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AT&T U-verse HDTV - Page 128

post #3811 of 4010
1/20/12 at 3:48pm
I agree. I have started watching football via an antenna just to avoid the pixelization. And now the cost is going up. And lastly, I can only get two HD feeds because of my distance from the box.
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post #3812 of 4010
1/20/12 at 8:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacktheg View Post

I agree. I have started watching football via an antenna just to avoid the pixelization. And now the cost is going up. And lastly, I can only get two HD feeds because of my distance from the box.

I haven't got my notice yet. But I agree! I switched from D* to save money. But with a price increase and poor quality!!! No way Jose.
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post #3813 of 4010
1/21/12 at 6:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrnsplantBuckeye View Post

I haven't got my notice yet. But I agree! I switched from D* to save money. But with a price increase and poor quality!!! No way Jose.

You know that D* is raising their rates even more? Check out that forum.
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post #3814 of 4010
1/21/12 at 6:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabrooks View Post

You know that D* is raising their rates even more? Check out that forum.

Correct me I'm wrong, but would I not be signing a 2-year agreement that they would technically be breaching if they raised my rate?

Even if I am wrong, I highly doubt D* is raising their rates by the $466 I will save compared to U-Verse over the first two years.

EDIT:
Quote:
If you are currently receiving a promotional offer, you will continue to receive the promotional price for the remainder of the offer period.
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post #3815 of 4010
1/21/12 at 9:22pm
the built in wi-fi is unbelievably slow. they say nothing is wrong with it but i notice a huge difference in speed when i disable the wireless g in the modem and use my own wireless n router. what settings can i use to get the best speed out of the wi-fi and the ethernet? are there any ethernet ports that are faster than others?

the installer connected my router into the red port and could not get it connected to the internet. he thought something was wrong with my router and disconnected it. after he left i reconnected it on another port and it worked just fine. does anyone know what the red port is for?

they claim i am getting my 12mbps download but i cannot get a consistant x-hd speed on streaming netflix like i did with charter. do i need to go to the 18 or 24 to get netflix to stream properly?
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post #3816 of 4010
1/22/12 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckeegan View Post

Correct me I'm wrong, but would I not be signing a 2-year agreement that they would technically be breaching if they raised my rate?

Even if I am wrong, I highly doubt D* is raising their rates by the $466 I will save compared to U-Verse over the first two year.

EDIT:

I was referencing the rate increases. Both are raising them. You can find the details in D* forums. What you do about it is your choice, of course. I believe you'll lose more than half of the savings you noted.
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post #3817 of 4010
1/22/12 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by breynolds47 View Post

they claim i am getting my 12mbps download but i cannot get a consistant x-hd speed on streaming netflix like i did with charter. do i need to go to the 18 or 24 to get netflix to stream properly?

I'm on 6 mbps and have no issues streaming netflix.
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post #3818 of 4010
1/22/12 at 10:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckeegan View Post

I switched from D* to U-Verse about 2.5 years ago to save money, as U-Verse had just launched in my market. As more subscribers have signed on, the PQ seems to continually get worse. The DVR has issues with freezing, which has been discussed, and it literally takes the guide 3-5 seconds from the time I hit the button on the remote.

I think the straw that broke the camel's back was my most recent bill:

"Effective February 1st, 2012...

U200 will go from $69 to $72

Internet Max will go from $45 to $48

Wireless Gateway will go from $4 to $6"

No thanks, I'm done. Maybe they didn't see the news about BofA decision to increase fees. I forget how that turned out?

LOL. Perhaps you forgot that *all* cable/telco/sat companies raise their rates every year in Feb/March. DirecTV rates are going up more then Uverse is. Of course if you switch and get a new customer rate more power to you. Perhaps every 2 years you'll switch to get the new customer/intro rate. That's too much a bother for me. Personally I just call up Uverse (or whatever my provider is), tell them I've got a deal with DirecTV/Dish/Whatever and they usually give you $20 off a month for a year or sometimes more.

Do what you gotta do though, there is no "correct" answer for everyone.
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post #3819 of 4010
1/22/12 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabrooks View Post

I was referencing the rate increases. Both are raising them. You can find the details in D* forums. What you do about it is your choice, of course. I believe you'll lose more than half of the savings you noted.

Doubtful, considering I'll lock in an average $20/month in savings over a two year period.

