours.

So finally, he ran cat5 from the gateway upstairs to the downstairs outlet. We tried to hook up the DVR box, but no link. Seems that the phone line here has a buffer or something wrong with it and it cannot support enough bandwidth. We discussed getting into the crawlspace to see if he could do anything, but luckily it did not come to that. He decided he would rewire the phone line in the apartment (since we do not have home phone service) and he got the connection to work.

Except that it did not work. Turns out that he had the old DVR and not the new one. For some bizarre reason, if you sign up for the service with the new DVR, you will not get a connection at all with the new one. Tier 2 tech support had to redo my entire service to get the old box to work. We were already late for dinner, so tech support said they would call back at 9:30pm to verify the service worked when we get back (notice the time between when they started and now?). So we get back and hook it back up, and voila, the downstairs TV works!

Except it still didn't work. We were now getting a signal, but it was so choppy that it was unwatchable (max 1 fps, average 1 fp10s). I spoke with tech support and told him thre was major packet loss. He checked the system and told me he was not seeing any packet loss, but there was frame loss. Maybe I am confused, but it is my understanding that data is data, no matter what it is, so frame loss is packet loss. Either way, it didn't work.

He tried to schedule a tech to come out today, but his system kept giving him errors. He finally put in a manual maintenance order in, gave me a phone number and pin number to call this morning, and told me to verify with them that the order went through. Well I called, but the pin was apparently invalid. So I was forced to call the second dumbest tech support people there is, tier 1 support (first is TWC). She told me there was no order in the system and then had to transfer me back to tier 2. I finally got them to put a work order in for today at noon-2 (still not here at 12:25).

While I was waiting for them to come back, I remembered something very important from work. I work with videoconferences at work all day, and the #1 fix to a packet loss problem is be sure there are no hand-made cables hooked up. Well, there are of course 2 hand-made cables in the system, one from the gateway to the upstairs wall, and one downstairs from the wall to the box. I happened to have a few extra cat5 cables lying around, including one that was provided with the gateway, so I replaced the hand-made ones with the factory-made ones, and it worked! Not just a little bit, but perfect!

So now I am waiting for them to show up and replace my DVR. According to the tech support they cannot make a service call just to replace the DVR. I am not sure if this is true or if the guy was just an idiot, but if it is and I can't get my box there are going to be problems.

Overall I am annoyed, but the ease of use with the new system over TWC makes up for it. I have new equipment that functions properly and quickly. My internet is supposed to be 6 Mbps, but the speed tests I have done range from 4 Mbps to 19 Mbps. I am questioning the second number, but I got it to hit that twice. The gateway says my downstream is 29 Mbps and my up is 2, so I guess it is physically possible. I will post an update when then tech finally shows up.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21991675 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:25:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21961162 Garfield : Had my install last Monday. Scheduled on-line, and picked the 8-11am time slot. First installer called at about 8:15, to say that he was going to take down my phone line while he worked at the VRAD. At about 8:30, he was at my house with the 2nd installer. Got my NID replaced, and line tested, and then the first installed left, and the second got to work figuring out to how to do the install.

Ended up using existing coax, which I was a bit worried about, but everything looks fine. Two HDTV's, one STB and one DVR. 6/1 internet as well. By about 2pm, everything was done and working.

I do get about 5.9Mbit download, when I test a couple of test sites, and I used to have 1.5MBit with "old" bellsouth DSL.

TV quality seems fine, about on par with comcast cable, although I didn't do an A/B comparison. But nothing really stands out being different. For my downstairs TV, it's hooked up with HDMI to the TV and optical to my processor. On some channels, I do see an occasional quick sound drop as others have noted. DVR box seems fast, no problems so far.

Upstairs, I had the STB with component and RCA cables direct to the TV, but had a nice background hum over my TV speakers as well as a vertical scrolling 2 fuzzy bars on the TV screen. Changed to a HDMI cable, and the problem went away.

Overall, I like it so far, and haven't had any real problems. After reading a lot of negative reviews, I was nervous about switching, so I am glad I went with this. No to see how much money I can save over comcast. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21961162 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:31:34 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21919933 rickduva : The website says you can pause/rewind live tv]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21919933 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:47:57 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21911918 rontom : ATT U-verse was installed on 11Feb09 with an AM appointment between 8-10. The tech arrived at 0815 after first calling. My install went very well and I was informed my distance to the VRAD was 400ft. The tech ran cat5 cable from the inside of my house (basement) to my desktop computer location. My desktop PC is hard-wired into the modem (the wireless capability is disabled for now). I ordered the u-100 service with HD upgrade and everything seems just fine so far. The tech did a very neat job and even installed a new phone jack for my existing land phone next to the computer. I also ordered the "Pro" level internet service and I'm now getting download speeds of 2.844Mbps and upload speeds of 965kbps. The install took approx. 2.5hours with just one TV. Very happy so far and if this changes I will update.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21911918 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:44:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21882564 anon : I signed up for AT&T U-Verse. The installer was here for 7.5 hours and couldn't get it to work. The next day a repair person from AT&T came out...let me know we did not have enough power to run it. We were too far from the main box, though it seemed when I signed up we could get the service. You need to be within 3000 feet of the box because of the type of wire they used. We were about 3200 feet away. They said if they could get it up and running we could have problems...not be able to run more than one HD tv with the service and disruptions. AT&T should have checked this out before the installer spent 7.5 hours here. The installer cannot do outside wiring. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21882564 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:45:47 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21855944 anon : standard def is good. HD is a waste of money. I have 3 hd tv's ranging from 47 to 60 inch (all LG) i had comcast HD service previously and pic in hd was great, quality with the pic over IP is not really so great. Very pixelated has a tendency to freeze or just drop the channel quite often Internet speed ROCKS
Customer service however is a joke and then some]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21855944 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:51:52 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21836049 fabiohiga : Today I had AT&T U-Verse TV u400 installed. I booked my installation appointment in December 29th 2008, and apparently they're really busy, since it took 30 days to get it rolling.

Only ordered TV, since I'm happy with Comcast HSI.

Tech showed up earlier than I thought, and did a great job. After both of us going through the premises and telling him where the coax cabling went through the house, he got right into the job. Scheduled the connection from the main box to the house. After about 4 hours, everything was complete.

I was happy since I haven't had good experiences with AT&T before.

The HD service is good. I can say it is as good as Comcast HD's. The quickness in the channel flipping is amazing, this seriously beats Comcast. The lower price for same tier of channels and the DVR really made me make leave Comcast for AT&T. So far, so good, and I'm happy.

The only downside, is that Comcast HD's has better audio. For example, HD channels carrier Dolby Digital 5.1 in Comcast, whereas in AT&T, it is only Dolby Pro-Logic II (2 audio channels, but with with a good receiver, you can process it into 5.1).

The Comcast Guide lookss like something from the 80's compared to the U-Verse guide.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21836049 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:02:46 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21824244 anon : Very simple AT&T U-verse SUCK!!!! Right from the beginning my installation took 6 weeks, after that the tech did a mess at my home and I spend 1 week without phone. And just when I though everything was over my first statement was 30 bucks higher than what the store offer me...obviously customer service just apologize and now I'm stuck with att...I am now sorry I dumped WOW they were great!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21824244 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:41:46 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21811209 Potto : Had a smooth install. The tech showed up about 45min after the original window, but I had called ATT and they told me he was running behind at his prior install.

I just switched from time warner to this and so far after the first few hours Im happy. I have more channels for less than twc, and the picture quality is looking good. One thing I noticed is the sound seems better than with the twc box, plus Im not getting the annoying pops in the speakers that happened when twc's signal would go between digital and pro logic sound.

I didnt get the phone or internet, because I dont really use the land line and my internet is a biz class line from twc that is paid through work.
--
Proud to be an American]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21811209 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:15:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21805872 slugo : Ok here goes a review of u-verse, I have had the service since 1/2/09 and my profile is 2 HD and 2 SD with 10 Meg down and 1.5 Meg up stream. We have 3 adults in the house the only problem we have had is when all three are watch different content, some may have to choose between HD or SD, no biggie. The install could have gone smoother, outside installer incorrectly stated I was on a 26 gauge route and service would not work. He was so wrong, with a few calls to friends who work in AT&T engineering and cable repair the issue was resolved and cable repair fixed the problem with the line that was interfering with my ability to Sync/Surf and video. This is normal for new technology and sure beats the on again and off again Direct TV service I had for 6 years. I have run speed tests with 2 sets on HD and 1 on SD and I get a 9.5 to 9.7 Meg downstream and a consistence 1.5 up. All and all I am satisfied with the HD and SD as well as the interactive features of the service and I would recommend U-verse.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21805872 Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:06:17 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21801730 sdmbbs : Does someone know when uverse will be available in alpharetta 30004, on morris rd

Thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21801730 Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:57:11 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21769469 goillini : My review's kinda long, so I'll just link to it here:

»/comment/72338

In short, jury's still out on the Internet service -- I've had 2 major problems so far and I've only had the service for 6 weeks. When it works, it's great. Love the speed, if the reliability improves, I'll be a very happy camper.

I did not like the TV service. The DVR is terrible. It was nice having some HD channels Charter doesn't carry, but the HD picture quality wasn't as good as Charter's. The only good thing I can say about it is that making my wife use the AT&T DVR for a few weeks convinced her to green-light the purchase of an HD Tivo. So, at least there's one positive.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21769469 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:43:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21755407 plvick : Wow. That's a first.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21755407 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:10:45 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21746528 anon : Ordered U-verse and had it installed.. I immediately hated the service.. I wanted to change it back the DAY that it was installed.. lines in the TV.. the DVR set up is an unintelligent version of Dish.. the internet was slower than DSL but I was paying more.. and the phone.. the crackling in the phone was so bad that I had to use my cell phone to call and put everything back the way it was before I made the awful decision to try U-verse.. My advice.. save yourself the 7 hours I wasted trying to cancel the service.. DON'T ORDER IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.. and god help anyone who does]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21746528 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:04:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21735534 ladhnur : Hi,
I had the Uverse service installed (Phone/TV/Internet) on 01/07. The installer arrived at 9:30 (I had a slot from 8 - 10 A.M). Once he came he started checking signal strength and probably in an hour informed me that I can't get the service as the signal is very weak. I am literally 1 block from the cross box. I mentioned that to him and asked him to double check. he did that and opened a ticket for some one to verify that. Fortunately the tech. fixed what ever was the issue quickly and by 3:00 in the afternoon we had signal to the main twisted pairs. From then it took my installer about 5 hours (with the help of another installer who was working on another install few houses down the street from mine) but at last they were done by 8:00 P.M. It took them long but the service is well worth it. Since then I had once seen the TV screen freezing along with drop in internet. TV's picture quality is much better then Comcast (SD and HD both). Internet is what I pay for. Phone seems to have static all the time. I dont know why.
I will keep the service for couple of more weeks to see if there are any other issues. If none are seen then I will keep it else back to Comcast.
Regards,
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21735534 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:20:47 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21727086 gdm : Your guess is as good as anyone's.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21727086 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:07:31 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726837 anon : Any clue when they are going to six live feeds?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726837 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:30:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726711 gdm : THDVR/WHDVR has 2 more phases that will be rolled out. Ability to delete from STB's and set recordings/pause live tv. No ETA on those yet but it's planned.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726711 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:11:06 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726586 stonecrd : Been running over a week now with zero problems. I am provisioned at 2 HD/ 2 SD, 6Mb/1Mb and all is working as advertised. Only two requests, better THDVR control from remote STBs and give me one more HD stream, please.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21726586 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:47:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21721587 wguimb : I just got U-Verse installed 1-8-2009. I must say what a big difference of Comcast. I love this AT&T advanced TV and High Speed Internet. Comcast has been disconnected. It was good while it lasted but it got way too expensive. I am very happy with AT&T thus far. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21721587 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:03:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21720175 anon : I take everything back. The first day my internet was junk but now its running much faster... 16-18Mbps no problem. Unsure what would have changed but all is good at the moment.

Little more info:

First scheduled install on a Friday and it was no show no call. I called later in the day and they said someone would be sent out the next Monday morning and apologized. The next Monday morning no one came by or called. I called them up soon as the window was passed and they said they'd have the next available person come over. Few hours later a guy showed up, said ground wire wasn't hooked up and left. Said we could get it fixed and reschedule.

Got grounds hooked up that same day, called to reschedule and the guy had canceled the order. So they said I had to go back online to order again. Redid that and got an install date a month in the future (this is after already waiting 17 days or so). After making new order I called them up and convinced them to come the next week so that was nice of them.

This friday morning they showed up on time and installed everything just fine.

The only issues so far:

1. One of the 4 boxes the IR reciever doesn't work and can't you remotes with it. Only have 3 TVs anyways but eventually will just get box replaced.

2. First day or so internet wasn't ever getting past 8Mbps. Now its running fine 18 so I'm happy.

3. I get TONS of corrected blocks. ~15 million in last 15 minutes. 850 million in past 24 hours lol. Only 100 uncorrected blocks in last 24 hours. I'll call them up Monday and ask them what to do about this.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21720175 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:01:45 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21715300 anon : Well I have had Uverse for about three weeks now and all I can say is meh. They say you can watch up to 8 tv's on this thing but there is no way. In all the advertising I have found I never saw that there were only four live feeds. I have a large family and it is not uncommon for 5 tv's to be going at 1 time. We have been having trouble watching 2 tv's and recording to 1. That's not even using the hd. After the third call to support (I hate level 1 support) he told me there was a discrepancy in the line and was sending a tech out.
One good news he had is that he was showing they were going to open it up to six channels sometime in the first quarter. But no exact date was given. 'Course he might have just been blowing smoke. I'll update this after the tech has done what he can. For now all I can say is if you need to watch more than 2 tv's look elsewhere.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21715300 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:34:50 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21714680 gdm : So either call support because it sounds like you aren't provisioned correct or go back to comcast. :hmm:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21714680 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:53:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21713928 anon : Unimpressed so far.

Comcast I got a constant 16mbits down... it would actually dl ~24mbits/sec for 45s constant and then instantly fall to a constant 16. I've never had a time where I couldn't dl at 2MB/sec with comcast. (Usually dling TV show torrents)

Switch to Uverse 18/1.5 package...

Have yet to see it go over 8 down. It jumps around between 900KB/sec and 1050KB/sec. Gah but at least no download limit.

And BTW by constnat I mean comcast would vary from 2040-2050KB/sec down. Download graph would be a horizontal line for hours on end if i queued up some hd movies.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21713928 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:21:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21675448 plvick : My apologies for not posting in this thread sooner... my installation and necessity of change has been discussed in depth »I think I am about to become a uverse fanboy! -ahem;advocate and »God Bless AT&T*. (couple of easy questions, and reflections). I have since become a real advocate, indeed. My lack of a girlfriend at the moment finds myself sitting here, at DSLReports.com, about to further my online career; being a DSLReporter. Whatever. :P

I will return to update this post occasionally, I suppose. Hot chicks not withstanding (just kidding).

So, the HD streams get priority via QoS with in the RG? Of course. Nice. Wait, there is also the extra 7MB outside the area promised to your computer (provisioned at 25/2, promised 18/1.5). All this requires a new approach to give a fully comprehensive review.

Suffice it to say I killed TWC due to the fact they were messing hard with my line, and mistreated me as a client »[TWC] OMG I Feel so violated! What if someone got KILLED?. AT&T Uverse has not, but I have a history with AT&T of course... what do I have to say about the old stuff? Some other forum methinks.

Please consider this a FIVE STAR REVIEW (* I have yet to get my first bill)!!! :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21675448 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:19:40 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21656991 anon : Got Uverse installed 12/21.
Very happy with the service over comcrap - so far. SD blows away comcast and HD is about equivalent. I am about 2100 feet from the crossbox.
I started with the 18 meg service as an evaluation and did get close to it (about 17.5) except when using 2 hd streams and it would go down a bit to 13-14 meg as the HD streams get priority via QOS.
So far the service has been trouble free and love it, while saving money. One of the reasons I dumped comcast was due to the billing issues and constant dropouts of some of the HD channels due to a downstream signal issue that was never fixed. The billing issues stem from lack of credits and always being over billed when I had my tv package adjusted, as well as very slow service response.
It was as if we had never spoken to correct the bill in spite of countless hours over the phone. We'll see how the ATT billing works out.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21656991 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:09:35 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21638790 anon : Did you by chance ask their plans for rollout? I've check on their availability site for people I know all over Clt and Huntersville in populated areas and I've yet to find one place in which it's available.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21638790 Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:22:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21626937 David : Care to drop me an e-mail? click on my name on the left and it should give you an address.

Thanks
david]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21626937 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:17:44 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21625923 anon : :mad:AFTER 4 NO SHOWS TO INSTALL U-VERSE WE WERE FINALLY INSTALLED ONLY TO HAVE OUR PHONE LINE DISCONNECTED. SINCE OCTOBER 3,2008 I HAVE HAD A HOLE DUG IN MY BACKYARD FOR 10 DAYS WITH NO ACTIVITY @ SITE TO CONTINUAL NO SHOWS FOR REPAIR. IN 3 MONTHS, MY SERVICE HAS BEEN DOWN 7 TIMES. I AM CURRENTLY ON HOLD TO REPAIRS FOR NUMBER 8. EACH TECHNICIAN STATES "I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T FIND THIS BEFORE". ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21625923 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:12:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21599513 masloki : I was asked via PM how much for the service plus install. Here is my response:

i got u200 + HD with 3 tvs and 6/768 internet, no phone. i haven't received the first bill yet so can't speak to the price after taxes. before taxes, the calculation is on the website. it should be around $100. installation was free.

As far as the installer was concerned, the CAT5 was already present, though he may have advised me where to drill ;-) My advice is remember the installers have a tough job, especially in winter time, acknowledge it, and they will treat you fairly.

I took some time to talk with the installer as he worked and learned some interesting things. While they are union, the contract they got is not very good. They make up for it by being able to book overtime. The IL schedule is tight which indicates to me they are doing very well. My lead time to install was 3 weeks. Each installer is dispatched after they complete an assignment, so there is no guessing which installer you may get.

In the last week here are my likes/dislikes:
When tech arrived, I mentioned AT&T DSL and it had not been cancelled. A not as quick as it should have been phone call sorted it out.

tv picture clear as a bell. no drops on anything. scheduling works on everything except simpsons and good eats (no original air date means every episode gets recorded. YMMV). no setup from the non-dvr receivers stinks. more than compensated for by their website if you have a laptop. it is easier to schedule on the website than using the remote.

internet: had to DMZ my router to get back to my old network config. when it started up it even offered to do it for me. pings for games were 30s within chicago (used to be 20s), and ~100 to somewhere in canada.
--
"Out beyond fields of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there." Jelaluddin Rumi]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21599513 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:38:38 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21595192 anon : I have had AT&T U-verse (TV, Phone, Internet) for several months now. It(TVand Internet) requires a tremendous amount of SERVICE. The TV freezes when I change channel, but the sound continues. AT&T service has sent out three(3) techs in the last six weeks. Each visit took me several phone calls each with 1 to 2 hours on the phone to schedule. No fix. The fourth tech (Level 2) was scheduled on 12-16-2008 no one showed up, no one called?????????
The AT&T landline is the only thing that has worked through this. I have sent AT&T e-mails about the service problems. NO REPLY.
When the TV picture works it is better than cable and Satellite.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21595192 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:41:03 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21586792 anon : Just had U-Verse TV and internet installed (12/15). I live in Huntersville (Charlotte Metro Area), NC.

The job: 3 TV's, 1 wired PC, and 2 wireless PC's

Technician (A+) - installation was about 4 hours, but the tech knew what he was doing and was very helpful. He called 30 min before coming and was right on time. He handled all of the wiring outside the house then focused on the inside. This included changing the cable-terminations and installing the new hardware. He also established the wireless link to one of my PC's when I could not (something to do with windows XP not recognizing the wireless signal). This was entirely a PC-issue, yet he worked with his PC expert over the phone and got the job done in just a few minutes. When he was done, he demonstrated the remotes & User guide, showed how to program a show from the internet, and even programmed the remotes for each TV (so you can mute/turn on/off, etc). This is something I usually have to do and I hate doing it.

TV Picture/Features (A- for content & picture quality, B+ for features) - I replaced 3 DVR's with the Home DVR and 2 additional receivers. Not being able to schedule a recording, or even view scheduled-recordings from the receiver is a bit frustrating. You also can't pause/rewind live TV. I will need to get used to that. You would think that AT&T would at least offer everything that Cable TV offers. Other than the little annoyances re: the technology, the overall quality of the picture is quite good. Changing channels is also quick and the preview is a nice touch. Special A+ rating for the expanded program descriptions in the guide. Time Warner was truncating the program text, and omitting cast names, to an absurd level. I also like being able to schedule programs from my pc (I just wish I could also do it from the regular receiver).

Internet (C+) - I ordered the Max (10Mb) package to replace my DSL (which was getting about 6.5 Mb down on average). Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I can not get 10mb, I can not even get 6.5 Mb, and I am now averaging about 4.5Mb. This REALLY ticks me off. The tech checked with his boss and since the line had already been inspected & optimized, they could only recomend reducing my order to the 6Mb internet package (which the tech did for me). Huge disappointment - I certainly did not expect to LOSE SPEED with a new service offered by the same company from which I had DSL. Also, despite the claims, the wireless service from the 2Wire RG is no better/stronger than the Linksys wireless G router I had previously. Overall - not very satisfied with U-verse internet.

I hope this helps. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21586792 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:05:07 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21580857 anon : Upgraded from AT&T DSL to the UVerse 200 service plan.
Here is what I was given in my contract:
6MB broadband speed...
$100 rebate CHECK (not a gift card)...
FREE installation...
Able to cancel the digital TV portion within 30 days (I was required to "bundle" the 6MB / TV in order to qualify for the UVerse service!), and STILL keep the 6MB speed...
EVERYTHING IS IN WRITING!

Installer was fantastic; excellent in knowledge of product, what needed to be dones, etc. He ran a NEW twisted pair from the interface box mounted outside my house to where I wanted the equipment installed (in my audio-video studio). Rather than having to take the time to reconfigure my Linksys router (which is the same IP addy as the 2-Wire UVerse "controller"), he GAVE me TWO 10/100/1000 GB 16-port switches so that it would be easier for me to tie all 24 PC's here together in a "cleaner looking" setup! Yes, GAVE THEM TO ME! Tech didn't ask for any equipment back, either.

