Review: AT&T U-VERSE

[bigdog5142]

Just got off the phone with an AT&T CSR at U-Verse and they confirmed that I will be receiving all of the benefits that I described earlier...HOWEVER...they ALSO confirmed that U-Verse CANNOT currently allow you to watch one HD program while recording another. I hate it when companies don't train their people!hhhhh

 

[bigdog5142]

Well, after doing more research...I'm canceling my order. U-Verse is not for me...yet. The service just doesn't compare to Dish yet. Maybe in four months when my contract is up. We'll see where they are then...

 

[Davey Roa]

I think it works lovely. I have it for almost a year with little to no problems. Once they get sci-fi hd, it will be perfect!

 

[ConnieOh]

Could it be true - Uverse fiber optic to house and wireless?

Thanks for all the info, although most of it was above my head, I think I got the jist.
I just had an ATT rep come to my door with a great promotion and Im just wondering if I want to take the leap to Uverse. I convinced him to check with my other neighbors and come back to me so I'd have a chance to do some quick research. When he came back I had some new questions for him.

He stated that this service was fiber optic to the home and made a point to state that Cox was not. I also asked him what kind of hardware was involved and he stated it was only the DVR and remote. He said everything was wireless. (Could this be true or do you think he is feeding me a line knowing that Im somewhat ignorant in the technical field?) Would it make a difference since Im inquring about internet and TV service?

After reading your review Im wondering if its possible that my area (San Diego) has the fiber optic to the house where as other areas don't? And Im also wondering why I wouldn't need all those same receivers you were talking about. Your review is not that old, so I wouldn't expect that they would have made that much headway in such a short amount of time.

Anyway, hoping you could shed some light for me in laymens terms.

Thanks!

ConnieO

 

[ben1wan]

Thanks for all the info, although most of it was above my head, I think I got the jist.
I just had an ATT rep come to my door with a great promotion and Im just wondering if I want to take the leap to Uverse. I convinced him to check with my other neighbors and come back to me so I'd have a chance to do some quick research. When he came back I had some new questions for him.

He stated that this service was fiber optic to the home and made a point to state that Cox was not. I also asked him what kind of hardware was involved and he stated it was only the DVR and remote. He said everything was wireless. (Could this be true or do you think he is feeding me a line knowing that Im somewhat ignorant in the technical field?) Would it make a difference since Im inquring about internet and TV service?

After reading your review Im wondering if its possible that my area (San Diego) has the fiber optic to the house where as other areas don't? And Im also wondering why I wouldn't need all those same receivers you were talking about. Your review is not that old, so I wouldn't expect that they would have made that much headway in such a short amount of time.

Anyway, hoping you could shed some light for me in laymens terms.

Thanks!

ConnieO

As ive stated before i install u-verse in san diego and there are a few areas in san diego that have fiber to the home not many, rancho bernardo is 1 area, other than that noooooo we do not hand out wireless settop boxes! dont pay attention the sales people research online is way more accurate all the eqipment must be harwired, the modem does however send out a wireless signal, so if you have wireless devices you can connect to the modem and it will provide you with internet.

 

[pcemkr]

I also had a u-verse rep stop by my house on Friday here in San Diego and he did mention the fiber to house aspect as well. If this is true, would 2 HD streams be possible upon installation, or would we still need to wait until q2 as well Ben1?

Also, for any current users here in SD, have you been happy with the internet service? I signed up for the elite internet package, but am starting to have second thoughts and am thinking of keeping my cox internet.

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[ben1wan]

reply

I also had a u-verse rep stop by my house on Friday here in San Diego and he did mention the fiber to house aspect as well. If this is true, would 2 HD streams be possible upon installation, or would we still need to wait until q2 as well Ben1?

Also, for any current users here in SD, have you been happy with the internet service? I signed up for the elite internet package, but am starting to have second thoughts and am thinking of keeping my cox internet.

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Yes you will still have to wait. And the elite internet speed is up to 6mbs you usually get about 5.8-5.9 and in some areas they are offerig max speeds up to 10 mbs. And the speeds are generally the same as cox sometimes faster sometimes a little slower however with our service you get a dedicated line to the house so your not sharing broadband with multiple customers so you'll never have to worry about everyone using the same line at the same time slowing your speeds down at certain hours.

 

[SatinKzo]

Well, I took the plunge into Uverse in my area. Gotta say so far, I love it. I had my house pre-wired already for networking so the install was a breeze. New cat5 from the NID to the RG, Cat5e to each STB. I also have the 6/1 HSI (just can't get full use of the 10meg service. I'm about 400 feet from the vrad and I'm on the 2nd person to get installed in my vrad.

Install tech was so glad to see I had cat5 everywhere. Says local tech dred the coax installs, just too many issues to work through and mostly lots of pulling of new wire.

During testing of the STB's I can verify that 2HD streams does work, but it was turned off as it is not ready to officially launch, but it was working great. I see others are actually being setup for 2HD streams now from reports at uverseusers.com.

