AT&T TV
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For those considering ATT TV, here’s some observations about the app and the box.
The ATT box comes with the subscription and in some ways is very good. The remote has buttons for practically anything you might want to do and provides for voice interaction. It is also backlit.
What it doesn’t do well is work with speed! It is a slug when using it to interact with ATT TV, often taking several seconds to respond to a button push. With apps it is worse and crashing the box is unfortunately something that happens more often than it should.
AppleTV - The app is fine on this box and much quicker. There was a lip sync issue but that seems to be solved. Unfortunately the simplicity of the ATV remote makes interacting with the app a bit irritating IMO. Trick play is fine but instead of using a thumbnail to show where you are, it tries to show it full screen but can’t keep up.
FireTV Cube (1st gen) - The ATT TV app is even more sluggish on this box than on ATT’s box! Video can be a bit hinky too. Trick play can be done but no visual indication other than the timebar. I have been told that the newer Cubes do much better though trick play is still the same.
Roku Ultra & Premier - The ATT TV app works very well on either of these devices. Not quite as quick as the AppleTV but very nearly so. Trick play shows a thumbnail for FF and rewind but not for 15 second skip. The remote for the Roku devices is more conducive for working with the app IMO. Once HBO Max app shows up for the Roku it would probably be the best compromise ‘one box’.
The ATT box comes with the subscription and in some ways is very good. The remote has buttons for practically anything you might want to do and provides for voice interaction. It is also backlit.
What it doesn’t do well is work with speed! It is a slug when using it to interact with ATT TV, often taking several seconds to respond to a button push. With apps it is worse and crashing the box is unfortunately something that happens more often than it should.
AppleTV - The app is fine on this box and much quicker. There was a lip sync issue but that seems to be solved. Unfortunately the simplicity of the ATV remote makes interacting with the app a bit irritating IMO. Trick play is fine but instead of using a thumbnail to show where you are, it tries to show it full screen but can’t keep up.
FireTV Cube (1st gen) - The ATT TV app is even more sluggish on this box than on ATT’s box! Video can be a bit hinky too. Trick play can be done but no visual indication other than the timebar. I have been told that the newer Cubes do much better though trick play is still the same.
Roku Ultra & Premier - The ATT TV app works very well on either of these devices. Not quite as quick as the AppleTV but very nearly so. Trick play shows a thumbnail for FF and rewind but not for 15 second skip. The remote for the Roku devices is more conducive for working with the app IMO. Once HBO Max app shows up for the Roku it would probably be the best compromise ‘one box’.
I signed up, received the box, activated and cancelled an hour later. It needs a lot of work to take place of the cable/satellite providers.
Sent from my iPhone using the SatelliteGuys app!
Sent from my iPhone using the SatelliteGuys app!
Now that I’ve had the ATT TV service for a couple of months, I thought I’d do a little follow up.
The service works fine though as with all streamers there are occasional burps. I’ve had a couple nights when playing DVR’d shows buffered horribly but the live tv worked fine. Not a big deal since there is so much other stuff to watch with various apps.
The box has gotten better thanks to some tweaks I was told about. Still a bit of a slug compared to other boxes, but the remote is just so good that I prefer using the ATT box most of the time.
The downside these days, and this is for all the live streaming services, is that there just is so little new and interesting shows to watch on live tv with the early stops of some series and the late starts for the new ones. That isn’t ATT’s fault, it just is the way it is with the effect the coronavirus is having on so many things. Frankly if it weren’t for the ETF I wouldn’t have a live streaming service at all right now.
As of right now, ATT TV and ATT TV Now are the only two live streaming services with 5.1 audio on the majority of channels, the others don’t have it at all. And it is still the case that for those that want a fat channel count the has almost everything out there, ATT TV is the choice. Other live streaming services are a trade-off.
There are some changes coming. YouTubeTV is adding Viacom channels soon and Fubo is adding Disney/ESPN soon. That will fatten their channel selection and subject depth, possibly coming with a rate increase though.
I like to play with numbers a bit. I’ve shown where having ATT TV @Entertainment level and keeping it a year and then cancelling ends up costing $57/month for those 12 months, and that’s true. But actually if you, like me, would have HBO Max for that year, then reducing that cost by the cost of HBO Max, would end up making all the other channels cost me $42/month average. A veritable bargain though you are locked in for that year.