Gave me 13 ALL NEW Cat5-E 25' cables, in my choice of colors, so that I could more easily keep track of which "set" of PC's were going into the switches.

Total setup time was about 5 hours, as he needed to get me the best set of "on the pole" wires, as our Village's phone wiring is very old (40 years in most areas!); the ONLY problem encountered was after the hookup was completed, AT&T did not open the correct port at the Central Switching Office, so nothing would go through. It took about 1.5 hours to get that issue resolved.

Otherwise, smooth install, total professional job, took the time to make sure I had the best of everything, and I was blown away at the speeds I've been getting... even during a lt of rain and very cold weather here the past 2 weeks, I have NEVER gone below 5.84 MB, using 6 different testing sites and both low ad high "time of day usage"! No problems noted, no outages, no loss of service even for less than 1 minute.

When I cancel the digital TV portion this next week, my bill will be $39/month, which is an excellent price. I can upgrade my speed to 10MB for $5 more/month, and even go to 20MB for $15 more/month. Not a bad offer.

10.0 out of 10 in every category; not a single negative (with the exception of the Central Office not initializing the correct port the first time around.

ONLY NEGATIVE (nothing to do with SERVICE) is the 4-6 minute "startup time" the 2-Wire modem/controller takes to go from a power-off state to being able to get on the Net. Luckily, I have APC UPS's on all my equipment, as we get a lot of quick power dropouts every morning around 8 AM... that would certainly be a problem with the "controller" because of it's long "getting ready" issue. It takes that long because of how secure the UVerse system is. It has to perform about 12 total "security checks" so that the service cannot be "hacked" in any way. Great for the end-user, bad for those with short patience issues!

Cheers to all from The Surgeon Of Sound!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21580857 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:14:11 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21577890 masloki : Had my install done, 12/12 and definitely owe my installer many thanks for dealing with the 15F temperatures outside. He called when he was 15 minutes away, a nice touch, and arrived at 3:15 in the 2-4 PM time slot.

The installation was challenging, as I requested I keep the Dish network intact in case I need to shut off the u-verse. This necessitated some creative intermeshing between the two. We discussed and ended up running CAT 5 from the phone drop, he used a "biscuit" instead of waiting for NID to be installed, to the RG in the next room over. That required a hole in a 5 walls. Then took CAT 5 back to the computers, and ran coax outside and spliced into the Dish cabling. A huge improvement as I was able to take some machines off wireless and hardwire them.

The pictures are excellent. I quickly was frustrated by being only able to schedule recordings from the DVR and not the STBs but overcame it by scheduling from the web, which is easier than the remote anyhow (iPhone compatibility would be a nice addition). Music channels on U200 were cool. Internet speed is fast and clean. Setup of the TVs was a breeze.
--
"Out beyond fields of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there." Jelaluddin Rumi]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21577890 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:48:34 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21573803 anon : I had my service installed last weekend, 12/6/08. Two TVs and internet. No problems at all during install (other than not getting my HD service upon install, my mistake when ordering over the phone). I'm in Santa Clarita, Ca. Install took 1.5 hours...

This is for the U200 package with HBO ala carte and basic internet.

When I first moved in here they were canvassing the area informing folks they had just finished running new fiber optics in the area and trying to sign up new customers. I declined and went for free "off air" service provided by the management and signed up for Roadrunner for internet (all through TW). I had just come from TW HD service with Roadrunner at my previous residence for 125.00 bucks a month and decided to save some money.

Well, I lasted about 4 months without HD and decided to look into FIOS. Not available here. Looked at AT&T and was pleasantly surprised at the cost difference for similar service I had already had with the added bonus of DVR over TW. Decided to give it a shot...

The difference over "off air" service was stunning regarding picture quality. The difference over my previous "digital" cable was equally stunning as well (regarding SD). We are talking night and day. The PQ over my previous TW cable HD is definitely deiscernable as well. I'm very, very satisfied and saving close to 40 bucks a month compared to my previous HD service through TW.

I don't need mega bandwidth for internet service and only have the 1.5mb service but I do get every bit of what I'm paying for.

I had some pixelization my first night on one HBO channel but nothing since then. The on screen guide/menu is the only weakness so far. You can dig into a menu and have no means of going "backward" other than starting all over again. Annoying but something that can be fixed (I would hope) and something I can live with.

Throw in the DVR with the capability to watch on any TV in the house and the capacity to record up to four programs at once (and program from the internet) and this simply kicks TW's arse.

Nice to feel I'm actually getting something for my money these days. Hopefully we will continue to see some "NEW" competition and we will actually have some choices instead of what we have grown accustomed to...this is your neighborhood, this is what you get (o:

This is for the U200 package with HBO ala carte and basic internet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21573803 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:21:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21561812 koolkid1563 : U-verse has a Max18 plan which is 18/1.5.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21561812 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:11:48 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21561783 anon : I took a $150 incentive to try ATT Uverse. I have TimeWarner for Roadrunner at 6M down/512K up. It took about 2 months to get Uverse installed after about 7 visits. The picture is pretty good, but only 1 HD stream at a time as I live at the edge of their network box. So much for Uverse DVR. Best Uverse HDTV quality is still about 10-15% inferior to over the air HDTV for watching football. Seems that Uverse is a bit less compressed than TimeWarner at my Dad's IMO.

More importantly, the ATT rep said their internet would be faster and more consistent. I am not seeing that. Ping times to my office via VPN are 3-4 times longer with ATT (45-115ms)than Roadrunner(18-20ms). Also, the speeds are on par with what I had with Roadrunner (about 5800K down/ 500-800 up (faster upload with ATT at cheaper plan). I don't see an upside to Uverse internet, and if anything some slow down on ping times. These were local pings by the way. Finally, while waiting to get Uverse, I asked TimeWarner for a faster connection option, and they offered 22M up/2M down for about the same price I was paying if I signed 2 year contract. During my 60d trial I actually got on average about 11M down/1.5M up which was pretty darn good. I don't think the elite Uverse at 10M down/1M up will beat that, but I will call ATT and find out if they will upgrade for same price (I don't see myself paying $50/m for the Elite).

I find this unimpressive compared to what I have read about Verizon FiOS. Verizon please save me from TW and ATT! I feel like both companies are holding back/monopolizing technology too much for maximum profits (particularly TW). I will probably go back to Roadrunner, get rid of cable TV and go with OTA plus MediaPC DVR complimented with Netflix bluray rentals and instant Netflix. Hope this helps and good luck everyone!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21561783 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:06:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21554131 anon : o yah I was about 1000 feet away from box]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21554131 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:19:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21554126 anon : U-Verse came today at around 830 am finised at 12:40 pm.
Internet such cox was alot faster. my newsgroup downloads at 1.7 megs a sec average now cox was 2.1-2.3 megs a sec. I'm a bit dissapointed I thought it would be faster than cox. As for tv i got U100 I don't watch T.V. at all so I don't care.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21554126 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:19:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21513185 Graystoke : Here's my review.

My install was scheduled for today, 12/1/08, between 8AM and 10AM. Two TV's, one HD, the other SD, internet and voice. The installer showed up at 8:15AM. I was pleasantly surprise at that.

He came in, double checked on what was to be installed, looked around, and started on the job. At first he was going to use the existing exterior Comcast cable, but decided he didn't like what he saw. Years ago when this was a brand new subdivision, The cable company at that time, MediaOne, came around doing what I call a hack job. Instead of rapping the house with the cable, they sloppily through it over the roof from one side of the house, laying it in the rain gutter, to the other side of the house to the connector. The AT&T installer removed all the old cable and installed new cable.

TV and internet install went very smoothly. Voice took a little longer. I'm not exactly sure what the problem was, but the installer worked with a tier two tech for about a half and hour. At one point, while waiting for the tech to get back to him, the installer went over the features of the TV portion of U-verse. So that worked out pretty good as far as I was concerned. Finally after about six hours, the installer was on his way.

I was very impressed with the installer. He was very helpful. He answered several questions that I had. Very polite.

So far I'm very happy with my U-verse service. The picture quality is great. My computer is running great. I got the 10 megs package. I really can't tell the difference between this and Comcast as far as browsing speed, and log on speed. U-verse Voice is working fine.

Ok, now I need to get back to the TV, so I can try to soak in all the new stuff with the TV and the remote. :p I've got a feeling I'll be back here asking a few questions. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21513185 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:29:50 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21499333 gdm : The limit is 3000' and it depends on the gauge wiring you have in the area. FTTN, fiber to the node, is the most typical install which is fiber to the crossbox. FTTP, fiber to the premise, is only in new areas.

It's not really about upgrading the crossbox but the technology. U-Verse isn't for everyone. Even if the techs measure the line which they do. Until it's up and running that's the true test unfortunately.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21499333 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:35:34 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21498828 anon : Our install date was 10/17/08 for the U-Verse complete service. We have their broadband, TV and Internet. The techs did a hack job and used the existing very old Com Cast wiring so they came back within days to rewire three rooms and all outdoors wiring with Cat 5 cable. The router continued to drop and try to reset so we would loose all three functions. A third call and visit found that we were at the extreme limit of 3,000 feet from the "Cross Box" and the fix was to reduce our impulse signal from the pole to our router. Now the TV only freezes up, ghosts, phone line drops, and the computer line once a day rather than all day every day. We can only record one TV channel not the four as advertised. I again called "Level Two" tech support and they agreed that the engineers would have to decide IF they wanted to upgrade to a more powerful cross box. If they do not non of the new signed customers in my area will be able to stay with the U-Verse program. Shame because the price is better than Com Cast with better technology but if it doesn't work what can we do? Also the fiber optic cable only runs to their cross box and not on your street or to your house.
WARNING... If you are considering the U-Verse service have them measure the distance from the cross box to your home. If you are at 2,500 feet or more I suggest that you wait until they have many unhappy customers and have to upgrade the cross box before you have to suffer as we are.

Pieter Klein
Branford, Ct.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21498828 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:02:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21464650 MyDogHsFleas :
said by Diknak See Profile :

My suggestion: Allow shows to be streamed to a computer when you are away from home. That would be an awesome addition to functionality!
Get a SlingBox, that's what it does very well, and no monthly fee. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21464650 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:15:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458735 Diknak : I just had Uverse installed on Saturday and here is my review:

I was quoted that the installer would arrive between 2 and 4. At 3:45, he called and said he would be there at 4:15, but he didn't get there until 4:45. He came in for a while and looked around and such, then left for about an hour. He came back and stayed another 4 hours for the install.

I ran some ping tests before he turned off my old internet (Roadrunner) and compared it to the pings from Uverse. Roadrunner had faster pings for all sites except one (yahoo I think). All other pings were about 15-30 ms higher than Roadrunner's.

The deal breaker was gaming over the connection; if I had lag, I was going to cancel Uverse immediately. I asked the installer how far away I was from the node and he said about 375 feet, which was great news. He actually said that my connection was the second best internet connection that he has ever done. I played some games and didn't notice any lag at all, so I am completely happy with the net connection. I got the 6mb down speed, which is all that is really needed for gaming and I am happy so far.

On to the TV: The service is certainly better than Insight's since the standard definition resolution is 720 for Uverse and 480 for Insight. The whole online functionality thing is kind of overrated; I don't really use the net to manage my recorded shows since you can't see which episodes are reruns and which are repeats when browsing the online listings. I didn't like Insight's HD package since you had to pay a monthly fee for a HD box and pay for HD service; it was a huge rip off. There are about twice as many HD channels for Uverse as there are for Insight in the standard HD package (no movie channels or anything).

I have seen an installer in my neighborhood almost every single day this month installing someone else's Uverse. It truly is the best service on the market right now, and I think IP TV is here to stay, As long as you aren't over 1000 feet from the node, you should be good. Also beware of the fact that if you have an old house and don't have ground wiring installed, they will have to do some rewiring (and it's not free). This didn't happend with me, but by boss canceled his install appointment because of this reason.

Pros:
* Cheaper service
* Dedicated download speeds
* Online functionality
* Record 4 shows at once
* Standard Definition shows are better than normal cable

Cons:
* Long install time
* Rewiring may need to be done for older homes
* Slightly higher pings for gaming

My suggestion: Allow shows to be streamed to a computer when you are away from home. That would be an awesome addition to functionality!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21458735 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:20:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21441497 smokarz : I don't have Uverse, but with Comcast rolling out Docsis 3.0 and free upgrade to 12/2 HSI, I no longer look forward to Uverse getting to my town. They can call me up when they finally decide to run fiber to my home.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21441497 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:32:07 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21411226 Hugh Janus : Uverse review

Set up the order via online ordering about 3 weeks ago. I ordered the u300 with HD and internet service. I was currently on the Elite package with AT&T and was told via the web when I placed the order that I was also canceling DSL. I agreed and pressed ok and confirmed my appointment for 11-10 at 8am.

11-10 8:15
Tech calls says he is a block away and will be there in a sec. He shows up and instantly says there is a problem. He says my DSL was never canceled and he will need to call head quarters and said it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. He comes back an hour later and says it's good to go. There was a problem with my location and the way the builder had cut some phone lines but this wasn't the installers problem. I'm pretty far from the box so I only get 1 HD stream which really sucks but I understand the limits of technology.

So far HD looks great, SD looks great and my internet is the same speed it was before 6mps down.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21411226 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:19:37 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21368826 gryl : I have had DSL with SNET -> SBC -> ATT all without major problems. Ordered Uverse about 3 weeks ago and was told that the install would take place on Nov 1. The tech shows about 2 PM. Show him what I want and the order is not complete (shows 3 TVs should be 6). He heads off to the VRAD and says that he will be back in 20 minutes. Back at the house 1 1/2 hours latter and says that I am 1.5 miles (by road) from box and it doesn't look good. :o
Hooks up his meter to the line from the pole and nothing. No signal. He calls in a ticket for a line man and states that they have to run a new line from pole to the house to see if that improves things. The Line man should be at the house in an hour. At this point our DSL is down.
Well... the next morning around 10:30 a real nice guy shows up and states that he thinks we can do this. About an hour later he has a new line at the house and we have a good signal there. Tells us to call the 800 # and reschedule the install. Turns out the offices are closed on Sunday and there's no one to talk to. The line man was able to get us back to DSL so the DW's Facebook withdrawal was taken care of.
So now we are set for a Thursday night install.

Tom]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21368826 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:12:21 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21366167 anon : had uverse for 48 hours then the screen froze. After 30 + minutes of tech help, had to schedule home visit. have to wait three days for help. I am almost ready to go back to comcast. very frustrated.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21366167 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:46:06 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21363324 anon : Waukesha, Wisconsin install.

Ordered U200 TV service (skipped the VOIP and will see how things work with the TV before I switch over my internet service from TWC).

Install occurred on October 29th. Other than being 45 minutes late everything went well. The tech ran CAT5e to three different areas. He then configured the RG to dismantle the wireless signal so it would not interfere with my existing router. Lastly the tech went over how the service works and TV functions. Everything took about 5 hours. The good news is I can easily get two HD streams into my house, even though I only have one HD TV at this time.

So far I am very pleased with the TV - both from a picture quality standpoint and user interface standpoint. Channels change quickly, which I feel is very important, especially when switching back and forth from two sporting events. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21363324 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:00:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21362426 wrenchinfool : ok install seemed to go ok i do like the feature of watching my recorded shows from other tv very much..now the only thing i get right is picture on tv 52in samsung lcd havent even had it a year it just seems a little off other than that i really like and enjoy the service..being that i had cox for the ten prior years..i would recommend it]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21362426 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:05:20 EDT The install that didn't happen http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21325083 schja01 : I guess placing an order, scheduling an install, checking with ATT direct that the order is in the system, calling the morning of the install to double check isn't enough.
If the order "doesn't make it to dispatch" is doesn't happen.
My recourse? Reschedule and wait three more weeks for a weekend slot.
Oh well.
Wife says this isn't a good omen and we should scrap the whole idea. I'm stupid, I'll give ATT one more try. Why? Like I said, I'm stupid but I despise Comcast too.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21325083 Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:01:47 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21251855 anon : I was supposed to have uverse set up for me 2 weeks after originally calling. I waited for that saturday from 12-2 and nobody came. I called and they said he was on his way at 3:00. I called again at 4:35 and they put me on hold until 5:04 and then hung up, so when I called back they were closed. I cant believe this crap. I think Im going to cancel. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21251855 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:37:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21220421 anon : had Uverse installed on the 30th. happy with it so far. was wondering how to transfer my recorded shows to my DVD recorder?

when i was with TW, there was a "send to vcr" option on the recordings i made on the DVR. with this option i could record to my DVD recorder while watching something else.

with the ATT Motorola DVR boxes, the recordings do not have this option.

does this mean i'd have to watch the whole program again as it records to my DVD recorder? or is there a way to transfer that video straight to my computer (which records DVD's)?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21220421 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:18:36 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21219467 anon : A quick review of our installation experience.

Technician called and asked if he could come early. Absolutely!

Technician actually worked for AT&T! Wow! The last three guys we had out from charter were contractors who showed up in old trucks and barely spoke english.

After a brief assesment of our home he proceeded with the installation. We have two tv's, in different rooms. All signal sent over Cat5. Technician got up into attic and ran all cabling inside of walls. He installed new boxes on outside of home for copper entry. He spent about 4 hours in our home and about one hour off site doing something at "their end" of the setup. When he came back he told me that everything in the neighborhood was brand new, and we were the first to subscribe.

We have the u300 package with 10mps internet service. We get 2 HD streams and can record up to 4 programs at one time. The internet has never been slower than 9.5mps, even when recording two HD programs and watching one SD program at the same time.

Technical supervisor came by during installation and made sure everything was going well.

We are very happy with the quality of the tv and internet service. The fastest I ever got out of my Charter 10mps service was 7.2mps. We have more HD channels to choose from, and my kids love the movies on demand feature.

I have recomended this to everyone I know. I am not a technical person, but I know what works. And my UVERSE works exactly as advertised.

Thanks AT&T for your profesionalim throughout.

PS: It's also $40 per month cheaper than my old service here in Mira Loma, CA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21219467 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:29:17 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21201406 anon : AT&T U-Verse Review
Location: South Palm Beach County Florida
Date: September 30. 2008

After five days and 22 man hours of technicians at my house, I now have AT&T U-Verse service on two HD television and three computers connected via ethernet plus WiFi service for laptop devices.

The internet is good! It is stable at 2950 KBS download and 980 KBS upload. This speed is two and half times faster on download and three and a half times faster on upload than my old regular type ADSL system. I have the "Pro" internet but I think the least expensive service would be much better than standard ADSL.

The television is not as good! First, the technicians tried to use the coaxial system that was pre-wired when the house was built which I didn't like because I was using that system for an off-air antenna system. Fortunately, they were not able to get it to work so I have the antenna system back. Next, I ask them to run a line outside of the house for a second TV which is far away from the modem/router which is the system hub. This approached worked. Following are facts about the TV service.

- I only have one HD feed. I am 3050 feet from the neighborhood box that contain the fiber optics. They can only certify two HD feeds if you are less than 3000 feet away from the neighborhood box. They are working on it but it doesn't look good at the moment. I can imagine family arguments over only one HD feed if all have HD TV's. Even two HD feeds for a family of four will be a problem.

- I am happy I still have off-air antenna service which is FREE and I have not cancelled my DirecTV service yet.

- Good quality picture! In fact, they actually fixed a local channel that broadcast an odd, stretched out picture.

- The DVR seems typical to what you get from cable or satellite companies except the box is FREE. It is suppose to be able to record several channels at a time but with one HD feed that feature will probably never be used.

Now that I finally have service after a long and painful installation, I am going to give AT&T a chance to compete. At this point in time, it seems they have a 50% chance to retain my business. Of course, it all depends on your local situation. If I was 50 feet closer to the neighborhood box, it would have made a big difference in terms of getting two HD feeds. It is all very interesting technology which is basically a modem and router. The price is good compared to the competition. All of the technicians were professional and nice people even though new to the business since the service has only been available in my area for three weeks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21201406 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:11:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21199330 anon : att allows 8 box on case by case basis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21199330 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:54:59 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21196065 MyDogHsFleas : 8 boxes???? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21196065 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:35:15 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21195433 Bell System : OK. I guess I'll review my mom's install.

U200
Express Internet
POTS Dial Tone

Coming from Elite ADSL

Called 9/2, took first available install date offered on 9/23 for 8 box install.

Prepped 4 TVs for cat5, the other 4 on RG6. All computers on cat5. RG placement in basement 5 feet from NID. 10 ft of cat5 from NID to RG for VDSL sig.

DVR has homerun cat5 line. Office and living room cat5 to gs108 switch in office. Switch has HR feed to RG. Kitchen TV on RG6. 3 Bedrooms on RG6. Basement HR on cat5. Computers (3) run to 5 port switch, which has HR to RG.

All prep work done ahead of time. Just needed some cords here and there. Unboxing all the STB's took most time. Got to be a pro programming the remote's.

Being an I&R tech helped on knowing what needed to be done ahead of time. Tech was definately happy! He said he'd never done an 8 box job before.

Pleasantly surprised on quality of service! On the 19200/2048 profile (1 live HD stream limit, currently) Internet is solid. Have been monitoring circuit on LSBBT. Real Time and Quality check a-ok. Plan on moving all STB's to cat5 in time. Thumbs up all the way! Can't wait to get it at my house next. Nice to see the fruits of all the labor, you know?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21195433 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:53:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21171305 anon : Just got it installed yesterday.. Took about four hours. Only problem is they couldn't get a sync to the RG, had to have someone else come out to fix it.. Fixed it and everything is rock solid. No dropouts or problems yet.

About 1,500 feet from the Vrad, so all is good!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21171305 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:53:17 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21142613 David : we can work on this if you wish. Just advise or e-mail/post in direct.

THanks
David]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21142613 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:41:07 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21140148 richter : I had my install yesterday. Here is my report.