HD PQ is not quite there yet, but it's pretty good. SD PQ is teriffic! DVR with 4 stream simultaneous recording has already been put through it's paces and passed the kids/wife test.

When the WHDVR functionaliy comes and the HD PQ improves a bit, it might be time to turn off my dishHD package. Sure the overall Uverse setup needs some polishing, but heck I remember how long it took dish to finally get their software to where it is today.

Also, wanted to pass along that the tech mentioned that they may be going to Cisco boxes in the future, but that is not for sure. Others have reported hearing the same thing, so who knows.

Just wanted to add my little experience with Uverse so far, honestly I am quite happy and my wife might finally be happy I stick with 1 provider for the family room for once.

 

[DunRite]

Cable or Cat5e

I'm having the U-verse installed on Tuesday and would like to know which would be the better option. I'm currently with Time-Warner HD service and a local DSL provider. The salesman told me they can go either way with setup (cable, cat5e) My home is completely wired with cat5e and I use Windows Media Center on both wired and wifi. My tv's are all using standard cable however some of the cable is old and there are a lot of spliters.

Does anyone have an opinion as to which is better to use for the U-verse, cable or cat5e?

The best part of this deal is the internet spead is more than double what I currently have or can get from my local povider and the IPTV is a 30 day FREE trial. I will be keeping Time Warner during the 30 day trial. My biggest concern is the one HD stream at a time.

P.S. Does anyone know if the DVR box will stream to the other boxes in the home?

Thanks!

Mark

 

[ben1wan]

reply

I'm having the U-verse installed on Tuesday and would like to know which would be the better option. I'm currently with Time-Warner HD service and a local DSL provider. The salesman told me they can go either way with setup (cable, cat5e) My home is completely wired with cat5e and I use Windows Media Center on both wired and wifi. My tv's are all using standard cable however some of the cable is old and there are a lot of spliters.

Does anyone have an opinion as to which is better to use for the U-verse, cable or cat5e?

The best part of this deal is the internet spead is more than double what I currently have or can get from my local povider and the IPTV is a 30 day FREE trial. I will be keeping Time Warner during the 30 day trial. My biggest concern is the one HD stream at a time.

P.S. Does anyone know if the DVR box will stream to the other boxes in the home?

Thanks!

Mark

Obviously in this case cat5 is best, not only because your keeping time warner for the present, but also because the coax is older, however overall, cat5 vs coax, uhhhhh there is no real difference, they work just the same with maybe some very minor differences not even noticeable, and for the anwer to the second question for the thousandth time whole home dvr/and the 2 hd streams will be available around the 2nd to third quarter.

 

[SatinKzo]

Well, the 2nd HD stream depends on where you are at right . Some areas are getting it now ( assume test markets).

Also, I would do a all cat5 install if you can for reasons ben said (keep TW in place just in case) and do you know the quality of your coax? I understand it's hard to pull your own at times and everyone is different. but if you can, I would do it. Technically there should be no difference, but coax can be a funny animal and I know the tech's a I talked to prefer cat5.

Also, pull a home run wire if you can, to your NID, so they don't try/have to use the coax line coming in to get to the RG.

 

[DunRite]

Thanks, Guys.

I'll will go with the cat5e. I hope the 30 Day free trial proves me wrong, but if its as described on this forum I most likely won't keep it simply because of the limited HD feed unless they can give me a roll-out date of a minimum 2 HD stream.

I'm also use to the crystal clear 1080i and 720p I'm getting through Time Warner. If there is a noticable loss as I've been reading I won't be happy. The big plus is Time Warner only offers 15HD channels and U-Verse claims to offer over 50HD and 720 Standard.

I'm really looking forward to testing the quality and stability of the U-Verse. I'll post my findings and opinions after I reveiw it for a while.

Again, Thanks for your input!

Mark

 

[betsig250]

I was installed last month in MI and am loving it! The HD is not "quite" up to par of comcast, but the SD upgrade is well worth it. I could barely stand to watch SD on comcast on my 56" DLP but with uVerse it looks 10 times better.

My main TV was wired for cat5 and my other 2 used the existing COAX that I wired not too long ago. Have had no hiccups so far in service either.

the 1 HD steam is kinda lame at the moment but I am dealing with it. But I am saving 60 bucks a month so I can wait for the better stuff to come out!

 

[mroy]

Just Signed Up

I live in Connecticut and I just bought a house in Simsbury. I originally planned on just getting Comcast in my new home, however when I called to switch over my AT&T land line phone they informed me that UVerse was available in my area. From everything I have heard and read I was under the impression that UVerse offered better quality HD and more HD channels than Comcast. Since there is no contract or commitment I signed up. I opted for the U200 and the 3.0 internet and the phone package. It comes with 3 TV tuners, the first month free and a $100 cash back with a monthly charge of $139.99. The one HD signal doesn't bother me because I currently only own 1 HD TV. I was dissapointed that I can only get one DVR in the house. I figure that if after a couple of months I'm not happy then I can just cancel the service and sign up for Comcast. I do have a few questions I'm hoping to get answered:
1. Is there any ETA on the capability to utilize the DVR on all TV's?
2. Is there any way to export the recordings off of the DVR onto a computer?
3. What resolution are the HD channels broadcast in? I have a 720P TV.
4. Can I expect the 3.0 internet to be as fast as my current Comcast internet?
5. Will I be able to use a 3rd party DVR such as TIVO?
6. How does the picture quality compare to Comcast?

