[XCSSA] AT&T IPTV

Mon, 4 Jun 2007 10:03:25 -0500

I've already passed on your comments to my grandmother. She called me
up and asked if I knew what "U-Verse" was. ATT was going door to door
in her neighborhood asking people to sign up. It just so happened that
the day before I read your post and told her to NOT sign up for it.

--
Jeremy

On 6/4/07, xcssa-admin@xcssa.org <xcssa-admin@xcssa.org> wrote:
> Feel free to quote me anywhere you like.  Those of you stuck doing tech
> support for your relatives may be interested in http://www.uverseusers.com/
>
> Nick
>
> xcssa-admin@xcssa.org wrote:
> > Nick,
> >
> > Thanks for the write up on this man.  I have heard "things" about it but
> > your write up is the best I have seen.  I encourage you to share it out on a
> > board or two.  Oh and my Mom has it too and I am already getting calls.
> >
> > Word,
> > Chad Smykay
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: xcssa-admin@xcssa.org [mailto:xcssa-admin@xcssa.org]
> > Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 8:12 AM
> > To: xcssa@xcssa.org
> > Subject: Re: [XCSSA] AT&T IPTV
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 5/27/07 11:53 PM, "xcssa-admin@xcssa.org" <xcssa-admin@xcssa.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Since a story appeared on /. today
> >> (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/27/2315239&from=rss), I
> >> decided to pass on my experiences with it.
> >>
> >> To explain what it is for those not aware, AT&T U-Verse service is FTTN
> >> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTTN), that is, fiber to your neighborhood
> >> and copper to your house.  Basically they bring in your phone and
> >> network over a single dedicated pair, which they bridge to an existing
> >> coax line.  That comes into a VDSL modem (dubbed "residential gateway"),
> >> which distributes IPTV over your existing coax network.  Each TV
> >> requires a set top box to decode the stream to your TV.  They provide as
> >> part of the service 2 set top boxes plus one DVR (for a total of 3
> >> viewable monitors).  I have a package of a 200 channel line-up (no
> >> premium channels), plus HD service, and a 6Mb/1Mb internet service.
> >>
> >> First, the good.  The network is pretty reliable, and I can usually get
> >> fully 6Mb down and 1Mb up to any endpoint at
> >> http://speakeasy.net/speedtest.  Not bad.  The SD service is as good as
> >> satellite, and the set top box does a decent job of deinterlacing and
> >> scaling (not great, just not bad).  Since it's much better than the
> >> crappy analog signal coming from Time Warner, this is a big plus for me.
> >>   Also, I pay $89/month for the service I'm getting, which is
> >> significantly cheaper than the Time Warner package I had, which was over
> >> $130/month.
> >>
> >> OK, that's where the good ends.  Let's start with the installation.  I
> >> had to have 3 different crews come out over the course of the day to
> >> even get the cabling from the node to my house straightened out.  The
> >> in-home install went OK, but I've had 3 techs back here in the past
> >> month, and I've had 1 set top box replaced and my DVR replaced.  They've
> >> been pretty responsive, but it's been a HUGE hassle.  But then there was
> >> the time my phone was out for 3 days, and when they finally came out
> >> there was a blown fuse at the node, directly related to the uverse
> > install.
> >> Now let's talk about the equipment.  It sucks.  Really horrible.
> >> They're manufactured by Motorola and run Microsoft's IPTV software.
> >> Think Media Center on WinCE.  Really slow, buggy, non-configurable, and
> >> the list goes on.  The DVR is neigh unusable, but thank god you can
> >> schedule recordings through the internet.  It's actually faster to get
> >> the computer, turn it on, connect to Yahoo, and search and schedule
> >> recordings through a web browser than to use the remote for the set top
> >> box.  Yes, it's that horrible.
> >>
> >> The software is pretty unconfigurable.  They picked a nice white on
> >> light blue interface that is transparent with the current channel
> >> playing behind it.  So it's nice and unreadable, especially for my wife
> >> who needs more contrast to read it.  It's completely unusable to her.
> >> You can't change the colors at all.  The closed captioning is