The installer wasn’t due until noon but called and asked if he could come early, and I said sure. He was here (unnecessarily, it turns out) 8 hours. He said he didn’t know anything about computers(!), so when he got everything hooked up by early afternoon, launched my PC’s browser and found that it couldn’t access the Internet, he didn’t have a clue what to do or check. There began over 2 continuous hours on the speakerphone to Tier 2 support (with me working the computer because the installer didn’t know how). We could connect to the network, and the Tier 2 guy could see my PC, but we couldn’t get out, nor would TV work. He tried swapping routers, set top boxes, and even ports at the node box down the street. It was starting to get dark, and since it didn’t look like the install would be complete that day, I went to hook my Comcast modem back up so I could get online.

When I did so, I discovered a cable running between my (still live) Comcast cablemodem and the AT&T router. He had simply disconnected all the Ethernet cables from my old wireless router and plugged them into his. Of course, one of those cables was the “in” cable from the cable modem. So both Comcast and AT&T were trying to manage the network. I unplugged the Comcast cable and everything (Internet & TV) worked instantly. Over 3 hours wasted and several components unnecessarily replaced.

He was in a hurry to go at that point because it was around 7PM. After he left, I discovered he’d left several phone junction boxes open with wires spilling out onto the carpet. Today as I went to put one back, my TV picture froze and the Internet went out. I jiggled it and was able to get service back for a while, and it’s been intermittent since. Obviously there’s a bad connection - loose wire or bad crimp or something. At that point I called U-Verse and said get somebody out here, which they scheduled for tomorrow AM.

Meanwhile, all is not rosy online. When I went to access my AT&T account, it said I was already logged in (to my Yahoo account). I stay automatically logged in to the latter all the time, esp. during football season, where I’m constantly accessing my Yahoo fantasy teams. But now I have to log out of Yahoo every time I want to log into AT&T, and vice versa. Unacceptable – no reason those should have to be mutually exclusive. Yet I’ve spoken to two different techs and neither knows any way around it. (Nor were even aware of the problem.)

Then I discovered AT&T’s SpamGuard sucks – too many false positives. It was trapping all my good email, including a reply from a friend I'd emailed. What email service doesn’t know that addresses the user sends emails to are de facto good and automatically whitelist them? I had to turn SpamGuard off (which means I’ll probably get all kinds of crap). I miss Comcast’s reliable spam filtering.

At least the TV picture is nice.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21140148 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:07:40 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21132545 anon : Ok this Koolaid guy who has been posting replys must work for at&t and they must have brain washed him...the service is awful and customer services is awful and the install took two days....my cable install took 30 mins and that was with cable internet and phone with suddenlink. And the best part i can watch more than one hd channle at a time! and my internet speed dosent get effect if more than one tv in my house is going!
Thank you suddenlink thank you! why i left you i may never now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21132545 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:13:08 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21066185 Time2Kill :
said by sporancea See Profile :

Yes, I am sure my DSL is with AT&T. And I took it one step further, I called DSL cancellations and tell them the story. The lady says "weird", she puts me on hold and calls u-verse herself. When she gets back she says that she was told the same thing. I would have to cancel first because of the ordering system at u-verse. Then I also have to wait 48 hours so that the change is reflected in the u-verse system.
I just had U-Verse installed this morning and had the exact same problem. My order for U-Verse was dropped because I had DSL via FTTP to my home. The techs got to my house, had U-Verse ready to go in less than 10 minutes, then bam, won't connect because the order was dropped. Took the two techs at my house THREE HOURS on the phone to get the order back in the system. Way to go AT&T...paying two techs for over three hours to sit in my house.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21066185 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:26:51 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21030978 MyDogHsFleas :
said by sporancea See Profile :

Yes, I am sure my DSL is with AT&T. And I took it one step further, I called DSL cancellations and tell them the story. The lady says "weird", she puts me on hold and calls u-verse herself. When she gets back she says that she was told the same thing. I would have to cancel first because of the ordering system at u-verse. Then I also have to wait 48 hours so that the change is reflected in the u-verse system.
This is not right. I would suggest posting in the AT&T Direct forum, and in the AT&T DSL forum for your area, and see if you can get someone to fix this or give you advice on how to proceed. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21030978 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:02:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21030694 sporancea : Yes, I am sure my DSL is with AT&T. And I took it one step further, I called DSL cancellations and tell them the story. The lady says "weird", she puts me on hold and calls u-verse herself. When she gets back she says that she was told the same thing. I would have to cancel first because of the ordering system at u-verse. Then I also have to wait 48 hours so that the change is reflected in the u-verse system.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21030694 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:48:49 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21029870 MyDogHsFleas :
said by scmp :

I explain to him that I have DSL with AT&T and he says that I have to cancel that service before I can place the order.
Are you sure you have AT&T DSL? Do your bills come from AT&T? If you really have AT&T DSL you do not have to disconnect it before ordering, the installer will transition it for you on the spot. That is exactly what I did. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21029870 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:39:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21028216 David : Can I help? send me an e-mail or an IM. Would love to know about the problems, and see what I can do about them. T1, uverse or anything for that matter.

Thanks
David]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21028216 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:37:46 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21027878 anon : U-verse available in my area, in IL. First I tried to place the order online but it doesn't work, it says I have to call them.

I call them, the guy that picks up sounds like I woke him up. He gets my info but he cannot place the order because "the system tells me conflicting services". I explain to him that I have DSL with AT&T and he says that I have to cancel that service before I can place the order. I say Ok, how long does it take to have u-verse installed so I know how long I'll be without internet. He doesn't know and for some reason the question really annoys him and he doesn't know how to end the call quicker. I manage to extract the order number from him and end the call. I call again immediately and a lady picks up but she's in the middle of a discussion with a colleague, I presume, saying something about a trip to airport. Then she gets back to me "Yeah, this is Anna". I don't even bother, I hung up and call again. Kira picks up, she sounds like she would like to be anywhere but there, but she manages to tell me that it takes 7 to 10 days.

So, after reading all the horror stories about u-verse installation, I really don't feel like dealing with these folks if something goes awry. Never mind, that I have to be bound by the limitations of their system that is not able to schedule an install because I have another service with exactly the same company.

Maybe I'll order if somehow AT&T gets their act together, which is very unlikely. Hopefully FIOS will be available by then.

To top it off, today, where I work, we were supposed to have 7 T1's delivered by AT&T and not only that it didn't happen, they are lying about not having access to the premise. Not to mention that the number of outages at our clients caused by AT&T (direct service or services provided by other companies over AT&T loops) is far greater than in any other case.

Good luck.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21027878 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:27:13 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21025469 anon : Hi All, I just got U-verse installed last Tuesday the 26th.My internet service is 10dwn/1.5up of which I`m actually getting 9604 kbps dwn smd 1470 kbps up,so that is fine with me.The TV picture is great both in SDTV & HDTV.My u-verse set to box was defaulted to 720p output which looks great but I went in setup and changed it to 1080i,which also looks great.And hence I`m totally happy with the service.I`ve had no problems with any customer service rep and all my questions were addressed promptly.

My main reason for switching from Comcast (for HDTV) and BellSouth/ATT DSL (6.0 Extream) was the pricing,as I have never personally watched a u-verse program or used it`s internet. My Comcast service was $96.00 and ATT 6.0 DSL $45.00 per month. Now I pay $127 total for both TV and 10.0 DSL , sounds good to me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21025469 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:34:45 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21020789 imakeholsinu : »Review of AT&T U-Verse by imakeholsinu

Here's my review of U-Verse. Aside from the abysmal ordering system AT&T has in place and their lack of love for dry loop customers I have to say I am pleased with the service. I'm less than 400 ft from the loop for U-verse (I can actually see it from my window in my apartment) and the installation took no more than 30 minutes. It took another 20 minutes though to get my account setup because of the ordering system being all messed up.

This review is strictly for the internet which I have 6/2. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21020789 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:47:31 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21017792 underscore_ : just to verify

xbox live works flawlessly, i can host 16 player matches on halo 3 & cod4, gears, and guitar hero 3 also work great for me.

WoW also works - my friend was playing at my house the other day on his laptop.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21017792 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:40:02 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21015573 MyDogHsFleas :
said by Mesquito :

It broadcasts a second or two faster than the one in the kitchen which creates an intolerable echo.
This is a characteristic of the technology and you should never expect two TVs to be in synch when playing a U-verse video stream. If you had two PCs playing a YouTube video, would you expect them to by synched perfectly?

The U-verse stream is a complex Video over IP flow. This is very unlike the RF signals on cable. Much processing and buffering needs to be done to turn the U-verse stream into video and audio for the TV.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21015573 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:22:13 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21014721 gdm : Uverse doesn't transmit the TV signal like dish or cable it's coming in on packets via the network. Does it mean it can't be fixed no and I am sure it will be. First and foremost I consider Uverse still in it's infancy stage.

I have the same problem as you do as well. Maybe when the WHDVR comes out it will fix that sync between them all.

In my case I have the DVR on coax and the STB on cat5e. I wouldn't think that would matter but you never know.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21014721 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:39:06 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21014414 anon : We got Uverse last month. We have had cable and dish with the DVR and every time the wind would blow, we lost our signal. Living in Tornado Alley, I sort of wanted something a little steadier. The TV signal and internet is fine. I have one complaint. Our Living area and kitchen adjoin. We have a TV in both rooms. The DVR is on the living room TV. It broadcasts a second or two faster than the one in the kitchen which creates an intolerable echo. AT&T says this is caused by the recorder and that is why it is slower. I relied, but it is faster. They said, well it is because there are two separate boxes. I commented that when I had the dish, and the two TV's were on separate boxes, there was no lag time. AT&T said this should resolve when they do the upgrade and have the DVR on all TV's at an additional cost. I am convinced AT&T does not know what they are doing, but feel fairly certain that once more people complain, they will fix this. In the mean time we are just turning the volume down on one TV and blasting out the people in the other room.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21014414 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:39:29 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21006346 David : I am just a few clicks away, and was here. I can work on Uverse problems guys/gals. Hell I can even work on anything AT&T you can throw at me. I have met a lot of interesting people that way!

I have quite a little army of volunteers. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21006346 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:00:18 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21004067 koolkid1563 : I am wondering why you never came here to ask for help. Sounds like your site is just ranting on several things without any real request for help and assuming that because your service was like that, that is how it always and is supposed to work for everyone.

-Slow, inconsistent internet speeds via AT&T wireless gateway
My wireless consistently gave me ~9.5Mb/s down and 1.5Mb/s up as well as a strong signal to deal with around the whole house. Many times wireless problems could also be a factor of the RF environment it is in. It sounds like you had a previous Linksys router, did you ever try using it as an AP on your network?
-Long, multi-day installation process is common
The typical install only ranges from a couple of hours to maybe 6, not days.
-Rewiring of cable & phone lines typically required
Typically, yes. However, the extent of most 'rewires' is just rearranging a few things, not a complete rewire.
-4 TVs can work at the same time (what if you have 6 TVs?)
Common problem, with some validity. You can have as many TVs on as you want, just that only 4 streams can be coming in at once
-2 HD TVs can work at the same time (what if you have 3 HD TVs?)
Another common problem with the same explanation above.
-Large, external box required for each TV
Large? Have you seen the new Motorola DCH line of cable boxes? Unless you have an IPTV ready TV, then you will need a STB.
-Compatibility issues with World of Warcraft (WoW)
I never used WoW, but I haven't heard too many other people complain about it.
-May not work with X-Box
By reading your site, this is linked to your wireless problems, not something AT&T was doing. I played on XBL just fine, as do many others.
-You are volunteering for technological experimentation
As with any new product (though not necessarily 'new' anymore), there will be quirks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21004067 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:51:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21003963 anon : We had many problems with the AT&T U-verse Gateway and the wireless home network provided by AT&T. The internet speeds were so inconsistent that even reading e-mail became a burden. Playing games on the internet was impossible. AT&T told us they couldn't deliver reliable, consistent internet speeds via their wireless network. I thought they could have fixed the problem, but I guess not. Has anyone else had this problem???

We had really wanted to switch to U-verse for the television but the internet just didn't work.

»att-consumer-report.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21003963 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:32:37 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20964233 MacZero : Have been using U-Verse for a few months now and over all it's good. We opted for the fastest internet at 10mbps and love the speed. Uploads are 1.5 and work reasonably well. This system is significantly better than the Comcast, 6 down 1 up, system we did have. U-Verse is consistently around 9mbps on most of my speed tests.

I hate the 2Wire VDSL2 gateway you get. The wireless system seems to have problems loading images on some websites. I don't use it but MySpace is a good example of a site that doesn't work right and images just won't load or are very slow. Other sites seem to have the same problem if the images are not hosted on the that site but are linked in from another site. You can turn off their wifi and run your own to get around this issue. It's a little complex to explain the issue and fix here. I also don't like the management interface you get it's just too limited for a geek like me. You can open one device on your network to the full internet and not have any firewall on it. This is part of the wifi fix and you can add your own wifi router that way. Or you can run a game system or limited use server.

With AT&T also get WiFi options in a large number of business around the country and the combined billing for cell, TV, home phone and internet are very nice. But then you realize just how much you spend on all of this stuff.

The TV/DVR aspects are just OK in comparison to Direct TV DVR that I did have for 3 years. AT&T should drop the Windows based DVR in favor of the TiVo system that Direct uses. The TiVo/Direct system is just more intuitive and has more recording preference options. You can record up to 4 standard def programs on U-Verse which is better than you can get with Direct without getting a second DVR. U-Verse doesn't record anything you haven't told it to record so if you like the feature on the TiVo that records things you might like based on your "Thumbs Up" settings then you won't like the U-Verse DVR. There isn't anything like that feature on the U-Verse DVR. With 4 SD recordings though you can record almost everything you might want. Other than the lack of recording features the U-Verse DVR does have some better channel surfing options with PIP and I like their guide a little better than Direct. The ability to get online anywhere in the world and tell your DVR to record certain programs is very nice.

I haven't tried the HD option yet (I don't have an HD TV) but I like the idea that I can just go to a web page and subscribe then have HD right now. With Direct you would have to get a new DVR in most cases.

I would absolutely keep the internet connection but I would seriously consider dropping the TV option in favor of Direct TV. I'll gibe them until Spring 2009 to make things better. If you love HD then Direct or even Dish are probably better options for you unless you can get HD via a normal TV antenna. You will probably always get a better image from the air than from satellite or wired TV services.

As I understand it U-Verse does have a better HD image than most cable systems but it isn't as good as satellite and a normal TV antenna.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20964233 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:50:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20945861 djrobx : Both U-Verse and Dish use MPEG-4 compression.

There's a lot more to it than just broadcast format.

U-verse has a 25mbps pipe to the home, that also has to carry up to 10mbps internet. AT&T is not currently doing any "mixed-use" of their streams, I've personally tested that I get my full 10mbps when I'm using all 4 streams.

So, that leaves 15mbps for TV. Within that 15mbps, they fit 2 HD and 2 SD TV streams. I have yet to see hard facts about their HD data rates, but you can do a little calculating. They advertise that their DVR holds 133 hours of SD and 37 hours of HD. That means HD streams are 3.6x the size of the SD streams.

So:

x + x + 3.6x + 3.6x = 15
x(1+1+3.6+3.6) = 15
x = 15 / 9.2
x = 1.63

Using these calculations, SD is 1.63mbps and HD streams are 5.86mbps.

For comaprison, someone posted the file sizes for shows captured from their DISHnetwork box at MPEG-4. Their recorded "Battlestar Galactica" in HD was at 7.7mbps. Their local MPEG-4 NBC was a whopping 11.2mbps!

So, given that Dish is delivering higher MPEG-4 data rates, it's easy to see why they might have better picture quality. Interestingly, the most common complaint about U-verse is not breakup during high action scenes, but rather a "stepping" motion in the background of practically still video. Seems like that's something that could be improved in the compression algorithms.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20945861 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:30:18 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930577 anon : There's a lot of chatter about Dish HD quality better than U-Verse. Its not clear to me how that is possible unless it is simply broadcast in lesser format (e.g. 1080i vs p vs 780i or p). Does anyone have the facts?

We get approx 170 HD channels on Dish which far surpasses the approx 50 on U-Verse, but I suppose they'll keep adding.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20930577 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:36:27 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20905963 anon : I have been reading a lot of the reviews posted on here, and it seems like there is some arguments taking place. Lets take some things into account. The negatives are ALWAYS noticed. We all hate our cell phone carriers, our banks, our car insurance, our boss, etc. You get the picture. One thing I love about my U-Verse is that, unlike cable, I didn't sign up at a really low bundle price just to have it jacked up on me every month. It is new technology, and it is always going to be getting better. On top of that, they know the problems they have, which is one of the reasons they give it out for free for the first month. Plus more channels at a equal price to cable. Just one guys opinion...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20905963 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:54:53 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20889373 Reese1972 : ATT your world delivered.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20889373 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:41:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20811251 mareastrum : U-Verse was installed on Tuesday. The tech called SO about 11:45 to let him know he was running behind due to a difficult install with another customer, would it be okay if he made it a little after 1 or so.

The tech was still there when I got home at 6pm, but he was mostly cleaning up and explaining to SO how the system works.

We spent time checking out all the features and discovered the free VOD (Classic Doctor Who, yeah!).

The speed for the internet is much faster than what we were getting on DSL and the wireless works much better. We actually have the modem out of the basement too, which has made us very happy.

All in all, we are very very pleased with the service. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20811251 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:57:03 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20750155 underscore_ : Got U-Verse installed yesterday. Since I am unable to receive regular AT&T DSL service they didn't hassle me about just ordering the VDSL only. the install took a little over an hour. I ordered the 6/1 package, i believe it is the Elite.

Speeds are awesome, very stable. The pings are outstanding. I used to have ISDN, where the pings weren't stable at all and ranged from 95ms - 150ms. After a day of gaming online with buddies, my pings are from 35ms - 75ms SOLID. 68ms was the highest I saw and it was to a server in Southern California, & I live in Michigan.
I am extremely pleased with U-Verse thus far.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20750155 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:13:08 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20737842 MyDogHsFleas :
said by rldtx :

My complaint now with U-verse is that even though they ran cat5 everywhere, they cut up my TWC coax.
Did you ask them to keep your cable active? I hope so, because installers can't read your mind. If I were you, I'd call and lodge an installation complaint and make them run new coax. Maybe they will.

I do hope, however, that they let me keep the Internet (which is fine) so I don't have to go through getting my old DSL back.
My experience was that they allowed me to cancel the TV and keep U-verse Internet, but they were a bit prying about why I wanted to do it. You seem to have a decent list. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20737842 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:05:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20736647 anon : Ok, I tried it and not keeping it.

I may be picky, but here's why I'm not keeping it.

1. Existing remotes can't be programmed to access Moto VIP boxes - no codes.
2. U-verse remotes don't change sources on any of my TV's
3. Interactive options are really slow
4. Freezes on some functions that essentially lock up the TV.
5. No page up/down on menus
6. Music channels are kind of crappy.
7. HD quality isn't up to TWC - sorry.

The additional content just wasn't worth the hassle.

My complaint now with U-verse is that even though they ran cat5 everywhere, they cut up my TWC coax.

I do hope, however, that they let me keep the Internet (which is fine) so I don't have to go through getting my old DSL back.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20736647 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:08:38 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20732024 Traxless : Read this entire thread ... took parts of 2 days. I'm not eager to make the plunge with AT&T. I'll just stay with my antenna a while longer.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20732024 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:21:12 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692812 gdm : Not sure where you get that. Pricing is up front and they don't do any bundling discounts. They used to give $10 off if you had TV and Net but not now. I ordered U-Verse when they did offer that luckily.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692812 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:10:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692779 kjl1977 : Seems to me that U-Verse isn't that great of a deal. I current get dry loop DSL (1.5-3.0) and Dish HD DVR for less that the basic U-Verse package. Seems like AT&T is just doing what Comcast did and disguising packages as 'savings'. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692779 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:03:05 EDT Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692738 anon : Internet. 1st week my speeds are 99% of what my plan calls for. The latency times are 11ms to 29ms. Now that is speed. Our older copper DSL system ran about 40-60% of what the plan called for and latency times ran 49ms to 98ms. Uverse (fiber optics) is a major step forward. The future looks " Bright " to me with ATT !]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20692738 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:51:27 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20678943 jtmarshiii : Customer service sucks big time. If you though At@t cell phone service was bad just wait!
-Install Tech One NO SHOW (he lied about contacting me and was fired for it according to dispatch) Reschedule for Saturday.
-They give me a $100 credit for me taking a day off work and upped me to U400 for 6 months.
- Saturday is here but no tech! Call dispatch they say they can't help and transfer me to someone that can. I was transfered to the main At@t number and had to go through all the prompts and several more transfers.
- Uvers rep. tells me my order was CANCELED Monday. He couldn't figure out why because he saw dispatch rescheduled and customer service gave me credit!
- They couldn't come out Sat. some they need to reschedule BUT their PC is down so he writes down my name and number and said I'll call you Monday or Tuesday. Sound like a big blow off to me! So I'll wait until Tuesday then is't no more At@t for me and I'll become the biggest loudest anti spokes person for this and any service At@t crries.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20678943 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:02:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20677001 anon : After having ATT U-Verse for 3 months the three most outstanding things that should be noted are customer service, HD clarity, library of movies. Of course these are all negative. The pro is the price! My first issue when I looked at the HD in 1080i compared to Comcast and my neighbors Dish, it was definitely not as crisp. I won't use the word my neighbor used, but he was right. More grainy, or pixel looking and not as crisp. I decided to just put up with it. Then I noticed that compared to the movies that comcast had ready to view, there was just no comparison in amount. Last but not least, and definitely the most frustrating was the support. For some reason I noticed that showtime would appear on and I thought it was just free days here and there, then I noticed HBO, and then it would be gone. I didn't pay too much attention to it because I didn't care to watch them. Now the kicker is when I suddenly moved out of the home I was in on 5/7, I called in to cancel my service. Keep in mind I had a bill in front of me said I owed from a charge period of 4/07 to 5/6 total of 113.51 I was told that my service would be cut off that day and I might be expected to pay for 1 day prorated charge since it was into the new month by one day. I was also told that boxes would be mailed out to my new address so I can ship the equipment back. 3 weeks goes by and no new bill and no boxes. I call in. I am now told that my service is still active at my old address and its not off, and it doesn't show that I cancelled it. Keep in mind that on this day I was transferred by four people hung up on, and on this fifth person, and over an hour later I was just able to sink my teeth into this person that is now telling me I owe for another whole month. Being a cop for 19 years and facing death a couple of times I wasn't losing this battle. When it was all said and done, they realized I had made contact on 5/7 and new the procedure for shipping back equipment and that I must have talked to someone about canceling my service on that day. They told me I wasn't even going to be pro rated that one day for the 7th. 3 weeks later no boxes, but new bill for 147.31. After talking to one person this time for 20 minutes and us going over my new bill there was no backing down that instead of owing 113.51, I really owed 147.31. Even though I had called one day after my charge period and cancelled my service. They also said I had ordered Showtime and ENcore, which I never did and didn't waste time watching it when I noticed it was there.