The service works fine though as with all streamers there are occasional burps. I’ve had a couple nights when playing DVR’d shows buffered horribly but the live tv worked fine. Not a big deal since there is so much other stuff to watch with various apps.
The box has gotten better thanks to some tweaks I was told about. Still a bit of a slug compared to other boxes, but the remote is just so good that I prefer using the ATT box most of the time.
The downside these days, and this is for all the live streaming services, is that there just is so little new and interesting shows to watch on live tv with the early stops of some series and the late starts for the new ones. That isn’t ATT’s fault, it just is the way it is with the effect the coronavirus is having on so many things. Frankly if it weren’t for the ETF I wouldn’t have a live streaming service at all right now.
As of right now, ATT TV and ATT TV Now are the only two live streaming services with 5.1 audio on the majority of channels, the others don’t have it at all. And it is still the case that for those that want a fat channel count the has almost everything out there, ATT TV is the choice. Other live streaming services are a trade-off.
There are some changes coming. YouTubeTV is adding Viacom channels soon and Fubo is adding Disney/ESPN soon. That will fatten their channel selection and subject depth, possibly coming with a rate increase though.
I like to play with numbers a bit. I’ve shown where having ATT TV @Entertainment level and keeping it a year and then cancelling ends up costing $57/month for those 12 months, and that’s true. But actually if you, like me, would have HBO Max for that year, then reducing that cost by the cost of HBO Max, would end up making all the other channels cost me $42/month average. A veritable bargain though you are locked in for that year.
What a mess. I was a DirecTV subscriber for 27 years. Thought I would never leave. Then AT&T ate it. Went to YouTube TV several months ago on a Shield TV Pro 2019 and was completely satisfied. Plus the shield handles any thing thrown at it including Vision and Atmos. NOW, YTTV has upped the price of poker 30%. It's not that I can't afford it, but consider it almost immoral in these times. What to do?
I was always wishful of a DirecTV box that would do either the dish or the Internet that also allowed other apps like smart TV's do. I have AT&T 1000 that actually will do that up and down so AT&T TV might work. That said I have a friend that tried the app and the box and hated them. He's going back to the sats. For the life of me, I just can't get a good read on what the AT&T TV app or box will handle programming and cost wise. 5.1/1080 locals are a must and Vision/Atmos apps are a must primarily Netflix, Prime, and Disney. Just one big pig in a poke and it sounds like it may be in fact be a real PIG.
Off into the wilderness I go again.
I was always wishful of a DirecTV box that would do either the dish or the Internet that also allowed other apps like smart TV's do. I have AT&T 1000 that actually will do that up and down so AT&T TV might work. That said I have a friend that tried the app and the box and hated them. He's going back to the sats. For the life of me, I just can't get a good read on what the AT&T TV app or box will handle programming and cost wise. 5.1/1080 locals are a must and Vision/Atmos apps are a must primarily Netflix, Prime, and Disney. Just one big pig in a poke and it sounds like it may be in fact be a real PIG.
Off into the wilderness I go again.
AT&T TV (and Now) has 5.1 audio on many but not all stations. Currently the box is not doing 5.1 because of a screwup in an update. I’m assuming that will be fixed soon as I was assured by an advanced tech I talked to when reporting the issue.
The app does do 5.1 on Roku, FireTV and AppleTV by my testing, don’t know if that is true for other platforms.
I don’t know what the actual HD is, reports are that it is mostly 1080 but I don’t have an actual way to check that. I do know that the HD PQ is better than the other live streamers by some amount.
The ATT box does not support Vision or Atmos at all in other apps.
The ATV4K and FireTV are probably the two best boxes to use. FireTV remote works well with it, ATV4K remote isn’t all that good as the remote sucks.
But you can try it for 2 weeks and if you don’t like it send the box back and cancel and no bill.
The app does do 5.1 on Roku, FireTV and AppleTV by my testing, don’t know if that is true for other platforms.
I don’t know what the actual HD is, reports are that it is mostly 1080 but I don’t have an actual way to check that. I do know that the HD PQ is better than the other live streamers by some amount.
The ATT box does not support Vision or Atmos at all in other apps.
The ATV4K and FireTV are probably the two best boxes to use. FireTV remote works well with it, ATV4K remote isn’t all that good as the remote sucks.
But you can try it for 2 weeks and if you don’t like it send the box back and cancel and no bill.
I’m glad the DD5.1 issue with the box is starting to get noticed by more people. I really hope it gets fixed soon.
