Comments on: Waiting for U-Verse in Austin http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:44:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Will http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193924 Mon, 11 May 2009 04:55:55 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193924 U-verse has it’s advantages of being affordable, the channels change quickly, and you can hook it up using cat5 cable instead of coaxial. Now the disadvantages the sleep mode of the receivers gets on my nerves every 8 hours of inactivity “press ok to watch u-verse” screen pops up. I don’t want nor need the DVR I have 2 DVD recorders to record shows. I leave the house to go to work and if the program is 8 hours ahead on the timer record schedule on my dvd recorder my dvd recorder well show the press ok screen instead of the show I am trying to record. Also a lot of the channels have the broadcast flag (macrovision) and you have to hook the converter box up to a macrovision buster device know as Sima CopyThis hard to find since our Gobment of CorpMerica (formally the United States) make the device illegal to manufacture see Macrovision vs Sima Electronics. Some channels requiring use of Sima CopyThis are FOX 7, CNN, WGN, PPV, On Demand, Premium channels, Home Shopping Network, Disney, FX, MTV, and BET. Without my $40 Sima Box my dvd recorder will say COPY PROT and not record. So plan on investing in a video stablizer (macrobuster) for each u-verse receiver hooked up to a dvd recorder. You have to watch your bills with them to make sure they add up, and finally U-verse is only available in select South Austin Neighborhoods It is sad to say when I move to North Austin in the summer, U-verse is not available so my options are Time Warner (overpriced bundle crap), and 2 year contract yabba dabba do Dish, and Direct TV. I like my WGN and cheap so that narrows it down to the following painful soluition Time Warner Basic 2-22 and keep my fingers crossed for 1 year on the u-verse for north/northwest austin

]]> By: Consumers Aren’t Gonna Pay a Lot for Telco TV - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193923 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:25:04 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193923 [...] telcos is that consumers tired of boring TV delivered by their cable company could switch to a more interactive experience through, such as those offered by AT&T’s  U-verse service or FiOS TV or Verizon. And for the [...]

]]> By: Reblog » Blog Archive » AT&T May Drop Dish, But Still Has U-verse http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193922 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:57:09 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193922 [...] at the coming television service options ahead. By that measure I’ve spent a fifth of my life waiting for U-verse as it worked through technical hurdles and issues with the Microsoft platform. And only now is the [...]

]]> By: Reblog » Blog Archive » AT&T May Drop Dish, But Still Has U-verse http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-210675 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:57:09 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-210675 [...] at the coming television service options ahead. By that measure I’ve spent a fifth of my life waiting for U-verse as it worked through technical hurdles and issues with the Microsoft platform. And only now is the [...]

]]> By: Reblog » Blog Archive » AT&T May Drop Dish, But Still Has U-verse http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-210888 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:57:09 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-210888 [...] at the coming television service options ahead. By that measure I’ve spent a fifth of my life waiting for U-verse as it worked through technical hurdles and issues with the Microsoft platform. And only now is the [...]

]]> By: Stacey Higginbotham http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193921 Wed, 14 May 2008 17:05:10 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193921 Dan, if I had the choice I would get FiOS for the reasons you’ve outlined. Sadly I don’t have the choice between either and no hope of FiOS ever making it to my neck of the woods. The fact that Verizon won’t come into AT&T’s turf with FiOS is such a clear example of how uncompetitive the broadband market really is. Sigh.

]]> By: Dan Rayburn http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193920 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:49:56 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193920 U-Verse is a sad attempt by AT&T to make people believe that their product is “the future” when it is far from it. The AT&T U-Verse website doesn’t even list what speed Internet you get, up or down, when you buy the package. Al it says is “High Speed Internet Express” and you have to hunt around to find real details. From what I have tested myself and based on the average install, most users are getting between 3-6Mbps, and the service maxes out at 10Mbps. The highest upstream you can get with U-Verse is 1.5Mbps,

By contrast, Verizon’s FiOS service, which I have had for 3 years, does 20Mbps on average and goes up to 50Mbps if you are willing to pay more. And it does 5Mbps for upstream. AT&T is not running fiber to the house for U-Verse, only to your block, which limits the quality. FiOS is run directly to you house so the signal is not being compressed at all. U-Verse is also limited on the number of HD channels it can support now and in the future since they are not bringing fiber directly to the home.