Conclusion: You decide for yourself. I'm just one person, but read through all the rest of these and then make your best guess. Is saving 30.00 a month worth the picture quality, movie availability, very poor service?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20677001 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:50:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20672395 anon : The sales rep came by and sold us on the Pro U400 and convinced me to switch by saying that it could record 4 things at once and that the recorded shows could be streamed to any other TV or computer in our house. This is not true. Our confirmation email verified that recorded shows can only be watched on the TV that has the DVR hooked up. I thought it sounded too good to be true and questioned him extensively on it, (like how can that work??). This would never work in my household with teenagers who want to watch their recorded shows at the same time as parents!

Staying with my Astound service!

Buyer beware, the sales reps are not technically well informed! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20672395 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:54:44 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20660646 The Drake : Hey Rockwall, TX; make the switch from Charter! Its been less than a week for me but I can't believe the better quality! You are missing out if you stay with Charter.

The Uverse DVR needs some work, and I don't think even 2/2 is enough but those are so minor for for you get with Uverse. The internet is better too. I work from home a lot and must upload large graphic files. The 3 mbps I had worked but 10 mbps/1.5 mbps is so much better!

All I have to say right now is make the switch from Charter in Rockwall. Uverse; please work on your DVR.

I did get my Tivo box working but I would rather have a better quality from Uverse and get rid of Tivo too.

Still happy for now. I keep keep everyone updated.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20660646 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:58:06 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20649760 The Drake : Installed June 13 2008. So far it is great! I have already cancelled Charter! Maybe too soon on that but I got refund of bill I just paid which will take care of first month bill for Uverse.

Installed with CAT5. Have 2/2. The HD is so much clearer than Charter with more HD programming. Charter never could fix their HD problem after multiple attempts.

We had Tivo service on all 4 TVs in house. I promised my wife she could still use Tivo service through Tivo. Oh no... I am in HOT WATER. Many failed attempts so far to get it going on her TV. We had two dual tuners and 2 single tuners with TIVO. We were use to recording whatever/whenever and transferring to different TVs. We record a lot of TV and it is rare occasion to watch 'Live TV.'

The tech arrived on schedule at 9:00am and it took him until 6:00 pm without lunch. Seems a little long considering I have central location for all equipment except 3 STB which are in three rooms still within 50' of each other.

Installed RG, 4 STB. Attempted to use my router for extra ports with no luck. Turned off 2wire wireless and got in once than it shut down. Also when using my wireless it had conflict with TV and slowed everthing down. 2Wire seems fine but I need more than 4 ports. Guess I am out to buy gigaswitch today.

Can't wait until WHDVR. ha-ha... Until then I need to make wife happy even though she will lose dual tuner and HD. I thought the answer was to use the 4 streams to allow her to record all her stuff. WRONG! It disabled viewing on all other TVs when it started recording three shows at once and she was watching one live show on her TV. That is a pain!

I know, boo-whoo on Tivo thing. But that is they way we are use to watching TV. We watched more live TV this weekend just trying out new toy. We normally go all week without TV and then catch up on our programs.

Bottom line is happy in Rockwall, TX. Must make wife happy. Goodbye Charter! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20649760 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:50:15 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20502530 travanx : yeah i think a bridge is it, my terminology is terrible for what is what for wireless. i was hoping to use the dgl-4500 as the routing portion, but i am realizing there is probably no point to doing this except that i want to use the gigabit ports on the dlink router. I do want to put my 2 wrt54g routers through the house to extend the wireless connection. I still cant believe how great the TV is, HD on so many more channels than Dish with much clearer picture.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20502530 Sun, 18 May 2008 16:48:04 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496643 koolkid1563 : I am a bit confused on what you are trying to accomplish. You want to use your 4500 as the access point, which is understandable for N access. You said you want to use the 54G as an access point as well, but I suspect you actually meant as a bridge? If you don't have any other N clients that will be using the 4500, I would just use the G access point already in the RG and use the 54G as a bridge.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20496643 Sat, 17 May 2008 01:26:21 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495948 travanx : Signed up online on tuesday and had the install today. Took from 10am until 5pm and they had a lunch in between. Wired for 2 computers and 3 TV's in a house with a crawl space basement. The installer was really cool and very friendly and knew what he needed to know for the install. We also got a new drop on the side of the house.

So far extremely happy with the 10meg speed and the HD is much much clearer than HD on Dish. Ping on speedtest is 23ms as well. The HD is currently hooked up to a 48" mits RPTV through component. I love how the channels change fast as opposed to satellite.

Now the only thing to do is figure out how to change all the default stuff on the gateway and bring my D-Link DGL-4500 into the network and let that give wireless out, and then have a WRT54-G as an access point to that. Anyone have a good link on step by step on how to configure this??]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20495948 Fri, 16 May 2008 22:19:19 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20487843 MyDogHsFleas : Your alarm service may not work with VoIP. You may want to keep your POTS line, which you certainly can do.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20487843 Thu, 15 May 2008 14:57:51 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20470773 anon : Wait, it may not be necessary for the alarm installer to do anything since Uverse will replace my current phone service I guess having two CAT5e lines pre-wired is good enough, the Uverse technician will know how to hook the alarm back up to the new phone service too?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20470773 Mon, 12 May 2008 16:09:13 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20470740 anon : Thanks for the info. I checked out my cable box there are two CAT5e service lines coming from the junction box at the curb, one is currently used for phone, the other used for alarm. I guess I can ask the alarm installer to come back to tie the alarm into the phone line, and vacate the other CAT5e line for Uverse?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20470740 Mon, 12 May 2008 16:02:40 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20468583 gdm : Best method is run cat3 or 5e from the NID to the RG. The RG should be inside not out.

As far as speed and reliability it's been rock solid for me. Had it almost 3 months and no issues, on the 10meg plan.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20468583 Mon, 12 May 2008 08:00:42 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20468289 anon : I just ordered Uverse triple deal, intended to cancel the TV service after one month of free viewing. I ordered the $55/mo 10 mbps new Uverse broadband, I wonder if anyone has experience with that in reliability and speed?

Also currently I have no spare coax runs going into the house, they are all used up by satellite TV service. From what I read it is possible to use CAT5E run for the service, that will save from drilling holes and run additional RG6s. Is this ture? If so I guess the bulky gateway must be at the cable box outside? Not a good idea.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20468289 Mon, 12 May 2008 03:18:39 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460839 MyDogHsFleas :
said by urstoeger :

ATT told me that I keep the internet service if I cancelled Uverse TV. Internet is only available as a package deal (at least in my California area).
It seems to depend on who you talk to. Most people reporting on this forum and other uverse forums have no problem canceling the TV portion and keeping the Internet. I certainly had no problem doing that, personally.

My advice is, if you get someone who insists that you have to cancel the U-verse Internet if you cancel the TV portion, just politely say "OK, thank you, goodbye" and call back to talk to someone else. You do NOT have to cancel the Internet and revert to AT&T DSL just because you've cancelled the TV portion. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460839 Sat, 10 May 2008 09:56:51 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460098 anon : ATT told me that I keep the internet service if I cancelled Uverse TV. Internet is only available as a package deal (at least in my California area).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460098 Sat, 10 May 2008 01:13:11 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20396792 MyDogHsFleas : hey wings -- two things --

1) you do NOT need a landline phone with U-verse. I don't know what gave you that idea.

2) Why would you cancel U-verse completely and switch back to DSL if you were getting more speed for the same money with U-verse? You could have just canceled the TV service and kept the U-verse Internet. That's what I did. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20396792 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:36:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20382175 anon : I joined AT&T U-Verse last year, thinking that it sounded like a great idea from a great company. If you like multiple day long visits from technicians, poor quality, resetting the box, pixelation, delays from remote to receiver, horrible customer service, long waits on hold, overcharges, undelivered promises, and an almost impossible task of getting a refund; then by all means get U-Verse & AT&T phone service in San Diego. I don't *ever* complain about service, but this is the worse I've ever been treated by any company regardless of their size. Cox cable is great, with Time Warner a distant second in San Diego]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20382175 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:19:24 EDT Re: Tried it, final update, http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20373468 whocares : More UNTOLD/UNKNOWN to the consumer information for those that have or are using U-verse,
First I have used Directv for the last 10+ yrs,plus AT&T DSL "Elite" package & am NOW back to these same packages,,,,Last week I tried AT&T Uverse,(television & internet service) from April 9th through April 15th,
FOR those that think I have an axe to grind against Uverse, or started out hating U Verse even befor I ordered it,
Hey YOUR WRONG, why should I hate it or exaggerate about this?,Since I can afford what I want to get.
example:telephone / bill has every option that AT&T offers, (except Uverse & web networking) and that includes separate cinguluar account, my dsl Elite package, & paying for a Friends DSL pro package ,
My Drectv Bill is just over a "Franklin" every month, so I can & often try new items to see if I prefer one thing over something else,
For THOSE that have U verse & HELPED me so much during the installation & trial period, I THANK YOU so much for your help, I RALLY Appreciate it)
===========================
Uverse works for you, & I hope you enjoy it,but as DIRECTV works for me, but maybe you have had problems with it in the past & it doesn't for for you.U Verse isn't for me,
======================
I did find out some Interesting information, from the new ATT U Verse tec's, (separate from AT&T telephone or Dsl tec's) something At&T doesn't tell you about U verse-

On the Plus side Uverse television is superior to Time warner/ Comcast tv picture in clarity,sound quality,HD, ect it is a a nice picture,and there are many different packages to choose from I tried the U 300
************************************
On the bad side,(unknown or untold to the consumers) for the phone service & Internet part of U-verse,
1, YOU HAVE TO have a land line-wall based telphone jack installed (no problem there)
2, The router /modem is really a "mini computer",(big,& bulky ) approx 4-5 times bigger then the AT&T/Gateway 2 wire modem/router.
2,If your a game player or need-want the speed, then U Verse works great,(see pict comparing Dsl Elite to Uverse internet speeds I was getting, side by side )
over all u verse worked good (but as 2 U Verse & I DSL) tec have said it is still in the trial & error stages of development stage,and "still has some bugs to work out of its system" since coming out last year.
3. With a landline phone installed, Uverse tech must by pass the telephone wall jack & install a separate (wired directly into the telephone wall wiring,so you have a separate line coming out of the wall behind the wall jack

Most importantly what is not told to consumers,
(an AT&T Telephone tec friend let me know after I had U verse installed & a U Verse tech confirmed this)
When U Verse is hooked up & working ok,
1,U Verse places "restricted access" to your telephone line,(about what options/service's & and or equipment can be added to your phone line)
2, If you no longer want U verse in your home,
(a) a AT&T UVERSE tech must come out & un wire the u verse wiring,
(b) No he cannot-or shouldn't take back the receiver nor the router.
(B) Then you have to start your DSL all over again & it has to be installed by an
AT&T Dsl tech

This post was started as "INFORMATIONAL" for those that might be thinking of switching to either dsl or u verse packages from AT&T.

speed tests here side by side,
»Re:DSL Elite vs,Uverse Elite,

and I hope that any response's can be kept informational about what you have experienced,(like or dislike ) while trying your/using your internet connection and/or tv (ota,,cable,U-verse,satallite system)& not critized anyone for trying one service over another,..
--
SOME people make use of a chat forum the same way public walls are used for graffiti,I don't feel compelled to respond to their graffiti ,then I feel equally at ease about ignoring they're post,I'll go about making my post & talking wih FRIENDS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20373468 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:54:02 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20249640 Doctor Four : The install tech arrived today at around 12:40 PM, after
first calling to say he had to do some preliminary work at
the VRAD.

He put the 2-Wire RG in the room where my computer is at, and
ran coax to all of the TVs except my WinTV card. For
that he used Cat-5e to hook the STB to the 2-Wire. For my
mother's computer, we used the default security settings on
the 2-Wire, and made a wireless connection, which seems to
be much more reliable.

He had to run new drops to the RG and to the TV in my
bedroom as the front part of the house still used the old
RG-59, and could not run a drop on an exterior wall. So he
ran coax along my floor by the wall to the STB in my
bedroom.

Picture quality for SD (we have no HDTVs) is much better
than Time Warner: it looks like we'll be cancelling TWC
pretty soon. There was an initial problem with the RG as
my connection speed was registered as Express when it
should have been Elite. A simple call to AT&T by him was
all it took - my most recent speed test was 5505/919.

Time from start to completion was about 6 1/2 hours.
--
"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20249640 Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:22:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182143 gdm : I have the DVR TV on RG6 and the other TV on Cat5e. That TV was on 59 but had issues so they came back and replaced it with Cat5e.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182143 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:18:53 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182113 Doctor Four : I think it might be RG6 - we had the house remodeled and
extra space added, and part of that was rewiring the cable
through the attic. It would be easier if he were to use the
B side of the cable for the STBs (currently Time Warner runs
on only A - they used to have an A-B system, so we have an
unused B coax run in the house now); that way if we decide
we want to keep the cable, it is a simple matter just to
switch it back (no need to go into the attic and connect/
disconnect cabling).
--
"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182113 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:12:13 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182054 gdm : Is your existing coax 59 or rg6. If it's 59 then you want rg6 or cat5e.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182054 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:03:31 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182003 Doctor Four : Signed up for the U-Verse 200 package with 4 TVs* and 2
computers earlier tonight. First month's bill is going to
be $25 (TV service will be free for it), with no contract.
Afterward it will be $89/month before taxes, etc.

*One of the TVs is a PVR card on my computer.

Currently we have AT&T Elite ADSL, and Time-Warner Cable for
TV. The TV is only the basic and expanded basic services,
no digital, movie channels, sports programming or DVR. And
it is in SD.

In the house right now I have the DSL connected to a Linksys
wireless router, with one computer connected through Cat 5e,
and the other through wireless. The wireless one drops out
quite frequently; it is the one my mom uses, and she has to
repair the connection daily.

I plan to have both computers wired through Cat 5e, and
have the install tech run fresh wiring to the other
computer (hers is most likely going to be closest to the
RG).

As for the TVs, would it be better for the tech to run
new Cat 5e to each STB vs. them using our existing coax?
I've heard a lot of comments saying that picture quality
on the latter is poor compared to Cat 5e.

The tech is going to come out and install on March 29th,
arriving between 12-2 PM. Install is estimated at 5-8
hours (though the sales reps said typically it is about 4).
--
"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20182003 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:56:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20111525 Flippant : I agree completely with you, the service is too limited for my household and my family viewing preferences as well. By fortune or misfortune I have 3 HD sets and the HD just looks so much better on them. Sure it can be argued that there is only limited HD programming now, but I do not see compounding the problem by having limited access to the programming that is available.

Never mind who is watching what and where if it is desired to do so in HD I can easily do that with my crappy cable service and cannot with uverse. It may be fine for some but not for my household.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20111525 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:40:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20106176 wingrider01 :
said by ccallana See Profile :

Its true that AT&T has this limitation, and its your right to not choose them because of it. What I think is odd however is getting the service installed without already knowing this limitation. I've said it 3 times now - its not a secret, its in 50 threads on this board and every other discussion board that deals with this topic. Its on AT&Ts web site. Yes, their sales people are idiots, but in this day and age, to buy anything without some simple research and then blaming somebody else for your lack of knowledge seems a bit backwards. caveat emptor I suppose...
I agree, knew the limitations, told the sales weasels to take a long walk on a short pier and come back when they either unbundled the internet from the TV or got a viable real world senerio for HD and DVRs - this includes the Whole house solution being able to record the same number fo streams as HD/SD dvrs that I have, allow me and my family to watch TV in the correct format also and have the ability to add more storage to the unit - past the single TB range.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20106176 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:54:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20105534 ccallana : Its true that AT&T has this limitation, and its your right to not choose them because of it. What I think is odd however is getting the service installed without already knowing this limitation. I've said it 3 times now - its not a secret, its in 50 threads on this board and every other discussion board that deals with this topic. Its on AT&Ts web site. Yes, their sales people are idiots, but in this day and age, to buy anything without some simple research and then blaming somebody else for your lack of knowledge seems a bit backwards. caveat emptor I suppose...
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20105534 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:16:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20105065 wingrider01 :
said by johnnymicro See Profile :

said by jrb531 See Profile :

So because my wife often watched TV in the bedroom while I'm on the computer and the kids are watching cartoons means I'm heading toward a broken marriage and messed up kids?

We all have to sit on the couch and watch the same show?

Thank you for saving my life... I had thought the time we spend together at the library, at dinner, playing board games and other such "together" time was enough. Apparently I have to watch soap operas with my wife and cartoons with the kids or we'll all turn out to be some weird sickos.

Funny how this does not seem to be an issue as long as we watch separate SD shows.... HD... well with HD (thanks AT&T) we have to watch the same HD show.

I am going to call AT&T tommorow and thank them for saving my family. After all the ability to only watch one HD show at a time is "not" a technical defect of Uverse but a decision from AT&T to help families spend more quality time together.

-JB
OK I must have totally misunderstood. You "Need" 3 HD feeds so that your wife can watch an HD program in the bedroom while you're watching TV in the basement, (which of course must be in HD while you're on the computer) and your kids are watching cartoons which of course look like crap unless they're in HD. I totally understand now and apologize for my rudeness.
No what you seem to misunderstand is the fact the OP, like myself have multiple HD sets in the house, why have a HD set if you cannot get a HD feed to each set, for that matter why have a HD DVR to record a program in High Definition an restrict the end user from watching a second High Definition program at the same time. Come on, this is not rocket science, Directv, Dish, and even the cable companies have been doing this for years, and AT&T comes out with a 1950's series solution like this? Like I mentioned before - AT&T can come back when they have a real world solution and not a mickey mouse one.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20105065 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:20:18 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20102238 jrb531 : Your rudeness was in suggesting that my family was heading for a train wreck because "I" do not prescribe to your predefined definition of what a family is.

When I pay for HD I want HD without silly limitations that are imposed because AT&T has technical issues.

If I can get HD on all of my HD TV's with Dish then for me to accept a 1 HD stream limit with AT&T it had better be substantially cheaper to account for this "serious" limitation.

BTW I'm still laughing just thinking about possible ads to promote Uverse....

"Sure we only support 1 HD TV at a time but we do this because we care about American Family Values and if we gave you more than one HD TV then your entire family structure would fall apart"

"AT&T... the company that cares about families and the quality time they spend together as you are all forced to share that 1 HDTV in the home"

*smiles*

-JB]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20102238 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:02:01 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20099492 gdm : Looks like the got yahoo tv listing show att u-verse as a cable provider now. So for those that use yahoo to see what's on tv it should work. Did for my zip code today.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20099492 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:14:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20098976 johnnymicro :
said by jrb531 See Profile :

So because my wife often watched TV in the bedroom while I'm on the computer and the kids are watching cartoons means I'm heading toward a broken marriage and messed up kids?

We all have to sit on the couch and watch the same show?

Thank you for saving my life... I had thought the time we spend together at the library, at dinner, playing board games and other such "together" time was enough. Apparently I have to watch soap operas with my wife and cartoons with the kids or we'll all turn out to be some weird sickos.

Funny how this does not seem to be an issue as long as we watch separate SD shows.... HD... well with HD (thanks AT&T) we have to watch the same HD show.

I am going to call AT&T tommorow and thank them for saving my family. After all the ability to only watch one HD show at a time is "not" a technical defect of Uverse but a decision from AT&T to help families spend more quality time together.

-JB
OK I must have totally misunderstood. You "Need" 3 HD feeds so that your wife can watch an HD program in the bedroom while you're watching TV in the basement, (which of course must be in HD while you're on the computer) and your kids are watching cartoons which of course look like crap unless they're in HD. I totally understand now and apologize for my rudeness.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20098976 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:25:31 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20098306 jrb531 : So because my wife often watched TV in the bedroom while I'm on the computer and the kids are watching cartoons means I'm heading toward a broken marriage and messed up kids?

We all have to sit on the couch and watch the same show?

Thank you for saving my life... I had thought the time we spend together at the library, at dinner, playing board games and other such "together" time was enough. Apparently I have to watch soap operas with my wife and cartoons with the kids or we'll all turn out to be some weird sickos.

Funny how this does not seem to be an issue as long as we watch separate SD shows.... HD... well with HD (thanks AT&T) we have to watch the same HD show.

I am going to call AT&T tommorow and thank them for saving my family. After all the ability to only watch one HD show at a time is "not" a technical defect of Uverse but a decision from AT&T to help families spend more quality time together.

-JB]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20098306 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:43:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20095882 johnnymicro :
said by jrb531 See Profile :

I'm sorry but the days of trying to suggest that anyone who has more than one HD TV is some form of nutbag are over.

-JB
Thats not my suggestion at all. My suggestion would be for you and your family watch TV together.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20095882 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:42:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20093960 wingrider01 :
said by ccallana See Profile :

I'd say I feel sorry for you, but 1) anyone with 3 HD TVs that need to be watched simultaneously doesn't need people feeling sorry for them, and 2) its clearly stated all over their website that only 1 HD stream is available at any one time, plus its all over any forum or review site - do your research and you are never surprised by stuff like that. :)
Why, have Directv here, 3 HD DVR's, 1 SD Dvr. each one of the HD DVR's have external SATA drives installed giving me 1 TB of program record storage each. The 3 HD sets are mainly on most of the day, and definately all on in the evening, wife watches one set of programs, kids watch another and I am watching the 3rd. You have not need to feel sorry for us.