I really want to like the box mainly because of the remote. I can deal with the bit of sluggishness as long as it doesn’t get any worse.
I really want to like the box mainly because of the remote. I can deal with the bit of sluggishness as long as it doesn’t get any worse.
People with sound systems that don’t have rear speakers most likely wouldn’t really notice that 5.1 is not there. I’m still impatiently waiting for them to fix this issue.
The box is nice and will be nicer when/if Hulu & Prime come to it. The dedicated remote is a real plus.
Another update come and gone on the Osprey box, kernel date July 3. Surround Sound issue still not resolved.
Yeah I know.
As much as I like using that box and remote I’m thinking it will join other crap tech that didn’t work right because of shoddy programmers in the junk closet.
Yeah I know.
As much as I like using that box and remote I’m thinking it will join other crap tech that didn’t work right because of shoddy programmers in the junk closet.
I’m starting to rethink my position on the ATT box. Yeah, it is missing DD5.1 on ATT’s service, but as with all live streaming services, there just isn’t really enough NEW interesting programming on it. I’m down to recording 3 series a week now and they will be gone soon too. And with my sound system even stereo sounds pretty darned good.
I’m hoping that before some new, interesting shows come back to live TV that the box will be doing DD5.1. And I figure one of these days they might even allow Prime and Hulu on the ATT box.
Well, looks like you may soon have another choice for an OTT cable TV service with its own customized Android TV box and remote: TVision from T-Mobile. Although who knows if the app selection will be any better on their box than on AT&T TV's.
Android TV also playing a part in T-Mobile's new pay-TV play | Light Reading
Android TV also happens to be among the platforms supported by MobiTV, said to be one of the partners on board to get T-Mobile's revamped pay-TV product out the door.
www.lightreading.com
Just trying to justify that mistake.
Well, rationalization at least!
In a normal year a live streamer makes sense if the price is right. This is far from any kind of normal year!
Well the little AT&T Osprey box finally got DD5.1 working on it. Works quite well and almost all channels have DD5.1.
Also sideloaded Amazon Prime and Hulu apps. The Prime app is the current one, the Hulu app is v2.1.3 since newer versions won’t work on it. Sideloading turned out to be really easy using an Android tablet.
The only app missing to make it the ‘one box’ is AppleTV+, for that I have to use a different box. Not a big deal because there isn’t all that much to watch on it anyway though what is there is very good.
Downside is the flakiness of the AT&T box. Most often it works fine but now and then it decides to get really sluggish.
Also sideloaded Amazon Prime and Hulu apps. The Prime app is the current one, the Hulu app is v2.1.3 since newer versions won’t work on it. Sideloading turned out to be really easy using an Android tablet.
The only app missing to make it the ‘one box’ is AppleTV+, for that I have to use a different box. Not a big deal because there isn’t all that much to watch on it anyway though what is there is very good.
Downside is the flakiness of the AT&T box. Most often it works fine but now and then it decides to get really sluggish.
We've had satellite, either Directv or Dish, since 1995. Unexpected job change and cross country move, had to be in an apartment until we purchased a new house, so we got YTTV and Philo as an interim choice (we cancelled Dish, only had 3 months left in the contract.) We got YTTV and Philo as it was required to get all the channels we watch.
We really liked Dish. Liked the Hopper 3 + Joey system much more than the Genie Directv system. We watch almost everything via the DVR, so 16 tuners was a blessing, no more juggling what we record or being surprise shows not recorded due to a conflict. Sound and PQ were fine, overall UI was very good. We'd intended to just sign back up with Dish when we moved into a new house. The one thing that frustrated me about Dish, though, was that Charlie seemed to love to fight and loved to drop channels just to show he was tough. So we seemed to constantly have, say, NBC or CBS, etc. out for 6 weeks or more at a time. Dish still doesn't have the RSNs.
Between YTTV and Philo we have all our channels. YTTV is our primary app. However the interface for YTTV Is terrible. The on screen guide only goes out a VERY short time, the DVR/Library has no real sort options, you can't hide watched episodes in the library, there's no one button from wherever you are to just go back to what you're watching, etc. However, my wife loves being able to put a TV anywhere she wants any time she wants (we have three - one in the master bedroom, one in the den, the third gets moved around, e.g. on the back covered patio, in the kitchen, in a guest bedroom, etc.) For her that is more important than the interface.
