uverse here I come

[dj1111]

I was a Directv subscriber for around 9 years.  If I would have kept a log of complaints about their service over those 9 years it would be a lot of empty pages.  In fact I don't think I ever had a problem.  Then in early 2007 we switched to Charter Cable mainly because I wanted to bundle their internet with cable tv to take advantage of better pricing.  Their broadband is (was) the only thing available in my area.  I only wish I would have kept a log of complaints about their service.  In only a years time it would now be pretty close to a novel.  Interruptions of service, channels mysteriously missing for hours at a time, sound not syncing with the video (almost a daily occurrence), I could go on and on.  Uverse is now available in our area.  Before I give them a call I was wondering if anyone out there had comments on their product.  Is it as good as it sounds?  I'm not a big TV watching nut and probably will be too cheap to subscribe to their HDTV upgrade.  Also how does their 3meg DSL compare to cable's 3meg service?  My current Charter introductory price has run out so I will now be paying $143. per month for analog cable, 3meg internet and unlimited long distance.  I know if I complain to Charter they will offer me a better deal, but unless they practically give it away, I'm done with them.

[coachcarstens]

While I can not comment on Uverse, I can agree with the problems with Charter.  I also live in an area where they are the only game in town, and I actually can not call about the price because I'm "Not eligible for a promotional price for the next 13 months.  So, I'm paying around $63 for 5 Meg, their slowest/cheapest internet plan.  I got rid of thier TV LONG ago, and I'm very happy with Dish Network.  They don't even offer the phone in my area.    So, I can fully understand why you would want to leave them, I have had no luck.

[TPK]

Ive had U-verse here in Milwaukee for 10 months now (has it been that long?)

The main reason why I switched was the lack of HD programming with the cable company in the area (TWC)...  All told, U-verse offers 44 HD channels, which includes the locals, premium channels (east and west coast), and part-time channels like Fox Sports..

When I first got U-verse, I was immediately disappointed by the high definition picture quality when compared to cable...   I believe, however, that the picture quality on most channels has improved since I first got it (or it may be possible that by now I am just used to the poor picture quality and it actually hasn't improved at all)...

As far as reliability goes, for the most part, the service has been reliable, especially considering how new the service is...  There have been a few glitches here and there, though, such as channels dropping out (one time my showtime west channel 'unsubscribed'), and short outages (usually due to system upgrades)...  The good news is that when there is a glitch, I can call their support number and usually they have been able to fix it immediately (or explain to me that they were doing a upgrade)...  That said, one time my residential gateway (RG) stopped working, and I was without service for a couple of days until they could send someone to swap it out (their first generation RGs had troubles I guess and they either have been or will be swapping them out)...

Like I said, the service is mostly reliable...  But if you are looking for something to be 100 percent reliable, you should look somewhere else...  Personally, I am willing to cut them some slack due to the service being so new, and of course I totally understand (and appreciate) when the service goes out so they can upgrade the system (although it would be nice to know ahead of time for these scheduled outages)..

As of this moment, there is no bundled phone service...  But I can tell that the phone service is right around the corner (since my RG's web adminstrative tool now shows a 'Voice Network' applet and that the phone lines are availble, just not 'subscribed' yet)....

The best part of the service I think is the high speed internet... I have the maximum tier (called MAX) and I get almost 10Mb down and 1.5Mb up, which is much faster (espeically the upspeed) that I was getting via RoadRunner..

Some other features that differentiate it from cable are the web DVR remote (which has a horrible clunky interface, but it does allow you to schedule recordings and manage your DVR from anywhere with a browser)...  They even have a 'mobile' web remote now that lets you do these things with a minimal cell-phone browser (again, needs a lot of improvement)...

Pretty soon they will be offering the "whole home" DVR, where you can schedule and watch recordings from any IPTV reciever in the house...  Its not available yet, and I'm a bit skeptical about how it will actually perform when it does become available, but we will see when it happens....

There are still a few downsides to the service, however..

Of course the biggest glaring downside for most folks is the single high definition stream....  This means that you can only record (and watch) one HD channel at a time in your house...   If you have multiple HD televisions, this can be problematic...  If you like to DVR stuff on one channel while watching another HD channel (a strategy I used to employ with the cable box to avoid watching commercials) you will be out of luck, at least for now....

They say that they will be improving that soon so the service can support multiple (perhaps 4) HD streams at a time, but theve been promising that for a while now and haven yet to deliver....  We will see if that comes through (hopefully without degrading the HD quality any more to make it fit)..   With SD however you can watch (and record) many SD streams right now with the DVR box (I think up to 4 but Ive never tried to record more than 3) which is better than a single cable box (which is usually limited to 2 channels, HD or SD)....  