This exactly is the reason I told the AT&T person thanks but no thanks, come back when you have a real world solution, or you unbundle internet access from the rest of the services]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20093960 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:02:22 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20091520 ccallana :
said by jrb531 See Profile :

I guess I'm rich and if a company "LIES" to me then it is somehow ok because it's "MY" fault that they lied.

I think not.

-JB

P.S. I watch 3 HD sets at one time all the time. My wife, myself and the kids. I guess having 3 sets on at one time is somehow whacko :)
I certainly don't think its ok that the sales people lied to you, I guess what I'm saying is that the 1 HD stream limitation is no secret. This board is coated with complaints about it, and we are not alone.. :) The sales people are not being completely honest this is probably true.

Now having 3 TVs on at the same time being wacko, that is a personal decision, and some people would tell you even having 1 TV is wacko... I'm not in that camp, but I know plenty of people who are... for the most part TV is a waste of time, and I admit, I waste a ton of time with it (almost as much as I waste here.... :) )
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20091520 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:17:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089868 koolkid1563 :
said by jrb531 See Profile :

While this is technically true it is underhanded and dishonest to not tell people that while you can connect 10,000 HDTV's to Uverse that you can only watch one at a time.
Not completely true, but your point is still valid and I see where you were going with it. You can have all 10,000 HDTVs watching an HD channel, but currently it has to be the same channel, not different.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089868 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:15:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089555 jrb531 :
said by ccallana See Profile :

I'd say I feel sorry for you, but 1) anyone with 3 HD TVs that need to be watched simultaneously doesn't need people feeling sorry for them, and 2) its clearly stated all over their website that only 1 HD stream is available at any one time, plus its all over any forum or review site - do your research and you are never surprised by stuff like that. :)
Why is the internet required to have Pay TV service? Say someone has cable and heard about Uverse and calls up and asks on the phone about the service. Since when do you then have to double check what the sales rep tells you to see if they are lying?

AT&T told them that 3 HD TV;s could be used with Uverse. While this is technically true it is underhanded and dishonest to not tell people that while you can connect 10,000 HDTV's to Uverse that you can only watch one at a time.

They know darn well what they are doing and I hope a big lawsuit results. I'm not a fan of lawsuits but this is dishonest and many people would never sign up for the service if they knew the "true" limitations.

As a side note... what is having 3 HDTV's in a home somehow only for rich people or unusual? HD sets have been sold for years now. Is it not possible, like myself, to have bought one HD set every 2 years and have 3 or even more by this time?

It's not like HD TV's just cam out a few months ago and this person ran out and bought 3 sets. It's also possible that he does not own 3 $2000 HDTV's.

I have a 26" Tube HDTV in the bedroom that I got for $350 two years ago, an old projection HDTV I got 6 years ago for $850 and just got a new DLP 50" HDTV for the basement for $800 on closeout.

I guess I'm rich and if a company "LIES" to me then it is somehow ok because it's "MY" fault that they lied.

I think not.

-JB

P.S. I watch 3 HD sets at one time all the time. My wife, myself and the kids. I guess having 3 sets on at one time is somehow whacko :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089555 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:09:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089521 jrb531 :
said by johnnymicro See Profile :

3 HD tvs at the same time? how many families live in your house?
I have 3 HD tv's. Many people have multiple HD TV's. We have know for years that HD was the future so over the years as my SD sets went out I made sure I bought HD sets to replace them.

So my wife watches HD in the bedroom, I have HD in the basement and the kids watch HD. I pay for HD with Dish network whether I have 1 HD or 10 HD sets so why would I not want to take advantage of the HD channels I pay for?

How many TV's total do you have in your home? As they break and you replace them what type of TV will you buy? :)

I'm sorry but the days of trying to suggest that anyone who has more than one HD TV is some form of nutbag are over.

-JB]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20089521 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:02:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087720 ccallana : I'd say I feel sorry for you, but 1) anyone with 3 HD TVs that need to be watched simultaneously doesn't need people feeling sorry for them, and 2) its clearly stated all over their website that only 1 HD stream is available at any one time, plus its all over any forum or review site - do your research and you are never surprised by stuff like that. :)
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087720 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:06:39 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087577 johnnymicro : 3 HD tvs at the same time? how many families live in your house?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087577 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:26:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087552 anon : i had uverse installed this morning and i was pissed off royal. there salesgirl walked through the house last week where i pointed out the 3 sony hd tvs i asked specifically if i could get 3 hd at the same time, she says yes, great sigh me up. install went fast and easy, 1st tv comes on good picture leave it on and set up the second box message comes on screen only 1 can be on hd at a time. installer guy says this happens all the time and the sales people dont know what they are selling.he tells me he would ask people with multiple hd tvs if they were aware that they would only get one stream of hd before he would start the install, but the company told him to stop asking. told the guy to pull it out,called the sales people and vented on them for awhile, they offered me 20 off for the first month to keep it. screw them]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20087552 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:20:35 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20082929 anon : I disconnected the run that was using rg59 (removed the cable from the rg entirely) and continue to have issues with the dvr and stb freezing and being very slow to change channels.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20082929 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:03:33 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20057645 gdm : Yeah 59 is the issue. I have one TV on 59 the rest of the house was done in RG6 except this one. I called u-verse up saturday have an appt. tomorrow for them to run a rg6 or cat5 to the STB.

Once you get switched it is much faster for channel changing and you shouldn't freeze. I am coming from comcast cable and it beats that hands down for channel changing. It's almost like OTA broadcast as far as how quick it can change the channels.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20057645 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:55:06 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20057205 anon : Well one week with u-verse and there are a few issues. The overall picture quality is not bad. There are annoying problems with the motorola tuner boxes, both dvr and the plain hd boxes freeze from time to time when trying to change channels. T brags about the "instantaneous" channel change, not true. My channels changed much quicker with comcast and never had problems with channels freezing. Comcast provided a Motorola 1200 Dvr versus the 1216 that T provides.

All the music channe; "urge" have the same issue. There is an annoying "miss" in the sound tracks. Similar to having an old 45 record with a scratch on it. This annoying skip happens at least 2 0r 3 times per song.

Lastly, I called T to have them come back out and run cat 5 in place of the rg59 back feed they left me with. I get a run around from some young kid that wants to do some "tests" on my system. I don't need tests. The installers told me the 59 probably wouldn't work, but gave me no indication how difficutl it would be to get somebody else back out here to run that last cat 5 line.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20057205 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:35:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20039214 anon : Glad your happy with ATT. My post was because I was told things that weren't true. $225 is $75 per box for 3 boxes. Cox didn't charge me extra to run cable down a wall. All my tv's are on internal walls. I was told by the salesman that came to my door and again by a rep at one of the stores here in Edmond that they would run cables at no charge if needed, that even if I had exising available cables they would test them and run new ones at no charge if they didn't test out good enough. Well since there were no cables available for use "they were needed". Cox guarantees me an 8Mb dload and I'm always at the very least able to get 12Mb and have on most occasion gotten 18 Mb and above even reaching 29Mb a few times. They never say "if you're too far from the source then you won't get our stated rates of 8 Mb". Last year Cox and ABC channel 5 in OKC were having contract disputes and 5 was not broadcast in HD for several months. ATT told me that 5 wasn't being shown in HD because the cable didn't have enough bandwidth. I find that patently dishonest. They were broadcasting 5 in HD before their contract disputes and I don't think they lost bandwith and said "let's not broadcast ABC so we will have enough bandwidth"! I know ATT the company didn't lie directly to me but the people that did are acting as "agents of the company" and I am deeply disappointed in them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20039214 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:39:35 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20038666 koolkid1563 : You have some things right, but you also have some things wrong. First off, yes, you get a dynamic IP but currently the IP stays with you for a long time. My IP has only changed once in the year I have had U-verse and that was when they had to change out my RG. I have had to power down my RG for various reasons, mainly wire changes that I have made over time, and I have kept the same IP when it comes back up. I am currently on their Max internet tier which is rated at 10/1.5 and I get very close to that for the majority the time. The RG is not exactly the size of a computer, maybe about the size of laptop with the lid closed width wise and maybe about the height of 3 DVD cases. It takes up about the same amount of space a cable modem and third party router takes up IMO.

$225 for installation is the first I have heard about of an installation charge. Some techs will run new wire for free, some don't. If they don't, it can be as high as $75/drop, but I believe that is only if they have to fish it in between walls. Outside runs are cheaper. I am almost surprised they gave you a flat rate...

I don't quite understand your reasoning for having a TV service, internet service, and a TV + internet service all running at the same time, unless for comparison or backup?

You are correct on the 1 HD stream limitation, and it is a big turn away. However, they are supposed to be adding in another stream here sometime soon (they haven't really confirmed how many, just 'multiple'), hopefully before summer.

It is your choice though, and that is one big thing about U-verse. If you don't like it, that is fine. It is all about how much value you feel like it is worth to you. If you can get a better deal that works for you with more bang for your buck, I say go for it. In many cases, people will do anything to get away from their cable company or satellite company or what have you, and this is that 'other choice'. Will it be the best choice for everyone? No, and I realize that. Is this post meant to bash you or your choice? No.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20038666 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:05:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20038493 anon : Cancelled ATT Uverse before they even set foot on my property. Salesman told me they would wire my house with cat5 cable if there was no existing cable to use. Well I have Directv and Cox cable and am not cancelling either one so there is no existing cable to use. Cox ran cable with no charge when they installed just like they told me they would. ATT said "we'll have to charge you $225". Doesn't seem like free installation to me. I also found out you can't record and watch a HD channel at the same time. Sounds like someone besides Cox may have bandwidth issues (ATT said Cox had bandwidth problems, but Cox keeps adding more HD channels) . They said their Internet was faster than Cox also but today I used speedtest.net and received a 24.06 Mb from Plano and 23.00 from Atlanta, even on the slowest days I still get around 12 Mb. After being told that ATT guaranteed their stated connection speed at 6 Mb, their elite package, they started backing off saying, "well it may not reach 6, that is just what the maximum might be". So basically they wanted to charge me $225 for "free" installation, not run cat5e as I was told they would do to make sure they have a good signal, give me less channels (they have several West coast channels so they count those as extra channels to up their "number" and I realize they are channels but they don't have different content), take away being able to watch and record HD at the same time, put in a modem the size of a small computer and for doing all that great stuff for me they wanted to charge me more per month. Oh yeah, they told me I would have a dedicated IP address, very important to me, unless my modem lost power, then it would get a different IP address, so it appears that their knowledgable staff doesn't really know what a dedicated IP address is. I'm probably not real smart having both Directv and Cox at the same time but there are some channels that one gets that the other doesn't and vica versa. We don't have kids so cost isn't important and I am a gadget guy that is always trying the newest and latest stuff. As I stated above, I may not be real smart but I'm not an idiot. See ya later ATT.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20038493 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:35:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19893579 koolkid1563 : Not really. AT&T's U-verse product currently has the same feature set no matter how you are connected in.

By quality, are you referring to image quality, overall service quality including uptime, speed?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19893579 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:34:46 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19892672 anon : I live in 10 year old sub-division with fiber at the curb and cat-5 wiring in my house. Will that mean if i subscribe to U-verse it will be of the same quality as Vz's FIOS system? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19892672 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:54:34 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19863511 anon : I am having it installed this Friday....I will come back and write a review then. I have friends who have had it installed, and have no complaints at all...I just hope that its a painless install here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19863511 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:04:38 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19831085 vinnie97 : If Time Warner goes through with their usage cap pricing plan, I may be a U-Verse user rather quickly.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19831085 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:22:49 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19792030 candell : Intro:

i initially had att dsl installed when i purchased this home 4 years ago and had a solid internet pro connection for 19.99 / 12 months. 1/2 way during this time i noticed a lot of activity a few blocks away from my home and a few weeks later lost internet connectivity for a good 24-48 hours. my connection came back up and it was downloading @ 4 times the speed of what att customer service claimed i was able to get due to the distance to the CO/RT. i knew it was BS since i had been experiencing speeds and testing it for the week prior to my call to have them reprovision my modem and actually pay for the service they were not providing me. big mistake. they dropped me back to pro speeds and continued denying my requests to the point of frustration on my part.

Finances:

it was at this point that charter released their 10/1 setup in my neighborhood and i bit @ the chance of having it along with everything charter had to offer at that point. this home is an older home, so charter techs came out and installed new rg6 throughout the whole house and away i went @ $204 + $17 taxes/surcharges / month for their premium channel package, 10/1 internet, Rental Modem, 1 Moxi DVR, 2 HD receivers and Howard TV. Charter has always treated me as a premium customer and provided me with solid service, but i'm always willing to have others earn my business and loyalty.

Having a wedding in the next few months and uncertain market conditions in socal led me to find a few ways to save a little more money since $221 / month is insanity by normal standards. I went on ATT's website and tried once again to see if i could get qualified for elite service, and was politely declined by their availability link. I then noticed the uverse link and said what the hell, and clicked it and the response was it was available in my area and started reading up on the technology and decided to give it a shot.

Goodies:

i called att on 01/08/2008 and had an appointment set up for 01/12/2008 @ 8am for U400/Elite that came with 1 @ VIP1216 DVR, 3 @ VIP1200's, 1 @ 2wire 3800HGV-B, 6/1 Mbps (V)DSL, Cat5e into 4 rooms, 1 @ New NID, 1 @ Homerun for Data, 1 @ Homerun for Phone, 1 @ Cat5e for Switch, 1 @ Netgear GS108.

Free! :)

I was trying to justify my cat5e and supplies purchases to the missus and had someone come out here before uverse was installed to give us a quote on what it would cost us to do what we did yesterday, and they gave us a quote of $625 just for supplies... another $50/hour for labor and said would take a good 8-12 hours. psh, rookie...

Promotions:

$10 / month bundle credit for TV/DSL - 12 months free HD - $100 Cash Back - First Month of TV Free - $50 Visa Gift Card and I'm going to call ATT Billing to see if they will honor the 3 months of free internet if you're switching from cable internet to ATT DSL Service. In total I figured that ($10+$120+$100+$94+$50)/12=$31/month so my total would be $123/month for uverse if i kept it for the next year.

paying charter $204/month vs. att $123/month was a no brainer even though i have 3 HD TV's in my home as it's almost $975 in savings for the first year.

Install:

I explained to the tech that came to my home that i was planning on keeping my charter internet service and reusing the rg6 would be out of the question. the tech initially wanted to have a quick and painless install by backfeeding the rg6 through the rg and into each set top box and being outta here into another home. i offered him something to eat and some refreshments to keep his involvement and attention span towards providing good customer service. i asked him if we could drop cat5e throughout the whole house and he initially refused as it would create extra hours of work, but im persuasive to the point of everything working out in the end. i explained to him that i was already going to drop new cat5e throughout the whole attic while he was here to have all the rooms have biscuits so i could plug in either an rj11/rj14/rj25/rj45 and he was sold. we started @ 9am and finished late evening as its a large older home. we dropped a gs108 into my closet and i made a larger hole in my ceiling going into the attic so i could have enough room for future upgrades. he dropped a new homerun from the newly installed nid into my office and then backfed cat5e into a closet with the gs108 and then fed the room on the other side of the house with another drop of cat5e. while he was doing that i dropped another cat5e into my other office and bam... in business.

i had real crappy wiring that a previous tech had done on the outside vs. wiring it through the attic and would have a constant crackle throughout the phones in the house. well, i was able to pull all the wiring on the outside of the house down and i installed new cat5e telephone wiring into each room with a phone, so now i have crystal clear telephone service to boot. i suggested we just use the unused portion of the cat5e cabling he was using as a homerun into the RG, but he felt more comfortable allowing me drop a new line into the garage so i could continue on my business and he the same. no issues there :)

All of the above with ZERO commitment or upfront costs on any of the equipment or installation.

SOLD!

Tech Review:

It seems ATT had several customer service agents train on how to install the uverse system, with a majority of them having zero networking skills and coming from a customer service background. a few key techs were sent out to TX to have hands on training while the pilot program was going out there and came back and trained a majority of the new people which have been doing the installs for the past 6-12 months. my guy was a newer tech and was not jaded by the jerks they call customers... yet. he stated ATT wanted to train CS people to do the uverse installs as they felt that customer service was going to be @ the forefront of their installs vs. having seasoned techs that dont want to hear anything from the customer and say the wrong thing to a customer.

i know a majority of you guys out there are like myself... have every channel and pay over $200 / month for TV/Internet services on a monthly basis - and thats not including any PPV or extra premium on demand services we like to spend our money on. thats $2400 a year before any of the fees come into play. you figure a lifelong customer @ the above rate can bring over $100K in revenue during a 30 year timespan. you get the picture. customer service @ the end of the day is what makes or breaks a company sometimes. only issue i ever had with charter was their customer service agents where minor billing issues and charging me for service calls they stated would be complimentary. id usually pay the fees as it would cost me more to stay on the phone than go about doing my daily routine.

this techs customer service was above and beyond the call of duty. he was more than willing to do what i wanted when he realized i knew exactly what i was doing and was willing to go the extra mile for him if he did the same for me. we did a killer job on this place with a minimal amount of time invested on each of our parts. i would like to state that i *did* not help him do any portion of his job, as i know them managers like to roam these forums, heh.

i would like to take this time to state the obvious. a lot of the techs that come to your home has some leeway in the decision of how hard they are going to work for you. if you treat them like a service person then you're going to get minimal service, but if you treat them like a person and cater to them they are more willing to do what they need to do to make you a satisfied customer. his professional attitude and 100% attention to customer service has made me an att customer willing to overlook some of the limitations (1HDfeed/slight overcompression on certain channels) of their existing IPTV service, but having the above installed for free has made me an ATT customer for life as long as im in an area that is serviced by them.

Review After Tech Left:

I currently have charter / uverse installed side by side into each of my tv's through HDMI and the SD signal from uverse is outstanding and above and beyond charters signal. also, the HD through uverse is a better quality picture when there is moderate motion, but slight blurr when there is fast moving items on screen, but switching the 1200's between 720p/1080i seems to fix this issue nicely. Also, switching from an RG6 to Cat5e connection into the STB creates a noticable difference with volume and picture quality through component cables.

I have each TV hooked up through HDMI connections and suggest anyone out there with an RG6/Component Cable setup to hit up a local Fry's during their insane weekend sales and hook up a box of cat5e, a few rj45 heads and pick up HDMI cables (if your tv supports it) on the cheap (got 3 HDMI's 10' for $5.99/each). The picture quality has a noticable degrade while using rg6, so if you're one of the people who are complaining about picture quality or stutter then i suggest you drop some cat5e into that bad boy.

My main concern was trying to sell the missus on only 1 HD feed @ a time, but didnt have to go very far once she saw the SD signal zoomed in to fit the screen :)). she thought she was already watching HD, so I suggest you men out there not mention anything and set their TV in a way that you get to keep the HD feed, haha!

Distance:

1642FT 2 VRAD
45.32% Line Capacity - 0 Errors

Elite:



^^^ with HD Feed going... nuff said.

Haters:

stop your bitchin' and whinin' about what works / what doesnt work. there are several reviews online about uverse and what you're going to expect. go drive around and see if you can find the closest vrad cabinet and when you see someone working on it stop by say hello and ask them if its the one that services the block you're on. see if you're 0.55/mi (+-2700/ft) while driving in your car. buy hdmi cables and ensure that nothing other than cat5e connects your ipv1200's and have a homerun done from the nid to the 2wire gateway/router. if you gotta pay the line drop fees and jack fees... pay. if you're gonna do it yourself... do it yourself. its easy.

do some prep work before the tech gets there. move stuff away from walls and drill holes where you want things to go. have the attic opened up and ready to go, or have the entrance underneath the house open and cleaned up of black widows or nasty crap in their way. you want cat5e dropped into the rooms? let em know you already took care of the drilling and bought cat5e just in case he ran out... believe me sometimes its the thought that counts. a majority of the uverse (if not all) installers are not independent contractors and have their supplies provided by ATT. the equipment is not on their dime, its on ATT's so make it work to your advantage!

is it their job to get dirty? yes. is it their job to install your service? yes. is it their job to ensure you're happy? yes. is it their job to ensure your service works and your computers work? yes.

why not make their job easier? install the batteries into the remotes. take out the 1200's and start putting the 1200's where you want them to go. dust your TV's. use some frickin' common sense. the time / frustration the installer would use towards your lack of common sense can be used by him/her enjoying their time in your home making you a satisfied customer. in the end its their job to provide you with service you're happy with, but you dont have to make it your job to remind them of it every chance you have.

the newer techs are only expected to do between 1-2 installs per day and believe me they would rather be @ a nice customers home than a prick that treats them like garbage. if a newer tech isnt doing what you want then check yourself... not the tech.

was i well informed? yes. did i know what i was talking about when the tech was here? yes. did the tech recognize my interest and grasp on what he was doing and what i was going to do while he was doing his job? yes. did i ever belittle him or contradict what he said? no. did i ever challenge him or get in his way or cut him off when he suggested things i would have done differently? no. did we end up doing things the way i wanted them to be done without him/her feeling as if i was telling him/her what to do? yes.

get my drift?

a majority of the negative reviews out there have zero details on their distance to the VRAD or how their service is connected from the NID or how their 1200's are being backfed from the RG's... etc.

Linux:

to all the people who claim Linux does not work on uverse... WRONG. all my boxes / laptops work through the uverse service and have had ZERO issues within the past 24 hours. everything in terms of networking works perfect @ this end.

VIP1200's:

these motorolla VIP1200's are pretty sweet and run off a sweet windows CE interface thats looked pretty good so far. the missus was a little worried and hard to convince as shes been a hardcore moxibox lover since we got one, but shes pretty happy with the VIP1216 DVR and the thought of recording bridezillas, desperate housewives, big love and american idol @ the same time was a dream, haha!

one thing i already miss about the moxi box is its capability of switching between 480p/720p/1080i resolutions on the fly depending on what chanel you're watching at that point and no user intervention other than switching channels. it does create some lag on the moxi box, but the lag is much less than going through the menu and manually switching. hopefully this can be addressed as a software update in the near future.

