Altice One

[Cobra611]

Has anyone used the new Altice One setup for Optimum??

 

[Cobra611]

Well, even with hearing some negative things regarding the new Altice One boxes, I decided to take a chance. All my promotions ended with DirecTV and was having a few technical hiccups, both of which had me wanting to try the new equipment with Optimum. Install was yesterday. Tech was here nearly 3 hours, having to run a few new cables. Once install was complete, I told him I would be able to figure things out, so he could head out...it was almost 6pm. So far, I am enjoying it. The UI on these boxes is clear and runs smoothly. Scrolling through the guide is very easy. The voice command function works great. Just say a channel or program, and it switches right away. Watched a few minutes of Olympic coverage in 4K and wasn't too impress. But, then again, I haven't been blown away by 4K in general. Unless I'm at Best Buy watching the OLED sets running 4K content. Still trying to figure out how to do a few things in regard to the remote, like trying to open the guide with just one button press. Currently, you have to hit the home button, then scroll over to guide. It's nice having the Netflix app easily available. I'll try to get back here once I figure out more stuff.

 

[Cobra611]

Well, having had the new Altice One equipment for a month now, I can honestly say, I'm enjoying it. All the boxes respond quickly to command. The guide layout and UI is pretty good as well. While it's not directed at the new equipment, I am a little disappointed in the picture quality. I'm fairly certain they are bandwidth issues. For example, when watching the Rangers on MSG, the picture isn't nearly as good as it was on DirecTV. When the camera moves quickly from each end of the rink, there's very noticeable banding and pixelation. Same for some other channels.

 

[Tampa8]

Well, having had the new Altice One equipment for a month now, I can honestly say, I'm enjoying it. All the boxes respond quickly to command. The guide layout and UI is pretty good as well. While it's not directed at the new equipment, I am a little disappointed in the picture quality. I'm fairly certain they are bandwidth issues. For example, when watching the Rangers on MSG, the picture isn't nearly as good as it was on DirecTV. When the camera moves quickly from each end of the rink, there's very noticeable banding and pixelation. Same for some other channels.

I see in places like Digitrends Altice One new equipment gets good reviews.

Regarding fast moving scenes same problem I see on my neighbor's Charter/Brighthouse service when we watch some - not all - fast moving scenes. His response when he first watched a game at my house (DISH) was the picture is better. Your assessment of 4K is spot on and it probably isn't their 4K that is not "wow" it is that way overall. There's a difference but not night and day over 1080 for most things, and not like the huge upgrade from SD to HD. Some of the Amazon 4K is an improvement if you sit close enough, and the colors and overall picture is better but more because of HDR.

 

[Cobra611]

Quick update...Altice One boxes have slowed down just a bit. Pulling up the guide, and scrolling through, sometimes freezes before it moves on. I've had to do a couple of reboots because the box just froze up completely. To this point, I'm still happy with the service in general.

 

[Cobra611]

One last update. The Altice One boxes continue to slow down enough to the point that I'm ready to abandon Optimum and go back to either DirecTV or FiOS. I've been in contact with their customer support, and they have been unable help in rectifying this issue...even after multiple refreshes. It's not just the slowness of the boxes or picture quality, but some of the features periodically won't work. The voice search and DVR have consistently given me error messages, where I will need to actually unplug the box in order to reset (because the box has become unresponsive).

 

[Cobra611]

It's been about a month and a half since my last update. And since that time, all of my Altice One boxes have improved, performance wise. I can switch between channels, call up the program guide and use the DVR with just little to no hesitation. Knock on wood, but I haven't had the boxes freeze up or had any need to reboot. Although, I did have trouble accessing the guide, but that happens very infrequently now. So, I'll continue to monitor and update in the event anyone cares to hear

 

[Cobra611]

Well, this will probably be my last update for my Altice One service. A few weeks after my last post, I started to have a few hiccups again. While it didn't happen as often as before, it was enough to annoy me. There were a few times when I couldn't access my DVR and had to get up and unplug the box because the screen froze, just to reset it. Couple that with the bombardment of FiOS offers I kept getting through the mail made me look into Verizon again. They finally offer Gigabit internet in my area, so for just $8 more a month (essentially the same tv package and Gigabit internet speeds, up and down) and a 3 year price agreement, I made the switch back. My wife is not happy as she liked a few features that the Altice One service offered and now she has to get used to where all the channels are...AGAIN! I was enjoying it as well, and if they ever make the equipment more reliable, improve their picture quality and increase their internet speeds, I would consider them again.

 

[harshness]

That was a relatively short relationship. That it seems not to be getting all the fundamental kinks ironed out is probably your cue though.

 

[Cobra611]

That was a relatively short relationship. That it seems not to be getting all the fundamental kinks ironed out is probably your cue though.

Even paying promotional prices, I still expect my services to work as expected. There were quite a few things I liked about the service and I'm disappointed that it isn't ready for prime time, so to speak. I would certainly consider them again once they iron out the kinks with the new equipment software.

 

[harshness]

There were quite a few things I liked about the service and I'm disappointed that it isn't ready for prime time, so to speak. I would certainly consider them again once they iron out the kinks with the new equipment software.

Kinks only get harder to iron out as time passes so I wouldn't hold my breath.