Here's the problem. My U-Verse service hasn't improved at all over the past year, so my choice is to not allow them to raise my rate. This time last year, I was only able to convince them to reduce my bill by $10/month for 6 months.

I'll gladly switch back to U-Verse in 2 years if they've fixed the PQ and DVR issues, and it makes financial sense to do so. I'd have to hate money not to switch back to D* at this point.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bonscott87 View Post

DirecTV rates are going up more then Uverse is. Of course if you switch and get a new customer rate more power to you.

$4+$1 is not greater than $8, and I will get the promo rate, so it's irrelevant.
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post #3820 of 4010
1/22/12 at 9:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckeegan View Post

Doubtful, considering I'll lock in an average $20/month in savings over a two year period.

Here's the problem. My U-Verse service hasn't improved at all over the past year, so my choice is to not allow them to raise my rate. This time last year, I was only able to convince them to reduce my bill by $10/month for 6 months.

I'll gladly switch back to U-Verse in 2 years if they've fixed the PQ and DVR issues, and it makes financial sense to do so. I'd have to hate money not to switch back to D* at this point.

$4+$1 is not greater than $8, and I will get the promo rate, so it's irrelevant.

I did the same math, and with the new customer deals/discounts I'll save an average of ~$25/mth over 2 years going to Directv, and my only upfront costs is $99 upgrade for their new premium 1Tb/5 Tuner Whole House DVR (moving from U200 + extra Receiver + HD, which is now $89/mth to an equivalent D* package).

The better HD quality will be a nice bonus (and less lagging/stuttering on the DVR hopefully)
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post #3821 of 4010
2/27/12 at 8:30am
After the price increase on U-Verse, I think I'm going to switch to Direct myself.

The one thing that really bothers me is the extra charge for every box on U-Verse, when I can get (I think) 5 boxes for my house for no extra per month charge. Plus I can actually get good HD quality unlike U-Verse.

Does Direct charge extra to install new coax lines to rooms as well?
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post #3822 of 4010
2/27/12 at 9:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kodiak33 View Post

The one thing that really bothers me is the extra charge for every box on U-Verse, when I can get (I think) 5 boxes for my house for no extra per month charge.

There is no upfront charge for those (first 3) extra boxes...but there IS certainly a $6 monthly charge for EACH one! (& D* does NOT waive those fees, either) Where did you hear otherwise???

Also, D* DOES charge $11 a month for whole-house DVR service, but does waive the $10 HD access fee for new subs.

Quote:


Plus I can actually get good HD quality unlike U-Verse.

Yea, but you best look at all of the HD channels you're going to be loosing, since D* decided to throw in the towel on new HD adds.

Quote:


Does Direct charge extra to install new coax lines to rooms as well?

Normally not, as long as it does not require any sort of "custom work" (ie: fishing wires thru walls, etc.) But if you already have coax from your U-verse setup, they'll just reuse those.
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post #3823 of 4010
2/27/12 at 10:49am
Yeah, I would have to "buy" the boxes and then not get charged for them correct? It's only a leasing fee if they are not "mine".

I would probably do the wire routing first before they came.

Thanks for the clarification.
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post #3824 of 4010
2/27/12 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kodiak33 View Post

Yeah, I would have to "buy" the boxes and then not get charged for them correct?

NO NO NO...you are STILL (then) charged a mirroring fee of $6 instead.
And you ARE aware that each of those HD boxes will cost you $200 each to buy to "own".
You also then are on the hook if they break, it's YOUR dime to replace.

Bottom line...it does NOT pay to own your own equipment, which is why (hardly) anyone does anymore.

Quote:


It's only a leasing fee if they are not "mine".

Right, then it becomes a "mirroring fee" instead.

Bottom line...D* is NOT going to give you ANY free (monthly) service on additional TV's; they never have since day 1.

You probably better do more research, as it sounds like you have been given incorrect info.
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post #3825 of 4010
2/28/12 at 10:30am
I have Time Warner cable which is set to go up substantially soon. With TW cable I can hook up a few little used TV's right to my pre-wired coax and get most of the basic channels free on cable ready TV's without needing a converter box. Since U-verse wants $7 a box, do I need to pay extra for a box for each of my secondary TV's. Like in a seldom used guest room? Or does U-verse also just send basic channels via coax throughout the house so no box is needed on cable ready TV's. Also, will U-Verse waive that $10 a month HD program fee?
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post #3826 of 4010
2/28/12 at 10:45am
Uverse is IPTV, every TV requires a box to get anything.
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post #3827 of 4010
2/28/12 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FBlack View Post

Since U-verse wants $7 a box, do I need to pay extra for a box for each of my secondary TV's. Like in a seldom used guest room?