Conclusion:

SOLD. remember, we're sometimes willling to sacrifice certain luxuries or willing to pay more depending on the service we get on the other end. can i watch more than 1 hdtv @ a time? no. can i use that $975 and put it to better usage during the year? yes.

treat your tech like gold and as a valued person in your home and accomodate them in what they need and you might find a kickass person on the other end of that att shirt.

once again, att made a wise choice in having their newer techs be more customer service oriented and going above and beyond their call of duty. i am 100% satisfied with the professional service and install provided by the uverse installer and recommend anyone in the riverside area to sign up before a majority of them are sent to the fontana location.

this has been the best installations and experiences ive had with any of my internet and television service providers. if you're reading this... thanks dude you did a great job. i wish more people enjoyed their job and gave it their 100% like you did yesterday. seriously, ive had a smile all day today.

woot woot - uverse/att rocks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19792030 Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:25:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19775469 anon : That's the real deal-breaker for me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19775469 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:59:03 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19775119 ccallana : No - only 1 HD stream is allowed into the house at 1 time. So if you are recording HD, you can not even watch another HD channel. Or if you have 2 HD TVs, you either both have to watch the same channel, or one has to watch the SD version.
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19775119 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:09:45 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19774979 anon : Can the DVR record more than one HD show at the same time? I know that originally it could only record one HD show...is that still the case?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19774979 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:50:08 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19769056 anon : Interesting...I have the Charter Digital DVR now and I'm sick of it! Charter sucks cow balls! The price keeps going up so I'm signing up for U-verse and my installation date is Feb 04th...so I'll be back with a review then!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19769056 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:37:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19761504 anon : Well I just canceled u-verse, well I canceled it a week ago and they still have not shut off the service and my dsl is still not back up. Just some info for people. After you have had your u-verse installed call and have them remove your dsl service removed from your phone line, it will save you alot of hassle if you switch back to dsl and drop u-verse. Well I like the service and hate (I mean hate) equipment. To me this the worst hardware available. Now i may be spoiled since I have had directv tivo's for 6 years now and while they are not perfect I have only missed may be 10 ten recodrings in 6 years. So far I have had 14 missed recordings in 3 weeks with u-verse. The guide is constantly wrong and does not show if the show is repeat or when the original air date was. The software is really bad as well since there is no way to select the day on the guide you want to browse you have to keep hitting the jump button on the remote to get it jump 1 day at a time. Now for me I have to hit the buttons twice to get the box to respond, now this happens on all the box's but mostly on the dvr. They wired with cat 5 not coax directly to the RG and the box's have the last software on them. The video quality is not bad and I like the video on demand but most of the video on demand is not in HD so I won't be watching them. The 1 only Hd feed is a real downer, they say they will have 2 soon. 24 hours of HD content is not enough I had about 30 on my Directv Hd tivo 3 years ago. I tried U-verse since I am looking for a replacement for my Directv service with more hd content. Directv's new Hd dvr which is also not tivo is just as bad as the u-verse dvr. I know that directv doesn't want to pay tivo, but in this day and age of technology why are we now having better equipment with worse software. If att allows me to use Iptv tivo box that I am willing to pay for or at least something comparable and more hd streams, I would consider coming back since the service it self is not that bad. But until that day I will keep searching. It seems to me most providers are almost the same on content bu the hardware and user intrerface is big for me and my family but the service providers are forcing you into there hardware which is sad. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19761504 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:12:52 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19755902 anon : ATT Uverse techs have been to my house 8-10 times and have no idea what to do to fix my problems. I never get the same none twice and the people I talk to on the phone spend a lot of time with me (one hour or so) getting detailed information and doing all sorts of tests and then impart none of the information to the techs. I have requested that the same techs be sent out and this has NEVER HAPPENED. Every tech has a different solution to the problem (no service on one tv and bad service on another and internet periodically kicks me off) but noone seems to know what the deal is. It is incredibly frustrating the amount of time I have spent at home on the 10 different occasions they have been out here for hours at a time. Also there is NO follow up to see if the problems is corrected, they tell problem fixed and to turn on tv in couple of hours when they call and it will be fixed. this has never worked and they simply disappear and I have to start the process all over again. Oh yeah and if they have been at your house six hours and are still working and you have to go pick up your kids they will leave without finishing if your arent there and have to start all over again. The techs are great guys but seems confused about the product. I wish I still had satellite.....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19755902 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:31:22 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19661963 anon : I live about 40 miles Directly North of Indianapolis and it's not available here yet. Any idea's when it will be?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19661963 Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:10:05 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19658437 anon : I just had Uverse installed this past monday, my major complaint is with their customer service. The technician that came to install tv portion had almost no idea what he was doing. The sales person quoted me the wrong price for the vdsl, and for my trial period for the tv service failed to add the only component that I wanted to test out.

So now I'm sitting here with a lot of useless TV that is not normally watched. To make matters worst, the technician disconnected my cable service from all the other tvs in the rest of the house. So now I have one working TV with nothing that I want to watch.

I spent probably 2 hours waiting on the phone and being transferred back and forth until I was finally able to speak to someone to get U-Verse removed from my house. The earliest they will be able to send someone out to resolve a problem that they CAUSED will be this friday, so I'm without tv for basically a week.

The internet was basically the same speed as my old roadrunner connection. The only real benefit is that my upload is twice as fast and the cost for internet is 5 dollars cheaper a month. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19658437 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:42:15 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19643897 koolkid1563 : Maybe you could copy and paste this into the ISP review? »/docontrib/ISP/2911]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19643897 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:19:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19642957 ruffldroostr : Another review, this one from St. Louis...a little long winded, but generally I like the service.

The Installation
Based on other reviews, the installation actually went rather well. The main installer, I’ll refer to him as the 1st installer, arrived at about 9am…just like he said he would. I was actually expecting a different guy because about a week prior to the installation 2 tech’s came out and did some testing over at the VRAD for about a half-hour. One of the tech’s said his name was on the install order and that he would probably be the one out there. Anyways, so the installer arrived and immediately began over at the VRAD which is ~200ft. away from my front door, give or take. After that he came back over to the house and surveyed where everything was going to go. That’s when the first issue became apparent…when my condo was built, the original tenant had a T1 line installed. Well, when the original installer put in the digital box, he decided it would be a better idea to make my NID a hole in the drywall on the inside of the garage. This was an apparently an issue since the hole was up about 4 feet from the ground and the installer didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave the coax block just dangling there. Also, with this setup, they didn’t have any outside access to the home without cutting it off at the VRAD. So, the installer got on the phone and confirmed that he was going to put a new NID up and away he went. He also tested the line coming into the current block for the VDSL signal…there was none or it was very sporadic. Another call and 2 more techs showed up within about 15 min. The 3 of them discussed it and made some more calls and the 1st installer went back to installing the NID. I was talking with one of the other 2 techs and he seemed to think that it was an issue of them not doing a disconnect on the ADSL connection and that the two data streams were fighting each other. He said that’s been an issue that the tech’s have brought up before, but all the bosses said it would be ok. While that was a little concerning, it sounded like this guy knew a lot of the other techs, so I’m sure the word about that is spreading around and it will probably be worked out, if not already. So those 2 tech’s went off to troubleshoot that, and that would put the time around 11:30. It would take to about 2pm before the NID was completely in place and hooked up correctly. Part of that was we had to get permission from the landlord to place something on the outside of the building. The installer handled all that though, and I really didn’t need to do anything at that time. Next the installer proceeded to run coax up to the room where the remote gateway would reside. Luckily for him, it was the room directly above the garage, so he just drilled a hole in the ceiling and ran the coax up along the wall. That took us to about 3:15 and just as he was done, the other 2 techs came over and said they had it working now. They tested the VDSL signal at the NID and everything looked ok, so they left. Another tech arrived to make some finishing touches on the NID and he would stick around to observe the next step. The installer hooked up the RG, this was around 4pm, and it started it’s sync process. For some reason, these newer RG’s take a while to sync up, they aren’t quite as quick as the old ADSL modems. At about 4:30 it was done getting it’s updates and the installer hooked up the DVR box. Since this was a single room installation and DVR sits in the same room, he just used the cat5 cable that was in the RG box. The DVR started up fine and ran it’s updates…that was to take another half hour and the installer cleaned up the installation in the garage as it was updating. The installer and the other tech came upstairs and showed me how the DVR worked and everything…nothing really new to speak of there. About 5:15 and the install was done, yay. The installer finished cleaning up and he went out to his truck. For some reason, my order didn’t have HD enabled, so I proceeded to the phone to call and request it…no dial tone. Luckily the installer and tech were still out at the truck and they came right back into the garage and had it fixed in about 2 min. Unfortunately, the sales office is only open normal business hours(8-5), so even with the phone fixed, no HD for me that night. I did get to play around with it though, and I’ll outline more about that next.
In all, the installation went well. The installer wasn’t really experienced yet in how to install stuff in people’s homes. I heard him say multiple times that this was his first actual customer install. Even though that wasn’t particularly encouraging, he did know the basics and he had no shortage of more experienced tech’s and a support line to give him everything he would need. They were all very prompt and very professional. If you take away the time to install the NID, the install itself actually went pretty quick and this would probably be the case for most people since most home’s have them already. It was good to know that even if you need one, it can all still be done in the same day.

The Service
You’ve probably noticed by now that I’m not really posting any pictures or giving really an overview of the basics…that is mainly because most of the base stuff is identical to other reviews/installs you can read about. No sense in reinventing the wheel. So, I’ll point out the key things I noticed and re-iterate some things.

Some Background
Just to give you all a little history of where I get some of the info in this review, I will be comparing Uverse to a few services I have had/still have. Before I moved to this condo(about mid-April), I had Charter video with their MOXI DVR. From what I hear, they are phasing those out a little and they are in high demand, so if you know nothing about it, don’t worry about it. When I first moved to the place, I got Dish Network’s ‘everything’ package with HD and a Dish 625 DVR. I have been very happy with that, so it was interesting to see how Uverse would stand up against it. I will also make occasional references to Windows Media Center, as I have used it sporadically in the last year or so for OTA HD recording.

SD
I am a bit of a videophile and I do love my HD dearly. Nevertheless not every channel I watch has an HD equivalent yet, so I do go back to SD on occasion. I’d have to say SD quality was excellent, as the box did a fantastic job of upconverting and making the image look fairly crisp on my 32” Olevia. I would definitely say it was on par or better than the Dish SD.

HD
This is where things separate a bit for me. First of all, the lineup that Uverse provides, as of today(12/17), is actually very close to Dish’ normal HD lineup. By normal, I mean minus the VOOM package and all the sports HD channels. Since I rarely use either of them, I don’t really consider them to be competing bullet points. So basically Uverse has just about every normal HD channel as Dish and even as has a few extra’s like CNN and WGN. CNN looks pretty nice and is a nice alternative to HDNEWS(which is part of the VOOM package with Dish). Uverse also has more local’s in HD like PBS and CW…not really a selling point for me personally, since I don’t watch them usually, but I’m sure there are people that would appreciate them. The quality of the HD is comparable to Dish. There is more color it seems, but they are definitely using more compression. For most people, you will not notice this and even more won’t notice without having them side by side, but there is shadowing and pixilation that occurs…it seems more prevalent in dark scenes with more motion and occurs more in the negative space. Nothing too new from what other reviewer’s have said, but it really is only noticeable to the trained eye, and if you are sitting the recommended distance from your TV you shouldn’t have any issues with it.

Other Points
The scheduling was pretty standard and is actually very similar to what you will find in Windows Media Center…not surprising since this is MS software. I did like the addition of a manual timer, which is missing on the Dish DVR. You can set it to record a specific channel from a certain date and time to another. Haven’t played around with that too much yet, but I’m sure I will when baseball season returns. One thing I found odd about the scheduling is the priorities. On the Dish DVR, and even the MOXI, you basically have a priority list of the series’ you are wanting your DVR to look for and record. I think even Windows MC had that feature, though I don’t recall. It seems to be missing and the manual they give you has like a paragraph on conflict resolution. It wasn’t very straightforward on it though, but it seems like you can modify some of the series parameters and after that, the box will add another column for conflict resolution when it occurs. I really can’t comment on that any more since it’s December and all my regular shows are on hiatus for the month. Basically I don’t have any conflicts to test out as of yet, but I may try and create on to see what happens. Another key feature which I have yet to find is how to tell how much space you have left for recording. This was something that was always missing on the MOXI and I was so happy to have it after coming back to Dish. Even though the Dish counter is not completely accurate, it at least gives you a sense of what is going on, space wise. The nearest thing I could find was by going to the system resources and checking the disk usage…it gives you a percentage of the amount still available. Kind of a pain and not very intuitive. Again, I do remember that Windows MC had this feature as well.
Channel changing is, as advertised, fast, even on HD channels. This is one thing the MOXI did not do well, nor did Windows MC and Dish was a little better at it. Though the guide browsing on the Uverse box leaves a little to be desired. The guide is about as quick as Win MC and definitely faster than the MOXI. This is definitely an area where the Dish DVR shines, though I do like the PIP while browsing each channel on the Uverse box(I just wish they had actual PIP like the 625 has). The guide and searching are incredibly easy on the Dish DVR and basically respond as I am pushing the buttons. The Uverse box was a little more sluggish, which was a little disappointing considering how fast it would change channels. The Uverse box, however, was able to search by like individual actor, even though it doesn’t have a ‘one-click’ search for the name of the current show like the Dish box has. I actually found it much easier to search using the online remote DVR interface, which brings me to my next selling point. I LOVE the remote DVR functionality that the Uverse box has built-in and will probably do most of my scheduling from there rather than from the remote itself. The other cool thing about the remote DVR is that I can view all my scheduled recordings, my current recordings, and the series information from my handheld. You can’t schedule anything new, but you can remove items from each category I listed. I don’t know of any other service that has this functionality(the handheld stuff anyways) and it will be a definitely selling point for geeks like me.
One feature, or functionality I guess I would call it, that I haven’t tried out is being able to play recorded content while not connected to the RG. This is something that most people probably wouldn’t care too much about, but I do use it on occasion. I sometimes like to record certain programs and then take the DVR down to my parents house to show them on their big screen since they don’t have cable where they are. The Dish DVR does this very well and I have not had any issues with it. The MOXI worked alright, but for some reason it wouldn’t allow you to use any time-shifting functions while not connected to Charter. Like I said, I haven’t been able to try it yet, but it would be another nice feature.

Conclusions
This is definitely a great service and should definitely give Charter a challenge to keep it’s customer base. It is also a very comparable alternative to those who may not be able to get a dish or who want a slightly cheaper alternative. Combine it with the Uverse internet service and it is a solid deal. Hopefully AT&T will continue to keep up with the demand of HD and maybe work out a few of the little bugs with software updates. It is a young service, but definitely shows promise.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19642957 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:08:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19605820 anon : I have Uverse milwaukee and have had minor problems in getting the system up and running.

It took AT&T 4 weeks to get out here and finally install the system (which took about 9 hours). A week after the installation the cable modem crashed so we no longer had a wireless signal. I called a tech, who came out to fix it the next day. It took him about 2 hours to fix the RG (actually he had to switch out RGs and was really slow in coming to that conclusion).

Now that we have the service and it has been working well for 3 weeks, i will have to say the UVerse kicks ass. Internet seems faster than advertised (@ 3meg); the channel line-up is outstanding, and plenty more HD channels than time warner. I pay A LOT less than i did with TW and i wont go back!

Also we just recieved a notice that 7 more HD channels are being added in the middle of the month, which brings me to over 30.

UVerse rocks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19605820 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:17:22 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19580308 ruffldroostr : I am in STL and am due to have it installed on 12/11. I'll make a note to post a review after I've had a few days to review.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19580308 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:58:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577767 anon : I have had comcast for over 2 years and was missing 4 HD channels. They would send techs out and they would run cables all around and replace ends and then leave telling me that "it is at the head" other people will be out to fix it. This never happened. I had to bear 3 other visits from techs only to get the same line.

Recently the HD got worse and the channels that I did get were corrupting and I had a tech come out and he did the same thing again with the same "it is at the head, other people will be out to fix it sometime, but I couldn't say when." Well a week later, nothing.

The AT&T people came by and sold me on U-verse and they hooked it up today and all is well.

I really don't know what is wrong with comcast. I let the tech put signs in my front yard and back yard advertising the service.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577767 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:28:12 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577758 anon : Thanks Chief. Seems like us "Show me State" ers want to stand on the sidelines. Despite the price, I don't need multiple installation trips to get a picture that folks say is less than cable HD quality. Correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I gather from the Texas users and the Comcast (MI?) users.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577758 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:26:58 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577630 anon : I've just heard about U-Verse coming to St. Louis, too. I'm not 100% sure I want to be the guinea pig, but the features and price are attractive...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19577630 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:05:04 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19576578 anon : Uverse is new to the St. Louis area. Does anyone have experience with Uverse in St. Louis? The other cities seem to have their problems and I don't want to be the lead dog. I would rather they work out their issues.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19576578 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:01:51 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19564975 anon : Set the recording options to end 5 or 15 minutes late. Problem solved.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19564975 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:24:08 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19563503 vgbaron : I can't pinpoint the truncating either. It looks more like the Guide is wrong and the DVR is synced to the guide. It doesn't help that the broadcasters are p[laying games like starting at 9:01 and running 62 minutes to 10:03 and crap like that. But still, the system should be able to get the correct times and stay with them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19563503 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:03:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19552995 jjgk : I have had similar issues regarding the truncation of recorded shows...it is really frustrating when you want to know what the ending was. I can't figure out if it is the time on the Guide, which appears correct and matches my computer or the DVR is stupid. However, I have found the Guide listings to be incorrect on a number of occasions.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19552995 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:30:05 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19552983 jjgk : Maybe it is my age, KK1563, but I need a microscope instead of my progressive lenses to read the paper format of the line up. Oh, and do not change the fav's set up on the box either 'cuz when you go to the next room, the channels are still in the original line-up. How about a feature that prompts you to set all your boxes to the same 'fav' channel line up?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19552983 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:08:50 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19546165 anon : I had AT&T U-Verse installed Thursday. I had never even heard of it until Thanksgiving when Troy Aikman mentioned the Cowboys/Packers game would be on NFL network. I did some research and signed up ... picked a Thursday morning install and it was done in about 3 hours.

I had Time Warner before, and I really had no major complaints with them other than my Showtime on-demand not working and occasional really slow speeds with Roadrunner's 6/768 package.

I signed up for the U-Verse 400 with elite internet. The installers told me my wires were really old and he did not think he would be able to install it, but when they did the speed test the tech at my apartment said it was the fastest he's ever seen. Pretty sweet. He said I was the only person in the area on the box, so I think that might have something to do with it.

My U-Verse has been problem free so far. Some of the pluses are that my internet uploads are faster, the whole system in general is much faster than the Moxi I had with TW, I get more channels for about $20 cheaper than I was paying TW, NFL network (go Cowboys), and the ability to record 4 shows at once (though I doubt I ever will).

I have kept my cable active since it's paid through 12/16/07, but unless something goes drastically wrong I'm sold on the U-Verse. I've had no problems to speak of in the first couple of days. Thumbs up.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19546165 Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:09:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19519047 vgbaron : I had my Uverse installed on 11/2. Tech said it was an easy install - took about 3 hours. However, it took two more weeks to get it working properly. Seems like the RG would lose sync every morning and come back around 4:30PM. When it ran it was superb but nothing during the day. Over two weeks I had more techs come out than I could count. Put in a new drop from the pole - no joy. Two new RG's - no joy. New port configured - no joy. Completely replaced the NID - no joy. Finally, they rewired from the NID to the RG using coax rather than Cat-5 (a suggestion I made when the first tech was there, BTW) and it worked and has been working almost perfectly ever since. On 6K/1K broadband tests, I'm getting a solid 5600/960. Only issues I have is an annoying 3-4 second 'freeze' on the HDTV sometimes when the programming switches from a commercial to the show and vice versa. Mainly on CBS and only on HD but doesn't do it all the time.

I have a few minor gripes. like the DVR truncating the show, etc but all in all I'm happy and can't really complain about the techs and the service.

Vic]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19519047 Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:18:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19405919 anon : Well, I can concur with your pain. It took 1 day to install, and they had to come out and replace the DVR. The DVR had all sorts of reception issues, dropped segments of film, etc. I still have odd pauses, but right now I cannot swear that it's the feed. IPTV is obviously not quite ready on AT&T's fiber, but my connection is good enough that I can live with it.

I had TW cable modem service, and my wife's VPN would drop sporadically throughout the day. My VPN connection was better, but still dropped occassionally. Since switching to AT&T's mid-tier service, I have had 0 VPN drops, and my wife only a couple. So AT&T's uverse is a definitely win over TW for internet service, even if the max speeds are slower.

On the TV front, I had DishNetwork. Their SD service is fair to good, depending on channel. AT&Ts uverse service provides significantly better SD pictures on all channels. The HD channels are better yet, but not as good as OTA or HD DVD (only 1080i... ;) Yes, they compress the heck out of the HD picture. I've been able to record 2 SD and 1 HD program while watching another streaming SD program. It seemed to work quite well. There are still occasional drops up to 1s in the feed, but I haven't traced this down to whether it's the incoming feed or the uverse service. Since getting the DVR replaced, recorded content seems almost 100%, while live local channels seem to occasionally have a skip.

I've dropped Dish already, current package was $60, and moving to HD would have gone to $80/month with a $100 DVR upgrade fee for the one I wanted. TW is being dropped as soon as I finish changing emails. TW was also about $60/month. Uverse complete service is $89/month for both, with more channels, and the movie pack for a year until I drop it. Definitely a win for now. If they raise prices, I'll review options at that time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19405919 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:33:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19392526 anon : WOW! Only 1 day for the install? That's good. Besides that, it took an additional 3 days to get the other two units to come up then another 3 days to get the On Demand to work. I am going to keep this service even though the issues mentioned are also seen here. I had the highest speed internet and HBO and a HD DVR from Comcast and paid $238.00 a month. Here I am paying $119.00 a month for EVERYTHING under the sun. I can live with those numbers. I can take a soft HD image. The freeze here and there and the hesitation of the remote is a bit at times. The remote responds well most of the time. I'm in Detroit. I've had Uverse completely up and running for a week. I have CAT5 to the boxes. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19392526 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:47:20 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19388586 anon : I got Uverse installed last Monday and have had to call customer service almost every day since. I was using Comcast, and wasn't dissatisfied with the service, but did want the Big 10 Network, which isn't currently offered through Comcast.