I appreciate any feedback I can get.

Thanks.

 

[SatinKzo]

1. No eta that I have heard on whole house dvr
2. no way over the network like with a tivo if that is what you mean
3. I don't know the resolutions, but the HD is good, but not great, should be fine on a 720 set IMO or any set, but it's not like it's coming through uncompressed. Last couple days though, maybe it's just me, but the PQ on the HD has improved.
4. I have no experience with comcast, but I have 10/1.5 uvere and I had 10/1 from charter. Obviously uploads are faster, download is the same, but I have noticed a sort of slow start to downloads before the speed picks up. Nothing that affects me, just something I noticed
5. Supposedly Tivo has finally release uverse STB codes for their IR blaster. Obviously you can't record in HD
6. Again, I can only compare charter and dish. SD PQ IMO is tremendously better. HD PQ is less than the mpeg4 dish stuff, but better than what I saw on charter, but not by much.

 

[mroy]

Install Successful

I had the Uverse package (TV, Internet, Phone) hooked up last Friday. The installer was at my house from 10AM till 6PM. I was very impressed with the service I received. The installer was very helpfull and informative. It was more like a consultation than an install. He worked with me to essentially build the network in my house. I told him where I wanted the gateway and he set everything else up. He ran lines where needed and added new wallplates where needed. He installed one gateway and 3 TV receivers The gateway is connected to a coaxal cable. 2 of the TV receivers are connected with CAT5.

So far I do not have any complaints. I was able to record two shows at the same time (one in HD) while watching the Celtics game in HD at the same time. I think the quality of the HD is very good. The only complaint I have is that the boxes are not compatible with HDMI cables. It works for a while but when you turn off the receiver and then turn it back on later, the system locks up and you have to reset the box.

I find the phone to be a little lacking. When you pick up the phone to make a call, there is a 2 second lag until you get a dial tone.

I ordered the 3MB internet and it is significantly slower than my Comcast internet. I could upgrade to the 10MB which would be compereable but that would make the cost significantly greater than Comcast.

I've only had the service for a few days but so far I am happy with the quality. I'm not sure if its better than Comcast but it certainly isn't inferior and so far the service is definitely better than Comcast. It also sounds like there will be numerous upgrades comming in the next few months that will add many new features.

I'll keep it for now.

 

[SatinKzo]

No HDMI problems here, but I have read about the handshake problems others have had.

 

[Fanucci]

AT&T is pushing this hard in my neighborhood. I've had 2 reps come to my door in the last 2 weeks. They were offering a $100 Amex gift card to switch, plus another $175 card to cover my early termination fees from E* if I switched to Uverse.

It sounds interesting, especially since they have the dual-stream set up in my area that would allow me to record 2 HD programs at once. My concerns are the lack of storage on their DVR versus the VIP 722 and fewer HD channels compared to E*. It also sounds like the HD quality might not be as good.

 

[bigdog5142]

AT&T is pushing this hard in my neighborhood. I've had 2 reps come to my door in the last 2 weeks. They were offering a $100 Amex gift card to switch, plus another $175 card to cover my early termination fees from E* if I switched to Uverse.

It sounds interesting, especially since they have the dual-stream set up in my area that would allow me to record 2 HD programs at once. My concerns are the lack of storage on their DVR versus the VIP 722 and fewer HD channels compared to E*. It also sounds like the HD quality might not be as good.

I don't know where you live, but the HD quality is BETTER than my Dish was in my area. (Detroit area) The SD programming looks 100% better as well. I have been VERY impressed by the U-Verse service and canceled my Dish today.

 

[RedLimey]

Austin/Belterra, TX U-Verse

We close on a new construction Aug 22nd and I've started to research the U-Verse service. This is my first stop. Next is uverseusers. We currently have DirecTV and I've been happy with their service. It'll be a long time until I use Time Warner - the nickle and dimers.

I think with the move to the new house I will give U-Verse a shot. Especially since the U300 + Internet Pro combo will be the same price I pay for non-HD services with DirecTV now. Plus we'll have fiber run to the house.

We've not had HD service barr what comes over the airwaves, so probably will be thrilled with the HD quality that's currently provided and then tickled-pink when they arrive at the quality to rival Direct and Dish.

Thanks for all the input posted on this site. I'm just glad I'm going through this now with a bunch of improvements having already been made and with more just around the corner!

I think I'll avoid bundling in the phone options though - we have Vonage and at < $32 per month which includes free calls to the UK, AT&T cannot compete.

-Red