Used Uverse for 3 weeks..thinking of Dish now

[Character Zero]

The issue I have had with the signal going out is if it was storming, like really bad. Otherwise it was stable.

I remeber a long long time ago there were stories on Direct and Dish and what was called HD Lite. That the HD signal wasn't a full HD signal. What is the Dish signal these days, say compared to an OTA HD signal. It looks fine to me but I was wondering if anyone had the technical details on the stream. It is MPEG-4 right?

 

[dare2be]

Yes, the HD feeds are MPEG4, SD is MPEG2 on the western arc (dish pointing southwest). But that should change "SOON"

 

[maverick22]

I think the upload speed matters when you are away from home using Sling. When you are home you are just using your LAN.

Have you told AT&T about the Internet problem? My speeds don't change when the TV service is working.

I knew about TV affecting internet speed before the tech came out. He said that is true. I ran speed tests while he was there and kept pushing the limits, and of course he said that is normal. He said if it affects things too much, call for a higher speed.

 

[maverick22]

Yes, the HD feeds are MPEG4, SD is MPEG2 on the western arc (dish pointing southwest). But that should change "SOON"

Anyone know what Uverse uses? Is the technology an indicator of how good PQ is?

 

[dare2be]

I looked at Uverse packages yesterday. To get the level of service I currently have with Comcast for internet and Dish for TV, it would be $94 a month, which looks like a good deal, until after a year when the discounted price goes up to about $150, which is much more than I am paying now with no discounts for the 2 services.

 

[Hall]

Anyone know what Uverse uses? Is the technology an indicator of how good PQ is?

MPEG-2 is less compressed than MPEG-4. In theory, less compression is better, but that by no means that the human eye can "see" a difference. Some people might be able to, most people probably don't though.

 

[Hall]

My speeds don't change when the TV service is working.

I am not criticizing Uverse with this response, but the fact is, your "feed" has a finite amount of bandwidth (I think the number is around 18Mb/s). If you are watching (streaming) enough channels to use, let's say 15Mb/s, that only leaves you 3Mb/s for internet. If your TVs are off, your internet gets that full 18Mb/s. Internet speeds are absolutely impacted by the TV streams.

Now, given how the internet works -- right now, as you're reading this, presuming nothing else is running in the background, your internet usage is ZERO. On the TV side, ATT is very likely using a variable bitrate delivery system too, so the TV streams could fluctuate up and down as you watch a show.

 

[dare2be]

Even though MPEG2 is less compressed, at the same bitrate MPEG4 would look better than MPEG2 since MPEG4 compression is more efficient. With similar quality transmissions of MPEG4 and MPEG2, MPEG4 would need less than half the bandwidth.

 

[maverick22]

I looked at Uverse packages yesterday. To get the level of service I currently have with Comcast for internet and Dish for TV, it would be $94 a month, which looks like a good deal, until after a year when the discounted price goes up to about $150, which is much more than I am paying now with no discounts for the 2 services.

Everyone I keep talking to over at AT&T keeps saying that after the year is up, just call them up and you are able to get the newest promotions available. If I'm still with them at the time, I really hope it's that simple!

 

[Character Zero]

Yes, the HD feeds are MPEG4, SD is MPEG2 on the western arc (dish pointing southwest). But that should change "SOON"

What is the bitrate and is it full resolution?

 

[Yespage]

Everyone I keep talking to over at AT&T keeps saying that after the year is up, just call them up and you are able to get the newest promotions available. If I'm still with them at the time, I really hope it's that simple!

I don't like that sort of uncertainty.

 

[KAB]

I don't like that sort of uncertainty.

In order to get a better price on internet, I had to go to store, wait, wait some more, then spend 10 minutes on the phone with customer retention. Major hassle.

 

[Ronnie-]

Everyone I keep talking to over at AT&T keeps saying that after the year is up, just call them up and you are able to get the newest promotions available. If I'm still with them at the time, I really hope it's that simple!

I have had the internet service for just over a year, and yes, I called this week and got my promo prices back. Took about five minutes to accomplish.

 

[maverick22]

Yes, I'm sure you just have to say you're going to switch to another provider.

 

[broeddog]

I've had uverse internet for 4 years now with their 45meg speed and have been able to consistently get the best promotional 50% discount upon calling. I've not had any issues with there internet but there TV service and picture leave a lot to be desired. Your location to the VRAD does play a role in how many tv streams you can record and whether their in HD or SD. Dish is definitely the best choice for me and their equipment is far more superior to AT&T equipment.

 

[Ronnie-]

Yes, I'm sure you just have to say you're going to switch to another provider.

I did not. I simply said that the price had increased to more than I wanted to pay, and I wanted to see if we could do anything about that. The lady I spoke with was very nice, checked, discount applied.

I am not saying that you wont have to use that line, I am just saying that I did not. CSR roulette is alive and well of course.

 

[maverick22]

I've had uverse internet for 4 years now with their 45meg speed and have been able to consistently get the best promotional 50% discount upon calling. I've not had any issues with there internet but there TV service and picture leave a lot to be desired. Your location to the VRAD does play a role in how many tv streams you can record and whether their in HD or SD. Dish is definitely the best choice for me and their equipment is far more superior to AT&T equipment.

I'm apparently close to the VRAD. How do you think the PQ compares--Dish vs. Uverse?

Someone mentioned in another forum that the Joeys have been slow lately. Is this true? How is Dish's equipment far more superior to Uverse? Thanks!

 

[broeddog]

Maverick, in my opinion there is no comparison. Dish has a better picture and the hopper w/sling I think is the best equipment by far. If your worried about losing your signal during bad weather don't, in the 4 years I've had Dish I've probably lost my signal for a total of 10 minutes and that's just the HD, because if you lose HD it will switch to the SD equivalent.

 

[maverick22]

Maverick, in my opinion there is no comparison. Dish has a better picture and the hopper w/sling I think is the best equipment by far. If your worried about losing your signal during bad weather don't, in the 4 years I've had Dish I've probably lost my signal for a total of 10 minutes and that's just the HD, because if you lose HD it will switch to the SD equivalent.

So you have actually seen Uverse?

The Hopper with sling sounds great, but I didn't think about it running off upload speed if you're out of your network. Mine is a crappy 1-2 mpbs.

Encouraging to hear about retaining a good signal though! When do you know you can watch HD again though?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[JM42]

In order to get a better price on internet, I had to go to store, wait, wait some more, then spend 10 minutes on the phone with customer retention. Major hassle.

For the past 2 years at the end of the term, I've scheduled comcast for a week or so out, then call ATT and tell them to cancel UVerse. The retention offers they come back with have always been better than the new business Comcast offer.

The UVerse call has been quick, simple, less than 5 minutes.