I want to like AT&T. I like the features on the DVR better than Comcast's. And I like that you can record more programs at once than you can with Comcast (even though not being able to record two HD programs at once is a pain). Additionally, I work out of my home, so the Elite Internet package really appealed to me as I typically conduct quite a few web-based meetings every week.

Unfortunately, the service has not worked for me at all. I expected some bugs and glitches since they just rolled out the service in southeastern Michigan, but the only consistent element so far is its inconsistency. The Internet has not been stable, and I can't typically stay connected for longer than 30 minutes at a time. I was disconnected from my VPN 27 times in one day. We have yet to record a program without chunks of the programming missing. During one half-hour show, we lost 32 seconds at the beginning, 5 minutes at the end, and at least 3-5 seconds a handful of other times during the show. And I can say without any exaggeration that it’s been the same story with everything we watch or record. There hasn’t been one show in the week we’ve had the service that has not had segments of sound or picture that didn’t come through.

The picture quality isn't bad, but my HD digital tier with Comcast was definitely clearer. And I can’t tell much of a difference between AT&T’s digital tier vs. standard channels. So either the regular channels are really good, or the digital channels aren’t as good as they should be. I suspect it’s a combination. We also haven't been successful getting HD sound out of the box, but that might be our own wiring issue.

Five times since the box was installed, the entire system froze up and I had to unplug every cord and let it sit before I re-plugged and tried again. I’ve also had to reset the gateway a few times as well.

Technical support keeps trying to identify the problem, but they just keep telling me that everything "should" be working fine, as their tests of my signal strength indicate that I'm getting the speeds required for service. I'm happy that everything should be working, but it's frustrating to have such consistent issues that can't be resolved.

I'm glad I haven't canceled my Comcast service yet, as I will probably call it quits with AT&T if they can't provide some resolution to the problem by the end of the week. I might be able to get over the annoyance in the TV programming if they could give me some assurance that it will improve. But I can’t work on the Internet. And because the problem seems to be occurring at the gateway, I can’t even hardwire my computer to get more constant connection speeds. I’d give them another chance in a year or so when they get some of this service issues resolved. But I can’t justify paying $125 a month for service that works just 50% of the time. I’d rather pay slightly more per month with Comcast and get reliable service.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19388586 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:06:07 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19384001 anon : i don't owe you people $7.50 stop bothering me, good gosh what does take you people to understand this Fermin Diaz ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19384001 Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:20:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19376367 bky : Apparently you are pretty special if you get FTTP w/ u-verse. For most of us, fiber ends at the pole/node and from there it's a POTS single-pair copper VDSL connection to the house.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19376367 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:00:37 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19374972 VideoR123 : Have installed in Tracy, CA. 1 DVR and Two Receivers. took three days for the techs to get it right ! Credit goes to AT&T techs although new at this, they were out their to help.
SD picture great on my 58 Pany
HD is a bit flat compared to Dishnetwork which has a lot of depth on HD. Internet is surprisingly up and down , it seems to slow down in the morning and late evening they have a great 2 Wire Gateway, which replaces my 3 year old 2wire 1800.
I have cat5e installed in my home so that made it easier for the techs. to install the system. the gateway was installed next to my smart box in the closet, from there they installed a netgear switch, with 8 ports which ran the cat 5e to separate room. So far I am satisfied with the system, cheaper and better than comcast and dish.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19374972 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:24:18 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19368302 anon : Just got U-Verse coming from ComCast and I must say the HD TV is horrible. ATT's bragging about more channels is obvously the result of far higher compression rates. compression artifacts abound. I have an LCD HDTV and I might as well go back to a standard TV with what I'm seeing on ATT U-Verse.

I'll be contacting ATT to remove their product. fortunatly I haven't yet disconnected my ComCast.

And please don't think I'm a ComCast apologist. I changed in hopes of something less expensive with as good or better service. Unfortunately the ATT is so bad I'll go back to paying 40 more per month.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19368302 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:04:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358264 ccallana : In most neighborhoods, U-Verse is not fiber all the way to the house, its fiber somewhere close to the house with copper running the last bit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358264 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:09:30 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358231 anon :
said by bky See Profile :

It's not FTTP, but I still love it.
I'm confused by this. Why is it not FTTP? I'm running fiber to the house, where it gets converted to Cat5e cabling. Is that the issue? Cat5e cabling is good for at least 2Gb/s full- duplex speeds up to 300 or so feet (4 TPs, only 2 TPs are required for ethernet so you can multiplex on a single cable).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358231 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:04:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358002 bky : I had U-verse installed over the weekend and feel like I now have a good enough feel of it to write a proper review. I'll start with the TV service where I have the U200 package. Wow, I don't think I will ever go back to standard cable after my experience so far. The on-screen UI is just awesome to say the least. I can't get over how much I love the channel switch preview box and other features. The dvr functions are great, allowing you to record up to 4 programs simultaneously and schedule recordings remotely through your yahoo homepage. I've noticed that my HD/DVR box will sometimes peg it's resources and cause some aggravating latency when using the UI, often a 5-10 second delay between push-button on the remote and the function actually being carried out. I thought this was only when viewing HD programming at first, however that does not seem to be the case. I think it might be related to 1080p screen configuration, which I only hope could be fixed later on with a software update.

The internet, well, it's fast DSL and it works. I have the 6Mbps/1Mbps 'Elite' tier, which was a downgrade from 10/1 on cable. One thing that I did not realize before switching to U-verse is that the DSL utilizes interleaved signalling (»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleaving) for data transmission. This is great in regards to delivering the unforgiving medium of video/television over IP, however it adds a noticeable amount latency to the internet connection compared to traditional DSL service(to put this in perspective, imagine that on ADSL you would ping 10-20 to a local game server, whereas on u-verse VDSL you would ping 25-40). Now, the only reason I picked up on this is because I'm an online gaming enthusiast where I found that my latency was actually a small amount higher than my previous RR cable service. If you are not an online gamer and/or don't care about low response times, then don't worry about at all about this.

The cost for the service was too sweet not to switch. It cost me absolutely nothing for setup/installation. My monthly bill is actually a few dollars cheaper than what I was paying for base digital programming from time warner, who with I didn't even have a DVR or HD service.

Bottom line:
What would u-verse have to do in order to make me a completely happy customer?
Allow customers to opt-out of using interleaved signalling with VDSL (if this would even be possible). Do I think they will ever do this? Hell no, but that's the bottom line.

Overall happiness:
It's not FTTP, but I still love it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19358002 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:27:54 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19345510 anon : OK, I've had the service for 2 weeks now, and have been a Dish customer for 7 years, and a TW cable modem customer for broadband. In short, I'm still undecided whether I'm going to spring for Dish's HDTV service, as it will effectively cost me $30/month more for roughly the same channel selection as uverse may be adequate for my viewing needs (Probably what AT&T's hoping for, at least they're charging in the right range for their offering. See below for why).

First the good: AT&T's 3/1 broadband package blows away TW's 6+/512 cable broadband (the fastest upload I could get). Downloads are as fast, as almost no one allows you more than 3Mbps download anyways (that's almost 400KB/s). Note that AT&T's service is also half the cost of TWs, and I just can't stand TW's clustered web interface and support sites.

On TV, recording multiple simultaneous channels is good. Digital component outs are good, as I have an "older" HDTV that depended upon the original digital component inputs for DTV (4 sets of inputs!). My Samsung T151 has been serving me well there until now.

The Bad:
only 1 HD channel

the remote/menu system and operation is

    •slow
    •remote's layout is definitely in need of some user friendly ergonomic engineering
    •queues commands it receives, except for fast forward
    •fast forward is in 30s increments, but has frames you're skipping and from locations ahead of your skip show up across about a 3s per forward skip. Going backwards is instant, so this is obviously done on purpose, probably to force viewing images of commercials
    •no usable "favorities" guide
    •remote requires line of sight
    •guide only holds about 10 hours of info. Using the FF key to hit the next day results in a good 10-20s wait while the guide loads. Once loaded, you can skip back and forth pretty quickly, but apparently the guide is dumped as soon as you exit the guide.


In addition to those issues, there appears to be packet loss in the stream, resulting in 0.5 to 2s drops noted so far. Changing channels is "slow" IMHO, as compared to Dish channel changes, which are almost instantaneous.

As for the HDTV box itself, checking into the system info area, the box is running with only about 6MB of RAM, and 14MB of virtual space with 4-8MB virtual in use. (You wonder why the damn thing's so slow? There you go) It's also Windows CE, and MS being the dunces they are probably explains the Guide's slow response, as I'll bet a nickel that they're waiting for the guide PIP stream to kick in before allowing you to go to the next channel. You get a couple of click in, but then you get to wait for the receiver to "catch up" and the PIP shows up and you can click again.

As for PIP, supposedly there's a second TV channel out (SD only) which can be hooked up to a second input (or TV) for dual receiving and allows for TV based PIP. I haven't bothered, since PIP is not high on my list.

So why with all these negatives am I considering uverse as my TV service? Because after 7 years of DVR usage, I've discovered that I almost never watch live TV, nor do I use the menu system for much. We also almost exclusively watch all programming on a single TV, so multiple TVs, especially simultaneous multiple TVs, are not often an issue. The only problems that really irk me is the forward skip hesitations and remote line of sight and queuing behavior.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19345510 Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:13:14 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19343289 zamboni99 : Unfortunately pixilation isn't unique to U-Verse. I'm waiting for U-Verse to become available in my area because I have the same issue with Brighthouse - not only pixilation but also audio fallout at the same time. It gets so bad at times that watching TV is impossible. I end up disconnecting the STB and watching analog. I'm paying for digital and watching analog. I complain, they send out servicemen, change out my DVR, but, nothing changes. Over time the problem goes away, only to return. One serviceman finally told us there is a problen in our "run" and finding that is like finding a needle in a haystack.

So, I guess as soon as U-Verse becomes available in my area of Michigan I will trade the evil that I know as Brighthouse Networks for the evil that I don't know (U-Verse).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19343289 Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:17:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19341261 anon :
said by Pezboy :

I signed up for u-verse in July they came out and installed it.I started having issues with freezing and pixilation.I have called repair out 3 times to fix the problem.Each time they came out they changed fittings and tightened connections. I reran new RG6 cable to the tvs and they came out and used them still had issues. This time I ran cat6 cable to all the tvs and to the outside box. I asked to talk to a supervisor be fore the techs came out this time and was told he would call me. I never got the call the call and the techs showed up. they used the cat6 to the tvs but would not use it for the outside from the gateway. they said that this should fix the problem. I am sitting here as my tv freezes.
Our TV freezes several times a day..sometimes briefly, sometimes for several minutes. Occasionally, we have to reboot the entire system, which is really becomming very old. :mad:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19341261 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:23:03 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19309424 buffalosolja : It sounds like alot of people with the problems are coming over to at&t with copper lines. The system was idealy made for fiber optics. And if you have that you should get better performance.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19309424 Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:29:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19283995 anon : I signed up for u-verse in July they came out and installed it.I started having issues with freezing and pixilation.I have called repair out 3 times to fix the problem.Each time they came out they changed fittings and tightened connections. I reran new RG6 cable to the tvs and they came out and used them still had issues. This time I ran cat6 cable to all the tvs and to the outside box. I asked to talk to a supervisor be fore the techs came out this time and was told he would call me. I never got the call the call and the techs showed up. they used the cat6 to the tvs but would not use it for the outside from the gateway. they said that this should fix the problem. I am sitting here as my tv freezes. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19283995 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:44:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19276494 anon : Had U-Verse about a month. Installed 3 TV sets, all analog; 1 RF and 2 S-Video connections. 2 PC's with DSL Pro. Subscribed to U200 service.
Installation was unbelievably good--complete re-wire of house with CAT5. Very professional installation.
Dumped Time-Warner for U-Verse and was the best move I've ever made. Had some cockpit trouble and the support helped me correct the problem in short order.
Had thunderstorm two days ago and lost TV & DSL. Tech support arrived on time the next day and replaced a blown router/modem.
The QOS blows Time-Warner away as well at the support. DSL works at rated speed. I would say U-Verse is well worth the money considering the crappy service with my previous provider.
One caviat: Since I work for VZ, U-Verse is just short of FiOS but living in a A.T.&T. city, this is the best we can do for now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19276494 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:43:53 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19273165 koolkid1563 : The paper guides they gave you are probably wrong because AT&T changed around the lineup on the 15th, so they probably haven't updated those yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19273165 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:49:31 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19267355 ccallana : I just got mine installed yesterday, so I don't really have enough info for a full review, but I will add a few interesting bits of information -

My install was set-up for 8am. Last week I realized nobody would be home, so I called and got it moved to 10am, great, no problem, even got an email confirming. On Sunday, a tech came out and did some pre-work in the box on the side of the house. Great - less time I have to be home on Monday during the install.

Well, long story short - I was home basically all day and after 3 or 4 calls, finally got a tech (2 actually) at my house at around 6:30pm - 8 hours after they were supposed to be there. Install went pretty clean until the wireless setup - my old adapter wasn't allowing the new adapter to load properly. I solved it in a few minutes after they left!

If you are getting slow internet speeds, make sure to clean out any old network adapters and use their new ones (if you are going wireless) - I'm on the basic speed package of 1.5/1 and with the old adapter installed I was only getting 700k down, once I cleaned out the old software, installed the new, I'm now much closer, somewhere around 1.3/800... something very bad was happening on the wireless :)

So far TV looks good. I can tell a slight difference from my Comcast expanded basic service, but not much. I do notice the slowness sometimes when setting up the DVR to record and I'm still trying to figure out where all the channels are. The channel guides they left are all wrong for the upper HD channels (past the locals) - not sure why.

I will be calling today for some sort of rebate, compensation for spending my entire day to get the service hooked up....
--
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.... We are far too easily pleased." C.S. Lewis]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19267355 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:54:34 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19201234 anon : UPDATE: Signal went out again around 5:47pm. Waited for a while to see if signal would come back. No signal. Called tech support. Of course , signal came back. Was informed by tech support that someone would be over the next day to see what's going on.
Lost signal around 7:00pm again. stayed up till 11:00pm to see if would come back. No signal.
At 6:30am, still no signal.
Finally, signal is back (broadband/service light lit up green) though not sure when it came back. Just glad that it is back, for now. I'm wondering if signal is good only during the day.
----------------------------------------------------------
"Had U-verse internet(upgrade from DSL Pro)/tv installed today. U-verse, it seems is not "Always On" Turned on the tv about 5 hours after installation and there was no signal. Turned on computer- no signal. Gateway light was blinking red(synchronizing with server perhaps?). Just as I was about to call tech support, the led light turned green.

Many channels and clear picture. Will decide whether to keep this after the 30 day promotion"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19201234 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:01:47 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19197770 koolkid1563 : The RG is supposed to always keep the connection to the DSLAM. If it is dropping it, you might want to have a tech come out and look at it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19197770 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:49:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19197365 anon : Had U-verse internet(upgrade from DSL Pro)/tv installed today. U-verse, it seems is not "Always On" Turned on the tv about 5 hours after installation and there was no signal. Turned on computer- no signal. Gateway light was blinking red(synchronizing with server perhaps?). Just as I was about to call tech support, the led light turned green.

Many channels and clear picture. Will decide whether to keep this after the 30 day promotion. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19197365 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:33:59 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19153119 anon : I just got U-Verse last week, and after a bump in the road, it seems to be working pretty good. The on demand channel is much faster than Time Warner, the picture to me is a lot clearer, even on the basic channels. The only problem I am having is when using an HDMI cable for my HD TV, the sound will cut out for a second then back on. When talking to a very knowledgeable person at tech support, she said that it is a software issue, the picture feed is faster than the sound feed (I have an optical cable hooked up to a surround receiver). She said that switching to component cables should solve my problem. I never really have a problem with pixelation. The internet seems to work fine. All in all I am very happy with the switch over, and also happy that I have more HD channels to choose from. Thought I would post a positive one here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19153119 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:49:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19137782 reddawgit : Just replying to the person with dish. I also had dish before switching over to uverse. Just so you are aware you can only watch and record from the tv that the dvr is hooked up to. Its not set up like dish where you have tv 1 and tv 2 branching off of the dvr and you could record and watch from both. If I would have realized i wouldnt have switched over. They say by jan. they might have the whole house dvr which would allow you to watch but not record from all. But i highly doubt it]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19137782 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:44:10 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19116199 anon : I switched from Time Warner Cable to U-verse last week. I currently have 4 TVs connected to it and 3 computers. I have the U200 package with Elite 6mb/s download. My download speed is steady at 5.75mb/s and upload at 958 mb/s. Far more stable than I have ever had with Time Warner Road Runner. As for the TV quality I had basic Cable with Time Warner so getting digital with a DVR and 12 months of free movie channels for the same price as Time Warner basic is a deal. I do not have HD on any of my TVs so I cannot say how well that works but the Standard TV reception appears fine to me.

I also have a VOIP phone connected to it using Packet8. The phone works great with U-verse much better than what I experienced with Time Warner.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19116199 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:45:37 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19038176 dchay : I'm presently using DISH (SD NOT HD)and I love that I can use my 1 DVR to watch recorded shows in 2 rooms. Unfortunately, the U-verse DVR is limited to only work in the room it's located in so I'd have to give up this DISH luxury. Does AT&T offer an additional DVR unit to compensate for this? This would almost seal the deal for me....

Has anyone found out if you can export recorded video from the dvr via a usb connection, etc?

Also, has anyone had experience with how much interior cable running they are willing to run? I need some run in a recessed ceiling and I'm curious if they will give me grief about it.

Thanks! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19038176 Sat, 08 Sep 2007 22:22:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18999617 Preacher35 : OK, so I'm at the fork in the road right now. An AT&T rep was at my house three days ago explaining everything to me and I have had a chance to see the UI on the television side. The price looks quite good compared to what I'm currently paying for Dish Network ($120.00 for HD on 2 TV's, DVR and SD on two others) and Comcast internet ($60.00 for Premium Plus (8mbs down, 768 kb up). Although most of the comments on this thread seem to be negative, is there anyone here that is happy with U-verse?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18999617 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:18:44 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18981657 anon :
said by LoneCoyote :

I spent an hour with the sales guy, took to whole day off to be there for the install, cancelled my other service and stopped all email correspondences etc to those accounts, and after all that - IT DIDN'T WORK!!! The techs just had to leave and say sorry. WHAT CRAP!! WHAT STUPIDITY!
Stupidity, yes - but not AT&T's. It's been discussed on this forum that sometimes the database will show that an address is eligible, but when the techs come out, the signal is just not strong enough. It happens. So, it really was stupid of YOU to cancel your other service, stop emails, etc. before your new service was even installed. If you'd done your homework (i.e. research on this and other forums), your could have saved yourself all that hassle.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18981657 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:45:30 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18978119 anon : o.k. ATT is not going to please everybody just like folks voted for Bush and I did not!!!
The U-verse system will have kinks to iron out, just like you had kinks your wife had to iron out, or not.
If a company can please everyone, there would be no competition. Look, you get what you pay for, but I will take this one to the sky with me, The UVERSE System is a better bargain for your money. And a PLUS, what other service provider is sending articulate representatives out to make sure that you understand how to use your remote and also the consultant is very professional. ATT, ROCK ON cause I am surely buying stock....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18978119 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 03:00:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18968370 anon : U-Verse Crap? I don't know! I spent an hour with the sales guy, took to whole day off to be there for the install, cancelled my other service and stopped all email correspondences etc to those accounts, and after all that - IT DIDN'T WORK!!! The techs just had to leave and say sorry. WHAT CRAP!! WHAT STUPIDITY!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18968370 Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:04:26 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18962849 koolkid1563 : Hm, I always get right into tech support (even sales) whenever I call. The queue lines are not very long either when I call.

Tech support is 24x7, but sales works during 'normal business hours'. I am hardly ever put on hold for longer than 10 minutes or so...but my good experiences with customer support doesn't mean everyone will have a good experience.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18962849 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:07:21 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18962697 anon : How do you complain when customer service is either

a. never working
b. unable to get through "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
c. on hold for literally hours!

I would have never changed from Comcast if I'd known there would be so much trouble. We didn't even bother to get the phone service because by the time we figured out they'd screwed up on the initial order, we'd already been without a phone for two weeks. We just increased our cell phones and use that exclusively.
To cancel and go back to comcast would just cost even more money, which is why we switched in the first place - to save money.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18962697 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:49:42 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18951372 Fishie : Lol. After they came over, I just played with it for a few hours while I was cleaning up. I played with the site even less than that and I was tired. Like you said, the setting is pretty out in the open. I can't believe I missed it.

There are a few other things I forgot to mention. When the TV is connected to the box via coaxial, the volume is very low and the background his is high. Switching to RCA/S-Video, component , or HDMI solves those problems. I wish there was a button for the favorites on the remote. I wish that I could set a channel to my favorites through the guide. Also, I wish the box had a sleep timer...hehe.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18951372 Sun, 26 Aug 2007 01:12:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18946217 koolkid1563 : There is actually an option to go paperless billing with U-verse.

If you go to the U-verse Central site (»https://uversecentral.att.com) and click on Change Billing Info, there will be an option to sign up for paperless billing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18946217 Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:54:43 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18945795 Fishie : I just got mine installed today. Two installers (one training) and 4.5 hours later and everything seems ok. I have the U300 Elite. The following are my thoughts based upon a few hours of playing with the service.

Our apt building was built in 1939. We have one TV in the bedroom, one TV tuner card (WinTV-Radio) in the living room desktop computer, and a USB 2.0 PVR on a laptop in the living room. I had coaxial coming into the living room and split into three other coaxial lines. One ran to the bedroom tv and the other two when to the computers.