> >> implemented incorrectly, is buggy, and is completely unconfigurable.
> >> It's the only digital TV equipment I have ever used that can't be
> >> configured according to the EIA-708 standard.
> >>
> >> As for the VDSL modem, it's fairly capable as a router, but one of the
> >> features is built-in Wifi, and it sucks.  It drops packets like mad, at
> >> a rate of 6-9% nominally.  I have yet to disable it and connect my
> >> Linksys up for wireless access, but I may cancel the service before I
> >> get to it.  You can't disable http access to it, even over wireless.  It
> >> does have an https service running, but that doesn't change the fact
> >> that it comes preconfigured for WEP, not WPA, and you just can't off
> >> wireless admin access.
> >>
> >> Now on to the television service.  Fortunately, AT&T is offering free HD
> >> service for a year to new subscribers.  Unfortunately I have been
> >> charged every month for it, and I have to call and argue to have it
> >> refunded.  Because I wouldn't pay for it, given the choice.  It's
> >> HEAVILY compressed and is at best 720p, even the 1080i HDNet channels.
> >> The picture quality is significantly worse than cable, and it pixelates
> >> drops frames like mad.  Sometimes the audio is off from the video,
> >> sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.  I have a very clean signal, and
> >> I'm using HDMI cables.  The FTTN just can't support good HDTV.  Oh, and
> >> you can only get 1 HD stream at a time.  Period.  It's good about just
> >> NOT recording your shows without warning on the DVR if you're watching
> >> HD on another TV.
> >>
> >> The DVR has so many problems I don't even know where to start.  It can't
> >> even do simple things like record an entire series of shows at any time.
> >>   Yes, it has an option to do so, but it's a known issue that it doesn't
> >> work.  You have to manually set up the recordings throughout the week.
> >> Even then it just won't record sometimes, or not start at the right
> >> time.  I missed recording the season finale of Heroes.  Twice.
> >> Sometimes it says I'm not subscribed to the channel and I can't watch
> >> the recording.  That brings me to DRM.  Yep, it's got integrated DRM.
> >> It's Microsoft.  You cannot record some programs, period.  They're
> >> restricted.  No TV for you!
> >>
> >> Generally speaking, the technical support has been very responsive, and
> >> I can get to tier 2 fairly quickly.  Unfortunately for the most part all
> >> they can do is either send someone out to replace the equipment or say,
> >> "Yes, we know it sucks, but there's not much we can do about it."  I
> >> don't knock them for it, because they really try to get to the bottom of
> >> things, and they are continually hearing about new problems.  When they
> >> go through the troubleshooting list, they've got about 6-8 known issues
> >> they go through with me until they give up and pass me on to 2nd tier.
> >> That's a lot of problems.
> >>
> >> In conclusion, I have to recommend against anyone getting this service
> >> unless you just don't care about the issues I've described.  That is, if
> >> you're just looking for a cheaper alternative to SDTV+Internet and don't
> >> care about a reliable DVR, then this CAN be a cheaper alternative to
> >> TWC.  Packages start at $74/month.  On the other hand, if you are, as I
> >> suspect most people on this list are, a techie looking for the next
> >> great technology, this isn't it.  It sucks.  It's worse than cable.  I'm
> >> going to cancel as soon as I get my installation rebates.  It's just not
> >> worth the hassle.  I'd rather pay the higher price of cable for a
> >> service that works rather than a half-assed, rushed, buggy, crippled
> >> service.
> >>
> >> If you like, I can tell you what I REALLY think :)
> >> Nick
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> XCSSA@xcssa.org
> >> http://xcssa.org/mailman/listinfo/xcssa
> >
> > Thanks for the info, my mother-in-law just got service yesterday in her new
> > house, I can already imagine the calls I'm going to get now, especially the
> > wireless if it is as bad as you say. She does have a wireless modem that I
> > might just go ahead and make use of. At least she isn't anywhere near ready
> > for HD so I don't have to worry about that.
> >
> > Zeb
> >
> >
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