SO - AT&T TV. I'd really like the convenience of streaming with the channel lineups and UI of traditional. I also have a nice 7.1.2 sound system so at least 5.1 would be nice. But here are my current concerns about AT&T, I'd appreciate feedback:
1. I've had two year contracts since 1995, but after going to month to month, I love the flexibility: a new service comes out, you can try it, don't like it cancel and change back in minutes. Nothing anyone can do on the two year contract so I guess no feedback needed here. Same for the price.
2. DVR: 500 hours should be plenty, but only 90 days retention? Is that true? The way we watch things, that alone could be a deal breaker.
3. DVR - how many simultaneous channels can be recorded at once? YTTV is unlimited and storage is 9 months.
I recognize that services like AT&T TV and YTTV are fundamentally different, but if AT&T TV was the best of both I'd be willing to pay more. I think.
We really liked Dish. Liked the Hopper 3 + Joey system much more than the Genie Directv system. We watch almost everything via the DVR, so 16 tuners was a blessing, no more juggling what we record or being surprise shows not recorded due to a conflict. Sound and PQ were fine, overall UI was very good. We'd intended to just sign back up with Dish when we moved into a new house. The one thing that frustrated me about Dish, though, was that Charlie seemed to love to fight and loved to drop channels just to show he was tough. So we seemed to constantly have, say, NBC or CBS, etc. out for 6 weeks or more at a time. Dish still doesn't have the RSNs.
Between YTTV and Philo we have all our channels. YTTV is our primary app. However the interface for YTTV Is terrible. The on screen guide only goes out a VERY short time, the DVR/Library has no real sort options, you can't hide watched episodes in the library, there's no one button from wherever you are to just go back to what you're watching, etc. However, my wife loves being able to put a TV anywhere she wants any time she wants (we have three - one in the master bedroom, one in the den, the third gets moved around, e.g. on the back covered patio, in the kitchen, in a guest bedroom, etc.) For her that is more important than the interface.
SO - AT&T TV. I'd really like the convenience of streaming with the channel lineups and UI of traditional. I also have a nice 7.1.2 sound system so at least 5.1 would be nice. But here are my current concerns about AT&T, I'd appreciate feedback:
1. I've had two year contracts since 1995, but after going to month to month, I love the flexibility: a new service comes out, you can try it, don't like it cancel and change back in minutes. Nothing anyone can do on the two year contract so I guess no feedback needed here. Same for the price.
2. DVR: 500 hours should be plenty, but only 90 days retention? Is that true? The way we watch things, that alone could be a deal breaker.
3. DVR - how many simultaneous channels can be recorded at once? YTTV is unlimited and storage is 9 months.
I recognize that services like AT&T TV and YTTV are fundamentally different, but if AT&T TV was the best of both I'd be willing to pay more. I think.
You can get AT&T TV Now without the contract to try it out. They have two channel packages to choose from.
Streaming Services | Cut the Cable Today | DIRECTV
Sign up for DIRECTV to enjoy live TV, sports, news, & movies along with thousands of on demand titles. Cut the cable provider today!
www.atttvnow.com
I've been considering this myself, but the lack of a FF/RW preview window on Firestick is a deal killer since that is the device we've found works best overall for my wife and me.
You can get AT&T TV Now without the contract to try it out. They have two channel packages to choose from.
Streaming Services | Cut the Cable Today | DIRECTV
Sign up for DIRECTV to enjoy live TV, sports, news, & movies along with thousands of on demand titles. Cut the cable provider today!www.atttvnow.com
I've been considering this myself, but the lack of a FF/RW preview window on Firestick is a deal killer since that is the device we've found works best overall for my wife and me.
AT&T TV now was actually the first thing we looked at. I was really interested in it but it has so many channels missing it's not an option for us.
We already have to sub to Philo to complement the YTTV subscription to get all the channels we watch. AT&T Now is missing some channels we watch on YTTV but when I look at the channel lists all of those are on Philo.
I may try out AT&T Now. The 90 day limit on the DVR might be an issue. But I have not been happy with the PQ on YTTV; even though it says 1080 res and we have a 1 gig internet hookup, it still seems like a lot of shows have some jerkiness here and there. I think I'll try the 7 day trial and keep YTTV and watch them side by side and see if there's a noticeable difference in PQ worth the extra $$ of the higher level AT&T Now package over YTTV.
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