When the installer looked at our phone jack, he was surprised to see two wires instead of four. He looked in the box attached to the building and saw a lot of other apts wired the same way. He then stated that they couldn't install it because they use the second line, black and yellow wires, to run Uverse and Lightspeed, while Red and Green are for voice. I asked, "What about the jack in the bedroom. Some years ago, someone ran a phone line with 4 wires from the box, along side of the building, and to the bedroom. He pretty much refused to run a CAT5 to the STB to the bedroom and laptop. Only the desktop STB got CAT5. Each STB is connected to their TV/Tuner cards by RCA or S-video.

The platinum glove guy came out too and showed me how to use the TV. I have never even heard of any cable or satellite company sending someone out to show a customer how to use a DVR, Guide, or service. He was very professional and taught very well.

The picture looks great! I have a hard time digesting digital artifacting. I would rather see snow or ghosting more than pixelization. If there is almost any kind of motion, pixelization occurs. The channels do switch fast. The UI is very intuitive...but it can be VERY slow at times. When I saw something on the guide, it was very easy to set it to record. I like the size and position of the remote buttons. I live being able to see what is going to be on the current channel by pushing the right arrow. I like the back button.

Some things I don't like: The Series recording is ALMOST like Tivo's Season Pass. It can look for show on any day at any time, but only on the specified channel. By default, it only records at specific time. I have to actually edit the setting which is a pain. I had their Elite ADSL. I got about 4988/623. Now I get 56xx/942. Of course, I really don't notice any speed upgrade unless I am uploading. Billing is on two different bills. Not only that, I don't see an option to "go paperless" like I have done with my voice AT&T bill. Also I get a message stating that I am not eligible to pay online. I can with my other AT&T bill. Maybe because I don't have a Uverse bill yet? If I log into my AT&T homepage or account manager, the uverse.att.com site will not let me log in. I log out of my AT&T homepage, uverse.att.com still won't let me log into it. It says that I am still logged into 'another AT&T management site.' So I clear all of my browser cookies and I can log in. Obviously, they need to have one central account manager or two sites that can set two different cookies. I can tell that paying the two bills are going to be a pain. I will probably just use my banks free bill pay. Another option would be to cancel my voice service...hehe.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18945795 Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:10:17 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18885078 sivelsew : Its time to stop complaining?
They rush a half ass product, make statements that are not true and then are not sure how to fix it... yea I am good with that, I love wasting my money for crap service.

AT&T may fix it over the next few years and it may be ok, but my experience with them was pretty bad and I don't care if they fix their problems or not I will never go back.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18885078 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:45:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18872792 koolkid1563 : If they keep track of posts on »www.uverseusers.com and their own »utalk.att.com, they will see the ups and downs of the product real fast.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18872792 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:54:16 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18872192 anon : So are folks suppose to not make bad comments about a service and should only post good ones? How are folks suppose to make an educated decision on whether to go with a service or not if all comments are one sided? Reviews need both good and bad comments other wise the reviews section wouldn't be about reviews but more about free advertisement for the vendor :)

Of course AT&T is going to fix these issues, but folks need to know, that depending on what they're expecting there may be problems or shortcomings for them, and based on what their needs are, decide whether they should pay for this or just stick with their current provider until AT&T does fix these issue.

You may think that there are too many negative posts and that it isn't justified since Uverse is a new technology, but how is AT&T suppose to improve or fix these issues if no one were to complain that would deter other folks from signing up for their service?

Realize also I'm not bashing AT&T. I think they'll have a great service once they work out the kinks and add more content. My neighbor next door actually works with them as a consultant on the Uverse project (We live in San Ramon, AT&T is down the steet). They're taking all feedback seriously and really want to improve the service, but they need the feedback. The more negative feedback the more they know they have an issue. It's just how things work, if you don't complain it won't get fixed :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18872192 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:41:56 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18870410 vinnie97 : Except this is a crippled technological stopgap compared to FiOS (sorry, couldn't help m'self).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18870410 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:57:36 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18868694 sozekizer : i do not have att service and uverse is not yet available in my area but i must say..to everyone who is complaining it's time to stop. verizon fios went through the same growing pains when it rolled out 2 years ago. att will fix this in due time. be patient. newer technologies take time to perfect. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18868694 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:44:03 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18835994 anon : Wanted to add my opinion. Signed up for Uverse and had it installed yesterday. After 5 1/2 hours after the install I switched back 3 of the 4 boxes to Comcast Digital. I kept the Uverse DVR hooked up to the main TV just to fiddle with it and compare it to my Comcast DVR which is now running along side it on the main TV, before I set the record for fastest Uverse cancellation :)

There was 1 major issue right off the bat that the sales folks don't tell you over the phone and that's the quantity and quality of FREE on demand programs. There's a good reason for it and that's because it's practically non-existent when compared to Comcast Digital. That was the main Uverse killer for me. Having 2 kids and each liking Caillou, Barney, Sponge Bob, etc and not being able to call it up from any TV was a kill joy. (well, I have to mention that there was 1 Spongebob episode I saw in their free section) I personally enjoy the FREE FearNet, History and Military programs with some being in HD, none of which is availabe on Uverse.

Additional Cons:

2) SD quality was about as good if not worse in most cases than Comcast Digital. (I'm in San Ramon, Ca) I was hoping it would be better since it was the second reason for me to switch. Pity, it wasn't. For your info, I have 1 1080i DLP, 1 1080P LCD, and 2 tube tv's all hooked up.

3) Pixelation, artifacts or packet loss. Whatever you want to call it, it happened too frequent for me. The DVR unit performed pretty well. The regular receivers on the other hand had an interesting problem I discovered. If someone is using the DVR unit, and you turn on another tv in the house, the regular receiver picture would pixelate more often than if the DVR was off. More often would be at least once every minute which is damn annoying. The interesting part occurs if you switch the regular receiver to watch the same SD channel as the DVR, the pixelation would practically go away, but not entirely. To further test this out I would then switch the channel on the DVR and the regular receiver picture would go back to pixelating more often. This occured on all of my regular receivers (I have 3 of them in addition to the DVR). This would seem to be an issue with the way the Gateway handles multi channel viewing or just a bad gateway. Overall just watching SD while other receivers are on, is like watching an almost excellent movie on your PC. It just doesn't have that smoothness.

4) Watching an HD channel from a regular receiver had way too much pixelation for me, to the point I just couldn't watch it anymore. The same box would play fine for the most part if watching an SD channel, and of course if it were the only receiver that was on. Swapping it out with the other receivers didn't fix the issue. Again maybe a gateway issue but interesting that it doesn't seem to have the same affect on the DVR unit.

Other issues:

I asked the Tech if I could power off the gateway to mount it elsewhere. I actually had 4 techs and 2 managers at my house at this time going over the install. One of the managers jumped in and said "No" right off the bat. I was thinking, so what will happen during a power outage? The tech then jumped in and said, well you can power it off but you might have to call tech support to get it synched up again or a line tech may have to come out to get it resynched. Wow, I thought, what happened to the good ol days of just turning your tv back on after the power goes off??

In any event I unplugged the unit this morning to see what would happen and sure enough after waiting over 10 minutes for the flashing red broadband light to turn green, it remained red. I called tech support and after 20 minutes, waiting on hold, and then the tech walking me through the web administration site of the gateway to make some minor changes we had the unit re-synched and working again. It turns out there is a firmware flaw in a lot of units where if set to Auto to determine how it's connected on the WAN and LAN side, it won't resync. You have to specify the type of cable/wire it's hooked to. My question to the tech was, I had 4 install techs and 2 managers at my house and even after I asked them about powering off my gateway they knew there was an issue and therefore must have known the fix for it, but yet they didn't bother to test it and make the simple corrections that I had to do today. Go figure.

Fast channel swapping is over rated and was never a selling point for me. There is still a slight lag between HD channels and a smaller lag between SD channels.

DVR unit control was so freaking laggy. I was laughing when the tech was trying to show me how to select a show for recording. I would press the record button and wait and then hit it again thinking it didn't receive the signal so we were constantly setting record on and off. I literally sat there and decided to count to 5 everytime I hit the record button just to make sure it was going to process it correctly. I guess they put the speed into the fast channel changes :)

Some Pros:
Menu/Interface was excellent and pleasant to look at, but of course there wasn't much content to navigate through on the On Demand side so it's like a nice Mercedes with no interior.

I would have to guess if given maybe another year that Uverse should have more of the kinks worked out and more content on the On Demand side. With additional features in the works like other folks mentioned, it should be at least a DirectTV killer, but I'm not going to pay for service in the hopes that current features will improve and future features will come around.

Hope this was helpful,
Kenny

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18835994 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:14:45 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18833586 koolkid1563 : No, if you keep the U-verse VDSL, then you will still be on 1Mb/s upload.

If you drop the U-verse VDSL completely (internet and TV) and go back to ADSL, then yes, the upload will go back to normal ADSL speeds.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18833586 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:18:32 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18832248 zelinskj : If you drop the uverse and keep just the dsl, your upload speed would drop from 1M to the seven hundred something speed of their normal dsl.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18832248 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:01:33 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18760953 x30n_ : This is my test on U-Verse:



I should have done a test on TW, but I can tell you the down-speed was about the same however, the up-speed on U-Verse is 2 to 3 times faster.

My U-Verse experience hasn't been so bad other then the lag in channel changes, but looks like it is getting better.

I went in to it knowing its new technology being brought to the home and there might be some issues and that is something you have to deal with being on the cutting edge(I know its not cutting edge, but for home use I consider it cutting edge because its new to home).

This is something that everyone here should have an idea about and If you are not willing to deal with it, then don't get it. Wait until most all the bugs are worked out.

But for the future advancements they are going to deploy, I want to be there when they come out. I do like the idea to be able to select programs to record on my DVR from my computer even when I am not at home. I heard about whole home DVR and some other features that I cannot remember at this time.
--
Get your own Gamercard Sig. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18760953 Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:56:54 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18759292 vinnie97 :
said by koolkid1563 See Profile :

2) U-verses' elite package is infact 6/1, what exactly do you mean by 5? Are you referring to speed tests? I seem to test out around 5.8Mb/s, which is close enough to 6 if you factor in net traffic. With TWC/Comcast, I was lucky to even test near 5, maybe just me though.
Fortunately, what holds true with cable in your vicinity doesn't necessarily match the experience of all of us. ;)

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18759292 Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:00:23 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18750562 koolkid1563 : I have a few comments/questions for your cons.

2) U-verses' elite package is infact 6/1, what exactly do you mean by 5? Are you referring to speed tests? I seem to test out around 5.8Mb/s, which is close enough to 6 if you factor in net traffic. With TWC/Comcast, I was lucky to even test near 5, maybe just me though.

6) There is PiP browsing, but I agree, there is no 'true' form of PiP, which I hope they fix.

8) The FF/RW buttons act as day+/- in the guide. I can go almost two weeks forward in the guide, what exactly do you mean by "doesn't show any programming past 12hrs"?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18750562 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:39:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18750322 anon : I do not like AT&T Uverse and have gone back to cable (actually, we never turned it off). Here's why:

Cons:

1) With the cable HD the picture seems to be much more crisp and jumps off the screen. While AT&T has the same resolution, but seems to be lacking something in the "jump of the screen " category.

2) The internet speed with comcast has gone up to 6 MBPS. While AT&T is still at 5MBPS(still plenty fast), there still seems to be more lag in it, from the little bit of time that we've been using it. Actual download speeds show that comcast is more than twice as fast

3) Every once in a while, on shows that we record in HD the sound is "off" from the video by a split-second. This is very annoying. Also pixelation during sport events.

4) Channel flipping has a slight delay, so if you press channel down once, and then again because you didn't think it would take, then the system catches up and you overflipped and have to start over.

5) The biggest complaint that I have by far is that you can only have ONE HD stream coming into your house at the same time. One. period. So if you are recording one show in HD, you can watch another show, you just can't watch it in HD. You CAN record up to 4 shows at the same time, but only ONE of them can be in HD. Soooooooo stupid...

6) No PIP like Time warner other than the sloooow guide

7) the "strech/zoom" functions do not work well at all. Luckly, my tv has a really good autofit system

8) Time warner remote has a day+/- button useful for scrolling the guide to select something for recording. Not only does ATT not have this, there is a significant lag to the guide, the guide doesn't show any programming past 12hrs or so later than current...

9) Every now and then when you turn on the system, it has to reboot or something, taking up to a few minutes. Not that often, but annoying when it happens

Pros:

1) You can set DVR to record shows from any internet connected PC, but it still has the same lag as if you were there.

2) Its cheaper

3) You get more channels, including the "west-coast" channels. I originally switched because I could not bear not having NFL network with Time Warner. Well, now comcast is carrying it on their sports package, so there goes that reason...

4) The remote is very easy to set up to work with other devices, unlike the Time Warner/Comcast remote. Volume control always stays on "Tuner", etc...

thats it. My advice is to stay away from AT&T, at least through the end of the year when they say they will open up the pipe to allow more than one HD stream. Even then, keep your current provider turned on for a month or so, so that you can compare them and tell ATT "thanks, but no thanks." ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18750322 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:57:59 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18671512 vinnie97 : ^ well, that is the most damning review I've seen...once HDTV adoption reaches critical mass, AT&T is going to be out high and dry with their aging copper.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18671512 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:02:24 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670923 brianstretch : Update to my review: at a distance, HDTV looks great on my 24" monitor. Up close, the picture quality is awful. AT&T has the compression rate set WAY too high. Comcast via my OnAir GT USB HDTV tuner looks much better, close to over-the-air quality. I can compare Discovery HD Theater on each service and the difference is night and day. Switching from HDMI to component input just made text a bit fuzzier.

That settles it. When my 2 months of free TV are up I'm canceling the TV portion of my subscription. Copper-to-the-home is just too bandwidth starved for HDTV. (Edit: there's a report on uverseusers.com that AT&T is rolling out a codec update that improves HD video quality. We'll see.)

I did discover something neat: my new LG 24" monitor has a headphone jack that lets me listen to HDMI audio. Handy. One oddity: I had to set Picture | CSM to sRGB via the LG's on-screen controls so that PC video displayed correctly, otherwise I had to crank up brightness to uncomfortable levels. Not sure what that's about. The new Monoprice HDMI switch works, not as well as having multiple digital inputs built into the monitor would (the Windows PC thinks the monitor is unplugged and bells its displeasure) but it is effective. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18670923 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:46:51 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18665660 sfong : I have been using Uverse for about a week. Overall I like it very much, but there are a few negatives they need to address. I guess it is easier to remember what I don't like rather than what I do like.

Positives: I like the quick channel change, and the PIP preview. I like 4 recordings at once. I like the features that they have promised are coming soon (Control of the DVR from any tuner, the ability to view photos on my TV from the computer). I like the ability to schedule recordings from my computer desktop.

Negatives:

No Caller ID on the TV! This seems like something a telephone company could deliver pretty easily.

You have to be pointing the remote directly at the tuner. We had the tuner on a shelf next to the television. At night, the LEDs put out a bunch of light so I moved it to the floor. We had to point the remote at the tuner to get it to work, so I had to move it back onto the shelf. It is hard to get the DVR to see the remote when I am about 20 feet away.

The tuner lags behind when browsing the list of programs. I have noticed the esp. on the DVR unit. It will keep up for 3-4 selections then it pauses. I keep hitting the down arrow, and it "remembers" them, so that when it does start moving in the menu again, it jumps like 5 more slots. Very irritating. It seems to happen every time after about 3-4 button pushes.

Uverse tuners cannot schedule an "autotune". Dish network (my recently discontinued provider) had the ability to "autotune" without recording. All of the tuners could do this whether they were DVR or not. I like to setup to tune in the morning to my favorite news channel, so that when I do turn on the TV, it is on the right show.

When I browse the program list and select a program to record, it notifies that it has scheduled the recording, then it pops back to the program I was watching, not back to the program list. This program is frequently nowhere near where I was browsing in the program list. It should just pop me back to where I was browsing in the menu, not back to the last program I was watching.

It only has 1 "favorites" list, and it is somewhat difficult to access. Dish had 5 lists, so I could set one up for just local channels, one for the kids favorite channels, one for the adults favorite channels, etc. Dish cycles through the lists as you push the guide button. As I recall, Uverse requires you to push menu, then downarrow to the "favorites" list and select it, then begin browsing. Not very convenient. Granted there could be a shortcut I am not familiar with.

As I said above, overall, I like uverse very much, I just hope they can correct some of these shortcomings.

Sfong]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18665660 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:16:59 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18625083 brianstretch : I've had U-verse for most of a week.

They ran new Cat5e for my installation, in part because it was very easy to do in my case. In total they spent 5-6 hours, including running a new line drop from the telephone poll. (Old neighborhood.) The line tested at 73Mbps, with the node just under 1,000 feet away. Mine was the first installation on that node here in Ann Arbor.

The 6M/1M Elite Internet service has been pretty nice. 6M/1M is better than Comcast's 8M/768K for my purposes, and it's cheaper. I still want FiOS-like bandwidth though.

I was only moderately impressed with the TV service when using a SDTV. It looks good, granted, but it's still just television. After picking up a LG 24" LCD monitor with HDMI input from Best Buy (on sale this week) and plugging it in, WOW! Big difference. The UI takes advantage of the higher resolution screen to display much more program information. The HD channels look great. Even the SD channels look surprisingly good on the HD display. The settop box does a very good job of upconverting them. I consider a HDTV with HDMI or DVI (with a HDMI-to-DVI cable) to be a must-have for U-verse.

Of course, since the bandwidth-starved FTTN architecture limits you to watching/recording 1 HD channel at a time, U-verse is too crippled for multiple-TV households to seriously consider. I can't imagine that the incremental cost of doing the job right would have killed AT&T and they're going to have to come back and run fiber within the next several years anyhow. Such penny-wise, pound-foolishness is maddening. I bought Verizon stock in my IRA when it was knocked down by shortsighted carping about FiOS's capital cost. Smart managers take the long view and know that the stock will take care of itself.

I've got a 4-port HDMI switchbox on order from Monoprice:
»www.monoprice.com/products/subde···0&style=
Along with HDMI-to-HDMI and HDMI-to-DVI cables. That will let me share the new monitor with the DVR, my two PCs, and have a port left over. Had I thought of this a bit sooner I could have used the switch with my Samsung 24" LCD and a HDMI-to-DVI cable. (I was going to buy a component cable to use with the LG until I noticed the switch.) Monoprice is extremely well rated:
»www.resellerratings.com/store/monoprice
That stuff should arrive on Tuesday. Perhaps a proper A/V receiver would be a better solution but this is way cheaper. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18625083 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:42:09 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18604879 ThirdShifter : Is it not possible two feed to DSL connection to one premises and temporarily fix the one HD stream until a more realistic solution could be found?

Att is going to lose subscribers if they don't get to it right away.
--
Saya anak malaysia]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18604879 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 23:35:15 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598143 MrFixitSC :
said by koolkid1563 See Profile :

I still don't know why people are totally shocked to find out this quirk.
Me either, it's well stated...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18598143 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:07:41 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18597407 koolkid1563 : They themselves will not be back out, they will send you a box to mail back the equipment.

The one HD stream has been an issue since they brought HD into the mix in November, I still don't know why people are totally shocked to find out this quirk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18597407 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:01:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596175 mogur23 : After almost a week, I feel that I will return the Uverse equipment.

Why?

Their highest internet connection is about 1/2 of my TWC connection.

Less important but a factor, three local HD stations not available.

This is the deal killer- Only one HD channel can be recorded or watched at a time, regardless of # of boxes. I have two TWC boxes and can record 4 of any type of programming.

BTW, it took 4 days to get the HD working properly. It took a return of a tech. Turns out that there is way to fully reboot, but the phone techs did not know it.

I am probably going shock them when I call to have it removed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18596175 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:10:00 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18415059 s6135 : Thanks for the review. It is nice.

Do you know if they do inside wiring as well?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18415059 Tue, 29 May 2007 16:34:55 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18143941 justbits : nevermind]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18143941 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:48:05 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17746112 scottct1 : Here is a review of U Verse that I just did. I would post it here however its huge and has almost 80 picures.

»www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=87544]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17746112 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:11:18 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17683644 ThirdShifter : There's a user in att-northeast... got in installed last night.. pictures are inlucuded.

»[info] It's Here! U-Verse
--
Saya anak malaysia]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17683644 Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:29:21 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17564515 carpdiem : Channel 4 problem has been corrected and I saw the channel line up and it's pretty darn complete. Only 1 station that I wanted that it doesn't have. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17564515 Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:19:25 EDT Re: Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17454396 carpdiem : Well, I saw U-Verse for the 1st time today. I've got to say it's still TV service but the picture was very good, menu options were easy to use a plentiful, and the channel changed quicker than cable and much quicker than satellite. Although HD is available the one I saw was SD. The only issue was with local channel 4 in that it wasn't that great of a picture or would lose it all together. Since this is broadcast over the air to an antenna outside the VHO, I'm guessing this was because of the way the transmitter was angle/tuned or how the receiving antenna was angled/tuned. Should be an easy fix in the future. The service came with 1 DVR and 4 satellite receivers each with their own remote with the ability to watch /record 4 streams of video. It's possible although I didn't try it to have a picture in picture type review of what's playing in up to 8 different on screen displays which sounded very slick. The 8 channel images would only work on 1 TV at a time though. The DSL was the 6Mb stream and stayed true to speed until all 4 TV's were watching a streamed video and then it did drop but still plenty quick for the average users.

Bottom line...
Pro's:
1) Great SD picture quality (It's digital just not HD-even though HD is available)
2) Easy and feature packed menu options
3) Quick channel changes.
-As more customers in the neighborhood select this service the channel changing will get faster since some of the channels won't be sitting at the VHO to select but rather already at the CO or VRAD.

Con's:
1) One local channel was being broadcast poorly there for provided poorly. Expect that to be corrected in due time.
2) Minor DSL slow down when all 4 Streams being sent but still plenty fast for average internet user.

Like Cable modem, satellite, and DSL when they were 1st introduced there were a lot of glitches. Although they will probably have some glitches as this is a new product for AT&T I really think the glitches will be fixed by software upgrades.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17454396 Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:59:48 EDT Review AT&T U-Verse http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17147349 justin : if someone with U-verse would like to email a review of the product to reviews@dslreports.com we can setup an entry for it so future reviews can be done more easily.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17147349 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:23:40 EDT