I know Verizon’s FiOS service is not available everywhere, but it is available in a lot more places than U-Verse and has been around for a lot longer. The service continues to get stronger and faster each year.

]]> By: For AT&T, U-Verse Is Picking Up Steam - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193919 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:29:13 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193919 [...] Om Malik, Monday, April 21, 2008 at 8:13 AM PT Comments (0) UBS’s John Hodulik, one of the best telecom analysts, has pegged AT&T as his top pick for this earnings seasons and is expecting some good tidings from Ma Bell. What caught my eye in his note this morning was the progress made by AT&T’s IPTV effort, U-Verse. Hodulik says AT&T has added about 135,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2008, up from 105,000 new subs in the fourth quarter of 2007. (It could have had one more subscriber in Stacey, who is waiting for U-Verse to show up in Austin.) [...]

]]> By: For AT&T, U-Verse Is Picking Up Steam - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-210674 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:29:13 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-210674 [...] Om Malik, Monday, April 21, 2008 at 8:13 AM PT Comments (0) UBS’s John Hodulik, one of the best telecom analysts, has pegged AT&T as his top pick for this earnings seasons and is expecting some good tidings from Ma Bell. What caught my eye in his note this morning was the progress made by AT&T’s IPTV effort, U-Verse. Hodulik says AT&T has added about 135,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2008, up from 105,000 new subs in the fourth quarter of 2007. (It could have had one more subscriber in Stacey, who is waiting for U-Verse to show up in Austin.) [...]

]]> By: For AT&T, U-Verse Is Picking Up Steam - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-210887 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:29:13 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-210887 [...] Om Malik, Monday, April 21, 2008 at 8:13 AM PT Comments (0) UBS’s John Hodulik, one of the best telecom analysts, has pegged AT&T as his top pick for this earnings seasons and is expecting some good tidings from Ma Bell. What caught my eye in his note this morning was the progress made by AT&T’s IPTV effort, U-Verse. Hodulik says AT&T has added about 135,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2008, up from 105,000 new subs in the fourth quarter of 2007. (It could have had one more subscriber in Stacey, who is waiting for U-Verse to show up in Austin.) [...]

]]> By: Speaker City » links for 2008-02-20 http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193918 Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:26:41 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193918 [...] Waiting for U-Verse in Austin – GigaOM Waiting for U-Verse in Austin (tags: gigaom) [...]

]]> By: Brooke Braziel http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193917 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:28:22 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193917 I’ve been waiting on U-verse in North Carolina personally, but the more I hear the more I think I’ll stick with my Timewarner if and when it comes. Seems like there are still a lot of issues for AT&T to figure out.

I’ve been reading a little on uverseusers.com and truthaboutuverse.com – which have been good sites to read up on.

]]> By: Dave Burstein http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193916 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:57:17 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193916 Stacey
Very interesting comments from your U-verse users. There’s a rumor around that AT&T has cut the HD bandwidth from 8.5 megabits to 6.5 as part of the effort to squeeze in two channels. That may work out reasonably well with the new hardware based encoders, but I’ve read too many complaints like this from U-verse people lately. It would be very helpful if you could get solid information on the baudrate they are using.

Dave Burstein

]]> By: Andrew http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193915 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:12:47 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193915 I totally agree with Todd… I just got U-verse… so far it SUCKS. Now let’s just ignore the fact that ATT still can’t coordinate the back-office management of the system. Beyond that annoyance, the images pixelate all the time, the DVR only works in 1 room (unlike Dish which works in multiple rooms), the internet access is at a crawl (compared to my old ATT DSL), and they cut off my phone line during installation…

If you’re going to wait for something, hold out for FIOS – I hear that rocks!

]]> By: Stacey Higginbotham http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193914 Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:36:52 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193914 Guys, the smashing you hear is the sound of my dreams being shattered. Is anyone enjoying U-Verse? I know my hopes are unrealistic in the short term, but maybe one day (said in a wistful tone)….

]]> By: samy http://gigaom.com/2008/02/19/waiting-for-u-verse-in-austin/#comment-193913 Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:19:24 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=11537#comment-193913 oh, and it took the tech 5 hours to install in my house.

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