U-Verse not dead yet.

[IcEWoLF]

I noticed on the AT&T site they still offer U-Verse and the pricing appear to be more competitive. I recently cancelled DirecTV since my account wasn't eligible for anymore promotions.
Their U300 Package is comparable to the DirecTV Xtra package, also they are giving $100 gift card and its only 1 year agreement and price lock for just 1 year.

The tuners are only 4, and it does not require to have AT&T Internet, so thats nice since their internet speeds suck. My question is, how is U-Verse PQ these days? My area only offers 25Mbps internet for U-Verse, I take it thats the line they are using, even if I am not using their internet. How good is their PQ and DVR? How is the guide? Responsive? How good is their wireless receiver?

Lastly does anyone know how much HDD space their receivers have?

 

[zippyfrog]

I am in a similar situation as you - I can only get up to 25Mbps for U-Verse. When I upgraded from the 6Mbps DSL line for the 25Mbps U-Verse service I inquired about U-Verse TV as the AT&T site said I could get it and there was a great deal for it. The tech told me that he would not recommend me upgrading to the U-Verse TV product, but instead said that I should get the DirecTV satellite service. My thought was that he was trained to say and I mentioned I had Dish so I already knew satellite service. But he also went into more technical reasons and did a test on my line for if I could have the U-Verse TV service as I thought if I could get U-Verse Internet I could get the TV service. He said that I would not be happy with the product and at times it would be pixelating, similar to when I try to watch a weak OTA signal, but my 25Mbps internet connection would not be impacted I got it. He made it sound like there is a set amount of bandwidth set aside for U-Verse TV that is separate from internet bandwidth as he said the ideal would be everyone on DirecTV satellite service then then U-Verse bandwidth could be freed for internet bandwidth.

That is beyond what you were asking, but I thought I would share my experience and what the tech told me.

One of my friends has U-Verse and loves it. He used to have DirecTV and swears he would not leave U-Verse. He has a single box with a DVR. When I have been at his house and seen it, it is very responsive. I would put the picture quality similar to my Dish service, maybe slightly crisper. The colors are also more more vivid than mine, but that could be very well his TV.

 

[andy_horton]

Somebody I used to run around with in a small town in N GA, (rural) had the service. Very responsive. PQ was slightly above par of DISH, colors were vivid. Not sure about DVR, or internet, but she had both and internet never slowed to a crawl and always was responsive.

 

[Sori4mvp]

I think a lot depends on your area. I had UVerse internet and TV at my old place for about 4 years. At first no issues, then about 3 years in a lot of pixalating and internet issues. The guy came out and replaced the modem/router and still the same thing. Did some work outside the house at the box and same issues. Eventually it got going but he thought it was an internal wiring issue. I've had it at my apartment now for the last couple of years. Flawless!!! 80 Mbps is the plan I'm on, typically get in the 60's hard wired, not sure if some of that 80 is dedicated for the TV or how that works. I have a three receiver hookup two of which are wireless receivers. PQ is great, I would say maybe a shade below DTV but above many cable companies I've seen. DVR is good. As far as my DVR, right now I have 32 percent of my space left and still have 54 hours of HD recording left, not sure off hand but whatever that would break down to on a full 100 percent, I'm sure someone can do that math. No complaints here. I love Uverse TV. Kept hearing rumors that they were going to phase it out, glad it hasn't happened yet.

 

[ncted]

Still selling Uverse in my area, but they really would prefer you go with DirecTV. PQ is good, at least for Fiber households. It used to be worse than Dish, but both Uverse and Dish have improved recently. DVR is snappy, but it is Windows ME underneath, so it is getting pretty long in the tooth. If you can get Fiber, you can get up to 6 streams. The biggest complaint around here is the constant retrans disputes -- it almost puts Dish to shame.

 

[navychop]

Wow. I never considered that version of Windows was still in the wild.....

 

[harshness]

Wow. I never considered that version of Windows was still in the wild.....

None of us should ever contemplate such a thing; not even in a computer museum.

For Windows newbs, Windows Me was released 17-1/2 years ago to a huge chorus of "what the hell?" and followed by a refrain of "where can I get my hands on a copy of Windows 2000".

 

[ncted]

None of us should ever contemplate such a thing; not even in a computer museum.

For Windows newbs, Windows Me was released 17-1/2 years ago to a huge chorus of "what the hell?" and followed by a refrain of "where can I get my hands on a copy of Windows 2000".

Whoops! Meant to write Windows CE. ME would never have worked for a DVR.

 

[MitchDeerfield]

I just switched from Dish to U-verse. Believe it or not they gave me $300 in gift cards plus another $50 referral credit. Just a one year contract. The selection of channels that U-verse has is amazing, much more than DTV or Dish . . they gave me just about everything out there for not that much money. The Picture Quality isn't as good as the competition, and their technology is a bit of a joke. The receiver was actually designed in 2012 so not many features. I had to go out and buy a used Slingbox to watch the DVR on my tablet and desktop . . and Slingboxes are no longer being manufactured. Still a great deal when they offer so many channels for only about $68 a month all included.

Sounds like AT&T is doing anything they can to get huge sign up numbers this quarter.

 

[Foxbat]

I have the U-verse 25 Mbps Internet and Phone package. When I look at my router, it hints that my service maxes out closer to 44 Mbps.

That 18 Mbps difference would support the TV service if I had it. Until U-verse TV has been totally shut down, I don't think I'll ever be able to tap into the extra bandwidth for data.

 

[zippyfrog]

I have the U-verse 25 Mbps Internet and Phone package. When I look at my router, it hints that my service maxes out closer to 44 Mbps.

View attachment 132294​

That 18 Mbps difference would support the TV service if I had it. Until U-verse TV has been totally shut down, I don't think I'll ever be able to tap into the extra bandwidth for data.

I never noticed that before - I just checked my router and my numbers are 25206/43644 - very similar to yours.

 

[Foxbat]

Until U-verse TV has been totally shut down, I don't think I'll ever be able to tap into the extra bandwidth for data.

I just jumped into my AT&T account and what do you know? They say I can upgrade to the 45 Mbps plan for an extra $10/month. However, my area is listed as being eligible for the GigaPower "coming soon"... I guess I'll tough it out and save my pennies for that upgrade.

 

[ncted]

I just switched from Dish to U-verse. Believe it or not they gave me $300 in gift cards plus another $50 referral credit. Just a one year contract. The selection of channels that U-verse has is amazing, much more than DTV or Dish . . they gave me just about everything out there for not that much money. The Picture Quality isn't as good as the competition, and their technology is a bit of a joke. The receiver was actually designed in 2012 so not many features. I had to go out and buy a used Slingbox to watch the DVR on my tablet and desktop . . and Slingboxes are no longer being manufactured. Still a great deal when they offer so many channels for only about $68 a month all included.

Sounds like AT&T is doing anything they can to get huge sign up numbers this quarter.

I am kind of hoping the new U-Verse/DirecTV Now platform is ready by fall of 2019 when my Dish contract is up. I like Dish well enough, but I'd really prefer a fiber-based delivery system.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I just jumped into my AT&T account and what do you know? They say I can upgrade to the 45 Mbps plan for an extra $10/month. However, my area is listed as being eligible for the GigaPower "coming soon"... I guess I'll tough it out and save my pennies for that upgrade.

I would wait.

They probably want to charge to install for the speed increase.

When fiber is available they will offer free install on 1 gig

 

[Foxbat]

One of our friends who lives closer to downtown has been upgraded by AT&T to fiber. No price increase, and she went from 6 Mbps to 100 Mbps up and down! Fingers crossed...