Ten Second Review: AT&T U-Verse
Wednesday, I had AT&T U-Verse IPTV and internet installed, with the goal of ditching my Dish Network/Comcast Internet combo if everything worked satisfactorily.
I'm really pleased with the U-Verse service so far, and canceled the Dish/Comcast combo over the weekend.
Here are some quick thoughts comparing U-Verse and Dish/Comcast:
Video: The quality of the Dish HD streams is a little higher than the AT&T HD streams -- but only slightly (probably not discernible to many), and neither is quite as good as OTA HD; the U-Verse SD streams seem a little better than Dish. The nearly instantaneous channel change of U-Verse beats the 2-3 second lag of Dish. I liked the Dish programming guide a little better, but that's subjective. I had comparable channel lineups with both services (although the Dish Sirius radio channels were better than whatever service U-Verse uses). I have noticed an occasional stutter with the U-Verse stream, but I also had occasional stutters with Dish (more frequent during heavy rain, which obviously won't be a problem with U-Verse), so that's a wash. I initially had some sporadic audio issues with my Toshiba HDTV hooked to U-Verse DVR via HDMI cable, but fiddling with the Toshiba settings resolved the problem.
DVR: Dish has a GREAT DVR, with really good program guide info and scheduling of recordings. U-Verse DVR is close (including a 30 second advance/7 second rewind popularized by Dish), but scheduling series recording is a bit buggy (Dish was GREAT at recording new shows only; U-Verse DVR seems to miss some new shows, so it's wise to set it to record all). The ability to schedule a recording over the web is a big plus for U-Verse, though. Both systems allow for a remote television to watch recorded DVR programs.
Streams: U-Verse allows for four video streams (2 HD) at once at this time (that's an increase over what was initially offered, and could easily increase if AT&T fattens their pipe). Dish two-room DVR allows for two streams total plus one OTA stream if you have an antenna connected. Advantage U-Verse.
Internet: I signed up for the U-Verse 6M/1M service (they now offer 10M and 18M down). The connection has been rock solid and right up to spec, with consistent speeds and consistent ping times at different times of the day. The 2Wire residential gateway provided by AT&T is highly configurable -- after suffering a few wifi disconnect/reconnects, I changed the broadcast channel and it has worked well since. The Comcast Powerboost feature was nice, but the U-Verse overall performance seems more consistent/stable. And for people who want to pay for much more speed, it's available.
Installation: My installation window was 2-4 pm. The tech called just before 3pm and said he was on his way. He arrived at 3pm, scoped out my wiring situation, and by 4:30pm, the install was complete and I had a working system. The tech tapped into my existing coax cable wiring, which is effectively being used as the IPTV network through the townhouse, so my install was pretty easy (no new wiring required). The tech was pleasant, and it was interesting chatting with him about the technology.
Price: The U-Verse package beats the Dish/Comcast combo by about $20/month, which is pretty sweet. There was also a $200 rebate promotion when I signed up.
As I said above, I'm really pleased with the switch so far (although I had no real complaints with Dish/Comcast). I'll update the post if any issues pop up along the way.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/08 12:25 | Tech | Technorati
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Comments
What happened to the weekly OU propoganda column? Thought last week's thumping of TT would have brought it back.
Posted by Vernon Guy @ 14:54 on 11/25/08
I did watch that one, but since Ike, I think I've only watched one other Big 12 game all the way through (UT/Tech). So not much point in Big 12 blogging!
Besides, it's hard to get too excited just yet about the Sooners and BCS, since T Boone State usually plays them tough in Stillwater.
Posted by Kevin @ 18:35 on 11/25/08
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