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cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

2 edits

cypherstream

MVM

AT&T's set top software is far better

The guide interface on AT&T's set top software is much better than Comcast's 1990's I-Guide and 1980's SARA (in SA Markets).

Not only ascetically with graphics, transitions, speed, etc.. but in feature set. Multi Room DVR, Web based DVR programming, interactive TV where you can look up phone numbers, directions and maps, interactive games, PIP, call records and more all in a much smaller compact box than the huge Motorola ones in the majority of Comcast markets.

I would get AT&T U-Verse for TV service if it was available in my area, not only because the better channel selection for the price but for the user interface, additional features and better hardware. Sure the glitz and glam of an animated updated interface is not important to everyone, but it's the icing on the cake that shows the provider actually cares about the front end user experience.

This guy is pretty funny, but it shows you some of the features:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· t5oqVAEc


»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· 3qc48-ms


»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· bEJVgL9s


»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· U1ncoz2w


»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· =related


All that, or this:


Come on..... no brainier (for me).

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

said by cypherstream:

...the icing on the cake that shows the provider actually cares about the front end user experience.
I keep forgetting how much AT&T actually cares about the little people.

Be real, the reason why U-verse is so modern is that it just started 4-5 years ago. Of course it will have the benefit of newer technology with the interface and equipment. Comcast has millions of existing cable TV customers that makes sweeping changes much more difficult and costly to implement.

The U-verse front-end experience is nothing more than the result of a typical conglomerate providing a product that will sell for the most profit they can make.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

1 edit

1 recommendation

cypherstream

MVM

Both a Motorola DCH-3416 and a VIP1200 IP box have 128 MB system memory, Two-way IP data communication (DCH through DOCSIS 1.1 or 2.0), Digital video scaling and hardware support for Picture-in-Picture.

There's no real reason that at least the DVR experience could (and SHOULD) be better on Comcast than it is today. Sure the older piece of junk DCT-2000's may be limited to a more primitive interface, but paying $15.95 a month ($19.95 in some area's) for a DVR box should merit a much more refined user interface.

The only difference is that out of the box the VIP1200 has 32MB flash memory, while the DCH box has 16MB flash memory. 1) The DCH can be special ordered with 32MB flash memory from Motorola, 2) The DCH has a SATA hard drive which could store 'the overflow'. I don't mind loosing 100~200 MB to assist an innovative TV operating system. If they could get that eSATA port working we could expand our DVR storage space anyway.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

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I-Guide wasn't that bad. The problem is they stopped working on it before it was completely polished. Super annoying glitches remain that were never fixed. Two big ones that stand out are when it occasionally goes unresponsive for a few seconds (really annoying in the middle of FFing through commercials), or when the DD audio would just silence itself when watching a recording or live TV. The only work around is to pick another recording.

Comcast hasn't been pushing for next-gen features like multi-room DVR. If Verizon can do it with FiOS, there's no reason Comcast can't do it, too. They're both using Motorola cable gear for the most part. Comcast did, at least, work with TiVo to get a TiVo UI for the set tops. Not sure what the hold up is on getting that out. Comcast ought to figure out how to include that for free instead of a paid feature.

The U-verse UI is nice, but it also has its share of problems. The interactive features you mention are neat, but they take way, way, WAY too long to load. It also has some buffering issues: occasional DD audio drop-outs and some problems with live TV. AT&T/Microsoft is making good improvements with each update, though.

MacLeech
The one and only
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join:2001-07-14
SoCal

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said by cypherstream:

There's no real reason ...
Support costs are a huge reason not to.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

cypherstream to djrobx

MVM

to djrobx
said by djrobx:

The U-verse UI is nice, but it also has its share of problems. The interactive features you mention are neat, but they take way, way, WAY too long to load. It also has some buffering issues: occasional DD audio drop-outs and some problems with live TV. AT&T/Microsoft is making good improvements with each update, though.
Well on a DCH DVR you could cache some of that content on the hard drive to help assist with loading times. Plus provisioning the internal DOCSIS modem has potential to allow the DCH to communicate with back end servers faster than UVERSE may allocate (due to limited/shared bandwidth with VDSL).

Sure there could be software support costs, but any good company must deal with software support. If the software is intuitive enough, perhaps the support costs wouldn't be so major. I-Guide has it's own problems which I'm sure causes phones to ring (black screens, green screens, freezing, "To Be Announced", erased recordings, DVR issues, audio drop outs, etc...) Your all going to have that.

I just wish Comcast provided a CHOICE. A great new guide, moxi, passport, and Tivo. Us power users figure things out or get most of our help over the internet anyway.

At the very least they should pretty up the interface and add some essentials like MR-DVR and Remote DVR scheduling.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

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I agree that Comcast's interface is marginal at best. I rarely use the On Demand unless I know exactly what I am going after. I don't have the patience to plod through the pathetic menu's in search of something to watch.

Oftentimes my SA box resets itself the first time I go into the On Demand menu. And when a Comcast cable box restarts, you might as well go make pancakes or something, it's gonna be a while.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

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128 MB? Is that why this thing is so slow and hangs so often? Why cheap out on memory?

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

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All this talk about the on-screen menus got me to change over to FiOS. November 15th is my installation date, which is a Saturday, so that should be perfect. Gonna be saving a lot of money, even after the first year of bundled savings is over.