Yes. U-Verse is IPTV, so it can only be received by the boxes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FBlack View Post

Also, will U-Verse waive that $10 a month HD program fee?

If you get DVR, the fee is waived (or vice-versa, can't really remember as both are $10). Either way, you only pay once, no matter how many boxes you get (@ $7 a pop). The HD/DVR fee doesn't compound for each additional TV.

EDIT: I might actually be confusing the $10 with the difference between U-100 and U-200. U-200 has DVR, included for free.
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post #3828 of 4010
2/28/12 at 11:14am
Is IPTV reliable?
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post #3829 of 4010
2/28/12 at 12:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueTiger View Post

Is IPTV reliable?

I have both Uverse and Directv. Uverse us considerably more reliable here. Zero downtime, no outages during heavy rain (or heavy clouds for some). I'll be ditching D* when my contract is up.
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post #3830 of 4010
2/28/12 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tighr View Post

EDIT: I might actually be confusing the $10 with the difference between U-100 and U-200. U-200 has DVR, included for free.

The difference between the two used to be $15, which was the rental price of the DVR (I don't know if that's still the price).

However, they don't even list the U100 package anymore, so it looks as if they've cut out that option entirely, for new subscribers and downgraders (they didn't offer the DVR with it, but it was the same price as U200 with it added). So it's right from the $57 price of (the woefully-insufficient for most) U-Family, to $72 for U200 now (both with DVR).

Which means, basically, that if anyone didn't want the DVR, and would've been perfectly fine with the U100 channel offerings (which I'm pretty sure, based on the selection, had to be their most popular package), and wanted to keep their bill down below a certain point, they're SOL now (although they may still have it grandfathered in).
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post #3831 of 4010
2/28/12 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabrooks View Post

I have both Uverse and Directv. Uverse us considerably more reliable here. Zero downtime, no outages during heavy rain (or heavy clouds for some). I'll be ditching D* when my contract is up.

I have been with Directv for the last 11 years. I also had Uverse in December for about 3 weeks during which time my D* account was suspended. While there some things I liked better about Uverse I found it to be unreliable, especially when I tried to push the system to the limit. My account was setup to be able to record 4 streams at a time (3 hd 1 sd) and whenever I tried to record 3 or 4 streams at a time the picture would break up most of the time. Power cycling the DVR would sometimes fix the problem for awhile. I found that when I was only recording 1 or 2 steams the system was pretty reliable. For a lot of users that would be fine, but most users on this forum probably want to be able to use the full capability of the system reliably.

I was satisfied with Uverse customer support when I went to cancel service within 30 days. They credited my account for the full amount of TV service and they let me keep my discounted Uverse internet service. I would recommend that if Uverse is available in your area and you are curious go ahead a give it try.

Jay
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post #3832 of 4010
2/28/12 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dabrooks View Post

I have both Uverse and Directv. Uverse us considerably more reliable here. Zero downtime, no outages during heavy rain (or heavy clouds for some). I'll be ditching D* when my contract is up.

Thanks. IPTV sounds so new in technology that I wasn't sure whether it could be counted on as much as the traditional lines of a wiring system implemented by a Comcast or a Time Warner or a Bright House, etc. Since there is apparently no problem with U-Verse, I'll trust that Internet from AT&T is also reliable. So, good for the company and good for the subscribers!
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post #3833 of 4010
2/28/12 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerndl View Post

I have been with Directv for the last 11 years. I also had Uverse in December for about 3 weeks during which time my D* account was suspended. While there some things I liked better about Uverse I found it to be unreliable, especially when I tried to push the system to the limit. My account was setup to be able to record 4 streams at a time (3 hd 1 sd) and whenever I tried to record 3 or 4 streams at a time the picture would break up most of the time. Power cycling the DVR would sometimes fix the problem for awhile. I found that when I was only recording 1 or 2 steams the system was pretty reliable. For a lot of users that would be fine, but most users on this forum probably want to be able to use the full capability of the system reliably.

I was satisfied with Uverse customer support when I went to cancel service within 30 days. They credited my account for the full amount of TV service and they let me keep my discounted Uverse internet service. I would recommend that if Uverse is available in your area and you are curious go ahead a give it try.