Sadly, the IPTV recievers (you get 2 recievers, plus a third that works as a DVR box) are based on Windows CE, and are horrubly slow and un-respnsive...  They kind of remind me of first generation direct-TV recieveres, where it can take several seconds for the box to respond to a remote command...  The user interface for the guide and menuing systems is clunky at best... The boxes and/or the software needs a lot of improvement..

Of course there just is not enough space on the DVR hard drive, and unlike the SA 8300 HD DVRs from the cable company there is no way to expand it, at least not without hacking it and installing a new drive...   I was forced to use the component outputs since hooking up the HDMI proved to be problimatic and buggy for the boxes...   Also you are forced to pick an output resolution for the box (720p or 1080i) instead of just telling the box to output the native resolution of the channel you are watching, which is sort of annoying to the pure-ist in me that wants to see the channel as it is broadcasted (but I guess that goes out the window anyhow since they are re-encoding all channels to mpeg-4 anyhow)...

All in all, I am glad that I switched from cable to go to U-verse...  That said I will probably switch back (or maybe try satellite) if they fail to deliver on their promise for multiple HD streams, or skimp any more on the HD picture quality...  I always said that I would try it for a year, and that year is almost up...  After that they are on borrowed time....

Ive had U-verse for a while, I am glad to answer any questions and give opinions (at least from an end-user perspective) before you decide to go with the service if that would help you out at all....

[Mrtanner]

I've had Uverse for almost a year.  While the TV service has its pros and cons vs the TWC I had before, the internet service has been stellar.  (Plus they supply the wireless router at no additional charge.)

Go for it.  You really aren't risking anything.  With the deals you get on the first month or two with Uverse, and the ability to cancel at any time, what's the worst that could happen?

[markndonna]

I have had U-Verse for 2 months and love it I would agree with most of the comments about it . It is a new technology so ill give its some time . And by the way ill never go back to t/w .

[Tom Snyder]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but does Uverse carry 58-D?  If so, I'm wondering how THEY cut a deal with Jim Hall, but D* still hasn't?

[markndonna]

Tom, Yes they do. I just watched the Badger game Sunday in HD on U-Verse. They carry both vesions HD and regular digital.

[klwillis45]

It'll be interesting come May when Dish gets HD locals if 58 HD is on there.

Of course it'd be nice if AT&T gets off their butts before then and sticks a VRAD closer to my house so they can finish my install.

[joshuaw]

I have had Uverse since mid November and am impressed with what I get for the money.

I agree that the picture quality is less than perfect, but I live in an apartment with old single strand copper wiring so that could be hurting my signal (internet, phone and TV thru one little old school wire).  In fact I had a service tech out last month who basically confirmed this...

I say "go for it"...it is only gonna get better!!!

[flash]

I wish they would hurry up and get to Muskego. :bang:

[patnshan]

I wish they would hurry up and get to Muskego. :bang:

We don't even have DSL in our subdivision, so I doubt we'll get it anytime soon.  I did see some trucks all over the area, so maybe they are working on it.  For reference, I am near the golf course on Loomis.

Pat

[flash]

We don't even have DSL in our subdivision, so I doubt we'll get it anytime soon.  I did see some trucks all over the area, so maybe they are working on it.  For reference, I am near the golf course on Loomis.

Pat

I live in a subdivision across from Muskego Park and I know that a few years ago they laid fiber along Janesville Rd. I even had DSL about 8 years ago but I still have hopes that they will fire up the Uverse in Muskego.
Uverse had a kiosk in the Ridge Cinemas last summer and I asked when they would be out here and they said to just keep checking.
I keep checking......

and checking......

and checking..........................

[Bigdog]

It appears they wont be coming to Grafton (at least near me) anytime soon either. They had some AT&T workers working on a box yesterday and they said there was no plans to have UVerse out here for quite awhile.  I would seriously look at DirectTV but the cost of duplicating 2 HD DVRs and 1 HD box is a bit pricey with them.

[Acragas]

It appears they wont be coming to Grafton (at least near me) anytime soon either. They had some AT&T workers working on a box yesterday and they said there was no plans to have UVerse out here for quite awhile.  I would seriously look at DirectTV but the cost of duplicating 2 HD DVRs and 1 HD box is a bit pricey with them.

That's somewhat surprising.  I live in Cedarburg and just had UVerse hooked up this morning - pretty straightforward process, took about 3 hours.  They said they'd be in all of Mequon fairly shortly.

[Bigdog]

Maybe in the Village they may have it but I'm in the town (more towards the lake) and these AT&T guys said they hadn't heard anything about it coming out this far.  Maybe when the weather warms up and they can see the ground again, that will change?