$79.99/mo for 20/5 internet and TV service combined
$30.00/mo to add ALL premium movie and sports channels
Free HD-DVR for a year, $15.99/mo for all others

I don't have my Comcast bill in front of me now, but I pay about $110 for TV, $52 for HSI, plus additional costs for HD content, sports channels, and my DVR's. I pay over $200 each month, so I will be saving quite a bit for the first year. Verizon will most likely be competitive with Comcast's prices once the bundled savings are over.

But this is not about the money as much as the quality, and the TV service specifically. I have never been truly satisfied with the glitchy Comcast HD and their terrible DVR's and guides. Comcast's HSI has been great 99% of the time, and I would have no reason to make any changes if this were the only product involved.

What finalized the decision for me was the ability to keep the phone bill completely separate from the internet and TV. Keeping the old copper for the phones under a different name for the billing was important in the situation I am currently in.

graycorgi
Premium Member
join:2004-02-23

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Click for full size
Guide looks like it was programmed for MS-DOS
Click for full size
Loading ... loading ... loading ...
Click for full size
This is when my On Demand decides it won't show up. This is all I see when I go to CH 001. I have to reset my box to fix it.
Click for full size
Does not come with eye bleach, sorry.
SARA is the ugliest thing ever. I moved from COX, San Diego with SARA to Comcast, Orlando with SARA. It just follows me... here's some screenshots of the hideousness for those who have never seen it.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Hey, so that's what it's called, "SARA". Yes, this is what I have to deal with now. It is no picnic to use on the best days.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA

cypherstream to funchords

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I know right! 4GB DDR2 800 Corsair memory is $39.95 after mail in rebate today on New Egg.
cypherstream

1 edit

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MVM

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Yeah that's the famous SARA guide that comes preinstalled on Scientific Atlanta/Cisco set top boxes. It can also run on old Pioneer, Sony and Pace boxes.

Positives over I-Guide is:
Channel Logo's
Shadows under the arrows, A,B, and C icons
Native HD resolution pass through (1080i > 1080i, 720p > 720p)
PIP on Dual tuner DVR's
3rd Party Application support long before I-Guide (Caller ID, Buzztime Games, etc...)
Searchable VOD application

I-Guide has over Sara:
Nicer fonts
Nicer color schemes
Faster VOD
Comcast Central VRN

If your in an SA market you may be lucky to get passport. The layout is just like SARA but with all updated graphics, animations (smooth fade in/out, zooming) and other new features.








Comcast acquired some systems using Passport but has started to downgrade them to SARA.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

I'm not trying to be condescending, but why are cable tv guys and fake fios guys arguing over guides?

Neither of you have good quality tv.

graycorgi
Premium Member
join:2004-02-23

graycorgi

Premium Member

said by Metatron2008:

I'm not trying to be condescending, but why are cable tv guys and fake fios guys arguing over guides?

Neither of you have good quality tv.
Why should I care about a service that a company refuses to deploy in my area? That's right, I could care less.

My tv looks fine, for your information.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

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I dare ask, what would you consider to be "good quality tv"? Fake FiOS guys?

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Yes, Uverse is 'Fake Fios', Fiber to the Node is not a complete fiber optic service, esp. when they use vdsl+ for the systems with only a broadband output of 50 mBit (and that's if your close to the vrad)

And then your talking the tv itself. IPTV with such little broadband is asking for trouble if you have more then one tv and a pc. It's probably great if all you have is tv service, but as far as such limited broadband, it'll be very limited in the future.

And cable hdtv is crap in most areas.
Metatron2008

Metatron2008 to graycorgi

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to graycorgi
May look fine to you, but when you are arguing over competition, I'd imagine the argument should include obvious problems, as in no future broadband room for the tv services for Uverse and Comcast.

Both Uverse and Comcast are already much lesser quality then satelitte and Fios, and over the next few years, things may get quite ugly...

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

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I never considered U-verse to be anything like FiOS, just was not aware that you were making a reference to it. I do agree that the guide and picture quality with my current Comcast service are not satisfying considering the cost. This is the main reason I am switching to Verizon FiOS (the real McCoy) in a couple of weeks.

graycorgi
Premium Member
join:2004-02-23

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Verizon is a non-competitor in my area so there is no purpose for me to compare my TV quality to theirs. Comcast doesn't care. ATT doesn't care. But whom cares the least is Verizon, who will never ever compete with ATT, ever.
ajwees41
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Omaha, NE

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cypher all those features require a dvr

PIP does not work on Motorola with Passport Echo and cox.

Cox is porting the guides that are on the motorola to run on the SA/Cisco replacing SARA

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

cypherstream

MVM

I know. I have a DVR. Everyone pays more for the DVR. How about some features for the money. What does Cox run on Motorola? There's not many options, I would guess I-Guide. Someone is working with NDS to come up with a new guide. Forget if that's Cox or Charter. I get those two MSO's confused sometimes.
ajwees41
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Omaha, NE

ajwees41

Premium Member

cox currently runs passport echo on the motorola dvr's and is the one working with NDS and should have the NDS software working in 2009 can't wait.

mustang50
Premium Member
join:2005-05-06
Roseville, MI

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»AT&T Adds 30 HD Channels to U-Verse [18] comments

Come on Comcast...it's getting harder and harder not to switch.