Jay

I use the full capacity of the system reliably. 3HD and 1SD simultaneous. Internal wiring and switches can be the performance weak links. For a week I couldn't figure out why I couldn't record 3HD any longer, finally realized it was the way I had changed my network wiring at a switch. Swapped a couple of wires, back in business.
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post #3834 of 4010
2/28/12 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueTiger View Post

Is IPTV reliable?

I can only count of one downtime that I have had problems with it. That was only when the main office in Kansas, that U-Verse feeds out of, was having problems. We have gone as far as having two programs recording, the son had his on a SD channel, the Living room which is the DVR also on, and when the wife turned on the one in our bedroom, I lost the dvr, but fixed that, by time shifting the recorded program at that time, to a later time in the middle of the night, and went back to watching what I had on.

I have my Uverse wired with Cat-5e, the three boxes connected to the RG through a patch panel, the other three wired devices are through a Netgear GS-108 switch. I have never had so extreme of problems, that we had drop outs, or macro blocking while watching something. Now, confetti drops, and watching Sports on the CBS station in our market, is the only complaint that I have, but I deal with it, because it only lasts at the most 30 sec's for the confetti drops, about no more than 2 sec's during a instance for sports on the CBS station.

Right now we are watching Mi. State & U of Indiana on ESPN, and there have been no pixeling, etc that you normally see during sports. The picture is better than our Comcast system in our market.

The other thing I love about U-Verse, is one of the sub's has written a good utility called Uverse Realtime, which is really helpful in seeing what your stat's are, and if you have a problem, you can send that info to a tech on the direct forum on dslreports.com, and it helps them to see what you are seeing on your end, not on their end, through the tools they are using from afar.
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post #3835 of 4010
2/29/12 at 4:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregzoll View Post

I can only count of one downtime that I have had problems with it. That was only when the main office in Kansas, that U-Verse feeds out of, was having problems. We have gone as far as having two programs recording, the son had his on a SD channel, the Living room which is the DVR also on, and when the wife turned on the one in our bedroom, I lost the dvr, but fixed that, by time shifting the recorded program at that time, to a later time in the middle of the night, and went back to watching what I had on.

I have my Uverse wired with Cat-5e, the three boxes connected to the RG through a patch panel, the other three wired devices are through a Netgear GS-108 switch. I have never had so extreme of problems, that we had drop outs, or macro blocking while watching something. Now, confetti drops, and watching Sports on the CBS station in our market, is the only complaint that I have, but I deal with it, because it only lasts at the most 30 sec's for the confetti drops, about no more than 2 sec's during a instance for sports on the CBS station.

Right now we are watching Mi. State & U of Indiana on ESPN, and there have been no pixeling, etc that you normally see during sports. The picture is better than our Comcast system in our market.

The other thing I love about U-Verse, is one of the sub's has written a good utility called Uverse Realtime, which is really helpful in seeing what your stat's are, and if you have a problem, you can send that info to a tech on the direct forum on dslreports.com, and it helps them to see what you are seeing on your end, not on their end, through the tools they are using from afar.

There is no "University of Indiana." It's "Indiana University" (look it up).

As for U-Verse, we have it and love it. The only thing that still pisses me off is that they dropped Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel a year ago and still haven't given them back to us. All other cable & satellite carriers still offer them. Very frustrating.
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post #3836 of 4010
2/29/12 at 5:26am
I can call them what I want, because I do not like them as a team. So there.
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post #3837 of 4010
2/29/12 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregzoll View Post

I can call them what I want, because I do not like them as a team. So there.

OK, doesn't matter to me. I graduated from Purdue.
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post #3838 of 4010
2/29/12 at 8:44am
After two years of having U-Verse, I dropped the TV and Voice services and just kept the Internet (12 meg). U200+HD+4 extra boxes just got too expensive for me. The only shows I'm interested in I can watch OTA in HD for free. Saved $150 a month.
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post #3839 of 4010
2/29/12 at 10:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoilerJim View Post

OK, doesn't matter to me. I graduated from Purdue.

I graduated from Rose-Hulman. Thanks for flipping my burgers the last time I was in West Lafayette.
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post #3840 of 4010
2/29/12 at 10:37am
Do any of you UV get audio drop outs in 5.1 ? If you do, did it ever get fixed?
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